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Rip off!!!! Here is mine, and you can do it yourself. Set aside a half day to take your time to do it right. Lots of YouTube videos out there on this which are fairly accurate, but take your time so you don't break anything. https://www.ebay.com/itm/GT-R-Front-....m46890.l49292
He's in Canada. $100 CDN for installation is very reasonable. And $400 for the grill is ~$300 US. Keep in mind if he purchases from ebay he'll be paying in US, will have to cover shipping and will likely need to source the AMG badge separately.
I originally ordered from okbang20 and the grill took over 2 months to arrive. I refused delivery and sent it back for a full refund. The CKS one was delivered in 2 business days and from what I've seen, is much closer to the OEM grill (more flat).
I also agree that $100 CAD seems reasonable for the install. However, I doubt the grill I'm getting from the shop is OEM, most likely also shipped from China. I also get 1-year warranty from them.
Can I use my current "amg" badge on the new grill if it doesn't come with one?
So, are we leaning towards going with this shop? I really don't have time to play around and install this myself - maybe a few years back when I have less adult responsibilities, I could spare half a day installing it.
Front Camera Issues (360 camera) CKS Performance Panamericana GT Grille
UPDATE:
I purchased the CKS Performance Panamericana GT Grille (with the 360-degree camera; camera on front grille) for my 2018 C43 Coupe and it was professionally installed at a local garage in Toronto.
Everything worked fine including the sensors but I noticed that the camera is angled upwards compared to before. Please see the attached photo - Before: the end of the yellow line will be angled to the floor/pavement. After: the end of the yellow line is angled to the building.
I searched other forums/threads here and I noticed it is a common issue for "EBAY" purchased grilles. Anyone know if this is an issue for CKS Performance grilles, and if so, is there a way to fix this?
CKS Performance Panamericana GT Grille 2018+ W205 Coupe (with 360-camera)
2nd UPDATE:
I went back to the shop that installed the CKS Performance Panamericana GT Grille and they disassembled and assembled everything to show me that the grille was not made to OEM spec.
They showed me a stack of invoices and proved that they have installed at least 80 + of these grilles, manufactured from eBay, Aliexpress, CKS Performance, etc, and they said 90% of the grilles were not made to OEM spec. Some front cameras were angled higher and some angled too low causing distortion to the 360 camera.
The mechanic also said that my grille is already considered "good". He has seen much worse (sensors faulty, front camera didn't even work, error codes popping out in the screen).
I suggested shaving the front camera hole so the camera could be angled lower, but the mechanic said water or snow may get inside causing electrical issues.
I guess I have to live with this... plus, CKS Performance wasn't of much help either...
Seems like that would be the best way to go if quality and functionality are important requirements. Especially if an imitation part not up to OEM-spec is going to cause features you paid to have on the car not work as intended?
There is bumper adjuster to fix your problem. Where there is a gap between the bumper and hood, I wanted to minimize the gap. However, that lead my front camera pointed slight higher then my usual liking but not bad as yours.
When the weather clears up, I can show you or fix it for you. All you need to do is open up the gap but now you will have huge gap between bumper and hood.
I went back to the shop that installed the CKS Performance Panamericana GT Grille and they disassembled and assembled everything to show me that the grille was not made to OEM spec.
They showed me a stack of invoices and proved that they have installed at least 80 + of these grilles, manufactured from eBay, Aliexpress, CKS Performance, etc, and they said 90% of the grilles were not made to OEM spec. Some front cameras were angled higher and some angled too low causing distortion to the 360 camera.
I find this very strange. I also have a CKS grill and have 0 issues with camera alignment. I had it installed at Weston MB who (if you're in Toronto I'm sure you know about them) are one of only 2 MB certified body shops in the province. They said installation was fine, quality was very good and it snapped right in like OEM. Took them under an hour to install.
Not saying the place that installed yours doesn't know what they're doing (especially if they've installed 80+ of them), but odd that there would be a difference in quality from your CKS grill to mine. Hopefully you get the camera alignment sorted out!
That's very reassuring. I actually live nearby Weston MB...who should I get in touch with to fix this issue? I'm assuming they will probably have to remove it and re-install it, did they charge you a ridiculous amount to install? I got charged $120 for 1.5 hours of work at NT AUTO. Thanks!
2019 wagon. There may be a difference between PFL and FL models but if anyone is going to get it installed correctly, it’ll be Weston MB.
CKS Performance insists that they sent me the correct PFL grille and it boils down to installation. I hope MB Weston can solve the issue...will keep this thread updated soon.
MB Weston (Adrian and the technicians) could not diagnose the problem and said the grille from CKS Performance was not made to OEM spec.
They compared the camera mount of the CKS Performance grille with an OEM Mercedes grille and mine was angled/pointed higher.
Nonetheless, they still did an inspection by checking if everything was mounted property, and it was. Turns out, the CKS Performance camera mount is angled/pointed higher and there is no wiggle room to adjust it.
Adrian did not want to admit defeat, so she suggested doing a full recalibration of the 360-camera. Unfortunately, nothing changed.
The only solution is to disassemble the grille and modify it by shaving/cutting the camera mount.
2 hours of labour and Adian waived all the charges. She just gained a customer and a 5-star review.
12-03-2020, 01:59 AM
