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Has anyone installed McGard wheel locks on their W205 yet? If so, are they any good compared to the OEM Mercedes wheel locks? I've read that McGard may actually be the supplier to Mercedes. Part number for the black ones is #28374.
I'm planning a trip down to NYC this June in my C300, and since I'm sporting the more expensive 19" AMG wheels, I thought the $40 (half the cost of OEM) would be cheap insurance against the amateur thief...or at least give me a little piece of mind.
I've been using them for over a year. The dealer has had to remove my wheels a couple of times. I've heard no issues from the dealer (except -- "where did you put the wheel lock socket?")
Your own ability to deal with the locks is not quite what we owners looking security have in mind.What we want to hear is that you park a lot in areas of high wheel theft and have come through without loss. Is this what you are saying?
I have been using McGard wheel locks on six different cars over 30 years and no loss are recorded to date. My cars have been parked in some seedy street parking of Phila Pa on a regular bases (nights and days) without missing a wheel. Getting broken into thru the window is another matter.
Been working with Daimler for 16 years now and have never broken a OE lock, even when using impact machines.
McGard locks on the other hand ..
Vic, do you think the McGard wheel locks would hold up against the average amateur thief looking for a quick score...because that's all I'm concerned about since I normally don't park my vehicle in high theft areas.
Yes, the McGard locks are one of the better aftermarket ones I have seen,
If the thief want the wheels he will get them no matter what locks you have, but you will increase the chance of him moving along to find a vehicle without locks instead.
A similar discussion is taking place at Official C-Class Picture Thread.
Originally Posted by NYbenzzz
i also got wheel locks for free from dealer.
but the wheel locks from any car manufacturer are VERY easy to break.
what the thieves do if they can't loosen the bolts, is to over-tighten them and break the socket all together. they usually use a universal socket to get them out. They are pretty good at this, i've seen plenty of videos where it takes them 5-10 minutes for all 4 wheels.
Wheels you see on craigslist are usually stolen, or bought stolen.
....
i got some bullock re-guards from a vendor here, i hope they deter the thieves.
Bullock Re-guards feature "a floating sleeve around the lock splines so that it prevents someone using a pair of pliers to try and remove them. The sleeve will turn while the nut stays put." Alloy wheels have the bolts recessed, so I don't see how a big pair of Vise-Grips, for example, could get at them in the first place.
A similar discussion is taking place at Official C-Class Picture Thread.
Bullock Re-guards feature "a floating sleeve around the lock splines so that it prevents someone using a pair of pliers to try and remove them. The sleeve will turn while the nut stays put." Alloy wheels have the bolts recessed, so I don't see how a big pair of Vise-Grips, for example, could get at them in the first place.
Back in the day when I used to work on cars for a living, when a customer lost their wheel lock key...we would just tack weld (with the customer's permission of course) a nut on the top of the wheel lock, and just remove it. You're only talking about 100 ft.lb or so to remove.
I'm only concerned about the amateur thief looking for the quick kill...I doubt they carry welding equipment with them.
What is the reason for not going with OE?, is the price difference that big?
The dealerships wanted $140 for OEM wheel locks...the least expensive OEM set I could find online was about $80 (black being the most difficult to find)...
...and these McGard wheel locks in black were $42 on Amazon.
03-19-2016, 06:04 PM
What we want to hear is that you park a lot in areas of high wheel theft and have come through without loss. Is this what you are saying?
Bullock Re-guards recommended
