Well as a few of you may know, I treated myself to some brand new headlight units a couple of weeks back 
Yes, I am fussy But I wanted to tidy up the front a little, and my old scratch and hazed ones had annoyed me since I've owned the car.
I wanted to wait until the deal was done and I received them before I posted about this, as I still can't believe the price I got them for :shock: and wanted to make sure that it all went through ok.
Bearing in mind that these are £250 a piece from Ford, I rang up a company called AG Autos who did a group buy for the "other site" back in 2007 I think. The deal back then was £225 for the pair.
On AG Autos' website (http://www.doormirror-headlight.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false they go for £128.90 each. When I rang them up and asked if they could do the same deal as the one they did a couple of years ago (I never mentioned the price) they said that there was no way they could do it for the same price, as Bosch had had 6 price increases over the past couple of years. Fair enough I thought. So when asked what deal they could do, they said they'd do them at £105 each if I ordered a pair.
Hang on... :? That's cheaper than a couple of years ago :wall:
So I obviously I didn't say anything, and I ordered them straightaway at £210 for the pair - well chuffed!
I fitted them last week as soon as they arrived and fitted new indicators and dipped headlights (thanks Zara), my current sidelights and I thought I might as well put my old Halfords ones to use and put those in the main beam.
I had the car out last night, and decided to try them out once it got dark. When I turned them on, I couldn't believe the difference :shock:
The road in front of me was lit like I've never seen before in a Puma. In fact, it was lit like I've only ever seen on modern cars - really intense light and you can actually see where the beam ends on the road, instead of it fading away if you know what I mean. The only thing is they were angled down a lot so I couldn't see that far ahead. But I think that they may need adjusting slightly (higher), so will get this done at some point.
In conclusion, yes brighter and upgraded bulbs can make a difference. And obviously a HID kit will make a substantial difference. But it's suprising the difference that new lenses/units can make. To be honest, I didn't expect any difference. After all, I bought them for cosmetic reasons, not to improve the performance of them (I don't have the car out at night much). I know that the new bulbs play will a tiny role, but I'd even think about putting standard bulbs back in for a while to see what they're like - I was that impressed!
Once I get them aligned properly (if they actually need it, but I feel they do) I'll put a little update on this thread
Yes, I am fussy
But I wanted to tidy up the front a little, and my old scratch and hazed ones had annoyed me since I've owned the car.I wanted to wait until the deal was done and I received them before I posted about this, as I still can't believe the price I got them for :shock: and wanted to make sure that it all went through ok.
Bearing in mind that these are £250 a piece from Ford, I rang up a company called AG Autos who did a group buy for the "other site" back in 2007 I think. The deal back then was £225 for the pair.
On AG Autos' website (http://www.doormirror-headlight.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false
they go for £128.90 each. When I rang them up and asked if they could do the same deal as the one they did a couple of years ago (I never mentioned the price) they said that there was no way they could do it for the same price, as Bosch had had 6 price increases over the past couple of years. Fair enough I thought. So when asked what deal they could do, they said they'd do them at £105 each if I ordered a pair.Hang on... :? That's cheaper than a couple of years ago :wall:
So I obviously I didn't say anything, and I ordered them straightaway at £210 for the pair - well chuffed!
I fitted them last week as soon as they arrived and fitted new indicators and dipped headlights (thanks Zara), my current sidelights and I thought I might as well put my old Halfords ones to use and put those in the main beam.
I had the car out last night, and decided to try them out once it got dark. When I turned them on, I couldn't believe the difference :shock:
The road in front of me was lit like I've never seen before in a Puma. In fact, it was lit like I've only ever seen on modern cars - really intense light and you can actually see where the beam ends on the road, instead of it fading away if you know what I mean. The only thing is they were angled down a lot so I couldn't see that far ahead. But I think that they may need adjusting slightly (higher), so will get this done at some point.
In conclusion, yes brighter and upgraded bulbs can make a difference. And obviously a HID kit will make a substantial difference. But it's suprising the difference that new lenses/units can make. To be honest, I didn't expect any difference. After all, I bought them for cosmetic reasons, not to improve the performance of them (I don't have the car out at night much). I know that the new bulbs play will a tiny role, but I'd even think about putting standard bulbs back in for a while to see what they're like - I was that impressed!
Once I get them aligned properly (if they actually need it, but I feel they do) I'll put a little update on this thread
