PeteyV

I have had my car for 11 years now and have had the Depo fishcake projectors in it for the last 6 years. They have not mechanically given me any problems but the beam pattern is terrible and especially worse while it is raining outside. I basically get most of my lighting from my fog lights.

I have been very used to this lighting since I have been driving like that for 6 years, however, I don't feel comfortable allowing anyone else to drive my car at night time because of this.

I can purchase a brand new set of OEM w203 Bi-X for $1400 which I have been debating about doing since my car is quite old.

What are your thoughts? Do any forum members have Bi-X headlights for sale that are in very good condition?

TruTaing

For a lot less than 1400 bux, you could buy headlights, send them to get retrofitted w/ some GREAT projectors and have some of the best aftermarket igniters, ballasts, and bulbs.... Overall, you'll have get a much wider beam and much brighter lights in exchange for a less plug and play solution.

I just swapped from OEM BiX to an aftermarket retrofit. I kinda wonder why I didnt do it sooner. Parts are easier to come by if they fail (ballast/igniter in the OEM case) and the light output is fantastic!

PeteyV

Do you have any pictures of how the aftermarket projectors look inside of your housings?

samaritrey

Your Depo lights should be fairly easy to retrofit in an e55 projector or even better the Morimoto Evox-r
You get the bi-xenon function and great output.
Check out http://www.theretrofitsource.com/
They are some of the best people to work with and everything they sell is high quality.
I did an e55 projector swap on my w211 and am very happy with the results.
https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...-retrofit.html

SoCal208

How much is your car worth, now ?. It's crazy to spend $1400 for the light of this car. Spend $150 (part & labor) for the aftermarket xenon light to get a better lightning, but NOT $1400.00....

PeteyV

That's one of the reasons on why I cannot justify spending that much money on a car that's worth $7,000 KBB ($70,000 in sentimental value). Performing retrofitting like the above posts is very cool and seems like a good alternative but I have always felt that stock is the best way to go.

I feel that the actual problem with the depos is not the xenon lighting but the project through which the light is output onto the road. It feels subpar and does not distribute the light well at all.

PeteyV

Very sweet! I would not mind doing this but I feel it is a little too involved for me and I am looking for a quick fix. One of the reasons I want to have better lighting is because I am going to be purchasing a new car soon and I won't be selling my C Class, I'll most likely just give it to my mother and I don't want her driving it around with bad lighting.

TruTaing

PeteyV,

I have some photos of my retrofit into Depos.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...thread-17.html

I also have my OEM bix for sale if you're interest. They're old and beaten up, but would be great for parts!

samaritrey

I had the OEM BIX on my c320 and while they were very good the retrofit I did has better light output.
If you hunt around on ebay you can buy the lights separately that's what I did and got the set for under $500. Then just bought new bulbs for it (Genuine Philips 85122) and in the end saved a ton of money. Then I sold the set for $800 on here lol

PeteyV

That would be my second option, except it feels like these OEM BiX are becoming very scarce on eBay.