glass folks are coming this morning at 9am to replace my pitted old winshield and leaky gasket. They said they only used oem gaskets, what should the box say, mercedes-benz or some other brand, the buy parts link of this site is selling a brand called 'apa' ?

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1996 E300 110,000
1985 300TD 212,000
1980 300D 238,000

If it were me..........I'd go to the dealer and get the OE gasket. Then, there's no question whether you have an OEM gasket or not or what the quality of the OEM gasket will be.

In fact...........that's exactly what I did on the '86.

insurance replacement bit, i dont think i have that option.

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1996 E300 110,000
1985 300TD 212,000
1980 300D 238,000

Of course you do.

I had my entire windshield and gasket and trim replaced at the dealer. $1200. list price. The insurance company paid the full amount.

true, but not having to drop the car off and pick it up + dealership is not too close. these guys are coming to do it in the driveway. big bonus to me. we will see what type of gasket they bring

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1996 E300 110,000
1985 300TD 212,000
1980 300D 238,000

Good luck with that.

Make sure you note how to find this thread in the next six months to three years. I'm fairly sure you'll be posting on it again.

I had spoken at length with an experienced glass installer earlier this year after I was faced with replacement of the gasket on one of my old fintails. I elected to go for the APA aftermarket since it was about 80% less than the M-B one from the dealer (about $35 Vs $175 IIRC). The aftermarket gasket fit perfectly and the installer told me that in the last 10 years the quality of the aftermarket gaskets has improved to the point where that is all they use now. He acknowledged that prior to that there could be a huge difference in quality but now there really isn't. He'd been doing them for 30 years. I can also see how a good deal of how the gasket performs is related to the quailty of the installation. Prep work, like most jobs of this type is key to a good seal.

I also doubt very much M-B makes their own gaskets, like the glass and almost all other parts they farm it out, probably from APA.

Now, this was my money not the insurance company's so cost was a factor, but after having seen how good the aftermarket gasket fit in my car I personally would not hesitate to use one again. Just my $0.02.

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz

with insurance paying for it, I totally should have had the dealership do it. I dont care to elaborate on it. At least its warrantied for as long as its in the car.

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1996 E300 110,000
1985 300TD 212,000
1980 300D 238,000