I notice some post facelift 124 Mercedes come with different grilles to mine.

I don't know if they are aftermarket, or if they are avantgarde trim?

But they look much better than the standard one I have. They seem to have more chrome fins, and less plastic behind them.

Can someone shed some light please?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/86-93...Q5fAccessories

That grille? That is the s600/AvantGarde style grille. I have one on my father's 93 500e. It looks nice and fits well enough.

 

Seems like the ones I see for the facelift cars come with the chrome outside trim as well.

 

Actually I meant the facelifted version,
And, RHW, surprisingly I think it is the one which is on your car. Mine appears to look different to that (I will take a pic and post it)

 

For the facelift cars, I've seen 3 grills
the one with 20 chrome strips instead of 6 and
the one with the MB star in the center.

The grill on my cab is the one I was describing, unlike Brett's link, the same grill for the facelift cars comes with the chrome surround.

 

Is the one on your 124 aftermarket or something?
I have the one with the 6 chrome strips but prefer the way yours looks.

The one with the Mercedes emblem in the center looks horrible I think. Better to have no grille than that

 

Mine is from ebay, and included the surround. Have bought several, hate the quality, one is showing rust at 2 years.

 

Are they standard on any 124? Or are all these aftermarket? ie, maybe the E500 or Avantgarde spec cars had these?

Quality is a fairly big thing... especially if your car is in pristine condition, you don't want these flimsy things on it

 

i think aftermarket for W140 is good enough

 

Declan I didn't understand what you meant in your post

 

just try to figured it out what kind of grille that similar like your described...thinking of W140 (S Klass)..just like i had?

 

Whoops, didn't realize I linked the 86-93 one. Whatevs, the 94-95 one is also easily found on ebay if you just search "w124 grille"

 

Is their fit and finish at least ok? Or do they leave gaps and show that it's some cheap aftermarket part?

Declan, now I understand. Yes I think it's meant to be an S500 grille

 

Fit and finish is good enough.

 

Yeah, I agree with Rich. I've only got the 86-93 one but its on my dad's 500e and it looks fine. I mean, maybe there is a few milimeters gap on one or two bands but it really does look great.

Only pics I have:

 

How does it compare to the OEM part?
It does look good in pics though

 

Its got a bit of flex to it, but the fitment is fine.

 

Not even close.
That is about as far as it goes.

Just paint the OEM grille insert black. Remove the grille insert, slide off the chrome strips, paint the plastic with some black spray paint, reinstall the chrome strips, and behold a truly beautiful new grille for your W124.

 

Any pics of that Ksing44?

 

I've got it on my car (Painted OEM)
Check the gallery:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...9&l=222a4c8ddc

 

Ksing, Edited - my mistake, you're just recommending cleaning up the stock grill,
but still, the reason most replace the stock grill is to somewhat update the look.

My favorite pre facelift look remains the body-color painted surround trim with this same inside / S style grill being discussed in this thread...

 

Saijin, I cannot say that I like how it looks with the plastic painted black.

Does anyone have close up shots of the imperfections of the S500 grille for the facelifted 124?
I really think it transforms the car, but not willing to do it if it's a cheap looking mod

 

i did this and the outcome was less than expected. the black paint will
chip with every highway stone encountered.

a'

 

Saijin's black OEM grille looks great to me. He had a couple of nice photos of the look. If You don't like that, then go for the S600 style. Lots of people have them, so maybe you will like it too.

I tried two different versions of the S600 grille from two different vendors. One was black plastic and more rigid and one was gray plastic and more flexible. Both arrived partially broken from shipping or whatever. The thin veins holding the slats tend to get broken. They also don't mount as securely as the OEM grille, so they tend to slap around when you close the hood. I did not want them on my car. I sent one to a friend in England. I think he likes it and still has it mounted on his car. the other one is on a shelf in my garage. It is too broken to give it away. I think the OEM is without a question far superior. It just needs some black paint. Some mods are pointless.

My 1995 E320 with black OEM grille

 

Mine has withstood about 5-6 years of highway driving without chipping too bad. I did about 6 coats a piece of 1) flat black high Temperature Grill Paint, then 2) Glossy black Enamel paint, then 3) Clear glossy enamel sealer.

It still looks about 95% free of chips and most of the chipping was from me this winter hitting it with my snowblade to remove the icepack it would get when I was driving in all the snow storms.

I'd say paint it, do it carefully, and touch it up when you need to.