Just bought an '05 grey EX last weekend and I have a question. Does anybody have any advice on removing the dealer stickers, without messing the paint. The ones I'm trying to remove are little white separate letters that spell out the dealers name, They look stupid and I want them gone. I was going to just pick them off but thought I'd check with everyone here.

They are probably just standard vinyl lettering which can be removed after warming them up with a hair dryer or leaving them out in the sun. Just peel them slowly and clean the area of any leftover glue residue.

Make the dealer remove it. It should be illegal for them to deface cars like that.

I made a point to ask my dealer ahead of time if they did any such nonsense. He said they only do the "license plate frame". Fair enough.

(note to self: replace license plate frame).

I just removed the stick-on plastic dealer badges from both our new cars this week. (Goo Gone and Dental Floss) The license plate holders came off the day I got my new plate holders in the mail. I cannot stand either! The stickers are the worst though, it really is defacing the vehicle.
If I want them, I'll put my OWN defacing stickers on, thanks.

Thanks for the advice. Think I'll try the hairdryer, won't be warm in IL for another couple months. I didn't really think to ask to the dealer to remove them, I was to excited that I had just bought an awsome automobile. Have bought that many being young and didn't think of everything. Funny qbert lisence plate. My wife decided to name the E so I used it as my log-in.

Make the dealer remove it. It should be illegal for them to deface cars like that.

I made a point to ask my dealer ahead of time if they did any such nonsense. He said they only do the "license plate frame". Fair enough.

(note to self: replace license plate frame).

I wonder if this is a Northwest thing. My dealer only advertised by license plate frame as well, and I can't think of a single Puget Sound-area dealer who uses decals. Thank the Gods!

My first Honda came from a dealer in Tulsa (where I lived at the time) who used a decal, but I didn't mind in that case. It was AI Honda (Automobiles International, the first Honda dealer in Oklahoma, if I recall) and (a) it could be read (in faux Japanese accent) like "ay, Honda!" which was just funny every time and (b) AI Honda became Joe Marina Honda, so it was kinda cool having the original dealer name, in a sort of "I was Honda when Honda wasn't cool" kinda way.

I wonder if this is a Northwest thing. My dealer only advertised by license plate frame as well, and I can't think of a single Puget Sound-area dealer who uses decals. Thank the Gods!


The two other cars I owned both came with dealer stickers. They were beaters so I didn't care. One was a KIA Rio and came with no joke 4 stickers and two plat covers. Even my wife's car has dealer stickers. It is definatly something that is done in North Central IL.

They tried to put stickers on mine, but I asked them what they were going to pay me to advertise for them. They wouldn't so I told them not to bother putting the sticker on. They took it off.....
It came with the lic. plate frame. I borrowed a screwdriver and took it off before I left the lot, and gave it back to them. The salesman had a good laugh, because he had told them not to, but the prep guys said they were instructed to do it on every vehicle.

I just removed the stick-on plastic dealer badges from both our new cars this week. (Goo Gone and Dental Floss)

That's going to be my project this weekend... getting the dang dealer badge off without screwing up my paint job.

A search of the forums seems to show that the dental floss & Goo Gone combo is the way to go. What about the hair dryer trick? Does that only work with decals, or should I do that to the plastic badge prior to flossing it?

- Jeff

P.S. After that, I've got to deal with the #@$% front license plate, which currently has the dealer's name and logo on it. If I remove the license plate holder, I'll have two big holes in the front bumper. Grrrrr...

Hey, you can use the front license plate to express yourself! Personally, I go with sports theme plates, but I've also used personal philosophy in the past:

"Beer & Pretzels - Breakfast of Champions":grin:

I didn't use the blow dryer - I sprayed the stick-on base behind the badge with Goo Gone (put a paper towel or rag under the decal so the Goo Gone doesn't run down), let it sit and soak in and then gently pried the badge off with dental floss (wear gloves). The whole badge just popped off leaving no residue - took like 15 minutes total. I then cleaned the Goo Gone off with water and a micro fiber rag and dried the area. No damage.

Warm water will take the decals off. It's not a biggie.:| Did mine last January.

Between a 95-degree FL afternoon sun and Goo-Gone, the dealer sticker was no problem. I did give the area a waxing afterwords- :D

-Zzz's

You can ask the dealer to remove it. I believe they have to honor the request. My dealer told me that they are required to honor this request, but not too many people know about it. Not sure if it's VA law or not.

Yay - you guys rule! I bought some Goo Gone and took out some dental floss and that dealer badge was history! I forgot to ask them to not put it on. It was a pretty small badge but it sure was stuck on there. Afterwards I gave the area a quick wash and then used some Mequire's and it looks perfect.

Thanks for the tips!

Just rememeber the longer you wait to take it off, the harder it will be as the glue adheres better after hot then cooling the hot then cooling. I just peel and then hit it with a clay bar. Glue residue disappears. Same with pin striping.:cool:

took mine off the day i bought it
went to get plates at dealer he put dumb cover on with logo told him TAKE it off idiot

This is an interesting thread, I didn't realize it was such a problem.

When I got my E they pulled it out of the detailer area and the first thing I noticed was that they had put the vinyl sticker of the dealership right in the middle left of the back, and had put on license plate holders.

I immediately told him to "get crap off" and I'm told him that I wasn't happy at all that they would try to pull that kind of crap with me. They took it off right away and it didn't take me long to get rid of the license plate holders.

Has anybody had a dealership armor all the sidesteps? I stepped on my sidesteps when they brought it out and almost fell on my ass.

The people that call up and ask "how is your Honda purchase" sure got an ear full about those items.:)

In my case, I forgot to ask them not to put the badge on. They put it on, as is custom, and I just took it off. I don't quite understand why people seem to get rude and angry about the badges and stickers though. If you don't ask them NOT to put them on there then why the reaction?

Before I get lectured on it being defacing of property etc., I'm just saying that it seems to be custom (atleast when I have lived) to have dealer stickers or badges on the car. I've never taken one off until this car, and the only reason I took it off is because the badge was in a place where it stood out, as opposed to being an unobtrusive area.

When people post that they yell at a salesperson over a badge it seems to be just a rude reaction. Is it rudeness or is it just internet message board chest puffing?

I guess in my case where I've never bought a new car before and unaware of this "custom" along with the fact I just dropped about 40 grand (CDN) on it, that the last thing I want is somebody sticking advertising on my car without even saying a word. It's *guaranteed* other people have complained but they still do this.

You'd think they would take a hint and perhaps ask permission to put something on somebody elses property.

It's a matter of principle and respect for the guy that just paid the big bucks more than anything else really.

My dealership puts them on the car the day it arrives - it comes off the truck and the badge goes on that day (I asked). I also asked to have the badge removed at the dealer, but the detailers were not comfortable removing it so did not. I removed it this week - I removed a tacky silver plastic badge from both our new cars, as a matter of fact - along with big tacky dealer plate frames. I do not mind the plate frames (we are in a dual tag state) as they are easily removable but I HATE dealer badges and decals - anything STUCK to the car. NONE of our cars ever has a dealer ID on it - I don't advertise for them for free.
We dealt with the GM of the Honda dealership and he said it is policy of the owner of the dealerships for all vehicles to get the badge upon arrival. He has no choice in the matter. This was repeated as policy by another dealership (Lincoln Mercury) owned by the same company so it checks out. If you want to complain, find out who set the policy and write to THEM. Honda has nothing to do with this so it does little good to tell Honda you don't like it or report it to the survey done by the dealership. The guy who sets the policy doesn't SEE those surveys and therefore does not know there are any objections. I would suggest the SR Exec in marketing (prob a VP) at the corp. office of the owner as a place to start.