Tornado Red

[Golf7]

Hi all, new member here.
I've been watching the forum for a while and ordered my Golf 7 a month or so ago. No GTD/GTI for me I'm afraid, as it's a company car I couldn't justify the extra power and bling (I think my boss would have had kittens at the very mention of GTD/GTI).

I've gone with the following spec:
GT
2.0TDi 150ps
Tornado Red
Bi-Xenon headlights with LED daytime running lights
Climate control - 2Zone
Park assist
Badge deletion

I originally ordered the Pacific Blue (after many sleepless nights)!
Unfortunately I was a victim of the mis-selling of the Bi-Xenon lights/LED DRLs  (this problem has already been covered on the forum so I won't bore you all!) and after weeks of wrangling with the dealer and MK I ended up cancelling my original order which had already been allocated a build week and I replaced the metallic paint with the more expensive Bi-Xenon with LED DRLs option.
If I had stuck with my original order I would be taking delivery around now, but I spoke to VW customer services yesterday my new order is being built at the end of May so will have it early July all being well. 

So, after that long introduction.....

I do around 30k miles per year, mainly motorway miles, and will have this car for a very long 4 years! I plan to stick front mudflaps on (maybe rear ones too).

From the day I pick the car up, what is the best thing to do to ensure the Tornado Red paint stays looking as it does in the showroom? Is there something I should be applying to the paint-work on the day I collect it, prior to waxing it etc?

Any advice, comments, help will be appreciated!

Moderators: Please feel free to move/remove this post if I am annoying the GTD/GTI owners by muddying the waters with a lower trim car!!

Many thanks!!

Chris

[matchboy]

Welcome!  Great colour too!

Take a look here, and also the link that's in this link - should answer all your questions!

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=253471.0

Don't get the supaguard!! 

[Golf7]

Thanks matchboy,

I am a dufus, posting a topic that is already covered 

I'll take a look at that thread.

I have no intention of having the supaguard, whether it's any good or not aside, as it's a company car I just can't justify the expense out of my own pocket, although I don't mind spending a little bit on some products and using plenty of elbow grease!

[monkeyhanger]

You should have persuaded you boss into getting you that GTD. The economy is still amazing and due to it's superior residuals a GTD costs slightly less to run than a GT150. GT has approx 47% GFV and GTD has 56% GFV on solutions for average mileage. Proportionally the GTD should still be a better buy even at higher than average mileage.

VW Red is very fade resistant - don't let the sight of Pink Vauxhalls that started off Red give you kittens.

[Golf7]

Hi monkeyhangar,

I have been wrangling with the GT vs GTD issue since ordering the GT, but in retrospect I think there are a few factors that will have made the GTD unworkable for the company:

1) The list price of the GT i have on order is £25,242 (at time of ordering)
    The GTD would be almost £1600 more (I need to add nav and would like park assist) at £26,820
Although the monthly lease price may have worked out similar (although I am guessing as we didn't get a comparative quote) the list price plays a big part, both from a taxation point of view, and more so from an internal politics point of view (hierarchy etc)

2) We had agreed the car spec with our bosses in Germany earlier in the year prior to the GTD specs/pricing being announced and I already caused a fuss by cancelling and replacing the order due to the headlight issue. I don't want to sign my own resignation by being a diva!

3) I am customer facing, so it's good to show that business is going well, but perhaps not too well! Don't want to appear too flash and that we charge too much for our goods! I think the GT with the few extras I've added strikes the balance.

4) The final issue, and I don't want to upset anybody too much....delivery; my A3 goes back on 28th June so need the replacement as soon as possible after that as will be in a hire car until the new car arrives.

In conclusion though, GTD would have been a dream come true

[matchboy]

Cancel the company car, take the car allowance, get the GTD personally and save a load of money on tax! 

[Sootchucker]

Red is one of those intermediate colours to look after - not as forgiving or easy as white, but not as painful as black

Just make sure a sponge or an automatic car wash goes no where near it, buy a decent lambswool wash mit and learn how to clean the car properly. Don't use a lot of pressure, and try and wash in straight lines (if possible). Use a good quality shampoo (not a cheap supermarket £1 job) that has very good sliding properties, and you will minimise the swirls or cobwebs that will ultimately appear - not a lot you can do about that really.

When the swirls need seeing to there are 2 possibilities. The best, hardest and potentially most expensive is a machine polish with either a rotary polisher (for advanced users only), or a DA Polisher (for beginners / intermediates). This done well, will bring the paint back in most conditions to better than it left the factory - totally scratch and swirl free, however you shouldn't do this too frequently as each pass requires the use of abrasives in the polish which do remove a small amount of paint each time (usually only a few microns), but repeated correction, could result in a few years in strikethrough. This is when you have worn all the lacquer away and are down to the base coat. Have a look over at the detailing world website (especially the "Showroom" section in the Gallery), as most of these were done by amateurs.

The second option is to use a polish product with fillers in. Various ones are on the market with the most popular ones being probably - Autooglym Super Resin Polish (often referred to simple as SRP), or Poorboys Black Hole, although many more exist. These fillers polishers work by (as the name suggests), containing fillers to fill in the shallow scratches and soften the edges so that the light doesn't pick up the scratches so well, and gives the "appearance" of getting rid of them. However, filler polishes are temporary only and don't actually remove the scratches, just fill them - they will re-appear in a few washes. However the beauty of these filler polishes is that they are completely safe and ideal for someone just starting out at detailing.

The best bet is to not get too paranoid, and learn as I say good washing and drying techniques (explained in matchboy's link above), as prevention is much better than cure.

Enjoy the car, I'm sure it will be great. 

[Golf7]

Thanks for all the advice Norbreck21a, I'll bear it all in mind and will try not to get too precious about it, I want it to look great, but its always a challenge keeping it clean when doing so many miles. At the end of the day its a company car anyway.


Matchboy: Not a bad idea and I did consider that a few years back when I got my A3, but the way I look at it is this:
The Golf will cost me about £70/month in bik tax. I pay the company no more than £30 a month for the private miles I drive in the car. The company puts all the diesel in, the car is taxed, fully maintained, tyres are included. That is cheap motoring!
I couldn't be arsed with the hassle of sorting my own car and wouldn't want to be sticking 30k miles a year on a car that is mine. The company pays any excess mileage charge at the end of the lease and they also get all the touching up done so we are not hit with extra charges from the lease company. If I have a change of career or if the worst happens and I lose my job, I hand the keys back to the boss and it's one less thing to worry about. I should concentrate on being happy to be having the GT for £100 per month, rather than being disappointed it isn't a GTD.

The Mrs. has a nice A1 at the moment but she gets bored of her cars every 18 months and is developing a need for speed so we might try to pick up a nice low mileage GTD for her in a year or twos time which would be the best of both worlds for me! (she would have to pay for her GTD though!!) 

[matchboy]

  She can pay, you can drive it!

Yep, company cars do cost a little more but the pay off is the complete lack of hassle.  And sometimes you can't put a price on that!!

[Hawaii-Five-O]

Welcome "Golf7"

I posted this great detailing link yesterday, but just for you, here it is again

http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=66113.0

Just don't pay for SupaGuard or GardX.... save your money and buy a clay bar and some lovely carnauba wax from the forum sponsors: http://www.waxamomo.co.uk (think you get a 5% discount too)