First longish journey for holiday and then valeting

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david.stark
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First longish journey for holiday and then valeting

Post by david.stark »

Had my Polo almost a year now and very happy with it. It's going in for it's first service soon but I thought I'd post about it's first longer journey as we went on holiday last week to the Lakes.

My car is SE spec in silver and with the DSG box, 1.0 TSi 95ps. We drove up the M1 so far but then cut the corner so to speak and went through Tintwistle rather than take the M62 (saved 16 miles in the process). 2 passengers and a full boot of luggage and returned an average of 58.7 mpg. That was with air con switched on all the way too :D

Me and the passengers were all happy with the comfort over the journey and I appreciated the ease and relaxation of the automatic when driving through hilly and twisty sections of road in fairly heavy traffic at times.

We didn't use the car much while we were there as we just stayed close by or grabbed a taxi for an evening meal as we were all drinking. Coming home, the Google Maps sat nav via Car Play took us on the M60 through Manchester then into Macclesfield and over the Cat and Fiddle to Buxton before dropping down the Via Gellia Road. Stunning scenery which made it interesting!

On the way back, we had shed loads more to carry as one of our party left a day early in his car so we could not spread the load as much. This meant I had to fold down the back drivers side seat and middle seat as well as lowering the boot floor. The amount of luggage and bags was vast and more suited to a Passat estate than a Polo but we managed to cram it in so that I could still see out of the back window and the blind spots over each shoulder.

Despite this, air conditioning running all the way and the more rural roads, the car managed an average of 56.8 mpg. :D

The car was ditched inside and out (by my standards) although silver paintwork doesn't show it as much. I had pre-booked Carey's valeting for a inside and out valet this afternoon. Tom did the Diamondbrite treatment when I had the Polo at a much cheaper price than the dealer. Here are the before and after photos:

Before

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exotic boy names and meanings

After

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RUM4MO
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Re: First longish journey for holiday and then valeting

Post by RUM4MO »

I'd be cleaning up or replacing that bolt cover that has gone whitish/greyish if it was my car!

Edit:- do these wheel bolt covers really need to sit that far out on these wheels, I've never had a VW Group car that ended up with the bolt covers sticking that far out - are you sure that they have been lined up correctly with the bolt heads and pushed as far down as possible?
SRGTD
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Re: First longish journey for holiday and then valeting

Post by SRGTD »

RUM4MO wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 4:42 pm I'd be cleaning up or replacing that bolt cover that has gone whitish/greyish if it was my car!

Edit:- do these wheel bolt covers really need to sit that far out on these wheels, I've never had a VW Group car that ended up with the bolt covers sticking that far out - are you sure that they have been lined up correctly with the bolt heads and pushed as far down as possible?
I’d say that cover is the one that’s fitted over the locking wheel bolt - they tend to go white/grey when an acid based wheel cleaner has been used, so cleaning it is unlikely to restore it back to black - probably easier (and cheap) to replace it.

@david.stark;
  • if you do need to use a wheel cleaner, I’d suggest you use one that’s ph neutral, such as Valet Pro Bilberry wheel cleaner. I’ve found that if wheels are well protected with a good wax or sealant, there’s no need to use a specific wheel cleaner - a good quality ph neutral car shampoo is all that needed to get rid of road grime and brake dust off wheels, without any risk of damage to the bolt covers or wheel finish.
  • good to hear your car performed well on its first longish journey and that you continue to be happy with it after a year’s ownership.
david.stark
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Re: First longish journey for holiday and then valeting

Post by david.stark »

RUM4MO wrote: Mon Jul 15, 2019 4:42 pm I'd be cleaning up or replacing that bolt cover that has gone whitish/greyish if it was my car!

Edit:- do these wheel bolt covers really need to sit that far out on these wheels, I've never had a VW Group car that ended up with the bolt covers sticking that far out - are you sure that they have been lined up correctly with the bolt heads and pushed as far down as possible?
There is one manky wheel bolt per wheel, all the others are fine. I am therefore planning on raising it when it goes in for a service. I’ve seen other Polo’s in the same boat re how far the bolts stick out so I assumed it was normal.
RUM4MO
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Re: First longish journey for holiday and then valeting

Post by RUM4MO »

Maybe pull these marked ones off to check which type they are, ie are they all covering the security bolt, if so it could be that the manufacturing process is the issue and these types are not UV stable enough, the part number(s) if required, are moulded into the material on the inner surface.
SRGTD
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Re: First longish journey for holiday and then valeting

Post by SRGTD »

I’ve seen quite a few pictures on various VW forums over the years of the one white bolt cover per wheel, and it does tend to be the cover on the security bolt. In pretty much all cases, the discolouration is due to an acid based product being used for cleaning the wheels. Some valeters may use these harsh(er) cleaning products, as they make it quicker to get the job done. Most of the £5 hand wash places will use harsh cleaning products so they can get as many cars cleaned in as short a time as possible, as time’s money to them.

The bolt covers are only a few pence to replace when bought from the VW dealer.
stevereeves
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Re: First longish journey for holiday and then valeting

Post by stevereeves »

Bwing a bit of a tighty I use cheapo car wash & shampoo as I've found there isn't much difference than better quality, branded products and the the locknut cap always goes 'a bit white' after a short while. Seems you just need to give it a wipe every now and again regardless, think it's prob due to the metal the locknut is made from as the the 4, on each wheel, stay black then gradually grey due to dirt. Good longish-term journey report BTW....
SRGTD
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Re: First longish journey for holiday and then valeting

Post by SRGTD »

stevereeves wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 2:59 pm Bwing a bit of a tighty I use cheapo car wash & shampoo as I've found there isn't much difference than better quality, branded products and the the locknut cap always goes 'a bit white' after a short while. Seems you just need to give it a wipe every now and again regardless, think it's prob due to the metal the locknut is made from as the the 4, on each wheel, stay black then gradually grey due to dirt. Good longish-term journey report BTW....
I’ve owned 4 VW’s over the last 17 years and have never had any of the plastic wheel bolt covers discolour or fade. I wouldn’t know which of my covers were on the security bolts / locknuts without taking the covers off, although I do avoid ‘cheapo’ car shampoos, and never use £5 hand car washes, automatic car washes, or let the dealer wash my car, so I’d say the fading / discolouration is primarily due to cleaning products used.

My brother nearly always has his car cleaned at his local £5 hand wash place, and on his 6-7 month old Vauxhall Astra, his wheel bolt covers have faded from black to grey.
RUM4MO
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Re: First longish journey for holiday and then valeting

Post by RUM4MO »

SRGTD wrote: Tue Jul 16, 2019 3:14 pm I’ve owned 4 VW’s over the last 17 years and have never had any of the plastic wheel bolt covers discolour or fade. I wouldn’t know which of my covers were on the security bolts / locknuts without taking the covers off, although I do avoid ‘cheapo’ car shampoos, and never use £5 hand car washes, automatic car washes, or let the dealer wash my car, so I’d say the fading / discolouration is primarily due to cleaning products used.

My brother nearly always has his car cleaned at his local £5 hand wash place, and on his 6-7 month old Vauxhall Astra, his wheel bolt covers have faded from black to grey.
Over 19 years in my case with no problems with these covers, except for 1 on my 2011 Audi S4.

The VX magic colour change, from what I've noticed it happens/happened a lot on VXs also on the not painted bumper and side protection panels as well, material not being spec'd correctly for being outside in sunlight/UV.

I'd question the design of this current version of bolt covers - hole in the middle to fit the puller tool through, but having a second surface to keep the cap sealed, ie keep the bolts from getting salt and water on them would work better, another VW mess up copied from trendy SEAT.

I will retract my comment about the bolt head trims sticking out too far, it seems that is the way things have gone, another design/style failure, form before function, my friend's new T Roc is the same, all the bolts trims have white grease on the inside probably to stop them seizing on due to the water/salt getting through to the inside.
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