New Alltrack

Here is a view of the new Alltrack which is about to hit the dealers.

In profile it doesn't look a great deal different to the old one :-

Ian

Oh Deary Me.................

Sad to report that SWMBO has managed to reverse the Alltrack into a parked car damaging the paintwork on the offside rear quarter.

Reversing sensors and a rear view camera at that.

Luckily there is no panel damage but even so I must admit I was a bit pissed off.

Anyway I have calmed down now and the insurance is sorting it out.

Ian

Autoglym Wheel Protector.

Tried some of the above on the Alltrack and it works very well.

Autoglym Wheel Protector

Alloys have remained clean for two weeks and are usually dirty within a week.

Autoglym say it should last for about six weeks before being reapplied and don't wash the wheels with anything except water or you will wash it off,I just gave them a light hose down but I don't think that was strictly necessary.

Can recommend.

Ian

"Summer" Wheels

Had the winter wheels taken off today and the original ones put back on.

Prepare for four feet of snow and plenty of ice.

Ian

Plastic Touch-Up Paint

I have one or two marks on the grey plastic protection pieces that cover the sills,wheel arches etc.and would like to put a dab or two of touch-up paint on them.

Checked with dealers and VW don't do one so I wondered if anyone had found a suitable match anywhere before I go down to Halfords.

Ian

Boot Buddy Bumper Guard

Have bought one of these to protect the bumper when loading/unloading :-

Boot Buddy De Luxe Bumper Guard

Seems like a decent piece of kit at a fairly reasonable price.

Came out well in an Auto Express review.

Ian

Battery Charging.

As I have done with most cars I have had,at this time of the year with shorter journeys and more power hungry accessories on the go,I like to give the battery ( or batteries as we have an auxiliary one as well ) a charge once a week or so.

The main battery takes about 5 hours to charge up so it must be a bit low.

I have read speculation about having to disconnect the battery to charge it in order to protect sensitive electronics.

Just to let the readership know I have successfully used my C-Tek charger on both the Alltracks batteries and there were no problems encountered.

I must emphasise that this is specifically with a C-Tek charger,not any old charger.

Although obviously it can't be proved our last car was on the original battery at 6 years so I must have been doing something right.

Ian

One Or Two Small Mods.

Our Alltrack comes with an auxiliary battery to the left of the load area ( I don't know if they all do ) used,as far as I am aware,to run the electronic "extras" so as not to flatten the main battery.

At this time of year I like to give both batteries a charge now and again but the auxiliary battery involves removing the oddments shelf above it,not an arduous job but a slight pain.

I decided to affix a CTek Attachment Lead to it so I can connect my CTek charger without disturbing anything.

 CTek Attachment Lead

Secondly I have often thought that the tailgate edge looks a bit bare compared with the models that have a chrome strip attached so I had one installed by the dealer.

Finally I attached one of these to the spare wheel valve :-

Air To Spare

Makes checking the air pressure in the spare much easier as the wheel does not have to be removed from the vehicle to do it,saves my back.

Ian

Egged!!

A couple of weeks ago on a dark rainy night,some pillock threw an egg at the car.

The noise when it hit was frightening,I thought the rearvsuspension had collapsed it was so loud.

Anyway I ( wrongly ) thought that it was only an egg and most of it would wash off in the overnight rain.

When I came to clean the car the next day,egg was everywhere,paintwork,glass and also in the window guides from where it took some removing.

Unfortunately it had also pitted the paintwork on the rear offside passenger door,pitted the aluminium on the lower window guide and also pitted the paint on the black strip down the side of the door.

Today it has cost me £170 to have the upper door resprayed,the black upright resprayed and the aluminium window guide replaced ( incidentally the price of the guide is a frightening £50).

So if you are unfortunate enough to get "egged",get it off the car immediately or you will be facing a hefty bill.

Ian

A Little Bit of Tinkering.

Had the Alltrack into the dealers a couple of days ago for an oil and filter change,swapping the wheels and tyres for the winter models (of course there will now be an autumn heatwave ) and the fitting of some wind deflectors to all the windows.

I thought (hope) that these will prevent the buffeting noise from the rear windows when they are open in the summer,they look good too,well I think so.

Had the coolant topped up as well as it seemed a bit low.

That's it all set up for winter.

Ian