Rear parking sensors

[Damion]

Got a price of €454/£380 to have the VW rear parking sensors retro fitted by the dealer, is it worth it? or shall I go for another brand around 50% less?

[am1w]

As long as they are the flush fitting ones and not those protruding horrors. Prices vary, but £450 should be top wack including labour and VAT. Can't you get a rear view camera instead if you can find one and your head unit supports it.

[Damion]

its just the basic head unit, 310 ..... :-(

[am1w]

If you are not changing the head unit then get the sensors as they'll work with all units and also give you a visual on the RCD310.

[Damion]

Thanks, it says audiable sound and works when in reverse gear, the 310 is a very narrow display..

[AGB]

Got a price of €454/£380 to have the VW rear parking sensors retro fitted by the dealer, is it worth it? or shall I go for another brand around 50% less?

I wouldn't bother with a camera, the parking sensors that ship as OEM are really good and I've never found myself in a situation where I've thought 'if only I had better visibility out the back'. It's a gizmo and if that's your thing, it's a bit of fun but to replace the 310 just for that seems a bit much IMHO.

Watch the fitting though, a colleague had them retro fitted to his GT and the dealer didn't do the best job of setting them flush and every time he washed the car, he'd snag them. Eventually had them sorted out but just check carefully before you drive away.

I can't live without them in London. Everyone is so impatient and if you want to save yourself having some impatient a-hole shoving past and nearly hitting you, you've got to perfect the 5 second parallel park.

[Jimmymature]

Got a price of €454/£380 to have the VW rear parking sensors retro fitted by the dealer, is it worth it? or shall I go for another brand around 50% less?

I wouldn't bother with a camera, the parking sensors that ship as OEM are really good and I've never found myself in a situation where I've thought 'if only I had better visibility out the back'. It's a gizmo and if that's your thing, it's a bit of fun but to replace the 310 just for that seems a bit much IMHO.

Watch the fitting though, a colleague had them retro fitted to his GT and the dealer didn't do the best job of setting them flush and every time he washed the car, he'd snag them. Eventually had them sorted out but just check carefully before you drive away.

I can't live without them in London. Everyone is so impatient and if you want to save yourself having some impatient a-hole shoving past and nearly hitting you, you've got to perfect the 5 second parallel park.

Lol, ask anyone who has a camera if they thinks it's just a gizmo, it's extremely useful and if you have rear R LED's it really helps with rear visibility.

They could double the cost of that option and I'd still get it.



Jim

[Snoopy]

The retro fit ones from the dealer are quite bulky compared to the factory fit flush ones. You can see them in the accessory catalogue available to download from the vw.co.uk site.

[JoeGTI]

Personally I wouldn't... when they actually defeat the purpose of keeping the bumper looking pristine (The sensors, factory or retro-fit are fugly IMO).

[AGB]

Lol, ask anyone who has a camera if they thinks it's just a gizmo, it's extremely useful and if you have rear R LED's it really helps with rear visibility.

They could double the cost of that option and I'd still get it.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great accessory but parking sensors are far more useful IMHO.

From what I heard through the group, the reversing light on the LED tails wasn't as bright?

What is the resolving power of the rear camera in dim lighting conditions? I imagine it's not going to be great at resolving shadow detail unless I'm misinformed about the brightness of the reverse light?