Decals - are they worth keeping?

I have a Trident with the original decals:



It looks quite tatty and out dated. I am thinking of just removing them, but I get the sense that some people might see that as sacrilegious! What are you thoughts on the value that these add to the van. It has original fixtures and fitting throughout at the moment.

Hi, an interesting question. My Duetto has decals that are also showing their age, and when I have new wings fitted this year I will have the bother of finding replacements. 
I have seen more modern, and I think nice looking decals for sale and like you wonder if it's time to give Daisy a make-over.
I am not against the idea, but wonder if it would impact on the vehicles value?

I would ask a dealer for their opinion. If it's done tastefully I would have thought it could improve it's value.

For new ones,  have a word with this guy...

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I think it depends on the van and whether it's regarded as a 'classic'.

I previously owned a T25 Westy Atlantic, which was pretty much the flagship Westy, and anything other than original fittings and decals would impact the value.

With the AS I'm not so fussed as I don't see a Nuevo being a classic vehicle anytime soon ;)

I must admit it's nice to keep the van looking original, but I'd rather it looked clean and tidy than old and tired from worn decals.

As above, if you can't get the original or too expensive, there's loads of vinyl stripes and designs you can put on to freshen the look up.

I have a 1993 A/S Trident, much like yours, and it has new decals, which the prevous owner fitted. It looks smart, but obviously it's hard to beat the authenticirty of the originals, with the colours, etc. not quite matching.

I think most people would rather a smart looking, rather than tatty looking, van, but I'm no expert!

CJM.

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This is my Trident. I didn't like the AS graphics, so I went for what I wanted.

It is a difficult one. In some ways I think the pinstriping on my Clubman gives it a dated look whereas the design of the shell still has a modern feel and cries out for a modern lift. But, what is a tasteful nod to modernity for one may be the sacrilegious ruin of a classic to another and restrict it's sale when the time comes. I am wrestling with whether the greater pleasure I will get over the next couple of years of ownership is the price worth paying.

Not sure about the Trident or older models but according to the bodyshop guy i use the thick green band on my Duetto (2000 reg) is not a decal but painted on, then gold/maroon/ and white pinstriping has been added on to that.

The pinstriping needs doing as if you look carefully you can see some bits missing. Thats from being powerwashed many times! I doubt i will bother having it done though as it's merely minor cosmetic.

I agree that the decals make the van look dated. I don't mind losing some value if I get to enjoy  the van more. Having said that they are probably a lot of work to remove and I am lazy :)

Bulletguy wrote:Not sure about the Trident or older models but according to the bodyshop guy i use the thick green band on my Duetto (2000 reg) is not a decal but painted on, then gold/maroon/ and white pinstriping has been added on to that.

The pinstriping needs doing as if you look carefully you can see some bits missing. Thats from being powerwashed many times! I doubt i will bother having it done though as it's merely minor cosmetic.

Definitely painted stripes. If you have the AS handbook, the paint name/code is in there. If I remember right, the green is a Jaguar colour.

If you just want to freshen up the pinstripes AS should have some in stock. I popped in to Willersey a couple of weeks ago and Mark gave me a metre of it to replace a bit of mine that got scratched.

Paulmold wrote:

Bulletguy wrote:Not sure about the Trident or older models but according to the bodyshop guy i use the thick green band on my Duetto (2000 reg) is not a decal but painted on, then gold/maroon/ and white pinstriping has been added on to that.

The pinstriping needs doing as if you look carefully you can see some bits missing. Thats from being powerwashed many times! I doubt i will bother having it done though as it's merely minor cosmetic.

Definitely painted stripes. If you have the AS handbook, the paint name/code is in there. If I remember right, the green is a Jaguar colour.

Hi Paul, yes it is Jaguar though it's not stated in my AS handbook....the bodyshop guy told me. He's hot on when it comes to colour identification and can tell by eye. Some years ago now, my mum had a bit of a prang and i took her car to Ian. First thing he said was "whose done the respray?" I didn't even know it had been re-sprayed but he knew straight away as he spotted the resprayed area was in the wrong white! It was a Metro and Rover use two shades of Diamond White.