Disappointed in purchase of shift knob topper from British Autowood

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Oct 1, 2015 | 05:01 PM

#21

n8ertot

Senior Member

Joined: Aug 2015

Posts: 417

Likes: 80

From: Salt Lake City

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gpalace

n8ertot- your interior looks awesome!....did you have the wood grain wrapped? Looks brand new.

Not mine. I'm more than a little sad about that. I love that look too.

Oct 2, 2015 | 10:53 AM

#22

Gpalace

Senior Member

Joined: Mar 2014

Posts: 463

Likes: 62

From: Long Island , NY

Quote:

Originally Posted by danke

Did you mean my interior or n8ertot's? Mine is factory. Car is a 2012 and I guess the previous owner took pretty good care of it. It was a corporate car in its previous life.

Yep ..sorry ...meant yours....interior looks great...brand new! the way they shoud be treated.

Oct 2, 2015 | 10:55 AM

#23

Gpalace

Senior Member

Joined: Mar 2014

Posts: 463

Likes: 62

From: Long Island , NY

Quote:

Originally Posted by n8ertot

Not mine. I'm more than a little sad about that. I love that look too.

Sorry ...thought was your post...mine's not the greatest .....just orderd a door panel with the same Rich Oak to replace a cracked panel....love the wood look dont want to have to wrap all if i dont have to....though others have done and they look great - refreshed.

Oct 3, 2015 | 08:38 PM

#24

philhef

Veteran Member

Joined: Feb 2011

Posts: 2,916

Likes: 547

From: North Carolina

Quote:

Originally Posted by danke

It was actually a pain in the ***.

I applied the first defective one I received to the very top of the knob without removing anything while I waited for the replacement. However, the top black part came apart from the metal+adhesive base. Not even sure how it happened. It must not have been glued properly from the seller.

The replacement arrived today unexpectedly so I jumped right into the install after work. I got a very small pocket knife and used that to pry it up. Didn't work.

So I got a cordless drill and drilled a hole into the center. I did that and then tried sticking things into the hole and popping it off. Didn't work.

Next I tried a few other things to pry the top off from the side. At this point I've completely wrecked my shift knob. It looks like the car should be in a junk yard and I'm starting to ask myself wtf have I done.

I opened a beer and went to look in the junk drawer again for another "tool" to use. I found an old tool that I'm not really sure what it is. It's either a small wood chisel or part of a pumpkin carving kit. Anyway, as I'm digging and digging at this thing it finally starts to come up, very slowly.

Very, very little damage to the gear knob after the job was completely done. I pointed it out to my fiancee and she still said she couldn't even notice it.

I did the exact same thing when I installed mine. I, too, had a British auto wood center badge but it was early on and he was using the older growler style. Never was happy with the more vintage growler in my XF but I had already drilled out the center aluminum disk so it was staying, like it or not!
Later, a face book friend sent me a metal replacement wt the new growler. It was a perfect match to my wheel centers and steering wheel centers. It simply peel and stick and looks perfect!

Snapped photo while in drive! When parked, it's straight on.

Oct 3, 2015 | 08:55 PM

#25

WRXtranceformed

Senior Member

Joined: Sep 2013

Posts: 737

Likes: 169

From: North Carolina

Looks great! Nice work on the install and good on the seller for making things right. I'm wondering if you could remove the old knob topper / metal cap with the same method I used to take out the center caps on my wheels. Use the highest strength Command strips, attach them in a "T" manner so there is something to grab on to and use a pair of pliers to pull it off. If it worked it should do no damage to the topper at all.