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Has anyone bought the AKD LED Headlights?

Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2020 3:57 am
by kieranhendy
Hi there, wondering if anyone has bought the AKD LED Headlights for the Polo AW? I had been hoping that there would be a bigger selection of aftermarket LEDs for the AW by now but doesn't seem to be happening. Also, more out of curiousity than anything else, would VW fit things like the active info display, ACC and the genuine VW LED headlights if asked? I had heard that BMW can fit parking sensors for people buying used beamers but not sure if thats correct? Thanks :D

Re: Has anyone bought the AKD LED Headlights?

Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2020 8:43 am
by Simonz
No not done any headlight mods myself but tempted by brighter bulbs not LED. Yes I expect VW would do whatever you want for a price, a very big price. Guessing this might be near a £1k job.

Re: Has anyone bought the AKD LED Headlights?

Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2020 9:47 am
by Andy Beats
Going by prices for used AW LED units, VW must be charging around £800 a pop for the headlights alone.
That's each side, not the pair.

Re: Has anyone bought the AKD LED Headlights?

Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2020 10:52 am
by SRGTD
I think there’s a good chance VW dealers will quote crazy prices for ‘one-off’ type jobs that aren’t part of a car’s normal maintenance schedule, as they’re probably not really interested in doing the work. So quoting silly prices is likely to put the customer off having the work done.

Genuine brand new VW LED headlamps (for LHD cars) are being advertised at the link below at €1,999 a pair (at current currency conversion rates, just over £1,800 a pair).

https://www.kufatec.com/en/volkswagen/v ... -aw1-42270

This doesn’t include fitting or making the necessary hardware and software changes for automatic headlamp range control. So if the headlamp units cost around £1,800, then to fit them and make the auto headlamp range adjustment changes, plus any coding changes that might be required (e.g. indicator functionality, as DRL’s in LED headlamps double up as indicators) you may well be looking at around £2,250 - 2,500 for a VW dealer to do an LED headlamp retrofit. That’s serious money IMO!

Not headlamps, but related to the cost of dealers doing non standard work, around 18 months ago, a forum member asked their dealer what it would cost to change their dash pads and centre console trim to a different coloured set. Their dealer quoted them around £1,500 😧. I don’t know what the parts would cost, but assuming they’d be no more than £250 - £300, then that’s £1,200 or more labour charge to do a job that probably wouldn’t take more than an hour (or two at most) to do. Link to thread below;

viewtopic.php?f=71&t=72839&p

Re: Has anyone bought the AKD LED Headlights?

Posted: Mon Oct 05, 2020 11:27 am
by Andy Beats
SRGTD wrote: Mon Oct 05, 2020 10:52 am I think there’s a good chance VW dealers will quote crazy prices for ‘one-off’ type jobs that aren’t part of a car’s normal maintenance schedule, as they’re probably not really interested in doing the work. So quoting silly prices is likely to put the customer off having the work done.

Genuine brand new VW LED headlamps (for LHD cars) are being advertised at the link below at €1,999 a pair (at current currency conversion rates, just over £1,800 a pair).

https://www.kufatec.com/en/volkswagen/v ... -aw1-42270

This doesn’t include fitting or making the necessary hardware and software changes for automatic headlamp range control. So if the headlamp units cost around £1,800, then to fit them and make the auto headlamp range adjustment changes, plus any coding changes that might be required (e.g. indicator functionality, as DRL’s in LED headlamps double up as indicators) you may well be looking at around £2,250 - 2,500 for a VW dealer to do an LED headlamp retrofit. That’s serious money IMO!

Not headlamps, but related to the cost of dealers doing non standard work, around 18 months ago, a forum member asked their dealer what it would cost to change their dash pads and centre console trim to a different coloured set. Their dealer quoted them around £1,500 😧. I don’t know what the parts would cost, but assuming they’d be no more than £250 - £300, then that’s £1,200 or more labour charge to do a job that probably wouldn’t take more than an hour (or two at most) to do. Link to thread below;

viewtopic.php?f=71&t=72839&p
I'm toying with the idea of changing the colour of the dash trims, from the standard matt red to perhaps a nice carbon effect.
Local wrapping company I've used for wheels and windows for years will do it all for a couple of hundred quid.

With regard to changing the headlights, the changing of the units is a piece of p*** on the Polos.
I'd have the old out and new in in under 10 mins.
But, as you say, they would need the coding etc.
So in the greater scheme of things, the money saved on swapping the units yourself is small.