Replacing lower grille... bird punches hole at 100km/hr

[djdavian]

Correct, wheel arch extensions are mandatory in the UK for the VW Savannah wheel (as it is 19") thus I didn't pay any extra.

[tigger73]

I like the grille, though will have to see what the cost is to get it shipped out here. From the website it's GBP195 (AUD$290) so will be a bit more when landed here when you add on freight costs.

It's funny I've done a few web searches and none of these manufacturer/agent sites came up.

Re the wheel arches you would have paid extra for them - just the cost would have been "hidden" in the price of the Savannah's. Though it's nice of them to tell you that it was a "free" upgrade.

[DkN]

Not sure about stainless steel but plastic replacement can be found for much better price than at the dealers:

2010- VW Tiguan Front Bumper Grill Central Grille | eBay

[tigger73]

Not sure about stainless steel but plastic replacement can be found for much better price than at the dealers:

2010- VW Tiguan Front Bumper Grill Central Grille | eBay

You're right the dealers will do the plastic one for $189 pick up from down the road. But the polished stainless one does look nice. If I have to change it anyway I'd consider the upgrade.

I believe the link for the grille you posted is for the updated 2012 model Tig. I need the honeycomb one for the 2008-2011 (pre facelift) model. I'm pretty sure the ebay grille won't fit my older model.

[aussietig]

If you do go down the UK route, then double check whether the price quoted includes VAT?

As a non-UK resident you should not need to pay the 20% VAT.

[tigger73]

Just for completeness I'll post this here too.

Since the bird flew through my lower grille I've had a couple of goes at the front grille.

First attempt I pulled off my front bumper and ran wire mesh through the upper and lower grille to stop any insects making a mess of the intercooler and a/c condenser.




I left the broken lower grille in and just ran the wire mesh over the top of the busted section. Worked OK but you could still see the broken part if you looked closely.




So I decided to install some aluminium mesh into my grille instead of the "old" fly screen. Hopefully this will provide better air flow and still keep out the larger bugs.

Added some plasti-dip and re-installed to give the final result: