Actually, I had not even thought about it until you brought it up. I will have to look at the shading on the windshield that I had done last. I do have an original factory 123 windshield, and I think it has green shading. I will have a look. I asked the glass shop a while back what they would charge just for labor to install my glass, and they said it would be $120. For only $160, I had a new windshield installed (my old gasket was still nice and supple). I figured for $40 more, I would go for the new glass. They also said they could not guarantee the old glass against breakage during installation.

I'm going to hold out for either bronze or no tint at all.
Over white/palomino, that green is too intense.

-

Did you talk to Best Price yet? Maybe they can get the shade you desire.

I did and they were cool. Quoted $250. Still considering...

Rich did you confirm what color they'd installed on your last w123?

Safelite had sourced a bronze windshield and then determined it was NLA.
I'm really hoping to avoid this green shade if at all possible.

I have not, it is in Oregon. I would call Best Price and find out.

The $650 quote turned out to be BS, so the actual best quote from a reputable shop is $750 for the installation of a new front windshield including seal, and a new rear seal installation using the old glass.

Interestingly the rear seal the glass shop sourced is going to cost $150 and they say it is "MBZ" brand... could that be OEM?

Anyway unless people think it's a complete ripoff I will go forward with this and follow up with a post about the experience.

So basically $375 each. Seal vs seal plus glass seems negligible considering time involved (3+ Hours!)

Can you not claim the windshield through insurance? That was the route I took with Geico. Ended up paying $230 out of pocket for front windscreen/gasket.

Go to a used car lot and ask who does their glass. I had the rear windshield done by a glass man who has been doing them for years even back to when these cars were new. Price was $65 with me supplying OE seal and used glass.

He said that he'd do the TD for the same price. The body shop has been doing business with this particular person for 20 years. I had a quote of $200 for a 126 front windshield but that included them supplying glass and seals with a lifetime leak or breakage warranty.

You are looking for an old person who knows how to rope the glass in. The person who removed it didn't know what he was doing and consequently screwed up the defrost wiring. The plastic c-pillar comes out and the defrost disconnects from the wiring. The wire stays with the window.

Shern, deductible on my auto policy is $500. Junkman, that seems like a great deal! Not sure how many of those guys are knowing around anymore, if they are I don't know any!

I had a front glass replaced by Safelite and the installer knew what he was doing. My friend who retired from bodywork had long term relationships with glass installers. The two places that I know that do restorations and even basic repaints have access to glass installers who know what they're doing.


You just have to meet the actual glass people. Anyone that starts the conversation with "I'm not responsible if it breaks" isn't your guy.


The one that did the recent install had absolutely no worries about breaking or leaks or getting the glass installed. He did say that OE seals are preferred but not a deal breaker for him. I think it's more of a longevity issue.


He said he'd reuse the read seal on the TD so I shouldn't buy one or damage what's there by cutting it out. Just leave it alone and He'd handle it. He's even willing to come to my house - same difference to him as going to a car lot or shop.

Pick 'n' Pull
 

Check the local pick and pull junk yards. Cheapest way to get original glass.

Yeah, about that...

I’m not sure there’s any real virtue in installing 40 year old glass.
I made a stink about the tint strip, but honestly, now that I’ve a fresh windshield... it looks amazing. Pilkington, fuyao, whatever. New glass looks phenomenal.

Many glass shops and/or installers will NOT install used glass. At least that has been my experience.

New Glass
 

....Is the biggest bang for your buck .

Used glass can be installed, typically it will be optically impure and can be polished by those on tight budgets or whom simply like to do the little things .

1985 300 CD, September 2020

$395 for Safe-Lite windshield. This is a aftermarket DOT windshield. OEM windshield was only available from Europe. OEM is not DOT glass, it is Euro glass, BUT it was without warranty for chipping or cracking during shipping.

$185 for rubber gasket from Mercedes

No complaints about installation from Paolo's Automotive in San Marcos California. The job looked factory and does not leak. $120 for installation.

Only the front windshield is available new. I don't remember what I paid for the rear seal but it certainly wasn't $200. I bought it from a dealership in Naperville IL but they have a lower priced site than what you get from calling the dealership. The dealership does process the order so perhaps you can ask the parts department where the cut rate site is.

The glass people I met didn't care about OE glass or seal. They basically put seal on glass, put glass in hole, do whatever sealing is necessary (none on an SD rear), get paid and go to the next job. They do these things so many times that it is completely routine.

I remember working as a meat cutter. We didn't screw around wondering about how to cut the thing or this or that. Put meat on saw, slam it through the saw, trim, scrape bone dust, package and on to the next thing.

The shop I am using is saying the front seal is around $250, and he doesn't know which brand it is... Very irritating. So this is going to be an even more costly job, up to around $950 for the whole deal. Maybe I should supply them with a URO seal. Maybe its worth the gamble that whatever seals they are getting will be better than URO.

On another note, I replaced my door seals with URO seals two years ago so they are great, reduced the wind-noise a lot. I noticed this is the rain recently, and noticed the seal is perhaps not seated properly. I should note that it was my first time doing seals and I don't really think I did a great job.

The car was parked with the nose facing down on a downhill after some light rain that lasted nearly a full day. Is this normal or should I re-do the seal?

<a href="https://ibb.co/M1C44w0"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/B6CxxWM/240-D-Leak-1.jpg" alt="240-D-Leak-1" border="0"></a>
<a href="https://ibb.co/Wntm8X4"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/G7TzYD4/240-D-Leak-2.jpg" alt="240-D-Leak-2" border="0"></a>

Dude, 250 for the seal alone? And it's generic? I think you need to find another shop.

-

I think you're right. But aren't the much sought after original MB seals that expensive?

*edit* He doesn't know which brand they are at all, could they be OEM?

Windshield Grommet
 

Go to the peach parts catalog and find it, they'll offer the M-B factory one if it's available and I've discovered that they're occasionally cheaper than the M-B Classic Center (!) .

This is an important thing, do not cheap out as you'll destroy the car by the time you realize it's leaking .

Nate is right from a certain perspective.
On the other hand, the Uro windshield seals seem to be pretty solid these days. If you search the archives there are plenty of people who have had no issues. On the other hand, you may be getting an MB seal that’s been sitting on a shelf for 10 years or longer.
I thought about this a lot, decided I’d not buy an MB at this point unless I’d known it to be freshly manufactured.

Got the car back yesterday. I think the glass shop I chose did a decent job overall, but they were sloppy in terms of putting my windshield stickers and plate as well as my phone mount back. A minor niggle perhaps, but not the best attention to detail and disappointing there. They also removed a bumper sticker I had on the rear glass without asking. Is that normal?

In terms of the actual seals, the font looks good. That was an actual MB part. The shop said that the aftermarket seal they initially tried was junk so they sourced an actual MB seal, and I'm happy about that. The rear seal was aftermarket, and I think it came out worse.

I'm considering going back to them, what do you all think?

On the rear, it seems like they installed the trim after they put the glass in, which would be incorrect. Would that explain why the rear trim is not flush? There's a gap between the trim and the rubber in some places. The rubber seems fully seated though. The tech said it would shrink in the sun and look better after a while.

Rear gasket top left corner, is this normal? Or is it not seated all the way?
<a href="https://ibb.co/zZLZWjn"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/DQ6QPsV/240-D-Gasket-18.jpg" alt="240-D-Gasket-18" border="0"></a>

Here is where the trim seems not to be installed all the way, the silicone all over the trim was installed by PO and I will try to remove as much as I can in the spring.
<a href="https://ibb.co/Lv7tF5t"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/cxnFBLF/240-D-Gasket-17.jpg" alt="240-D-Gasket-17" border="0"></a>

Gap more visible on the other side:
<a href="https://ibb.co/JzskW0v"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/NLyYgQ9/240-D-Gasket-16.jpg" alt="240-D-Gasket-16" border="0"></a>

It doesn't look too bad though:
<a href="https://ibb.co/N96rP6z"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/T4B1SB5/240-D-Gasket-14.jpg" alt="240-D-Gasket-14" border="0"></a>

Front seal looks good:
<a href="https://ibb.co/mBG0MC8"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/X4bDvZ8/240-D-Gasket-9.jpg" alt="240-D-Gasket-9" border="0"></a>

<a href="https://ibb.co/WkQhtMS"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/9bJDt1R/240-D-Gasket-4.jpg" alt="240-D-Gasket-4" border="0"></a>

But the trim is a tiny bit mangled:
<a href="https://ibb.co/TM0JWp1"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/CK94PN6/240-D-Gasket-8.jpg" alt="240-D-Gasket-8" border="0"></a>

What do you all think? Good enough or should I ask them to re-do the rear?

When I had my windshield done, I noticed on the inside, down by the driver’s side dash, a small half inch scratch. I thought about it for a month. I recently had them redo it. It was the right move.

If it’s bothering you now, the job may not feel “complete” until you’ve dealt with it.
That trim would eat me up.

Front corners don’t look great. If you’re careful, you can gently bend them back into shape with a couple of flat-head screwdrivers.
You can also pull a couple fresh ones from the yard.

My opinion is to NOT use anything metal to manipulate the aluminum trim or corners. Use plastic trim tools.

This is better advice.

Glass Installation, Grommet & Trim
 

DO NOT touch the trim ! .

They muffed the job, I'd be livid .

They installed the trim after they installed the glass and they ruined the corner pieces .

Last thing I checked, the trims and angle pieces were still available new, if you have any W123's in the scrap yards, wear safety glasses, gloves and heavy boots and push / kick the old glass out of the junker and buy the trims you need .

I like your Oriental Red paint, my first two 300CD's were this color, when it's shiny it's almost as nice as Chinese Red .

Nate's right.

To tack onto that, if you just need the angle pieces, they're easy to remove with plastic tools. I've done it several times. You don't need to break the glass or anything like that. Just carefully unfold the clasps on one side and it'll wiggle right off.

I don't know. I'm still mulling this over. I ended up going with a shop that gave me the most reasonable estimate, and that shop is about 45 minutes away. I will never do that again, because there is huge pressure to not have to make the trip back again if something is not up to snuff. Although it does bother me a bit, perhaps it doesn't bother me enough to lose the car for another few days and lose the time going out to the shop. Lesson learned. It is a crappy shop anyway, who's to say they will even be able to improve things.

If it bothers you, no amount of post hoc rationalizing will suffice.
In principle, I’d drive out there again. Book it for a time when you can sit and wait. Not ideal, but you’ll be looking at that trim for years to come.

Wait A Moment ~
 

Be aware the trims are RUINED so the 'crappy shop' won't be able to fix anything, they'll likely make things far worse .

Work on getting new or good used trims then find a competent glass shop, ask others who have either German or vintage cars (Hot Rods etc.) that also use the ribber grommets and ask them if they have a person on that shop who's familiar with roping in windshields...

I've had to fix a lot of old VW's & others that were screwed up .

Do you think all of the trims are ruined or just the corners?

Hard to tell by the photos, but the front windshield looks fine minus the corners.

The rear windshield trim is a disaster. It can always be bent a little to ride in the channel better, but the linkage tabs... I can’t even tell what’s going on there.
It appears they used a vice grip.

These were damaged and siliconed by a PO, they were a mess when I got the car. It's been a while now, and there are no leaks and the trim looks fine unless you get right up to it. Will I recommend this shop to anyone? No. I will also be sure to stick as close to home as possible when getting work like this done, because the inconvenience of going back is a real deterrent. Plus, I don't think they would do a good job if I went back anyway. I'm happy with the car and the leak free seals now. The trim was never going to be perfect.

<a href="https://ibb.co/mzCXFyg"><img src="https://i.ibb.co/HgDxpP3/240-D-Gasket-1-1.jpg" alt="240-D-Gasket-1-1" border="0"></a>

wh... what's happening with that back seat?

The MB Tex needs to be reattached to the actual seat, it’s come undone in the center. Looks pretty bad!