jezyg

Active Member
Feb 21, 2003
2,381
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My daughter picked up her Ibiza Xcellence 115 DSG at the weekend, ordered in July. Just in time as no more factory orders being taken due to arrival of the FL car early next year. We now have two white Ibiza's and a white Born; at least I only need one Chipex kit I already have for my Ibiza. Maybe I will have to change colour come change time late next year...

As for the car, I actually prefer the 8 inch display to the 10 inch in my Xcellence Lux, less busy and clearer overall IMO. 17 wheels also generate less road noise and ride is more supple. I optioned ACC and high beam assist as at £275 was worthwhile upgrade especially high beam assist as living in a village lots of dark unlit country roads around us. I also picked up a unused Ibiza spare wheel and jack kit for £50. Tried to fit a plug and play rear camera, but would not activate and the removal tool which was too thin and sharp so got stuck. Ended up having to remove top lid of infotainment unit to remove removal tool. The rear parking sensors are good enough TBH, so I am not too worried or worth playing about with the so called 'plug and play' kit from China, on a brand new car, was only £25 at least and I have messaged seller. Only other addition is Rimblades in grey, as added protection being a young and new driver! Before and after below.

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Looks good👍.

Be aware that wheel rim protectors such as Rimblades, Alloygators and other similar products aren’t generally recommended for diamond cut alloys. Dirt and grit can get between the inner surface of the wheel rim protector and the diamond cut surface of the alloy. That dirt/grit then acts as an abrasive, and can rub away at the clear protective lacquer on the wheel. If this happens, white worm corrosion is likely to set - initially undetected behind the rim protector, but will eventually spread beyond the rim protector to the visible diamond cut sections of the the alloys.

Edit; Just did an internet search and below is the AI result from the search;

It is not recommended to use self-adhesive rim protectors like Rimblades on diamond-cut alloys because they can trap water and salt, potentially causing corrosion and damage to the finish.

Some professional wheel repairers also strongly advise against them, stating that they can lead to long-term corrosion and may void guarantees. While Rimblades suggests their products can be fitted to diamond-cut wheels with the use of a primer, many users and professionals have reported issues with corrosion and peeling paint caused by these protectors.
 
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Looks good👍.

Be aware that wheel rim protectors such as Rimblades, Alloygators and other similar products aren’t generally recommended for diamond cut alloys. Dirt and grit can get between the inner surface of the wheel rim protector and the diamond cut surface of the alloy. That dirt/grit then acts as an abrasive, and can rub away at the clear protective lacquer on the wheel. If this happens, white worm corrosion is likely to set - initially undetected behind the rim protector, but will eventually spread beyond the rim protector to the visible diamond cut sections of the the alloys.

Edit; Just did an internet search and below is the AI result from the search;

It is not recommended to use self-adhesive rim protectors like Rimblades on diamond-cut alloys because they can trap water and salt, potentially causing corrosion and damage to the finish.

Some professional wheel repairers also strongly advise against them, stating that they can lead to long-term corrosion and may void guarantees. While Rimblades suggests their products can be fitted to diamond-cut wheels with the use of a primer, many users and professionals have reported issues with corrosion and peeling paint caused by these protectors.

Thanks for that, yes that was I read up on too these are rimsavers which stick on not the clip on type. They have there own issues but don't tend to trap moisture or dirt if applied properly. My plan was to remove them after a year or two max and replace if necessary as oppssed to leaving them on.

It's one of those 50/50 prevent kerb rash from a new driver or possibly issue with the top coat. Being brand new wheels should be fine short term. Washed once a week and rinsed off after being on salty roads to remove contamination. Seems to be less of an issue on newer than older wheels. Also being properly applied and removing any airgaps. Thanks really insightful! ☺️
 
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I think regularly checking the Rimblades are still firmly attached will be important, especially if there’s been any contact with a kerb or other similar obstacles that might compromise the adhesive quality of the (presumably) tape used to attach them to the wheels.

There was a discussion topic over on Pistonheads a few years ago with a picture showing what happens if a rim protector becomes partially detached and the flailing end whips round and hits the car bodywork with each wheel revolution; it can make quite a mess of the paintwork - and potentially also cause bodywork damage. I’ll see if I can find the discussion topic and post a link up.

Edit; here’s the link to the discussion topic over on Pistonheads. The picture is towards the bottom of the discussion topic;

 
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I think regularly checking the Rimblades are still firmly attached will be important, especially if there’s been any contact with a kerb or other similar obstacles that might compromise the adhesive quality of the (presumably) tape used to attach them to the wheels.

There was a discussion topic over on Pistonheads a few years ago with a picture showing what happens if a rim protector becomes partially detached and the flailing end whips round and hits the car bodywork with each wheel revolution; it can make quite a mess of the paintwork - and potentially also cause bodywork damage. I’ll see if I can find the discussion topic and post a link up.

Edit; here’s the link to the discussion topic over on Pistonheads. The picture is towards the bottom of the discussion topic;


Thanks, yes, I will check regularly when cleaning, I put them on a previous Grandland X after kerbing and repair diamond cut wheels. To be fair they never shifted even after having tire replaced, as assumed that would cause it to come off and need to replace but it staid solid even 12 months later when we traded it in.

Ensuring you clean thoroughly and use the promoter (both supplied) they are pretty solid with the 3M tape which apparently is stronger than it used to be, I also made sure the car was not driven for 24 hours to ensure glue had reached full-strength. As soon as one gets damaged it will be replace, but thanks for the link is well worth looking at!!

One to two years they will be fully removed as don't intend to leave them on for too long either.
 
Lovely looking car in white , I couldn’t get my preferred colours (white / blue) as out of stock at time so settled for magnetic grey - it’s ok if a little boring. FR trim quite nice and the 115 engine pretty decent .
I’m liking those 17” alloys though.
Got a text the other day ref servicing - apparently it’s due it’s 1st service in 3 weeks time at a cost of only £299 ! My Seat app says another years time it’s due so will have to see what’s correct. It’s only done 4k in 1st year as a very low mile driver . On a personal lease so it’s my responsibility to get it serviced but looking at paperwork I can use genuine parts and go elsewhere rather than the local seat dealer (my son in law has a garage) so may look at that. Dealer mentioned I can wait for car so I assume not a big service the 1st one. But nearly £300 for prob an hours wait is extortionate- what’s yours thoughts on this ?
 
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Lovely looking car in white , I couldn’t get my preferred colours (white / blue) as out of stock at time so settled for magnetic grey - it’s ok if a little boring. FR trim quite nice and the 115 engine pretty decent .
I’m liking those 17” alloys though.
Got a text the other day ref servicing - apparently it’s due it’s 1st service in 3 weeks time at a cost of only £299 ! My Seat app says another years time it’s due so will have to see what’s correct. It’s only done 4k in 1st year as a very low mile driver . On a personal lease so it’s my responsibility to get it serviced but looking at paperwork I can use genuine parts and go elsewhere rather than the local seat dealer (my son in law has a garage) so may look at that. Dealer mentioned I can wait for car so I assume not a big service the 1st one. But nearly £300 for prob an hours wait is extortionate- what’s yours thoughts on this ?

Thanks, I like magnetic grey, suits the FR especially the interior and was my daughters second choice. As she wanted to add ACC and high beam assist, it had to be a factory order so she could choose the colour and also the air vents as she wanted grey not purple. I do like the wheels, I actually prefer them to the 18 on my Xcellence Lux which like you was a lease so could only choose the colour.

My Ibiza lease car is on the 2 year service plan not the year one they seem to put private customers on, my daughters is yearly but we bought the £299 two year service plan to cover that off. Does your SEAT app not tell you how long it is to the first service? As £299 sounds like a year two service (bigger) not 1st year one. As I mainly do motorway and fast road miles mine has stuck with two years so far.

As I am only on a two year lease, I may swap two or three months early and pay off the 50% of remaining rentals - as works out cheaper than paying for it to be serviced!
 
Yeah Seat app just says next inspection 375 days which would be correct if 2 yearly servicing but I’m only a low miles driver and looking on Seat website 10000 miles / yearly is prob what I should be on. I’ll double check price on this, cheers for reply.
 
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Yeah Seat app just says next inspection 375 days which would be correct if 2 yearly servicing but I’m only a low miles driver and looking on Seat website 10000 miles / yearly is prob what I should be on. I’ll double check price on this, cheers for reply.

No problem, I only do 6000 miles but it is all fast roads and has longlife oil so 2 years is correct. I would expect yours's to be the same if you do allot of stop start then it will be within 2 years as is adaptive as well. Do check as better to be safe than sorry, especially come end of lease. I checked mine at the start as like you confused by it. Cynical me, feels its a way of getting retail customers to service every year...
 
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Dealer is still saying yearly servicing or 10,000 miles whichever comes first. They did revised the price though - now £229 for a 1st service. Might just bite the bullet and get it done , as you say it will keep the lease company happy.
On a different note have you noticed not many Ibiza ‘s on the UK roads today. I live in the south near Bournemouth and I can go weeks until I see another one. Millions of fiesta’s + corsa’s everywhere but newer Ibiza’s seem rare.
 
Dealer is still saying yearly servicing or 10,000 miles whichever comes first. They did revised the price though - now £229 for a 1st service. Might just bite the bullet and get it done , as you say it will keep the lease company happy.
On a different note have you noticed not many Ibiza ‘s on the UK roads today. I live in the south near Bournemouth and I can go weeks until I see another one. Millions of fiesta’s + corsa’s everywhere but newer Ibiza’s seem rare.

Not just newer Ibizas but new cars in general around where I live (Norfolk) seem quite rare. I’ve seen very few 75 plate cars on the roads and the new 75 plate has been out for two months now.

If people’s finances are tight just now and finding it difficult to make ends meet (and many probably are in that position), a new car won’t be top of the list of things ‘invest’ in - meeting mortgage/ rent payments, utility bills and putting food on the table will take priority over a new car purchase.
 
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That’s the opposite down here , loads of newer cars on the roads 25 onwards and more electric vehicles showing their ugly heads.
 
No problem, I only do 6000 miles but it is all fast roads and has longlife oil so 2 years is correct. I would expect yours's to be the same if you do allot of stop start then it will be within 2 years as is adaptive as well. Do check as better to be safe than sorry, especially come end of lease. I checked mine at the start as like you confused by it. Cynical me, feels its a way of getting retail customers to service every year...

I was told the opposite, that I was on the longer service interval and would be a max of two years or sooner depending on usage. Good old stealers and fickle advice! I will just wait till the car tells me it needs a service and the app has a countdown, currently 392 or 14100 miles to oil service.

I see a newer FR regularly locally and did see a white 75 plate FR yesterday. But I don't see as many Ibiza's as I do Polo's or A1's for that matter.
 
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