I just sow an 88' 300CE. His trunk though looked like a post 92'. The car was at the shop without the owner. So I took a peek under the trunk.
It turned out to be an insert made out of plastic and painted to mutch the car. It goes between the taillights under the lisence plate. I have seen inserts that make ur taillights to look continious (ugly!!!). But never seen this insert. Any body knows where to get them?



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Dmitry
90' 300CE
17" Lorinsers RS90
Brulen mufler
Clear Blinkers

Curious...could it have been the continuos light insert painted to match the car body?

Dimtry:

This is what I actually put on my car. You can get this part directly from the dealer. Its called the rear deck lid panel. My 89 300E didnt have it, and I wanted to have that post 92 W124 look. It makes the rear of the car look much better--it kinda gives it that flat look. The rear deck panel, which is plastic, and comes in black costs about $135, and then you have to paint it to match your car--i spent $100 on the paint job and the guy to put it on. So your looking at around $250 or so with everything. Makes the car look much better.
If you need a pic, write me an e-mail.

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Agron
1989 300E
Monotoned Smoke Silver
97 Style Replica E420 Rims 205/55/16
Euro Headlights
Clear Corners
20% Tint
12" Sub-enclosure

hey agron,

Please email me your pics also. Can the body shop just paint the insert then you can install it yourself or it has to be profesionally installed. Is it a oem piece from the dealer or is it aftermarket. Im worried that the painted insert wont match the rest of the car due to fading. Also Im thinking of getting the same 16 inch wheel setup with 205/55/16. Was there a diffrence in ride quality and did acceleration suffer due to the added weight.

Momentum3@aol.com

A body man can definetly paint it, and install it. I let a performance shop paint it and install it for me. He charged me $100 for painting and installing, so I let him put it on--didnt want to hassle with it. I was present while the body man was putting it on--looked pretty tough. I believed he drilled 2 screws to hold it on, and had to tighten some screws behind the panel. The paint job looked absolutely perfect. The paint matched, and it didnt look "funny". The rear deck panel is obviously OEM, due to the fact your buying it from the dealer, and the panel has the MB star stamped on the back.

16 inch wheels with the 205/55/16 setup will give your car a better look, and you will not lose any ride quality. Previously to the 205/55/16 tires, I had 225/50/16's on the same wheels--they were too wide, rough ride, and horrible gas mileage. The only thing I couldnt complain is the handling. I would take on narrow, sharp curves in the road at about 90mph without a problem. Stick with the 205/55/16 setup like I and most of the other W124 owners on this forum have.

The pic will be in the mail...

Hope this helped

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Agron
1989 300E
Monotoned Smoke Silver
97 Style Replica E420 Rims 205/55/16
Euro Headlights
Clear Corners
20% Tint
12" Sub-enclosure

Agron, Do you know the part number?

Momentum, Definately go with the 16 205/55/16, to many positives.

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yal
88 230E (W124)
euroheadlights,
clearcorners,
smoke/red tailights
98 e420 sport replicas

Yal,

ummm...I dont remember the part number, but when you walk into the parts department of your local MB dealership, tell the parts guy to bring up a post 92 W124 chart of the rear section of the car on the computer. I do know that the part was called "rear deck panel". Dont tell the parts guy to bring up a 88 260E (in your case)on the computer, due to the fact your car (and mine) didnt come with it. As soon as he brings it up on the screen, you'll see it. The part costs $140 or so (dont remember) and comes in primer black. I doubt they will have it in stock, so you might have to return in about 2 days to pick it up.



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Agron
1989 300E
Monotoned Smoke Silver
97 Style Replica E420 Rims 205/55/16
Euro Headlights
Clear Corners
20% Tint
12" Sub-enclosure

My car is a 1992 300Ce and it has the plstic insert. Really updates the car nicely. It came ont he car when I bought it, so I didnt have to get one myself.

Next thing to do is to get the 94-95 tail lights to finsih up the rear, then I can start on the front by getting the euro headlights and updating to the 94-95 hood and grille.

------------------
'92 300CE
Metallic Black (Blue Flaked) on Creme
Clear Corners
Black Grille Insert
78k Miles

Future Upgrades:
Sportline Suspension
17" AMG Monoblocks or EVO II's
94-95 Tail Lights
Euro Headlights
Chip
AMG Exhaust

Click here to Go To My 300CE Page

Ashman,

If your planning on updating the hood and grill to a 94/95 style, the euro headlamps will not fit. If you update the hood and grill, you also have to update to the 94/95 headlamps. The euro headlamps only fit pre 93 W124's. I've tried to go this route, but very expensive. 94/95 hood is relatively cheap, so is the grill, but the 94/95 headlamps are expensive. Your probably looking at $1000 easy. And then think about painting the hood to match the car....

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Agron
1989 300E
Monotoned Smoke Silver
97 Style Replica E420 Rims 205/55/16
Euro Headlights
Clear Corners
20% Tint
12" Sub-enclosure

hehe well my body shop guy can do wonders for matching paint, but Thats just a distant thought. I'd much rather put that money towards the suspension or wheels.

I like the way my car looks now, with the exception of the wheels which I'll be changing as soon as I can. I have the tail lights on order, and expect them to arrive sometime next week.

After I have my bodyshop do a good color sanding and repaint of the front spoiler, my car will be fine.

I did do a good buffing, glazing and waxing a couple of weeks ago using all meguires - #9 followed by #7 followed by #26 wax. And I washed it with meguires car wash gel. The buffing with #9 and the rotary buffer, made the paint so silky smooth and shiny. The paint looks much much better now.

Just cant wash it right now as its gonna rain and I just washed it the other day and it rained the next morning...

In anycase, I'm going to take some new pics with the tail lights, and the black grille insert as soon as I have them. I'll post em up on my page as soon as I have em.

Alon

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'92 300CE
Metallic Black (Blue Flaked) on Creme
Clear Corners
Black Grille Insert
78k Miles

Future Upgrades:
Sportline Suspension
17" AMG Monoblocks or EVO II's
94-95 Tail Lights
Euro Headlights
Chip
AMG Exhaust

Click here to Go To My 300CE Page

hey ashman,

Did you just paint your grill insert with spray paint or did you purchase a aftermarket grill that came in black?

I painted it with some hard hat paint I had lying around...Yes hard hat paint you read it correct. I figured it would be ok, hard hats are plastic, and are made to take a beating.... Only shot on a couple of coats. looks great though.

If I were to repaint it, I'd use a powder black or matte black high quality paint, and several coats of matte clear coat on it to make it really last.

It really wasnt that hard, and the clips came out quite easily and went back in with minor effort from me.

I wasn't concerned with messing up the grille, if I had I would have taken off the paint with remover and started again....

I did clean it very thouroughly with a nice heavy duty cleaner, then proceeded to dry it with a nice soft terry, pushing it through each hole. it took longer to dry it than it did to take it out and put it back in.

I think it came out nice, and really updates the look of the car. I am planning on painting it again with proper paint and clear coating it. I personally didn't want the shiny look so I went matte, and it looks great in matte.

When I redo it, it should last for quite a long itme because of several undercoatings and clear coatings when I redo it. I'll probably do it over Christmas vacation, when I will be off work for 10 days. it will give me a chance to spend a couple of days on it painting it with many coats.

At the same time, I will probably remove the black plastic bumper inserts and spray them gloss black or have my body shop give them a few quick shots of matched paint along with the front airdam which can definately use a reshoot. The paint on it was not done well as the previous owner had not obviously had it cleaned properly prior to having it painted.

In anycase, feel free to e-mail me with any questions. some better pics of it can be seen on my site.

Alon

Some people say it looks better in grey, personally I think the pictures speak for themselves at how much better it looks in black than the old grey.

BEFORE


AFTER


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'92 300CE
Metallic Black (Blue Flaked) on Parchment
Clear Corners
94-95 Tail-Lights
Black Grille Insert
78.5k Miles

Future Upgrades:
Sportline Suspension
17" AMG Monoblocks or EVO II's
Euro Headlights
Performance Chip
AMG Exhaust

Click here to Go To My 300CE Page

[This message has been edited by Ashman (edited 11-04-2000).]