The psychology of 'de-badging'
Discussion
Blown2CV said:
a lot is talked about those that upwards re-badge their cars to be something they are not e.g. BMW 330 to an M3, covering mercs in AMG badges and so on. However, a manufacturer sanctioned 'badge-mod' is to remove the standard badge entirely. You have to make a conscious choice to opt for no badge as it's not the default config setting. So, i wonder why people do this. Clearly there are 2 camps:
1. I've bought the top model but i don't want to be a dick about it, so i've removed the badge
2. I've bought the entry model and I am hoping people will think I've bought something better
For 1, it's still obvious to pretty much anyone that would even remotely care that you are indeed driving the super-amazing and expensive variant, so is this just the hipster choice... pretending to be down to earth and a man of the people when in fact you know people will realise what you're driving anyway, so what does this say about the driver? For 2, clearly this guy is almost as bad as the guy that whacks M-sport, AMG etc badges all over his C180 or 320d.
Personally I think i'd just leave it on there - it's what i bought.
what do PHers think?
What about people who think the car looks better with no badging?1. I've bought the top model but i don't want to be a dick about it, so i've removed the badge
2. I've bought the entry model and I am hoping people will think I've bought something better
For 1, it's still obvious to pretty much anyone that would even remotely care that you are indeed driving the super-amazing and expensive variant, so is this just the hipster choice... pretending to be down to earth and a man of the people when in fact you know people will realise what you're driving anyway, so what does this say about the driver? For 2, clearly this guy is almost as bad as the guy that whacks M-sport, AMG etc badges all over his C180 or 320d.
Personally I think i'd just leave it on there - it's what i bought.
what do PHers think?
When I was younger a friend de-badged his E30 318is and I thought it looked good, so I did the same to my 325i. Later I owned a 318is which was also de-badged. I didn't do either of these things to hide the size of the engine.
Blown2CV said:
For 1, it's still obvious to pretty much anyone that would even remotely care that you are indeed driving the super-amazing and expensive variant, so is this just the hipster choice... pretending to be down to earth and a man of the people when in fact you know people will realise what you're driving anyway, so what does this say about the driver?
No they won't! 
My SLK 280 looks absolutely identical to a 350 or a 200.
I had an Audi A4 Convertible and that was the same, the badge was the only thing that gave a clue.
As to the psychology of badge removal, not everyone is as obsessed as many on PH seem to believe about "status". Some of us have enough going on in our lives not to worry about what the engine size written on the bootlid of our cars "tells" other people.
My car was secondhand and is badged but if I could be bothered I'd remove it as I prefer a cleaner look and it is unnecessary.
It's the mid sized engine, so how does that fit your theory?
Not that bothered either way, if pushed, I prefer my cars debadged as it looks a lot neater imo.
My current 520d is debadged because I could choose it to be and it cost me nothing to order it that way. Had a 525d delivered back in 2004 that turned up with the badging on when I'd specced it without, just signed the paper and drove it around like that for three years, don't recall losing any sleep over it.
From memory my 540 had the model deleted but the e39 535 didn't, again no sleep lost.
The only time badging used to bug me was in the 535 and I saw a 540 whereupon I'd kick myself for not being patient enough to find a good 540 instead of grabbing a 535 that was nearby me instead
My current 520d is debadged because I could choose it to be and it cost me nothing to order it that way. Had a 525d delivered back in 2004 that turned up with the badging on when I'd specced it without, just signed the paper and drove it around like that for three years, don't recall losing any sleep over it.
From memory my 540 had the model deleted but the e39 535 didn't, again no sleep lost.
The only time badging used to bug me was in the 535 and I saw a 540 whereupon I'd kick myself for not being patient enough to find a good 540 instead of grabbing a 535 that was nearby me instead
Rolls Royce didn't believe in names on cars until forced into it by the US market in the 1960's. The idea being that people should just know it was a Rolls Royces and, yes, it was the best car on the road at the time.
It makes me laugh how often I see people go to the back of my 1953 Silver Wraith to identify the model only to be faced with a large decal-clear back end.
It makes me laugh how often I see people go to the back of my 1953 Silver Wraith to identify the model only to be faced with a large decal-clear back end.
TooMany2cvs said:
BOR said:
I don't have a visible badge on my suit indicating the type/wool content
Always makes me chuckle when you see people wandering around in suits/coats with the racking label still on the sleeve.My 528i had a badge so I left it on, my 530i doesn't have one and I'm not particularly bothered about it. I'd say it looks cleaner anyway and I don't give a damn if someone thinks I only have a 520i or 525i and I'm ashamed to admit it. I think a replacement is £30ish from a dealer so I could stick one on if I wanted to.
kwits who take it up the rusty sherrif's badge.I took the G60 badges off my golf - then it just looked like a GTI with a bigger exhaust. It was sufficiently rare that I percieved a potential theft if it shouted about what it was. Of course, if you knew what you were looking at, it was instantly recognisable - left hand drive, chromolux glass etc. but it made me feel more comfortable about the situation.
Edited by Tonsko on Monday 11th November 13:56
matthias73 said:
Would debadge a car to make it look cleaner, probably wouldn't bother for the sake of going incognito.
+1Hate badges on the back of a car. My current weekday runner said 'GOLF 1.6 TDI' (with a red eye for some reason). Removed the lot, fair cleaner looking.
Same with wifies z4 and sons Civic 1.8. Just tidier looking.
My old Nissan GTIR had a "1.4L" badge on the back. Mainly because most people thought that's what it was anyway. It was amusing unleashing the 300bhp on unsuspecting "M3" Beemers! 
I also had an Audi S4 with a "2.0TDI" badge on the back (The S4 badge was still visible but looks like an S-Line badge anyway.) partly because I didn't want scrotes nicking it but mainly because it was funny!
I know of many Merc drivers who've got E200/E220's and have de-badged them because they're trying to hide the fact they're not an E250 or E350!
I often see "AMG" badges stuck on diesel Mercs. Before anyone says "Mercedes put them on!", no they don't. You can buy an "AMG " spec Merc but they don't have AMG badges on the back.
I also had an Audi S4 with a "2.0TDI" badge on the back (The S4 badge was still visible but looks like an S-Line badge anyway.) partly because I didn't want scrotes nicking it but mainly because it was funny!
I know of many Merc drivers who've got E200/E220's and have de-badged them because they're trying to hide the fact they're not an E250 or E350!
I often see "AMG" badges stuck on diesel Mercs. Before anyone says "Mercedes put them on!", no they don't. You can buy an "AMG " spec Merc but they don't have AMG badges on the back.
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