c2jones

To: C230 Sport Coupe

Wow. You sure give-in easy. A cob-job treatment and you're not even upset with this?

I have some former swamp land here in Florida to run by you. We cleared out the gators and snakes the best we could, so we're ready to deal...

Just kidding, of course.

Life must be smooth for you. I hope your ship will still come in for you this way.

Why have you turned to the other cheek so easy?

Not my style. I'll take this fight to the end if it comes to that.

Christopher

slcvr6

Are the VIN#s not stickered somewhere on the bumpers, which could create an issue down the road?

Lynn

The VIN is on the car in many locations, but I doubt that things as fragile as plastic bumper covers are one of those locations.

CRB

Here in CA, front plates are the law and I really don't have a problem with that for photo radar and red light runner cameras. But what really sticks in my craw is the dealerships that add extra badging to the car. It is usually ugly and not stylistically in tune with the car. That is something to get angry about!!

KOMPRESSORnSC

I sell liscense plates, frames, car-cals, etc. to dealers, and I hate the stuff too! First thing I stripped off when I brought the car home. It's funny, because it's probably the second largest purchase for people, and the seller expects you to drive around advertising their business! I mean, a realtor doesn't leave the 'sold' sign up in front of your house when you buy it, do they? The dealer here puts an oval 'Euro' plate on the square plate mount on the front...tacky!!

Charleston, South Carolina...where a 'modified' MB is no front dealer ad plate, and 'heavily modified' means removing the dealer frame on the rear!

c2jones

Well, I finally found the time to get the car into the dealer where they agreed to remove the plates and its obtrusive holes and resurface the front bumper fascia. I was going to insist upon a whole new front bumper, but the salesman, who is working hard to establish trust and proper business etiquette, was sure that he’s never seen a car come back with complaints about the integrity of the bodywork, especially in that it may bubble up, etc., and assured me that if this happened they would gladly replace the bumper then.

So, I settled for this and had them do the work. I waited a few weeks to see if in fact there was going to be any early issue with paint adhesion (etc) and to date there has not been. Then, on the 28th of June I took some snapshots at a nearby lake, which includes some close-ups on the front fascia. I’ll let the onlookers be the judge of whether the car appears satisfactory to each person, but for us it has passed the test.

Please see attached (scanned) photo collage.

Please allow me to thank everyone who unreservedly participated in this thread. The contributions were educational, instrumental, and inspiring toward getting the results desired and now achieved. The forum has been quite helpful for me in this regard. I only hope everyone else is equally fortunate to experience the same said results.

If I can answer any questions or at all be helpful to anyone else, just indicate as much and I will be as cooperative as possible. Once again, thanks to all the contributors to this thread.

Note: The front grill badge is for MBCA. There are plenty of other photo angles upon request.

Most genuinely,

Christopher Jones

c2jones

Well, the photo collage was too large to be accepted into the forum provisions. I'll have to work on reduction of the MB and try this again...

Sorry.

(Any quick suggestions of photo-reduction for this purpose?)

c2jones

Let's try this...

c2jones

After cropping and size-reduction...

Anaheim_Drew

On my 2001 C320, pre owned starmark purchased from dealer, there are no holes in bumper for front lic. plate. How can this be since the car has always been a California car? Opinions?

amdeutsch

All W203 meet CA emissions. Not every state requires a front license plate. Therefore it is wise for MB to built them one way. If you want one just screw it into the bumper plastic. It'll hold.

You CA guys are strange. One wants the front license plate mounted and another will do anything to get out of it.

FIXEDupW209

some people take the risk of getting a $35 ticket and they dont screw in the front license plates. My guess is that the previous owner didn't attach it. A lot of people dont cuz its sooooo ugly.

Anaheim_Drew

I AGREE IT IS UGLY............... but on the 91fwy between Anaheim, and Los Angeles............. The hwy patrol love to stop eveyone

MJ50

drew, i think urs is similar to mine...
mine had plastic plate holder and a mount bracket... no holes...

Sponger

Forgot to tell dealer not to drill for plates and now I have to buy plugs from http://www.geocities.com/esklut/plugs.html

YeeHaw

I couldnt stand mine...so after my wreck i asked the body shop to not put the bracket back on... ive already gotten a fix it ticket here in san jose for no front plate....and im keeping it that way..its ugly as heck, and nothing like a flat piece of metal to catch the attention of a radar gun

CitronC230K_03

i did. i had my dealer not put on the brakcet when my car arrived. i had to sign a waiver stating i knew it was the law but declined to have it installed. i hate the way it looks, and have had my ticket writen off by a friend whos a cop the only time i got one. screw them, not my bumper. leave the holes out of my car!!!!

FrankW

license plate frames are put on by the dealership and they usually put it on when they receive the car from ship. You can however remind them not to put the license plate frame on the car if the car's ordered or they haven't done so. it's the owners choice.

The California law however require people to have one license plate for the rear and one for the front.

I just don't like'em up front. Haven't had any problem yet. Knock on wood...

CitronC230K_03

or aluminum, if you dont have wood trim!

FrankW

hahaha

preyx

Strangely enough, mine didn't come with the front plate installed either, and I left it that way. A few months ago I did get a fix-it, however, but now I just wedge the plate in the upper-right corner of the windshield. A little ricey, I know, but I think It's better than nothing...

FrankW

be careful when you have accidents. Trust me, you don't want that type of object flying at you when you crash.

Jkw

M-B should do a better job of intergrading the front bumper to hold a License Plate, This way you wouldn’t have to slap a cheese piece of plastic on the front grill.
Also if you decided to take the plate off, your giving the Cops the excuses to pull you over @ inopportune times, after a few bottles of wine with your wife at dinner or when your dropping off that Jail-Bait “baby sitter" etc…Not worth the risk!
Jkw

mctwin2kman

This is why I moved to a state that does not require front plates. I was so used to living in NY and driving without one since I had a dealer plate. I also like the look without it as it is a much cleaner look. My 190E has the front plate mount there, but it looks as if it has to be since the front thermometer is attached to it. Stupid Benz from back in the day. Looks like hell since it is not even a rectangular plate holder. Now I need to go get a false plate for it to make it look better.

m444

The car is almost two years old and has no front plate, previous owner left it off.

Now I get nervous when the cops start eyeing my car at the intersection. I really hate being stopped for a fix it ticket.