hey guys, i have a G coupe and have been around here for a little while. but i just got my girl a G sedan. its a 2003. an asian guy owned it and took incredible care of it. but it does have some exterior blemishes. anyways, i have a couple of questions:

i have an 04, so i have the usaspec ipod integration kit. but i know that wont work on her car since she doesnt have the SAT option or button on the dash. which ipod integration kit will work with her 03 with no SAT?

also it has the black trim around the bottom of the body panels. its fading a lot, so i want to repaint it to make it look newer. i was thinking about using krylon flat black paint and spraying it. anyone else do that or use different paint? i know i could take it to a body shop and have them color match it, but i dont think she wants to spend money on doing that when i could just touch up the faded black trim with new flat black paint.


i'll try to get some pics of it uploaded. also something i need to do is find a good product that gets oxidation marks out. it looks like the guy parked under a pine tree and tree sap dripped in random spots on the car. hopefully something will be able to get those out.

if anyone could get me some info about an ipod integration kit for the 03 without SAT, that'd be awesome. and any reccomendations for painting the faded black trim and removing oxidation marks. thanks!


charles

 

Best thing I've found for making that black trim look better is Mother's Back to Black. You can find it at Autozone usually. Do 3-4 coats of that and see if if looks better. BE CAREFUL not to get it on the paint. I haven't seen it damage anyone's car I've applied it to, but it sure is a fawking mess.

 

hmm thats a good suggestion. i'll try that first. if that fails, paint time!

i spoke with someone from everythingg35.com and asked about how to go about with an ipod integration in an 03 without SAT. he said you have to buy the harness kit they sell for 56 bucks, and the ipod integration for 290..... if thats the case, couldnt i just buy the harness for 56 bucks from them, and then use the usaspec ipod integration that i have on my 04 that costs 180 bucks LESS????

 

+1

Another endorsement for Back to Black. amazing product

 

^^indeed^^



http://www.mothers.com/02_products/06108_c.html

Awesome stuff. I also use it on the windshield cowl and the mirror bases. Really brings out the black in the black.

 

ooo +1 on mentioning the mirror bases. mine is starting to fade a lil. good call. i'll buy some of that and see what happens.

my girls G sedan is Brilliant Silver and it almost looks like the black trim was painted BS and then faded. its bad. haha.

 

pertaining to the ipod interfance. I have an 03 as well and don't have an SAT button. Get the USA SPEC NA-11 Ipod Interface. All you do is plug it in in the back of the radio and in order to play all you do is hit "disc" twice and it will play. Just be sure to have a cd in, that's all. Works incredibly well and works with the steering wheel controls.

 

well thats interesting news as well. the bad news about that situation, is that her cd player doesnt work. its broken. there arent any cd's in there..... i guess im SOL....

 

You could jsut put a new stereo in there, one that will allow for iPod control on the stereo. Alpine makes a stereo that was made for playing with the iPod.

 

bring it to the dealership. I had my stereo replaced before. 2003's had a problem with the cd player. It reads error and doesn't work. I got it replaced for free

 

another great suggestion. thanks. even tho its so far out of its warranty.... there must be a common problem with them. or at least enough for the dealership to fix it.

 

there was a problem with them. I was out of warranty when they replaced it. I called in and said what was wrong and they said bring it in, we will replace it for you and told me that the 03's have had a lot of problems with the cd players. Brought it in, new cd player, and works flawless now (even though I use my ipod interface now), cd player still works great. It was free and was replaced over 2.5 years ago

 

Also, a great detailers secret to get sap off a car is to use wd-40. Seems that it would be bad for the paint. But if you work in small amounts, it does wonders. You just need to wash it off right away once you are finished. Then seal it up with your prefered wax and bam good as new

 

Another really strange one for tar and sap, Gasoline. Yup, that's right, straight out of the pump. Well, not really. If you've got a gas can, splash a little on a rag and it'll rub right off. Like the above poster said, though, wash it RIGHT off when you're done.

Clay bar is still your best friend. That'll get rid of a lot of teh oxidation as well. For a cheap fix I like the Mother's clay kit. If you're willing to spend some money, there's definitely better product out there. Wolfgang makes nice shat.