Looking at buying a pair for the front windows. Has anyone any experience of their effectiveness, quality etc.
tinyurl.com/2n94tx
wemyss
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My concern would be regarding how they attach. They appear to go in the same channel of the seal as the glass ~ which in all likelyhood is not what the car manufacturer intended.
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Subaru do something very similar as an option on the new Impreza so presumably they don't do any damage. Can't really see the point in a car with climate control, aircon or a sunroof.
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Having had a car (Cresta) in Malaya many moons ago with rain deflectors over each door window I thought these were a good idea for keeping the car slightly cooler without getting wet, on the move and parked. On return to UK I bought a Fiat and managed to get a set from the same garage in Singapore. This source seems to have dried up so I thought perhaps the Climair deflectors might cure the tendency of my last car (Sierra) to dump standing water off the roof inside via the open front windows. The expense of those put me off. Then on Ebay (in the Cars section enter search ?Wind Deflectors?) I found a company in Germany selling Polish produced deflectors. (www.heko.pl) for a whole range of cars. I got a set for the Sierra, they snap into place with a bit of fiddling and heart-stopping bending. A screw was supplied for each one, but I never used it. They did allow the car to remain a bit cooler in hot weather, and sort of self demist when parked in the wet. There are two disadvantages. The drivers? door pillar instantly becomes much larger, necessitating some head bobbing at roundabouts etc.. And the deflector, being inside the channel, impedes the complete movement of the glass upwards. On my Sierra I just let go of the window switch before the glass reached the end of its travel. Whether cars which automatically wind the glass to the end of travel will tolerate this I don?t know. One further point, the postage from Germany for a front pair was as much as the deflectors.
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Skoda sells these at around £30.00 a pair (yes thirty pounds - still smarting from BMW prices)
they are fitted to my Roomster (as an ex-demo it came with them) I can drive with the windows open in light rain with no annoyance. Mind you the climate in the BMW was better...!
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Thanks for the replies. These would be for my 98 Vectra which doesn?t have AC. The wife?s Fabia does so wouldn?t need them for hers.
For some reason I prefer driving with the front window partially down but the wife is very susceptible to any draughts and always gets a stiff neck afterwards so its forbidden when she is with me.
We use the Vectra due to its size and being diesel for trips on the continent and it does get a bit too hot at times so these would appear to be the answer.
I hadn?t thought of them making the door pillar larger and is a good point but I think I could live with that. The electric windows are no problem as it doesn?t have any.
The Vectra even in slight rain brings it in through the window so that would be a bonus.
wemyss
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I can confirm that the Skoda's are draught free in the circumstances both on A roads an M way speeds. They look a trifle naff though.
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They look a trifle naff
I don't like to sound unkind, and no doubt with certain cars in certain climates these things may be a good idea, but to me they go with maroon velvet steering wheel cosies, sorry.... Anyway I thought everyone except banger drivers like me had this filtered, temperature-controlled environment guaranteed to give your nippers allergies.
But what do I know? I went gaga in 1637.
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You're probably right, their right to appear as baubles on PU's chariot will be re-considered when the weather becomes more benign. I'll post an engraving to photopail when I get round to it.
Mind you proves that I've undergone a culture shift - I would have fainted if my local BMW emporium (at 250 + VAT) had put them on any of the BMWs I've owned. (Mind you I am considering Adventure "winglets" to my bike)
Edited by Pugugly {P} on 05/01/2008 at 23:42
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There was a pair on a Motability 306 I bought.
Helped compliment the impression of a well cared for car .
Also had a small padlock on the spare, (unused) protective covers on the headlamps, plastic cover on the seats, ashtray never opened, not a scratch or mark on the vehicle.
Just out of the box!!
Now if they were ALL like that....
VB
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Great find, some of these `old boys deceased` cars are really great.
It always feels cooler in the car than outside and sometimes on a hot day you don`t need the aircon on, or to open the windows.
I always see this as a fuel saving bonus although its a nuisance to keep finding the atlas open on the Eastbourne page, when the cars now in Yorkshire. ;)
Regards
Edited by oilrag on 06/01/2008 at 09:03
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Yes I bought the wifes Fabia 1.2 Sport as an ex motability car 6 months old with 511 miles on the clock.
A local garage just down the road and he gets quite a few in with low mileage but he's never had one as low as this before. Absolutely as new condition with even proper Fabia carpets in the boot still not fitted. He thought the owner must have passed away.
Took it for its first 12 month service in October with 2836 miles on it.
Please dont bother telling me she could have a taxi or even a chauffeur driven limousine for less. You tell her..
Mind you I'm no great example as my Vectra 98 diesel bought new has still only 41K on the clock and most of that has been on the Continent.
But even that is well eclipsed by a friend down the road who has recently bought his second new Renault Scenic diesel. Believe it or not he uses it once a year towing his caravan through France. Other than that it never leaves its garage except to polish it. His wifes car is the only one used.
wemyss
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