emmjay32

I just got a 2007 E350 on the 23rd early xmas present for the wife and I and I have already sent payment for the Flat white Star badge which just looks amazing cause I really dont like the Star ornament. The next thing I want to do is change the grill.

I really really like the look of the Big Star in the grill that comes on the new c classes and the sport model coupes. Call me crazy but I just think its awesome.

Ive looked around on here and cant seem to find a thread dedicated to doing this change on the e350 so I have a few questions.

1) how much will it cost me
2) who makes the best grills for what I am looking for. I dont want a cheap piece of crap
3) can I install it myself or does it have to be professionally done?

Thanks in advance for any advice this site seems pretty awesome and hope to learn more from you fanatics. This is my first benz and I cant stop smiling when I look at it or am inside driving it :P

Chicago_Buckeye

Hello and welcome aboard!

I agree with you the W211s look awesome with the sport grill. Other members only prefer the star on the hood, so it's all a matter of taste. I like them both, and switch between them twice a year - OEM grill / hood star in the Winter, and Sport grill / flat hood star in the Summer (almost like having a different car ).

I've bought a couple of sport grills from the same guy on eBay and they've been top quality. His eBay name is JAKUO. I've seen them elsewhere for MUCH MORE $. Look him up, he sells a LOT of Mercedes aftermarket parts (do a Store search by name). I've also bought other items from him in the past and everything's been top quality with FAST shipping.

It'll cost you around $180 with him.They come in chrome, silver, black (last 2 match body color on vehicle)

I first had the 5 slat grill (CL style) and then switched to the 3 slat version when it became available (like the new C class - thought it looks sportier). Now I just purchased from Jakuo the new 07-09 sport grill (which is the one that fits your vehicle) as I did a front-bumper conversion on my Benz to that newer version (I have an 03 E500).

You can DEFINITELY install it yourself in 30 minutes or less (all you need is a Hex driver).

Finally, there are also OEM grills that have been retrofitted with the star. Personally, I don't like them as they have the center chrome line running down the middle (on top and below the star - almost as if "holding" it). Whereas they ARE OEM W211 grills (and therefore original quality and more expensive), they don't look like the OEM Benz sport grills (SL, CL, C, etc), as none of them have that chrome line down the middle. Again, it's a matter of taste.

I'm including below pics of my car with the 2 previous sport grills so you can see how much they change the look of the vehicle. I'm also including a pic of the new grill I bought from Jakuo to fit the new bumper on my car.

This is a great and inexpensive way to change the look of your Benz. Post some pics when you're done and share with us how it looks.

Hope all this helps. Good luck and let me know if you have any further questions. Greetings from Chicago!

emmjay32

thanks a ton for the info and its awesome to hear I dont have to have it professionally installed. Soon as i get the white star and the new grille ill definitely post pics. one question should there be a mesh grille behind the entire new shell u just bought? I see only behind the emblem and wouldnt want rocks to hop through the empty spaces

Chicago_Buckeye

Glad you found the information helpful.

To answer your question, it doesn't have a mesh behind as it replicates the style of the OEM grills. On the new C Class they don't have a mesh behind the slats, be it the "luxury" (star on hood) or "sport" (star on grill) version. This is also true for the CLS, which doesn't have the mesh behind its OEM grill.

I asked my Service Advisor about this and he said due to aerodynamics, the chance of something coming into that area is almost minimal. Where the risk mainly lies is something hitting the hood at high speeds (as we all know ).

I'm including pics below from a C300 luxury grill, C350 sport grill, a CLS 63 AMG, and finally an SL. If you look closely you can see there's no mesh on any of them except the SL (it DOES bring a mesh behind its grill as the area exposed is very large (only has one slat).

I've seen ONE aftermarket sport grill for the W211 that did have a mesh, but it was the "chrome" version". In my opinion it didn't look good (mesh was chrome as well), and since the original MB ones do not have the mesh, I thought it looked too different.

Again, it's all up to your taste, which is a great thing for all us Benz fanatics, we can make our Benz our own and make it different from the rest. To those that would rather keep it 100% stock: nothing wrong with that either .

Neoii

That's quite a collection of grille shots. Good for reference.

azncantonw211

I was wondering..will the 07+ grills fit in the older models??

155

Yes they will but you'll need an 07+ front bumper.

hagar852

I just ordered the 5 slat grille from formymercedes.com

It seems to be about the same price as Jakuo on ebay almost seems to be the same grille as well..

TPowerdinNY

does someone have an OEM W211 facelift 2007+ front grill they want to sell me? It has to be in great condition. Thanks.

155

Try: http://123mercedes.com/W211/W211GRILLE.html
They have a 07+ replica grill. Looks the same as OEM minus small mercedes emblem at top.

TPowerdinNY

thanks a lot, just ordered!

edwardhchan

Wow, I was curious about this too... Unfortunately, not quite what I expected on the look... I guess I'll stick with stock grill and star for now.

2snguyen

I just ordered the grille and the star from Jakuo and see this post. Hope the grille install well on my W211. I will post the pic of my W211 with new look.

emmjay32

I wish there was a way to get the ml350 grill on the w211....i have postponed changing the grill until i find something similar to it

Darivs Givrar

not OEM.....

NewShockerGuy

Personally speaking the sport grill/star grill seem very out of place to me on the w211 platform. Not sure what it is but it just looks bad to me. It's funny how we normally want the other with what came on the car.

When I had a w209, the star grill looked fine on the coupe but I always wanted a Mercedes with the star on the hood. I love how the w211's grill looks. It's distinct and elegant. The 5 slat star grill doesn't look nearly as bad as the 3 slat version posted above. The 3 slat makes the proportions of the car look WAY off and almost retarded looking...reminds me of the movie Cars.


-Nigel

eaglehawaii

Thanks Chicago Buckeye for sharing your knowledge, experience, and a number of photos on grille options for the W211.

I really like the standard chrome W211 grille and prefer it over the C/CL 3 and 5 slat grilles.

So, I'm probably one of the few who'd go for the OEM grille with the star added to it. :-)

My plan is to get an OEM grille with the star and replace the star with an illuminated one.

I just don't know if the star can be removed. If removable, then I will likely take the leap and do it.

Mahalo.

aobnitas

I also like original W211 non star grill, but I don't like star ornament. The problem is a star badge is already permanently attached on 07-09 grill, so changing star ornament to flat star badge would look a little strange, because 2 badges close together.

eaglehawaii

After giving it more thought, I've decided to keep the stock grille. The elegance of the stock face was one of the features I've always liked about the car anyway. Thanks.

aobnitas

I ended up with this AMG badge. I did not like having Star ornament nor 2 star badges...