mallique

Can anyone please recommend a place where I could purchase the following?

2007 MERCEDES BENZ R230 SL CLASS BUMPER CLEAR SIDEMARKER LIGHT AND CHROME BULBS.

Thank you,

okbarnett

ebay

mallique

I have seen the ones on ebay. Are those Original stuff or after market?

jrgator

I have an '07 and I bought a pair of smoked and a pair of clear from someone on ebay. The seller's name is Simon and he goes by fishcake321 on ebay.
Let me know if you can't find him. There are no oem because of fed regulations, and the euro ones won't fit because the bumper is different.

mallique

Yes, he is posting them on ebay. He seems to do quite a bit of selling on ebay. But, he has 7 negatives against him in the past 30 days. That's quite high for a top rated ebay seller. Were the ones you bought in good condition/ Were you able to install them without any issues?

jrgator

yes to both questions, but you must access them from inside the bumper (not a big deal). They look oem, but they are a little loose fitting.

okbarnett

fishcake, hes the one that has the markers. Ive bought 3 or 4 things from him. He sells stuff all over the world, so you can expect lots of troubles from wacky car guys in all corners of the earth, dont pay any attention to that.
There arent any oem clear side markers. they dont sell the, from germany, they are made in asia.

mallique

jrgator,

I wouldn't want to put anything that is "loose fitting". I don't see the point in replacing the original part with something that doesn't fit properly.

okbarnett,

Are you saying that "fishcake" is selling stuff that are purchased from Asia, and has many issues with the products he/she sells?

I'm surprised someone hasn't made a good aftermarket clear Euro type side markers. Seems like there is plenty of money to be made.

Thank you all for responding to my request.

latemodel21

Wish I could give a thumps up on clear r230 side markers from fishcake321 .... but there is a problem with these.

I have bought 3 sets of clear side markers from this very seller over the last 2 years. They were priced right, came with the chrome coated amber bulbs .... and arrived quick enough.

The first 2 sets were for 2 of my SLK32s and are still in service with no issues .

However, the R230s that I bought from him this year have a problem. The housing (gray plastic) is NOT the same material as the factory piece. This is a problem because this design (the R230 design) relies on cast-in plastic spring to retain it in the bumper. Both side markers broke after his short warranty period but far too quickly none-the-less. (first one broke within a week of install, the second a few weeks later). I contacted fishcake321, explained the situation and asked if he would send me another set (at a reduced price). My plan was to reinforce the weak element and re-install (I had done this succesfully on the right marker, but the left marker had lost a criticle peice when it failed so I need to start over on that one). .... SADLY, he never replied


so, my left marker is held in place by some 3m trim adhesive (lame, but effective).

Buyer beware,

Chris

latemodel21

I found a couple of pics detailing the failure, comparing it to the stock side marker, and showing the fix I did on the right side marker using a piece of spring wire and some high-peel, flexible epoxy.

also, in the hopes of improving this product , I sent Fishcake321 another message last night with a link to this thread .... Probably wont make a difference, but at least I tried.

Cheers,
Chris

okbarnett

in europe, they dont have side marker lights, there is no hole , so the only ones made for the car are MB factory amber lens.
The clear ones are made to replace the amber to make them clear. They are made, who knows where, tiawan, china, indonesia. Where ever the vendor can have them made.
It probibly changes every few yrs and batch to batch.
Ive bought about 4 prs for different cars. There are 2 different shapes for 03 to 08 r230s. One is for the 07, 08 sl65 bumper, most are for all the rest 03 to 08 normal bumpers.
Could be that there are good ones and bad ones, could be the ones you have had a manufacturing defect that dont make them fit right. The only thing to do is get replacements or rig them to fit.
These few sets you find for sale on the internet, are all there is to get. They are just hit and miss parts. Personally ive not had problems with them.

DrAMG55

I bought mine from GoodStuffs4U0904 on ebay, no problems so far and he responds promptly to any questions unlike fishcake321.
I got them replaced at the dealer for free, fitting is excellent (not loose)

latemodel21

This is a Follow-up post to my previous post (#11) where I shared some disappointment that I had/have with both the ebay seller "fishcake321" and a product that I had purchased from him.

SO ...
the good ...
I got an email from this ebay seller last week. He had received the second email I had sent him (last week) AND ... he wanted to make sure that I was a satisfied customer (I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he never got the first I sent him a few months back).

I explained the issue I had with this part (detailed in post 11 and 12 above) and he asked me if I wanted a full refund. I told him that I was willing to modify the part so that I could use it (reinforce it as shown in post 12) AND I offered to pay for the shipping if he would just send me another set. He immediately responded by sending me another set (it came in 3 or 4 days) and he DID NOT take me up on my offer to pay for shipping. SO, for fishcake321, I CAN give 2 thumbs up. I had purchased from him in the past and was pleased with the transactions and can now say that I am fine with this one as well.
I would recommend this ebay seller to anyone looking for products made by DEPO. When I shop for something that is available from multiple sellers (as is often the case with DEPO products on ebaY), Price is usually my first search criteria and this seller has gotten my business 3 times because of his competitive pricing... and will get it in the future because of good customer service.

still the bad ...
I must make a comment or two about this particular product made by DEPO (2003-2006 R230 clear sidemarker). While I have had good luck with other DEPO side markers (and others here have a well) I am still concerned about this particular offering in that it seems to be made of a material lacking the required elasticity/durability for this particular application. I've asked fishcake321 to let DEPO know that this part should be re-evaluated, and he said that DEPO is more likely to respond to a greater volume of complaints (as opposed to ones in greater/ridiculous detail like this one : )

So, anyone who has purchased this particular set (or any set made by DEPO for that matter) and has had a similar problem should consider trying to get a complaint back to DEPO ...

AND anyone contemplating buying a set now (2003-2006 R230 clear sidemarker) would do well to reinforce it a bit. To be clear, I am only aware of a deficiency in this particular application.

Sorry for the way-too-long update,

Cheers,
Chris