MJTShowdown

Hey everyone, hows it going. I come onto this board not for myself, but a friend who has recently purchased a 1998 clk320 with around 110k miles. In all honesty, the car has had numerous previous owners and its not my favorite one, but its what he has and what he has to work with.

He's owned to car for a few months now, and his brother has already managed to hit a deer, damaging the front end of the car. I'm looking to help my friend out while at the same time saving his wallet. I'll get pictures as soon as i can, but for now only a description will have to do.

First off, what direction do you guys suggest i go with in order to replace the hood and front bumper. I have a body shop who will repaint at a very reasonable rate, so thats not the issue. Should i go with a oem used replacement from a junkyard, or is there high quality replicas i can find with good fitment at fair prices?

Sorry guys, but im normally a bimmer guy, so everything mercedes is fairly new. Along with fixing the car, my friend is looking at doing some fairly cheap aesthetic mods. Does HR offer good lowering springs for the car? Along with this, i saw a roof spoiler on an amg model once, and thought it looked pretty good. What are your opinions on them?

Pretty much i'm looking for any and all advice! Feel free to post pictures of your own cars, because i'm always interested.

MarcusF

I'd go used OE because you know that will fit. Many aftermarket bumpers simply don't.

jbenz99

I guess i kind tha got lucky with my aftermarket bumper ! its not 100% fit but I say for a aftermarket bumper it sure is almost perfect and looks better than my oem bumper lol !!

MJTShowdown

where'd you purchase your bumper from?
and do you still have your oem bumper that you'd be willing to sell?

jbenz99

[QUOTE=MJTShowdown;4456863]where'd you purchase your bumper from?
and do you still have your oem bumper that you'd be willing to sell?[/QUOTE


Ugly oem front bumper sold ...thank god ! Here the link where I got my new and better looking front bumper -

http://www.nicedeals.co.uk/product_i...ae6f2806e5d0ec

MJTShowdown

i'm located in america, do you know the manufacturer so i could order it over here?

Mslaughter

I tend to agree with this, based on a previous experience with my WS6. It seems like the money saved with aftermarket products is often lost in the labor charges trying to get it to fit correctly. Not worth the frustration, IMO. But if you are going aftermarket, at least make sure it's a reputable company.

MJTShowdown

the problem i'm running into is that oem replacements are tough to find used (in my research at least) as these aren't extremely common cars. The aftermarket replacements appear to be cheaper, but i hate fitment issues.

This may sound like an oxymoron, but is there any aftermarket bumper manufacturer that offers good fitment at low prices? From my research it doesn't look like i'll be able to find an aftermarket hood that is subtle enough for the car, but maybe from your experiences you guys can show me otherwise?

jbenz99

I am also located in usa ....the company I purchase my bumper from they delivery world wide

MJTShowdown

How long did shipping take?

jbenz99

10 days !!!

MarcusF

If you have a shop, painting a used cover should be a piece of cake. Potomac, SilverStar, and Sun Valley surely have W208 AMG bumpers in stock. Have you called any of those recyclers?

MJTShowdown

In the next few days ill be lining everything up to fix the front end of the car. We've already tinted the tailights so were hoping the car will be refreshed after new paint, lowering springs, and possibly vinyling the roof. Very excited