Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
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Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
Man what a nice car.
Unfortunately it needed some love after having been maintained (the term is used loosely) through the local car wash. Its really mind boggling how much damage can get inflicted in such a relatively short time.
So jumping straight in the first order of business was a cosmetic detail on the engine bay. No water was introduced. For the underside of the bonnet some Carchem APC @ 1:5 was sprayed into a MF towel and all the dirt wiped away. This was followed by working Dodo Juice Lime Prime into the painted areas using MF applicators by hand. The Lime Prime was left to haze then buffed off.
Before
After
For the engine bay itself, the same wipe down process was used, and then the plastics were dressed using Carpro PERL neat. The carbon fibre piece was polished using a Shield DA, 4" Orange Lake Country pad and Menzerna 3-in-1.
Before
After
Then it was time to tackle the fender wells, tyres, wheels and brake calipers which were all given an initial rinse with a Karcher K7 pressure washer.
Carchem APC @ 1:5 through a Gloria Foam Master was used to clean the fender liners, tyres and the initial clean of the wheels. The tyres were cleaned a second time and the wheels then covered in TAC Systems Iron Zero, which was left to dwell before being agitated and rinsed. Any tar spots were removed using Carpro Tar-x.
Before
During
After
The tyres would later be dressed with Carpro PERL neat.
With all the dirt work out of the way it was time to clean the rest of the exterior and decontaminate it.
It had a bit of dirt on it so the exterior was pressure rinsed to get rid it of as much of this as possible.
Even the exhaust tips looked quite sad
It was then covered liberally in Turtle Wax Hyperfoam which was left to dwell before being pressured rinsed off.
Then it was washed using Carchem Luxury Shampoo and lambswool wash mitts.
The car was then covered in TAC Systems Iron Zero, which was left to dwell, then covered in some snow foam to extended the dwell time. As you can see, it bled like crazy - a sign that the surfaces were heavily contaminated with embedded iron particles.
Visible tar spots were removed using Carpro Tar-x and any remaining contamination was removed using Shield Heavy Duty Clay with Gyeon Clay Lube. With the paint now bare, the thickness of each panel was measured in multiple places to ensure there was enough to safely remove the below surface defects. As you will see (especially on the bonnet, and (not depicted, a spot on the roof) there were a few places where deeper scratches were left behind in favour of the longevity of the paint.'
The roof was not spared either. Sorry for the poor quality pic.
No after shot - it was hard enough trying to get the before pic
But there are at least a couple of paint correction pics.
Before
After 1 set of 8 passes using Menzerna SHC300 and Lake Country Blue Hybrid Foamed Wool Pads on the Flex 3401.
After finishing with Menzerna 3-in-1 on Orange Lake Country Hybrid Foam Pads.
The bootlid before
After (the same process as above)
The exhaust tips were polished using Meguiars NXT All Metal Polish but sadly had already see too much corrosion from lack of proper maintenance to get them looking any better.
Before
After
The exterior plastics and door rubbers were cleaned using Shield Heavy Duty Vinyl and Rubber Cleaner and protected using Carpro PERL. The glass was then cleaned with DNA-e Glass Cleaner.
The paint and exterior glass were given a final wipe down using TAC System Quartz Max before the interior was cleaned.
Brush
Vacuum
Clean the leather, rubbers and plastics with Carchem APC @1:20
Damp wipe down
Dry wipe
Protect leather with Gyeon Leather Coat and plastics with Optimum Optiseal
Clean the glass with DNA-e Glass Cleaner
Vacuum
The exhaust tips were given a quick polish with Meguiars NXT All Metal Polish
Here are some pictures of the completed car.
And my favorite pic...
Total time spent = 36 hours.
Thanks for looking and as always any questions or comments are welcome.
Unfortunately it needed some love after having been maintained (the term is used loosely) through the local car wash. Its really mind boggling how much damage can get inflicted in such a relatively short time.
So jumping straight in the first order of business was a cosmetic detail on the engine bay. No water was introduced. For the underside of the bonnet some Carchem APC @ 1:5 was sprayed into a MF towel and all the dirt wiped away. This was followed by working Dodo Juice Lime Prime into the painted areas using MF applicators by hand. The Lime Prime was left to haze then buffed off.
Before
After
For the engine bay itself, the same wipe down process was used, and then the plastics were dressed using Carpro PERL neat. The carbon fibre piece was polished using a Shield DA, 4" Orange Lake Country pad and Menzerna 3-in-1.
Before
After
Then it was time to tackle the fender wells, tyres, wheels and brake calipers which were all given an initial rinse with a Karcher K7 pressure washer.
Carchem APC @ 1:5 through a Gloria Foam Master was used to clean the fender liners, tyres and the initial clean of the wheels. The tyres were cleaned a second time and the wheels then covered in TAC Systems Iron Zero, which was left to dwell before being agitated and rinsed. Any tar spots were removed using Carpro Tar-x.
Before
During
After
The tyres would later be dressed with Carpro PERL neat.
With all the dirt work out of the way it was time to clean the rest of the exterior and decontaminate it.
It had a bit of dirt on it so the exterior was pressure rinsed to get rid it of as much of this as possible.
Even the exhaust tips looked quite sad
It was then covered liberally in Turtle Wax Hyperfoam which was left to dwell before being pressured rinsed off.
Then it was washed using Carchem Luxury Shampoo and lambswool wash mitts.
The car was then covered in TAC Systems Iron Zero, which was left to dwell, then covered in some snow foam to extended the dwell time. As you can see, it bled like crazy - a sign that the surfaces were heavily contaminated with embedded iron particles.
Visible tar spots were removed using Carpro Tar-x and any remaining contamination was removed using Shield Heavy Duty Clay with Gyeon Clay Lube. With the paint now bare, the thickness of each panel was measured in multiple places to ensure there was enough to safely remove the below surface defects. As you will see (especially on the bonnet, and (not depicted, a spot on the roof) there were a few places where deeper scratches were left behind in favour of the longevity of the paint.'
The roof was not spared either. Sorry for the poor quality pic.
No after shot - it was hard enough trying to get the before pic
But there are at least a couple of paint correction pics.
Before
After 1 set of 8 passes using Menzerna SHC300 and Lake Country Blue Hybrid Foamed Wool Pads on the Flex 3401.
After finishing with Menzerna 3-in-1 on Orange Lake Country Hybrid Foam Pads.
The bootlid before
After (the same process as above)
The exhaust tips were polished using Meguiars NXT All Metal Polish but sadly had already see too much corrosion from lack of proper maintenance to get them looking any better.
Before
After
The exterior plastics and door rubbers were cleaned using Shield Heavy Duty Vinyl and Rubber Cleaner and protected using Carpro PERL. The glass was then cleaned with DNA-e Glass Cleaner.
The paint and exterior glass were given a final wipe down using TAC System Quartz Max before the interior was cleaned.
Brush
Vacuum
Clean the leather, rubbers and plastics with Carchem APC @1:20
Damp wipe down
Dry wipe
Protect leather with Gyeon Leather Coat and plastics with Optimum Optiseal
Clean the glass with DNA-e Glass Cleaner
Vacuum
The exhaust tips were given a quick polish with Meguiars NXT All Metal Polish
Here are some pictures of the completed car.
And my favorite pic...
Total time spent = 36 hours.
Thanks for looking and as always any questions or comments are welcome.
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
36 hours???
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
Lawrence, I just love the detailed write-ups! Your passion for detailing is just out of this world.
Awesome work buddy!!!!!
Awesome work buddy!!!!!
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
Yes. Sometimes even more, spread over a few days.billionairebum wrote:36 hours???
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
ThanksPolo Playa 1.8 wrote:Awesome work as always Lawrence
Yes - you seem confused?billionairebum wrote:36 hours???
Thanks for your kind words bud - glad you enjoy the write upsMbuzi wrote:Lawrence, I just love the detailed write-ups! Your passion for detailing is just out of this world.
Awesome work buddy!!!!!
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
No confused, did not know that it takes that much time. That is a lot of dedication man. Amazing.
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
Yeah there is a lot of time involved in a full detail like this. If you think about it, most times, cars have been subjected to months if not years worth of abuse, and detailers are then given hours to reverse the process.billionairebum wrote:No confused, did not know that it takes that much time. That is a lot of dedication man. Amazing.
There are also a lot of hidden items that eat up time - things like taking all the paint measurements, recording them, analyzing them and coming up with a game plan will take easily an hour. Then taping off exposed edges can zap another. a few different test spots dialing in the correct polishing combo can get close to an hour, depending on the paint/issues etc.
But on this detail the bulk of the time was spent on the 2 step paint correction process.
Most of my details, depending on the work being done, range from around 25 to 35 hours, but there have been some that were >50 hours.
Its only once you see the amount of work that goes into doing a detail properly, that you can appreciate the guys offering multi-stage details for R500 to R1500 and taking 2 to 8 hours are just taking the piss - there is no way you can do an effective job, for that little money, that quickly.
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
"guys offering multi-stage details for R500 to R1500 and taking 2 to 8 hours". This is why I was surprised. Every time I read one of your posts it makes me want to jump into the detailing.....until you say 36 hours hahahaha. Really appreciate the detailed posts as always man. Would love to learn more about how and why on the paint readings that you take.
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
^^^^^ This really pisses me off and the worst part is that so many uneducated people(in the detail world that is), get caught in this trap .lawrence wrote:Yeah there is a lot of time involved in a full detail like this. If you think about it, most times, cars have been subjected to months if not years worth of abuse, and detailers are then given hours to reverse the process.billionairebum wrote:No confused, did not know that it takes that much time. That is a lot of dedication man. Amazing.
There are also a lot of hidden items that eat up time - things like taking all the paint measurements, recording them, analyzing them and coming up with a game plan will take easily an hour. Then taping off exposed edges can zap another. a few different test spots dialing in the correct polishing combo can get close to an hour, depending on the paint/issues etc.
But on this detail the bulk of the time was spent on the 2 step paint correction process.
Most of my details, depending on the work being done, range from around 25 to 35 hours, but there have been some that were >50 hours.
Its only once you see the amount of work that goes into doing a detail properly, that you can appreciate the guys offering multi-stage details for R500 to R1500 and taking 2 to 8 hours are just taking the piss - there is no way you can do an effective job, for that little money, that quickly.
Brilliant work as always Lawrence........ (how I wish I could be there for a few of your details )
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
Great Job Lawrence!
Could I ask where you purchased your Gloria foam master from?
Could I ask where you purchased your Gloria foam master from?
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
Thanks. I purchased it second-hand from someone off the Crazy Detailer forum. If I remember correctly he imported it...i don't think they are available locally but could be wrong.woofels wrote:Great Job Lawrence!
Could I ask where you purchased your Gloria foam master from?
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
The most basic of details is around 8 hours. Anything more than a one step and you will climb into the 20hour bracket very quickly.
Pay a good price for an exceptional detail that will keep your eyes so glued to your car that it can be called day dreaming, or pay a CHEAP price and boast to your bra's for the two weeks it looks good and then feel like a cake when the glaze is gone.
Pay a good price for an exceptional detail that will keep your eyes so glued to your car that it can be called day dreaming, or pay a CHEAP price and boast to your bra's for the two weeks it looks good and then feel like a cake when the glaze is gone.
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
If i could, maybe one day.
I would spend a day or even days with Lawrence, just to be there to assist, be involved and learn so much while he is doing his thing.
His work is just EPIC and i always look forward to his write ups cause you feel part of them while reading as he goes into detail.
I would spend a day or even days with Lawrence, just to be there to assist, be involved and learn so much while he is doing his thing.
His work is just EPIC and i always look forward to his write ups cause you feel part of them while reading as he goes into detail.
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
Good job Lawrence.
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
Great work Lawrence!
Anyone who has properly detailed a car like above be it your personal vehicle or not will tell you that it a time consuming, back breaking, tiring and expensive thing to do. I do this for my own vehicles and family members and I can tell you that it is not an easy job! People who tell me, "Yeah but the carwash down the road can do it for R500, then I tell them that's why your car looks the way it does."
Anyone who has properly detailed a car like above be it your personal vehicle or not will tell you that it a time consuming, back breaking, tiring and expensive thing to do. I do this for my own vehicles and family members and I can tell you that it is not an easy job! People who tell me, "Yeah but the carwash down the road can do it for R500, then I tell them that's why your car looks the way it does."
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
Good job Lawrence... Looks awesome from the pics.
Thats my Uncles car, i use it pretty often when im in Durban. A well deserved detail and im sure my uncle will be using your services more often now. I didn't realize he sent it to you, he did mention it was going to get detailed. Now that i know you did the task, i know the job is well done.
Thats my Uncles car, i use it pretty often when im in Durban. A well deserved detail and im sure my uncle will be using your services more often now. I didn't realize he sent it to you, he did mention it was going to get detailed. Now that i know you did the task, i know the job is well done.
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
Rsi huntered wrote:^^^^^ This really pisses me off and the worst part is that so many uneducated people(in the detail world that is), get caught in this trap .lawrence wrote:Yeah there is a lot of time involved in a full detail like this. If you think about it, most times, cars have been subjected to months if not years worth of abuse, and detailers are then given hours to reverse the process.billionairebum wrote:No confused, did not know that it takes that much time. That is a lot of dedication man. Amazing.
There are also a lot of hidden items that eat up time - things like taking all the paint measurements, recording them, analyzing them and coming up with a game plan will take easily an hour. Then taping off exposed edges can zap another. a few different test spots dialing in the correct polishing combo can get close to an hour, depending on the paint/issues etc.
But on this detail the bulk of the time was spent on the 2 step paint correction process.
Most of my details, depending on the work being done, range from around 25 to 35 hours, but there have been some that were >50 hours.
Its only once you see the amount of work that goes into doing a detail properly, that you can appreciate the guys offering multi-stage details for R500 to R1500 and taking 2 to 8 hours are just taking the piss - there is no way you can do an effective job, for that little money, that quickly.
Brilliant work as always Lawrence........ (how I wish I could be there for a few of your details )
Great job lawrance
On the above how does 1 get educated in the detailing world?
I was wondering how people just pop up detailing ?
I am a noob and dont know how long this has been around for?
cheers
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
Yeah there is a big difference between what I would call a production type detail and the type of detail typical of what I post where the paint is actually fixed through multiple polishing phases, and every nook and cranny is addressed...8VALVE-zn wrote:The most basic of details is around 8 hours. Anything more than a one step and you will climb into the 20hour bracket very quickly.
Pay a good price for an exceptional detail that will keep your eyes so glued to your car that it can be called day dreaming, or pay a CHEAP price and boast to your bra's for the two weeks it looks good and then feel like a cake when the glaze is gone.
As an example a production detail might consist of the below and take 6 to 8 hours.
Give wheels a basic wash (probably better than the local garage wash, but not 'right' due to lack of iron/tar remover etc)
Wash the car
Clay it (no iron/tar decon)
Apply an AIO (all-in-one) by machine - this will do a little chemical cleaning, a little hiding of swirls, a little removal of them and a little protection
Buff off the residue
Clean the glass inside and out
Dress tyres/plastics
Vacuum interior
Wipe down plastics
But there are no 'rules' about what a detail should consist of...
Thanks for your kind wordsUnobeat wrote:If i could, maybe one day.
I would spend a day or even days with Lawrence, just to be there to assist, be involved and learn so much while he is doing his thing.
His work is just EPIC and i always look forward to his write ups cause you feel part of them while reading as he goes into detail.
If you are around and I am detailing, you are welcome to come over.... if you around and I am not detailing, you are still welcome to come for a chat
Life160 wrote:Good job Lawrence.
Thanks bud
Thanks. If only those 'penny wise and pound foolish' people realized how much of their paint's lifespan is removed by through the initial poor washing and drying inducing damage, and then the subsequent removal of too much paint through over polishing it by hacks making a quick buck.cli 16v wrote:Great work Lawrence!
Anyone who has properly detailed a car like above be it your personal vehicle or not will tell you that it a time consuming, back breaking, tiring and expensive thing to do. I do this for my own vehicles and family members and I can tell you that it is not an easy job! People who tell me, "Yeah but the carwash down the road can do it for R500, then I tell them that's why your car looks the way it does."
Thanks for your kinds words bud.Arbee wrote:Good job Lawrence... Looks awesome from the pics.
Thats my Uncles car, i use it pretty often when im in Durban. A well deserved detail and im sure my uncle will be using your services more often now. I didn't realize he sent it to you, he did mention it was going to get detailed. Now that i know you did the task, i know the job is well done.
Some just pop up because they think all it takes is letting a machine spread some stuff in a bottle over the car to make it shiny, and that there is easy money to be made. Unfortunately if they do not take them time to educate themselves, have a passion for it or CARE about what is right for the customer's car and if they care more about making a quick buck, then you land up with this huge disparity in the market where they offer a 'detail' at say R500 and 4-6 hours and vs others detailers offering their clients 20 to 50 hours worth of work backed by years of experience and knowledge, and certainly not at R500Rourke wrote:Great job lawrance
On the above how does 1 get educated in the detailing world?
I was wondering how people just pop up detailing ?
I am a noob and dont know how long this has been around for?
cheers
This leaves you, like most, at a loss as to why detail X costs R500 and detailer Y charges R7500 (as an example). It is like you comparing apples to aeroplanes
Mostly it stems from a lack of education - if you are lucky, your ballie teaches you how to wash the car, but he teaches you what his dad taught him back when paint was VERY different to what it is now. The dealership certainly doesn't teach you when you purchase a new car - mostly because they themselves don't know (or, in my opinion, they would employ proper and safe washing methods when servicing your car to PROLONG the life of your paint, not reduce its longevity at your expense).
So, where to learn....
Well right on this forum you can start by reading this guide I wrote in an attempt to help educate you guys - it already a good few years old, but is still mostly relevant. http://vwclub.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=166322
Then this thread was an attempt to try and centralise some of the questions being asked in multiple threads.... there are gems of info burried in there http://vwclub.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=180689.
If you are in Durban I could potentially give you some training - PM me
And then there is Youtube.
So....
Ammo NYC - Larry's videos are easy to understand and a good starting point to learn whats what
Anything you come across with Jason Rose, Mike Phillips, Kevin Browne will be great technical knowledge
Paul Dalton from Miracle Detail has a few good videos but not really from a learning perspective, more just eye candy (for a detailer)
White Details is the same, but better
Then there are few detailing forums - the Crazy Detailer (forum sponsor) being the most prominent local one, and then I'd say places like Autopia and Autogeekonline in the states and Detailing World in the UK - but there are many others.
It's a never-ending journey of learning though, exacerbated the further you want to go down the rabbit hole, but acquiring the base knowledge needed to maintain your own vehicle is not over complicated. In fact, Larry has just recently released a little series on Youtube called... The Ultimate Car Detailing Guide https://www.youtube.com/user/AMMONYCdotcom/videos
And lastly you can just ask here (preferably the detailing advice thread so its in one place and others can benefit too) and I will try answer you....
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
Thanks lawrence
Will give it a good read and also tube the vids etc
Cheers
Will give it a good read and also tube the vids etc
Cheers
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
nice work... so how much do you charge then for a decent exterior detail?
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
Thanks budUvy wrote:Awesome LA.
ThanksStu wrote:nice work... so how much do you charge then for a decent exterior detail?
Its almost impossible to say, without seeing the condition of the car, measuring the thickness of the paint, chatting to you to establish your current cleaning regime to identify areas for improvement and to then figure out what you would be prepared to do in terms of ongoing maintenance. Based on that, I can establish what is in the best interest of the car, and develop a quote from there. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to this.
Are you looking at having your wheels/undercarriage properly detailed too, or just a basic clean - this would influence the man-hours and products needed, and so obviously impacts on the price.
Are you looking for a mechanical decon (clay) only, or are you wanting a chemical decon too (iron and tar remover) which is recommended but can be omitted to reduce the price, if budget is a concern.
Are you wanting a simple wax or sealant or are you looking at a full ceramic coating - this could add significant cost (like thousands) to the detail.
As you can see, what person A offers as a 'Detail' could be dramatically different to what person B is offering and therefore trying to compare a the price of 2 different details is almost impossible, unless you are sure you are comparing like with like. This is where I think most of the concern is, as people see a detail being offered for R1000, and another for R10000 and think they can compare them with one being cheap and the other expensive.
So to answer your question.... I don't know what an 'exterior detail' consists of because we haven't yet set clear expectations of what is to be done. It could be R2k, but it could also be R8k...it really just depends on what is needed.
If you are looking for a closer ball park figure, please shoot me a PM.
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
ok makes sense - will give ya a shout in the new year
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Re: Alpine White BMW M4 - Detailed by Lawrence
Thread revival - Lawrence, I bought the Meguiars All Metal Polish a while back and attempted to clean my exhaust tips with it yesterday. I used a micro fibre cloth to apply the polish and "clean" the exhausts, but the inner 2 exhausts did not come out close to what I had hoped. Would you recommend the use of #0000 grade steel wool to try and get a deeper clean? Furthermore, can you recommend a cleaning agent to use before using the Megs metal polish, or is the polish sufficient?
2015 Audi S3 Sedan : Nappa leather seats, LED headlights, Panoramic sunroof, rear PDC, B & O sound system
2010 VW Golf 6 GTi : RNS-510 Nav | Xenons | Adaptive Chassis Control
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2010 VW Golf 6 GTi : RNS-510 Nav | Xenons | Adaptive Chassis Control
2005 VW Polo TDi (96kw) F/L
1996 Opel Kadett 160IS
1996 Citi Deco (Jazz Blue)