biz79

Hi there,

My fiance and I just bought a brand new 2015 Q5 Premium Plus Glacier White which will arrive later in the week. We chose to get a new vehicle since she has an supplier discount with Audi, and frankly we've only owned used Japanese cars throughout our lives. We live in San Francisco and the car will be parked on the street as we don't have a garage. We know that we're going to get bumper scratches, door dings, bird dropping, etc. It's inevitable, but we're still very excited.

I've been reading a lot on these forums the last few days and have found some great info already. One topic I'm interested in is paint protection/coatings. We declined the dealer option which sounds to be the right choice. Since this is a street parker, I don't know if it's worth the cost to get coatings or not, and/or which coatings I should consider. We'd probably never wax the car ourselves since we don't have a garage (local carwash probably), but whatever we can do to help keep the car looking new would be great. Any tips would be great.

Thanks!
Will

ryanaudi

Welcome and congrats Will!

I too park on the street most of the time. I keep my wife's car and my other car in the garage. Plus living in San Diego proper there is not too much garage space to start with. I have not but a couple of my buddies have bought a nice car cover that keep their car really nice. For me the Q5 is my daily driver so it would be too much of a hassle, but for SF I am guessing you will not be driving it daily. When we use to live in SF we only drove about three times a month... loved it!

biz79

Thanks ryanaudi! Yeah we plan to drive it mostly on the weekend to run errands and bring the dog out. I don't think a cover will help us just cause people would probably wonder what's under it or just mess with it and I'd probably get tired of putting it on and taking it off.

Thanks for the suggestion though!

Coolieman1220

Put a hitch on and leave it on. that'll help protect your rear bumper.

Bad Andy

For the first 4-1/2 years of my Q5's life, it lived outside. I had a parking spot, but the only thing covering it was a big tree, that liked to drip sap and bird droppings. Weekly trips to the car wash were mandatory. Recently this past summer I moved, and now have a garage. Overall, it held up really well. I didn't have a place in the complex to wash/wax the car, so would rely on the car wash for occasional waxings.

Now with my garage, I am taking the car panel by panel and fully detailing the paint. I spent 2 days just working on the hood. It looks nice when it is done, but takes a lot of work to get it back to "almost like new". For me, it is sort of like my therapy or labor of love. The car looked great from about 2-3 feet away, now it looks great 1/2" - 2" away. Sure there are a few areas that can't be completely fixed, but the deep shine now is great. People at work thought I got it repainted.

SamLV

The hitch idea can work; never thought of that. Always had an Excursion for that job.

Congrats, enjoy the car!

Redd

There are some very effective but unattractive things like the "bumper badger" that you can hang as a mat to protect the rear bumper but they make me cringe. I had a strip of 2" wide body side molding, with a thick profile, run across the rear bumper between the rear backup/fog lights. It looks "factory", and should keep at least SOME of the cars from cutting up the rear bumper cover. Easily replaced for $20~ when and if it needs to be. Easily removed before the car is sold.

The front grill...I can only say, don't look at it. Or get kangaroo bars. Maybe you've heard the saying "We all know how this picture is going to end."

Dustin Fennell

If I were you, I would get xPel paint protection film that includes full rear bumper. Here is a link that will give you some info about it: Xpel Ultimate Paint Protection Film Installation by Sticker City

You might also want to consider paint coating like gtechniq coating (they have several options). The coating will help protect against swirl marks from car washes and etching from bird droppings. Gtechniq North America - Smart Surface Science

I have a black SQ5 and the xPel and Gtechniq coatings have helped keep my SUV looking better than new.

biz79

Thanks for all the tips guys! We just picked up the car last night and it's amazing.

It's parked on the street right now and we're still trying to decide if we should add additional protection or not. We'll keep y'all posted on what we decide.

slotriathl8

Late reply, but you should consider these:
Front & Rear Bumper Protection, Car Bumper Guards, Bumper Protectors
Outdoor Parking Bumper Protector, Bumper Protection, Rear Bumper Guard

I drive into NY City somewhat often and park on the streets there. I can't imagine being a regular street parker without using these.