Why do some people debadge "special" cars?

[Marcoose]

As some said, it’s cleaner. I’ve removed the sDrive35is and painted the mirrors and other bits in black. (I’ve painted the callipers, side indicators and Z4 boot emblem in red.) You’ll know it’s a sDrive35is when I overtake you on the outside.

[Ohio Enthusiast]

To add to the necro, I used to like debadging for a cleaner look. Then I saw a 718 Cayman and thought "oh, another turbo 4 Cayman" until I noticed the GTS4.0 badge. Then my thinking turned into "cool, the N/A 4 liter engine".
So do your fellow enthusiasts a favor and leave the "special car" badges so that we can all appreciate a nice spec car (and don't need to be steeped in the mystery of each make and model to visually tell a pedestrian model from a cool one).

[eliphil]

I debadged my Audi and loved it. I couldn’t care less about the status of the badge and prefer not to show off. However my buddy Joe correctly pointed out that I should not do it to my M550 because it’s not a good look. I guess it depends on the car

[Humdizzle]

i noticed this alot when i went to europe a few weeks ago. alot of the cars were relatively new so i think its a dealer option.

for some people its hiding their wealth and deterring thieves
for others it might be to hide that they have a 4 cylinder diesel x5 with m sport pack

i noticed there are more 'very low end models' of S classes and 5 series there with small powertrains.

[ekinnee]

Taking the badges off is kind of like the concept of a sleeper. Those are usually run of the mill looking cars that are all modded out under the hood. At least on "special" cars.

[allinon72]

I used to do that when I drove "lesser" model cars. I see no need to do it on an M car, myself. Now when I see a debaged car, I automatically think "base model."

[RockCrusher]

Two encounters with owners of the debadging mind set.

First was an online encounter with a Porsche 996 Turbo owner who ordered his Turbo debadged. Not sure why. Even without the badges that his car was a Turbo was quite unmistakable.

Then some few years ago co-worker bought a new (2016?) MINI Cooper S Coupe. Right off the showroom floor he had the dealer install mods to bring the engine up to JCW spec in terms of power.

Then as soon as he got the car home he proceeded to debadge the car and remove chrome trim, etc.

I have no idea why.

[Hadden14]

My previous M3 (e36) was debadged. It had some paint work done on the trunk and the badge was not reinstalled, I left it off and liked the clean look. I really do not care whether people think/know if it is an M car or not, and those that do know could ID it by other features. Anymore there are more than enough M logos on the modern cars.

I also think a lot of the "lesser" trims look better naked. Cleans up the lines on the trunk.