Long overdue write-up but is one that I decided that I would do after Nigel helped me install a few bits and bobs.
BACKGROUND
Being a somewhat lightweight in mods, my abilities are limited to the washer-jet fans and cupholder mods
. As you can imagine I often see things that interest me but are either beyond my capabilities or I just don't have the time to investigate or sort out. When it came to Electric Folding Mirrors I knew that I would have to call upon services from professionals or a fellow forum enthusiasts. Seeing NHN appearing to be the OEM retrofit-king I starting asking if this was something he could consider installing for me; funnily enough it was.
I'm sure Nigel thought at some point I was a 'hoax customer' but he had the patience to see through my questions and anxieties and a few conversations later, between juggling work, Nigel's work and Smudge's monopoly over his time we finally committed to a date and agreed the work that would be undertaken.
THE INSTALLATION
After some drama at Audi Nigel and I finally meet. A quick conversation about what we would be doing and some time spent on eyeing up his work in progress car (shockingly WIP) and we were ready to start work on mine. Well, after a cuppa tea anyway!
It's probably worth mentioning at this point that I gave Nigel 2 hours notice to source some 09 Rear lights which he somehow managed to materialize so thank you and hats off to you
Back on subject - the install... so the door panels were taken out and the exisiting mirrors were popped off, the motor and door modules were removed and replaced. Throughout the process Nigel explained things and tried to educate me on ceratin aspects of tackling car mods in a sensible manner so that I would have an idea of what to do should I ever wish to try some mods myself in the future. This was something that I really appreciated as I am somewhat a bit of a late bloomer for car mods.
Nothing more really to talk about the process here so here are some exciting pictures of the new mirror motor:
Anyway, seeing as Nigel had the door panels out I quickly dropped a bombshell on him and asked if he could install some illuminated BOSE speaker grills which i had kicking about for a while
. After spending what seemed like hours on testing the door lighting circuits as well as fixing the damaged product, the speakers grills were in and working! The end result actually looks identical to originals until the headlights come on:
A picture from another forum to show what they look like when on:
Ok so fast forward some more drama and the door switch was on and fucntional. Again not much to see so here is an equally exciting picture of the switch:
On with the 09 Rear Lights which Nige pulled out of a magic hat. Now these were done probably done in 5 minutes whilst I was on the phone so I missed the process however I have been informed but several people that they are plug and play! You've all seen rear lights on other cars so I am just throwing this pic in as you can just make out the original in the boot and the contrast can be seen quite nicely:
Seeing as Nigel was on the roll we also exchange the rear shelf string to the lovely 8L retractable strings. Needed some minor drilling to the shelf and some glue but I think this has taken away that annoying thud sound you get (when it sounds like the parcel shelf is knocking against something). Not much to see but here is a Work in Progress shot of the retractables being fitted:
I also took the opprtunity to ask Nigel about my 'saggy door' problem where the door lock catches the hinge as it closes. Out comes a screwdriver and 5 minutes later my door is fixed also - RESULT!!
To top it off, he noticed that my Glove box wasn't opening properly and popped over to my neighbour's house to borrow grease! This was going the extra mile and I was well and truely impressed and thankful for him for doing so. A few minutes later and my glove box was the best it has ever been. Top Man!!
In short, by the end of the day the following activity had taken place on my car:
- Auto folding mirrors
- Illuminated BOSE speaker grills - come on when headlight are on and stay one for some time after keys are removed from engine and doors are opened. Very Nice!
- 09 Rear Lights
- Parcel shelf retractable strings
- Saggy door fixed
- Stubborn Glovebox fixed
Unfortunately there are no real end result picturs as these are all things that allow the car to still look stock so this is probably the end of this thread.
SUMMARY
What started out as single mirror mod ended with NHN addressing several issues on my car and I am positive that Audi could not have done a better job. It is also nice to see someone, who is working on your car, that REALLY cares about the end result and ensuring the job is done properly with a perfect finish!
If there is anyone out there who, like me, isn't comfotable with picking up a spanner and requires some form of retrofitting then I would highly recommend using NHN for his services.
I can safely say that I was very happy at the end of the day and despite a few hiccups, some very long hours and 2 return trips, it was an absolute pleasure to meet NHN.
Finally I thought I'd share this moment with you guys as it certainly put us into hysterics for a while:
Nige, you are an absolute star and I honestly had a good laugh throughout day! The work you did was ace and I am still loving it.
Thank you!
Pii
BACKGROUND
Being a somewhat lightweight in mods, my abilities are limited to the washer-jet fans and cupholder mods
. As you can imagine I often see things that interest me but are either beyond my capabilities or I just don't have the time to investigate or sort out. When it came to Electric Folding Mirrors I knew that I would have to call upon services from professionals or a fellow forum enthusiasts. Seeing NHN appearing to be the OEM retrofit-king I starting asking if this was something he could consider installing for me; funnily enough it was.I'm sure Nigel thought at some point I was a 'hoax customer' but he had the patience to see through my questions and anxieties and a few conversations later, between juggling work, Nigel's work and Smudge's monopoly over his time we finally committed to a date and agreed the work that would be undertaken.
THE INSTALLATION
After some drama at Audi Nigel and I finally meet. A quick conversation about what we would be doing and some time spent on eyeing up his work in progress car (shockingly WIP) and we were ready to start work on mine. Well, after a cuppa tea anyway!
It's probably worth mentioning at this point that I gave Nigel 2 hours notice to source some 09 Rear lights which he somehow managed to materialize so thank you and hats off to you
Back on subject - the install... so the door panels were taken out and the exisiting mirrors were popped off, the motor and door modules were removed and replaced. Throughout the process Nigel explained things and tried to educate me on ceratin aspects of tackling car mods in a sensible manner so that I would have an idea of what to do should I ever wish to try some mods myself in the future. This was something that I really appreciated as I am somewhat a bit of a late bloomer for car mods.
Nothing more really to talk about the process here so here are some exciting pictures of the new mirror motor:
Anyway, seeing as Nigel had the door panels out I quickly dropped a bombshell on him and asked if he could install some illuminated BOSE speaker grills which i had kicking about for a while
. After spending what seemed like hours on testing the door lighting circuits as well as fixing the damaged product, the speakers grills were in and working! The end result actually looks identical to originals until the headlights come on:
A picture from another forum to show what they look like when on:
Ok so fast forward some more drama and the door switch was on and fucntional. Again not much to see so here is an equally exciting picture of the switch:
On with the 09 Rear Lights which Nige pulled out of a magic hat. Now these were done probably done in 5 minutes whilst I was on the phone so I missed the process however I have been informed but several people that they are plug and play! You've all seen rear lights on other cars so I am just throwing this pic in as you can just make out the original in the boot and the contrast can be seen quite nicely:
Seeing as Nigel was on the roll we also exchange the rear shelf string to the lovely 8L retractable strings. Needed some minor drilling to the shelf and some glue but I think this has taken away that annoying thud sound you get (when it sounds like the parcel shelf is knocking against something). Not much to see but here is a Work in Progress shot of the retractables being fitted:
I also took the opprtunity to ask Nigel about my 'saggy door' problem where the door lock catches the hinge as it closes. Out comes a screwdriver and 5 minutes later my door is fixed also - RESULT!!
To top it off, he noticed that my Glove box wasn't opening properly and popped over to my neighbour's house to borrow grease! This was going the extra mile and I was well and truely impressed and thankful for him for doing so. A few minutes later and my glove box was the best it has ever been. Top Man!!
In short, by the end of the day the following activity had taken place on my car:
- Auto folding mirrors
- Illuminated BOSE speaker grills - come on when headlight are on and stay one for some time after keys are removed from engine and doors are opened. Very Nice!
- 09 Rear Lights
- Parcel shelf retractable strings
- Saggy door fixed
- Stubborn Glovebox fixed
Unfortunately there are no real end result picturs as these are all things that allow the car to still look stock so this is probably the end of this thread.
SUMMARY
What started out as single mirror mod ended with NHN addressing several issues on my car and I am positive that Audi could not have done a better job. It is also nice to see someone, who is working on your car, that REALLY cares about the end result and ensuring the job is done properly with a perfect finish!
If there is anyone out there who, like me, isn't comfotable with picking up a spanner and requires some form of retrofitting then I would highly recommend using NHN for his services.
I can safely say that I was very happy at the end of the day and despite a few hiccups, some very long hours and 2 return trips, it was an absolute pleasure to meet NHN.
Finally I thought I'd share this moment with you guys as it certainly put us into hysterics for a while:
Nige, you are an absolute star and I honestly had a good laugh throughout day! The work you did was ace and I am still loving it.
Thank you!
Pii
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. Took him 45 minutes so that was some disatance just to pop by and say hi :thumbsup:
Feel all empty inside and left out!
