mis3

My friend has a 2005 C230 sedan and she is thinking to change the front grill to one who has the MB star; like the C230 Coupe. Any suggestions? Is there a DIY writeup somewhere?

I came across this one:
http://www.tunersdepot.com/Exterior/...03--96499.html

phister

just ebay it, they have a large selection of them. and its easy to install... pop the hood remove the 6 bolts holding it I believe they're 10mm and slap the new one on.

I personally am not a fan of the start on the grill for our cars, it looks too large and out of place. but its her taste so she can do what she likes.

mis3

I went to http://formymercedes.com and they sell a CL style grill for w203 sedans for $209. Their websites says direct fit. How did this online store?

LLUSKYY

I'm purchasing a new grille today and won't be needing my OE star grille anymore. I could let that go for a reasonable price.

phister

just type in w203 grill and ebay and all the grills on there are direct as well. you're just searching for ones that are expensive. everyone gets them from ebay for cheap and havent had problems with them. just let her pick out the one she likes on ebay. they a lot to choose from

mis3

Her car is a 2005 C230 Sedan. I did not know this car has a OE star grill. I recall that only C230 coupes come with the star grill.

LLUSKYY

I think certain years of the W203 had a star grille and a flat badge, which mine had.

I replaced the flat badge with a regular ornament and am soon to replace the grille with a Brabus replica.

http://instagram.com/p/XTj9t9NLE4/

mis3

From Formymercedes.com Site, some of these w209 grills are 6.5 inches in diameter and some are 4.75 inches. I just measured my w209 grill, the diameter is 6.5 inches.

mis3

Actually, I am not sure if she has a sport sedan or regular sedan. Maybe the grills are different.

mis3

Correction. Her car is a 2006 C230 sedan. Sorry for the confusions.

Phister: You are right. I went to ebay and I found a few for under $100.
.

TTR

If you go to my thread I have some pictures of the install process. Give me a shout if you have questions. It's pretty easy, just need that one tool and gotta remember to move the tabs that your OEM one has that doesn't come with the eBay ones.

mis3

Please read your PM.

TTR

Was there even an OEM star grille? I've never seen one in the accessories catalogs for sure. As far as I know only the coupes had it in that generation. Most of the ones I've seen look too large and bit a outta place so I wouldn't think MB would have actually done it. Also, it would go against the design philosophy from that generation across the board. Only coupes had OEM star grilles up until recent years, all sedans no matter if they were AMG had hood ornaments instead.

TTR

The W209 grilles will only fit on a C55.

LLUSKYY

Will do.

mis3

I am looking for after-market grille and I saw a few in ebay for 2006 C230 sedan. I am not sure if they fit well and hope that some forum members here have experiences with these grilles.

I just measured my w209 grille to visualize how big it is. Maybe the 4.75-inch would look better for a w203. Do you remember which vendor did you buy from?

TTR

K so since yours is a C230, the W209 grilles that are shorter will definitely not fit, it will just have a gaping hole lol.

I ordered my grilles from de_motors on eBay. Fitted perfectly, no wiggles or jiggles looks pretty decent to me and I'm sure the pictures reflect that too. Mine was under $90 CAD and they shipped it under a week.

There's a lot of vendors so just look for the one's that have a "Top Rated Seller" emblem. A lot of them have the same products so it comes to down to whatever is cheapest?

mis3

I went through the first 2 pages and I could not find de_motors but fortunately, there are a lot of Top Rated Sellers.

I found this one; grille and emblem combo:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/SILVER-SPORT...961449&vxp=mtr

TTR

Ya looks relatively legit. There's really not much to it, the W203 has been around for so long I'm sure the measurement kinks have been worked out.

mis3

From the ebay link, it seems that the grille comes with 2 hood flat emblems. Why two? Should there be a small box underneath the hood to hold the emblem?

TTR

I still have my upright ornament on there so I'm not too sure. Looks pretty easy though, here's a vid for someone that replaced it on their W202:


Maybe the other emblem is for the rear?

LLUSKYY

The second emblem is for the trunk.

mis3

Maybe this flat hood emblem is a stick-on? Looking at the picture on the link, it looks like there is no locking mechanism under the emblem. Not sure if a stick-on emblem would stay secure.

Akhafeez

I got mine on ebay for under $100 lasted me two years already no problems. Pretty easy install 6 bolts. i had to go to home depot to buy extras. just dont screw into the hood too far.

LLUSKYY

I'm sure the seller is wise enough not to sell a stick on badge for the hood. But if anything, the flat badge directly from the dealer goes for under $50 so not too much of a loss there.

Note: the locking mechanism is a wing nut and will require some sort of tool such as a pair of pliers or a wrench in order to lock it into place. Takes no effort whatsoever though.