romeo291

I hope this isn't a repost but I haven't seen anybody post these headlights. It was bound to happen, Looks terrible IMO, but maybe they'll make a nicer version later on down the road. For $1360 a set, I say no thank you, but what do you guys think?

Sources: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/2011-...942292000.html

vic viper

ilumunus

At night, when my car is never on the road, it would look great. When it's being driven during the day, HA, no thanks!

romeo291

haha. What I don't understand is how they could mess up this design so badly. I imagined some dude going "is that a lowercase "C" LED on the original design? Why not make it a CAPITAL "C"!

Drazil

I thought the exact opposite.... yes the "C" in daylight looks huge and weirdly proportioned like a girl with a huge nose... but in the night pics the C totally drowned out the puny light beside it, and it appeared even bigger.

vic viper

Nailed it!

Doa

when reading the topic i was thinking about new lights that project something on the road, this is just a LED bar in a C shape. doesn't look all that bad though

xzotik1

I found these on ebay for under 400.

JaredP

Apparently these look much better in person, and they're around $350 on ebay now. I might buy these to see how they look. Does anyone know of any other alternatives for the facelift W204?

wsboxer1

If someone does get these and puts them in we'd love it if you post your thoughts and pics! None of the cars available when I bought had the lighting package. Been checking how I can get those lights but to no avail. Although the C in there kind of looks like an eye boogie you get when you wake up.... It still looks pretty neat (OEM that is).

JaredP

A member in this thread has a set.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...2012-c300.html

Allemande

Actually I just put mine in today. I have a black c300 so it looks a bit different on it than the white one. I'll take some pictures tomorrow and post them.

JaredP

Awesome, did you buy the black or chrome ones? How difficult is it to switch them out?

Allemande

I bought the chrome ones. I asked some technician friends of mine to help me out(which means they did all the work and I watched...whew). It took them about an hour to install and they said it wasn't hard for them at all. The only complaint they had was that the headlight sat in there real tight, so they warned me to not slam the hood down too hard, just in case.

It looks much better than the halogen ones and I'm a huge fan, but I can see some people not liking them.

tonyteetime

From the pictures of the after market lights , I'm not digging the reverse C or sideway U white halo thingy (too big and dominating). Perhaps they look better in person ?

Need more pictures on different color cars for further review.

Allemande, please post pictures.

JaredP

Yeah, that's the thing. Almost anything is an upgrade over the halogens. Wish there was more options, or that they would more blatantly copy MB, ha.

vic viper

These headlights are an offense to all well designed Benzes out there ..

JaredP

Putting yellowy halogen bulbs in a 45k car is a bigger offense, and that one is on MB.

vic viper

That is why you order the 45K car with Xenons from the get go.


I wouldnt put those crappy hideous chinese headlights on my car even if I got paid to do it, but hey, thats my 2 cents.

tonyteetime

Here in the US , at least in my area , the lighting package is hard to find for new facelift w204 sedans. The aftermarket ones could definitely be improved in aesthetic. I wish there were more after market options.

MDMercedesGuy

I agree 100%. It's also so much more than just having Xenon lights - the cornering lamps and automatic high beams make such a difference in nighttime driving as well.

That said, not sure if things are different over there - but in the US there seems to be lot of instant gratification going on. People will take a car from the lot even if it is not 100% what they want instead of ordering. Granted, sometimes situations dictate this (replacing a totaled car for instance), but a lot of time people are just unwilling to wait or are not that particular. Dealers are also unwilling to stock their lots with cars equipped with proportionately expensive options as well - it makes the car harder to sell.

The Tsunami back in 2011 that wiped out production plants for these lights did not help. When I ordered my car in November of 2011, I had a 6 month wait because I wanted the lighting package. It was worth it, IMO.

JaredP

The option of choosing "now" or "6 months from now" is hardly "Instant Gratification", 6 months is not a normal waiting period. I didn't even HAVE the option, it was simply wait an indefinite amount of time and hope a white C300 with sport + premium + media int. + lighting package popped up.

MDMercedesGuy

How did that happen for you - did you buy your C300 after W204 production had ceased, or does Canada handle orders in a different manner?

crater64

I wish I'd worked harder to find a car with the lighting package in someone's inventory, and if I'd known for sure I was going to end up in a W204 I might've placed an order.

As it is I'd rather stick with the halogens than use those bad Chinese knock-offs, and just hope someone comes up with an aftermarket replacement bulb that appears whiter but doesn't reduce the useful light output. Too many posts have been made about how the Phillips and Sylvania (Osram) bulbs offer only cosmetic improvements to make me want to spring for them.

romeo291

Honestly, if I had a 2012-13 without the lighting package, I would just get these plug & play replicas. They're not bad in terms of price at all, and no-one would ever know they aren't the OEM ones.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2011-Mercedes-Benz-W204-C-CLASS-C250-PROJECTOR-HEADLIGHT-H7-TYPE-C180-C200-C350-/261371058581?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Year%3A2012%7CModel%3AC250&hash=item3cdaedd995&vxp=mtr