500Benz

So yesterday (Sunday) I was at church and came back to my car in astonishment as my front tri-star MB emblem had been tampered with. It was totally bent forwards. Enfuriated I drove home and successfully bent it back to its original position. Didn't take notice of the rear emblem until this morning thinking to myself "if someone tampered with the front I should really check the rear" and to my rage found nothing but 3 holes.

I guess the turd stole the rear then went for the front, tried and failed! Of all the places to find thieves - @ church!!

Are there any ways to fix this growing problem of emblems being stolen everywhere besides bandaid solutions? I know most people just buy the flat hood emblem, but I really like the look of the stand-up tri-star emblem. I really don't want to buy more emblems only to have them stolen again!

Would any kind of superglue adhesive work without damaging paint or making it look crusty?

DWP

Sorry to hear that you got ripped off (literally) but I don't know that it's a growing problem. The Golden Age of Tristar theft was the '80s, I thought, when the Tristar was considered fly jewelry in some urban circles. Don't have an answer to your question, though, except to note that it's probably better to have a trunk emblem that can be removed fairly easily than it is to have one bolted down so well that the thieves mess up your trunk lid trying to pry it off. The trunk lid is aluminum. Looks like your hood emblem did a pretty good job of resisting theft, so I don't know how M-B could improve on its performance in that respect.

500Benz

That's true its probably not a growing problem. But I don't think its diminished any, I still hear it happening all the time from relatives and friends that own MB's - all of whom have their emblems stolen atleast once or twice.

Good point, didn't think about it that way.

MB-BOB

I agree the tristar theft phenomenon was big in the '80s-early '90s in the states, but in reading the UK forums, it appears to be a current problem overseas. Maybe in Canada as well.

I agree it's better to have an emblem that can simply be taken rather than bolt it down to guarantee more extensive damage. Might want to look into the various flat badges available. We're finally starting to see a couple top quality alternatives to the cheap plastic SLK badge. There is a thread in this forum about one of them.

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...89#post1551889

Here's a look at my "White Star Flat Badge" from Rob (DFWdude)...
.

ATS

How can I send an electrical charge into my star?

Jk..

hotwiredbenz

I'd like a hood ornament with razor sharp edges.

klenbore

Sorry to hear about your vandalism. A good number of years ago (1990's) I had a number of hood stars stolen from a couple of my previous Benz’s. One theft happened locally and I had 2 stolen from out of town motel parking lots. Frustrated, I finally bought quick removable hood stars that were sold by MB dealers at the time. I don’t know if they are still available or not. Might be worth checking into though, just don’t forget to remove it when you park the car outside of your garage. I wish I could of caught the s-o-b’s that stole them, but I’d probably be in the big house now.

rodE350

Sorry to hear about that. Those thieves should be . That is one reason why I went to the flat hood badge. I don't want for the tri-star MB emblem stolen and my hood ruined. And the other reason is the flat hood badge looks cleaner looking....I am referring only to the flat hood badge made by Rob. You guys should check out his work...it is awesome. Excellent quality work.

500Benz

Thanks for the replies all!


Excellent Idea!

Thanks for the suggestion! Some of those emblems are quite nice!

Wow. Sorry to hear about your losses. I just went out just now and replaced the rear emblem for $12 CAD, luckily its not as expensive as I thought. That's quite a good idea though, I should've asked if they had some easily removable badges - I'll probably do that the next time around as I'm sure there are more thieves out there. Thanks for the suggestion.

I whole heartedly agree!!

500Benz

One more thing, after bending the front emblem back into its original position, I'm still in doubt as I think it may be inverted.

Before the front emblem was tampered with, I did recall that the it had some wiggle room but don't remember if it was supposed to be able to wiggle backwards or forwards.

Can anyone with a tri-star emblem confirm for me and tell me whether yours bends forwards or backwards?

I may need to twist it again hope it doesn't break! =(

Thanks!

rodE350

I believe it bends forward.

Barry45RPM

It is mounted in a spring ballasted ball socket. It can be rotated in almost any direction, so as not to impale a pedestrian that you hit & flip.

DFWdude

Correct. It bends forward most readily.

bsk

i second that!!!

500Benz

Thanks for the info guys!

roigber

I just bought this on TheFind ... have you watched the youtube videos? looks great!!

roigber

By the way, the page is this: www.libelleq.com