Some people debadge to for the cleaner look or to hide their car's performance. But if you've ever been in Europe you will seen many luxury cars without badges. This is done as an anti-theft device because BMW and Mercedes-Benz name their cars by their engine sizes. Since a E430 looks just like a E200 but is worth nearly twice as much, a car thief will naturally target the E430. In Europe the cars aren't debadged they don't come with the badges from the factory at the request of the customer.