91RS

Does anyone have a VIN for an 05+ W203 that came from the factory with the Designo Brown Poplar trim or possibly have US part numbers? I spent a bunch of time on EPC last night and I've got part numbers for all the trim, but only 2 out of the 10 parts are US part numbers. I found two people on here with C55s and the Brown Poplar trim but one hasn't been active in 2 years and the other 4 years, so I don't know if I can get in contact with them or if they even still have the cars. Any help would be appreciated.

tommy

It might be a wild goose chase, but did you go on searchmercedes.com and just go through the listings? Or check your local dealer(s)' inventories to see if they have anything matching; VINs would be on there.

Another option is to email Steve; he or Wanda may be able to get those part #s for you, or even the parts themselves, at possibly a cheaper amount than a US dealership.

BF_JC230

MBENZNL...no fuss, no muss and shipped right to your door - any part (well what I have wanted so far) you want.

Viper98912

Hmm, I didn't know that color existed in the W203. Any reason why that over the black birds eye maple?

91RS

I don't really want the Bird's Eye Maple because I don't really want a dark interior with dark trim. I actually like the aluminum trim that came stock in my car, but I'd kinda like to do something few others have if I'm going to spend the money to change it out. Here's a picture cntrang posted of his car in 2008:



Hah! The searchmercedes.com wen site doesn't show any C55s for sale in the US!

I guess I'll try Steve and see if he can help too. I'm going to go ahead and send a message to cntrang and see if he gets it too.

91RS

No progress made so far, no replies back from cntrang or Steve yet. I don't understand though why EPC would not have valid part numbers in it though. This trim was definately available in the US market, so they have to make replacement pieces!

91RS

I FOUND ONE! I found one for sale on cars.com that has the Brown Poplar trim! With this VIN, EPC seems to pull up the correct part numbers for the Brown Poplar trim except the trim panels for the buttons above the radio and the HVAC control panel (which are the only two good part numbers I had before!). But holy cow they are proud of this stuff, getmercedesparts has all the pieces at $1734. Just for kicks I looked up all the Bird's Eye stuff and it came to $1164.75. I'm going to call my dealer again tomorrow now that I have good part numbers and a VIN and have him look everything up and make sure my numbers are right and see what my price would be through them. Only downside there is I'll have to pay tax. Maybe this stuff is cheaper in Europe and Steve will be my best bet. I'll keep this updated on how this plays out and if I decide to do this. I had myself talked into it at around $1000, but now I'm not so sure.

Viper98912

Nice find, I honestly didn't know that color existed. I thought it was just black birds eye maple in the AMG's and the cherry wood in the luxury cars. After seeing so many cars with the cherry wood (across all brands), I definitely love my black birds eye. The black/grayish color I think goes great with the black interior of the AMG, and has more of a sport luxury look than just a luxury look. Heck, you can see it in my sig. My friend has an X5 and 545 with the brown wood, and yes it does look nice. But I definitely love the birds eye, I've never seen anything like it before as well. Looks like you've found the color you want, so I say spend the money.

Viper98912

Looking at the 05 brochure, charcoal cinnamora or brown poplar were available in the sport coupes, only aluminum in the sport sedans, and black birds eye or brown poplar in the AMG. Heh, never woulda thought.

91RS

I think that's why I like it because it isn't cherry looking, because I normally don't like wood grain at all. I can't stand the look and color of the wood that comes in the Luxury sedan models.

Ah, that must be why it is so expensive because it only came in sedan format in the C55. I'm waiting right now for Atlanta Classic Cars to get back with me, probably in the morning. I forgot to call until pretty late in the day. I sent Steve an e-mail through his site since it hasn't been on here in a while, so maybe that'll get somewhere.

The one I found for sale has a very interesting color combo:

91RS

Alright, I heard back from ACC and Steve today. Steve confirmed my part numbers are correct. His price is approx $1700 + shipping. My price from ACC is $1852.00 + $111.12 tax. Getmercedesparts.com seems to be the cheapest choice, but then I'm kinda nervous about UPS handling $1700 worth of fine plastic trees. ACC told me the parts will have to come from Germany and will take 5-8 days to recieve. Man that's just a lot of money. That's a few car payments or also the 4 piston rear brakes... Ugh.

Viper98912

Well damn, yea I'd do $1k but $2k is pretty steep. Idk then...

I've also been debating whether to scrap the idea of the 2pc rotors up front and going with the 6/4 (340/330) setup and hope to break even...if I can even find it.

91RS

Definately a tough choice. I really like the way it looks though. I don't have any complaints about my brakes, but the 6/4 piston brakes do look so good. But then that whole setup is twice as much as the trim and that's definately too much to swing at once. I don't really want to sell any parts I take off this car either. I'd like to keep them so they can go back on if I sell the car and not loose the money, even though I plan on keeping this car for a long time.

OneOfaKindTrini

Wow I didn't know the W203 had a Designo model.

tommy

There are a bunch of different designo trim options for the W203.

OneOfaKindTrini

Basically you're looking at $2,000 from ACC. That's a lot of money for trim.

91RS

Steve tells me the deisgno pieces are also labeled with AMG so they charge so much for them basically because they can! The sticker price gets me too because I rarely buy stuff new and even when I do eBay usually still has it cheaper! I may have a trick up my sleve, we'll see tomorrow hopefully.

OneOfaKindTrini

Good luck with gettin them man.

91RS

Well, no deal could be made. So looks like if I want them it'll be with getmercedesparts.com. I'm going to call them and make sure shipping isn't going to be crazy and eat the $200 difference (I've bought from them before, but not $1700 worth before).

91RS

I did it. Parts are ordered. Hopefully it won't take too long for the parts to get in. I'm already getting anxious. This will be my last mod for a while so I hope I like it as much in person as the picture!

OneOfaKindTrini

Best of luck let us know how it looks when you install or get the pieces.

91RS

There will be pictures, no worries. I'm also going to post the part numbers for others once I get them installed (just to verify 100% they are correct).

LILBENZ230

Holy jesus.. that is $1800 for plastic? At least tell me that's real wood...?

The aluminum trim is my preference - I hate wood in ANY car, real or fake. You must have really wanted this.

91RS

It's the rare and hard to find plastic tree. The only thing I can see is what Steve told me: he said the Designo stuff is not only labeled Designo but also AMG, so you have to pay the price for two logos instead of one. The Bird's Eye Maple is only marked AMG (I believe) and costs $1200.

I like the aluminum, too. My problem is it always seems dirty for some reason. I hate wood usually, too; but there's just something about the color and design I really like. Like I said, hopefully I still like it in person as much as I do the picture.

LILBENZ230

What color is your interior? I hope you like it, too.

+1 on the aluminum. I love it, but it does always seem dirty. I hadn't really thought about that till you said it.