I just noticed a crack starting at the front corner of my dash near the instrument pod and defroster vent of my 300D. I haven't been driving the car much lately and its always been sitting outside. Its had an almost flawless dash for up until now and now I'm worried about it getting worse. Should I get a sunscreen and place it in the front whindshield to keep the sun off of it? What else can I do to try to protect it? I've seen just how bad these dashes can ultimately get and I'm very worried now.

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

That's a bummer. There are places that specialize in dash repair. Usually they drill a very small hole at the end of the crack (all the way through the metal shell) to stop the crack from migrating. Then they use a heat applied polymer to repair the visible damage. A friend bought a W210 gasser, and the previous owner had mounted a cell phone holder on the front of the dash using two self tapping screws. He had it repaired at a local detail shop. Very nice job. It is a light tan dash, and the previous damage is completely undetectable. So... Call around to a few upholstery or detail shops, and keep the UV off of that dash with a sun shield and a good thick towel.

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'78 300D 310K Maple Yellow / Bamboo
'87 300D 81K Barolo Red / Safron (RIP @ 113K)
2003 E320 34K Pewter/Charcoal
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Sounds like some great tips Luke.
Thanks.

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012

ok, so your car is stored outside, it had a nice dash, and it doesn't now. So, the sun beating day in and day out on your car you expected to have no effect?? You ask if you should buy a sunshade, i think that is a fairly obvious answer. I'm not trying to be mean or rude, however quite on the contrary. Many people just expect their cars to stay in the condition they bought them in, however if you do no preventative maintenace(or preventative care), then how do you expect your car to stay in that condition? The condition of the car ALWAYS depends on the care the owner puts into it. My current car see's the outside sun 24/7, however looks twice as good as half the cars its age. All i can say is that isn't because i've expected it to stay that way without any effort. If your car is stored outside year round, it needs to be waxed at least once a month, sunshade put up frequently, and interior treatments done on a frequent basis as well. You can't expect a 20 yr old dash to stay perfect without doing anything to it, mercedes or not.
Ryan

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83 300SD.......sold
96 integra SE....sold
99 a4 quattro....sold
2001 IS300.......sold
2002 330i.........current.
2004 highlander limited....current.

The car had always stayed outside with the previous owners that being obvious with the clearcoat flaking off the entire front clip. The dash caught me by surprise since I thought maybe if it hadn't cracked in as many years, then maybe it wasn't going to crack at all. No such luck I guess. I've had many other cars whose dashes had never cracked, including a '63 Buick which at the time I had it, it was 30 years old and didn't have a single crack.
I'm just going to have to try the remedies offered in a similar thread to head off any more serious deterioration.

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DJ


84 300D Turbodiesel 190K with 4 speed manual sold in 03/2012