rb23lb

maybe this is a malfunction, maybe this is my bad...

i thought the car would clear all the parking blocks so i havent been as careful and I parked the car in a lot and the front amg bumper on my 350 sport scraped on the parking block...

when i pulled back it popped the bumper out of one of the clips and left some deep scratches in the plastic on the underside... it is only visible if you lay on the ground and loook under, and I was able to pop the bumper back in the one clip it popped out of, so everything is fine, but it just pisses me off that mercedes would make it so low in a stock configuration as to where it wont even get over the parking blocks of standard size... if this is the case they should at least warn you

CarGuru

It's just something you need to get used to, I can think of a half dozen cars that will still scrape and are just as low if not lower than the W204. In fact it appears my mothers '04 TL (base) no A-spec or Type S model even appears to be lower than our C300 sport, the only good thing is that Acura gives you a black plastic thingy that hangs a little lower as a warning before you pull too far up. As an FYI it seems almost every W203 (Sport) I see appears to have curb rash on the leading edge of the air dam, I notice this to be even more so with the women drivers.

-Ryan

rb23lb

ya women drivers are idiots when it comes to curb rash and front scrapes...

i only was more lax on the front end after I had already tested out by inching forward with a friend watching that the bumper clears just barely...

i think i hit this time due to an incline in the spot i was in... there is not much margin for error if this is the case...

wont be giving it the benefit of doubt any longer, learned my lesson that not all parking blocks are equal or pavement and parking grades for that matter...

on perfectly flat ground it clears by 1/2", but that is not enough to never have to worry i guess

CarGuru

Wife and I went to breakfast last week, I thought I was just going to pull in and guess, well something went off and said umm better stay about two feet back from the curb just in case. A few times like at Home Depot I've pulled up and over one just guessing and cleared it by 1" or 2" this time I was lucky as when I observed after getting out I would have taken out the nose on the lower bumper easily. I keep praying my wife takes after my totally **** parking strategies.

-Ryan

chilledbenz

Normally I would just point my finger and laugh at him, as I guess he hasn't driven a Honda lately. My friends girlfriend took out his new Civic...brought it back with $2500 dollars worth of front end damage. What she though was reverse was drive and she attempted to go over a parking block. The parking block had other ideas and decided to take the front bumper for a souvenir. Most cars have been this low for a long long time.

MB Fanatic

That black plastic thingy on the TL is actually a lower air damn to create pressure for the engine to breathe. The TL gets its air from the bottom of the car.

Stick Girl

Hey now, I take exception to this statement.

I am VERY careful. As a matter of fact, I would bet money on it that if my front end gets scratched it'll be because of my hubby and not me! Now there!!!!

peabers

The longer front overhang of the TL makes it even more precarious to drive onto driveways. I have scraped that black plastic air dam before....

I specifically showed my wife the front spoiler on the W204, so I think she's scared of it as much as I am. I am glad that she always backs into a parking space.

clkhunting

How hard was it to pop the spoiler back into the clips? This happened to me and it looks like it popped out of three on each side!?!?

mr inkredibul

Ditto

r042wal

I scraped the underside of my front bumber on a parking block too. It looked like it was all one piece, part of the front bumber assembly that extends halfway up the headlights. Am I wrong? Will the bottom of the bumper unclip so I can have it touched up?

Thanks

sdchrisc

next time get the luxury sedan insted of the sport sedan... you will clear all parking blocks

Arjy

thats why i back into all spots

Scat01

Is this a serious post from the OP? Know your car - For crying out loud you are trying to blame MB for your lack of knowledge? Unreal...

alexlev

Contact the parking block manufacturer & inform them that their blocks are higher than spec.

Mixedfruits

but seriously Im a crap driver too I feel your pain first week scraped driverside, solution? get a front lip to cover up cuase lazy to sand and repaint and lern to be careful

zkrr

I had an Audi A6 a few years ago that caught the bumper cover on a piece of rebar that was holding the parking block in place -- but sticking up about 3/4 of an inch above the block. The finish detail of the Audi bumper cover was such that it wrapped around under the front bumper, but terminated with an unfinished edge about 12-18 inches from the front. When I backed out, the unfinished edge caught the rebar and pretty much detached the bumper cover from the car. $350 at my local body shop to repair.

About a year later, I get a recall notice from Audi that says their bumper design was prone to this behavior on parking blocks that were slightly higher than normal. The recall included attaching a plastic shield on the bottom were the bumper cover wrapped under the front of the car. Audi also repaid me for the repair.

I've noticed this type of issue on other performance sedans -- so it's not just MB. Though not a sedan, Cayman S has the same issue. But thanks to my experience with the Audi, I now treat parking blocks with a great deal of caution.

clkhunting

This sounds like a good band-aid. Anyone have a front lip they recommend?

MBnewby

I too had the scratched front bumper (my C was used) but I would recommend paying to have a good body shop repair/repaint your bumper rather than getting a front lip. It costs $350 to repaint my bumper and a front lip spoiler costs nearly as much if you get a good one.

I first bought a front lip and then realized it made the car even lower up front! This would have likely bottomed out my car on my driveway resulting in a scraped front lip... I didn't even install the thing after figuring this out. I dont' really think that it's a good "band-aid" for this reason. Either live with it scraped, or if you're OCD like me have it fixed and be EXTRA CAREFUL from here on out.

OneOfaKindTrini

Just trade it in now

HAHA JK OP, my front bumper sits right over the parking block.

JoeVal

No big deal, it's been a while that, as everything else, all parking blocks are created equal, but some are more equal than others.

Mixedfruits

paid 300 for painted and installed li authentic carlsson too@!

RLE

Dream on.....

envyxc350

Are you seriously blaming MB that your C350 SPORT scraped? Part of being sporty is low and stiff suspension.

mac911

Yes, you aren't suppose to drive over them. I have never drove over them, not even when I'm in a boring rental car. Why take the risk to scratch up any car?