replacing the inlays?

[fab1975]

Hi there,

I might be seen as old fashioned, but I really miss the walnut inlays that I had on my old B6 and now I would like to replace the cold and pale aluminum on my new B8 with something warmer like the fine grain birch wood or the fine grain ash almond beige, both of which is are £ 325 option when configuring a new car. Has anyone ever managed to replace the inlays or get an idea of how much it would cost to do it? The reason for I am asking is that I have been quoted a fortune by my local Audi dealer: about £ 900 for the parts (!!!) and over £ 1,200 to the whole job, which, with all the due respect, is as close to extortion as you can legally get.

Many thanks in advance for your replies

Fab

[spellsinger]

Hi there,

I might be seen as old fashioned, but I really miss the walnut inlays that I had on my old B6 and now I would like to replace the cold and pale aluminum on my new B8 with something warmer like the fine grain birch wood or the fine grain ash almond beige, both of which is are £ 325 option when configuring a new car. Has anyone ever managed to replace the inlays or get an idea of how much it would cost to do it? The reason for I am asking is that I have been quoted a fortune by my local Audi dealer: about £ 900 for the parts (!!!) and over £ 1,200 to the whole job, which, with all the due respect, is as close to extortion as you can legally get.

Many thanks in advance for your replies

Fab

I have to say if it is £325 then £900 doesn't sound that bad for parts (it is a German marque and they ain't cheap, 3 hours-ish labour also not bad, assuming you consider the labour rate reasonable.

A couple of points to consider:

The £325 option is on top of the standard fit parts, in other words the trim isn't just £325 it's £325 plus the standard trim.

Getting Audi to fit should remove any problems with ancillary damage.

You are correct though - taken as a whole, it is expensive - it always is when trying to retro fit OEM parts.

Mike

[Bratty]

Thre are loads of tips on the tinternet as to how to replace trim on an A4 B8. Buy the trim and do it yourself !! (self-developement.)

Dunk

[B8 TDI]

You can get the bits on eBay for relatively cheap, and since most of them just clip on and off, it should be easy enough to do yourself.

[MFGF]

You can get the bits on eBay for relatively cheap, and since most of them just clip on and off, it should be easy enough to do yourself.

You can probably recoup some of the cost by selling on your aluminium inlays too once you have removed them.

[fab1975]

Thre are loads of tips on the tinternet as to how to replace trim on an A4 B8. Buy the trim and do it yourself !! (self-developement.)

Dunk


Hi Dunk, DIY was precisely my idea :-) In fact I did exactly the same thing on my old B6 a few years ago. The only difference is that in 2006 I managed to find all the parts I needed on eBay for £ 125. Now, I do appreciate that German parts are expensive, but paying £ 900 for 6 pieces of (fake) wood still seems unreasonable to me. I know that £ 325 asked by Audi when you spec a new car are just an upgrade option and not the full price, but that figure should still give us some sense of proportion.
I have been looking on eBay for quite a long time, but so far I did not find anything apart from adhesive "wood" stickers that would be more suitable for a N reg. Almera with "golden" alloys :-)
If anyone knows where I can buy those inlays at a decent price , either on eBay or anywhere else, please let me know.
Cheers
Fab

[spellsinger]

.....
If anyone knows where I can buy those inlays at a decent price , either on eBay or anywhere else, please let me know.
Cheers
Fab

Any local car breakers - I would have thought the inlays would remain intact?

[Bratty]

Once you find the bits, this link looks useful,

"Not useful link deleted!"

Look how long they reckon it takes.

Dunk

[bez101]

Once you find the bits, this link looks useful,

http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php/315064-Beltline-Trim-Removal-and-Installation-Shortcut-Method

Look how long they reckon it takes.

Dunk
thats not gona help him that link is from a b5 far from a b8

[Bratty]

oops!!:o linked the wrong one, I should have tried harder at school.

Dunk

[Bratty]

Middle console trim (radio replacement) on a B8;).

http://audiforum.us/installations/10653-audi-a4-b8-concert-stereo-removal.html

Did have the complete thing (in German) but deleted it when I sold my car, trying to retrieve it (pictures are in English;)) but I am currently struggling with technology.

Dunk

[theskyfox]

Yes you can replace them. Its well worth just doing them yourself..they really do just clip/slide in. Not sure if there is a haynes manual available for this year car yet though. I replaced some of mine after they got scratched/dented..they are pricey, but it helps to have a friend that works in the parts department at the dealer :biglaugh:. Might be worth re-selling the ones your taking off on fleabay as well after to claw back some of the expense?

-Andrew

[fab1975]

Hi chaps,
I did a little bit of research and found out that the whole kit (4x door inlays, 1x glove box inlay and 1x centre console surround) can be bought for about £ 580 (inc. VAT), which is not exactly good value for money, but at least is not as extortionate as the £ 900 that I had been previously quoted by another dealer. As for the fact that here in the UK those parts are OBJECTIVELY overpriced, please consider that in Germany choosing the ‘Fine grain birch wood grey’ inlays as an upgrade option on a new car costs only € 200 instead of £ 350 (equal to € 403). They are exactly the same parts as on the LHD version (with the exception of the glove box inlay) and are 50% cheaper. At this stage the best thing for me to do is trying to source those inlays from an Audi dealer in Germany, as the chances to find them on eBay or in a scrap yard are too scarce given the relatively young age of the A4 B8. Does anyone out there know the name of a reputable Audi dealer in Germany?
Cheers
Fab

[Bratty]

I was using Max Moritz in Soest, found them very helpful.

Give me the Pt No´s with Description and the next time I am out and about I will ask them (ie AUDI Germany) for a price.

Dunk

[fab1975]

Hi Dunk,

that would be very kind of you, thank you very much indeed :-) I should be able to get the part numbers by Sunday.

Cheers,

Fab


I was using Max Moritz in Soest, found them very helpful.

Give me the Pt No´s with Description and the next time I am out and about I will ask them (ie AUDI Germany) for a price.

Dunk

[Bratty]

Would have thought that if you stipulate the exact colour that you want, that there must be a good natured Forum Member who has access to the AUDI parts catalouge, that would oblige you with the correct Pt Nos`.

Dunk

[fab1975]

Would have thought that if you stipulate the exact colour that you want, that there must be a good natured Forum Member who has access to the AUDI parts catalouge, that would oblige you with the correct Pt Nos`.

Dunk

Hi Dunk, my preferred choice would be walnut.
:1zhelp:If anyone out there knew the part number it would be great :1zhelp:
Thank you very much
Fab

[jabicho]

I´ve changed mine (RHD) to walnut this year but the thing is that if your interior is black(as mine) there´s not really much contrast, although it´s far better than having the crappy plastic ones which came with the car
http://www.audisport-iberica.com/foro/uploads/monthly_07_2010/post-27917-1279522835.jpghttp://www.audisport-iberica.com/foro/uploads/monthly_07_2010/post-27917-1279910226.jpghttp://www.audisport-iberica.com/foro/uploads/monthly_07_2010/post-27917-1279910315.jpg

[fab1975]

I´ve changed mine (RHD) to walnut this year but the thing is that if your interior is black(as mine) there´s not really much contrast, although it´s far better than having the crappy plastic ones which came with the car


Hi Jabicho, may I ask you how much you paid for your kit? Was the centre console piece difficult to replace?
I agree that with a dark interior the walnut inlays will not possibly look at its best, but I still prefer walnut to cold, pale aluminium. No offence to the aluminium brigade here :-)
Does anybody have pictures of different inlays?
Cheers
Fab

[jabicho]

Really cheap on ebay-de (120 euros) in mint condition (although suppousedly second hand).The most difficult one is the centre console, it takes quite a while to remove it and it´s good to have somebody to help.I chose walnut cause my previous car, my beloved Rover 400 had walnut also altough the interior trim was grey and so the inlays were more noticable...good luck with your purchase

[fab1975]

Really cheap on ebay-de (120 euros) in mint condition (although suppousedly second hand).The most difficult one is the centre console, it takes quite a while to remove it and it´s good to have somebody to help.I chose walnut cause my previous car, my beloved Rover 400 had walnut also altough the interior trim was grey and so the inlays were more noticable...good luck with your purchase


That was a very lucky purchase :-) I have been keeping an eye on ebay.de for a while now and the only walnut inlays set advertised there is badly scratched, but I will keep on looking anyway.
Thanks again for your posts!
Best Regards
Fab

[fab1975]

Hi All,

please find below the last chapter of the inlays replacement saga.

I have just managed to buy a mint set of walnut inlays from eBay.de for less than £ 250! On the top of it I had to pay the local Audi dealer £ 89 for the glove box trim, which is the only piece that differs on RHD models.

The problem now is that I don't know how to remove the big "U-shape" piece surrounding the central console between the two front seats.
The link posted above ( http://audiforum.us/installations/10653-audi-a4-b8-concert-stereo-removal.html ) only explains how to remove radio unit in the centre console on the dashboard, but from what I can see it does not give any indication on how to disassemble the console around the gearshift. It looks like the “U-shape” trim is screwed from below, but how to access those screws is a different story.
Is there anyone out there who has done it before or knows out to do it? Please :1zhelp:
Dunk, you mentioned that you might have the complete guide somewhere. Is it still available by any chance?

Cheers

Fab

[fab1975]

I have just found this excellent guide:

http://ocarbon.com/blog/2010/06/b8-a4s4-trim-removal-guide/

Big credit to "Matt O'Carbon" :arms:

Enjoy :-)

Fab


Hi All,

please find below the last chapter of the inlays replacement saga.

I have just managed to buy a mint set of walnut inlays from eBay.de for less than £ 250! On the top of it I had to pay the local Audi dealer £ 89 for the glove box trim, which is the only piece that differs on RHD models.

The problem now is that I don't know how to remove the big "U-shape" piece surrounding the central console between the two front seats.
The link posted above ( http://audiforum.us/installations/10653-audi-a4-b8-concert-stereo-removal.html ) only explains how to remove radio unit in the centre console on the dashboard, but from what I can see it does not give any indication on how to disassemble the console around the gearshift. It looks like the “U-shape” trim is screwed from below, but how to access those screws is a different story.
Is there anyone out there who has done it before or knows out to do it? Please :1zhelp:
Dunk, you mentioned that you might have the complete guide somewhere. Is it still available by any chance?

Cheers

Fab