I am in NY where a front plate is required. I asked the dealer not to install the front plate but they did give me the factory mounting plate in case I wanted to later. The drilling situation to mount it is too horrible to imagine - it mounts on the driver side up high near the grill/headlight and the holes it would leave could make a grown man cry.

thoughts on no-drill options? Seems like Carbonio and Platypus come up the most often. Any specific E53 experiences with either?

I think I'm going to do the Carbonio when my wagon gets here. There is no way I'd want a plate off-centered like the Mercedes suggestion is. I just wonder how much the plate covers from the air openings which may be an issue.

Is the E53 mounting location different than the E450 All Terrain?

Using the existing tow hook port is the best way to mount a front plate. The Platypus is what my neighbor from NY has on his car.

yes - different from end.

I ordered the Carbonio (will be here Monday). Will report back. If someone swore by another solution, I might have changed course.

The issue with Platypus has always been during automatic car wash. Curious to see how Carbonio turns out.

People been recommending slybrackets but I am unaware if they have anything compatible with the W214 sadly. Another option is plate wrap but probably not ideal.

I did the vinyl license plate on my etron. It works flawlessly. Unfortunately I don't think there is enough room on the E53 bumper to do the same.

Had Carbonio for over a year now, no issues at all, but I also don't take the car to automatic car washes.

Oh yes true you have a point.

I got the carbonio. have gone through the nor’easter and 1500 miles all well. So far so good and would recommend.

Can you post photos on the car? Curious how much of the air intake areas are blocked/covered.

it’s like this

is the carbonio plate fixed once installed? Meaning that one cant just remove and reinstall at will like stonsho?

pictures would be great!

stonsho not available for E53 yet unfortunately

you can unscrew the part and just leave the attachment. Can see the instruction manual, the part with the plate can be removed and then you’ll be left with two little attachments that you screw the plate into

FWIW, I have had great experience with Carbonio mounts on several other vehicles. I plan on getting their E53 mount as well.

I like that the Platypus tow hook mount is on the right side where the "vent" is fake anyway. Think I'm going to have to go that way.

while rho-plate has not come with a solution that suits W/S214 E53, I am convinced that the current tow-hook solution should still work.

https://www.rho-plate.com/collections/all/mercedes-benz

Found this online - rare picture of a dealer that installed the factory front plate mounted on an E53. Yikes. The holes that get drilled for this

are horrifying.

I went with the platypus from day one. i've had zero issues through a harder than normal new england winter. I don't use automatic carwashes, so shouldn't be an issue there. The main driver for the platypus for me was that the area it blocks is a fake inlet anyway.

So glad I live in a state that doesn't require a front plate. It's a stupid requirement and on most cars, especially the W214, it looks terrible no matter where it's mounted. If you have to, you have to, but it's not something I think anyone really wants to do.

If a front plate was required, I would register my car in a nearby state that doesn't require one. There are 22 states that require a single rear plate.