My W123 grill insert arrived today from the local Mercedes dealer. It is perfect, no malformations at all. Label is marked made in Italy. It's a darker gray than the useless BBR brand I purchased from our host.
I am happy they are once more available from the dealer, we'll see how long that lasts.

So at least someone is having luck with the OEM version. Are you going to paint it?

Mine are in, if it rains Tuesday I'll prolly drive down and pick them up & post here .

I got a re sizing program that's supposed to allow me to make photos I can load here, I can't figure out how to make it work just yet tho' .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

When I spoke to mbparts, they told me the insert they’d sent came directly from a US dealer and not from germany. Apparently, this only happens when a dealer is willing to let go of a part they couldn’t move. Considering the state of what they sent me, I get it.

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

So, I need a new insert, new chrome strips and all the clips but not the actual chrome grille. I was pricing everything out and those chrome strips and little clips really start to add up. I'm thinking I might just buy the whole Uro grill assembly and just use the strips, clips and insert and get rid of the big chrome Uro grille. I figure if my genuine Mercedes grille is still nice it has to be better than the Uro grill, right? Anyone else go this route?

My friend just ordered a Uro assembly, excluding the Mercedes emblem. Honestly I was surprised at the quality, its not bad. No teling how well it will hold up to the elements but the actual insert is far better than the genuine insert. I even thought the surround was decent quality. I only held it for a minute or so but I like to think I can spot bad quality pretty easily.

I'd go this route to be quite honest. Also the strips werent 100% lined up but it was close.

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Do it. If I had to do it again, I absolutely would.

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

I've had to replace close to (I'm hoping less than) 10 on my various W123's, mostly because of poor condition when purchased then because of druggies and other worthless neighbors backing into my cars .

No way is the Uro chrome surround any good ~ it's paper thin and *very* poorly stamped and folded etc. plus the hardware & clips are worthless, like the very worse Chinese toys tht are broken / don't work right out of the box .

I find it cheapest to buy a new Uro grille complete and use only the plastic insert and strips, I polish the old German surround when it's apart and re use all the original hardware and sliders etc. .

I find the gray plastic insert only last abut 5 years before beginning to fade and crumble .

I have searched in vain world wide for N.O.S. plastic grill inserts .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

This is reassuring. I think I'm going to go for it. Thanks!

Great! Thanks!

Sounds good. Thanks!

Nate - you can still buy N.O.S. plastic inserts. I ended up with two of them and let me tell you, they were junk. Maybe not in longevity or quality of plastic, but they were rough... I had to sand and paint. It's possible that whatever is still kicking around out there has been rejected and returned a number of times.

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

Another question for those that painted the plastic insert...

Does anyone know, off hand, which color gray spray paint to get? I actually want to keep the color close to the original gray. I might go a little darker but not much. I'm also thinking of using this same gray to paint the plastic surrounds of my headlights too which are looking a little dingy.

Also, should I get flat, semi-gloss or gloss spray paint?

I'd use a plastic specific paint and make sure it's glossy .

Remember to seriously clean the new insert before painting .

I'm not really good at painting else I'da done this .

M-B says no plastic inserts available .

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-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

I never really liked the original grey, so I went charcoal. Matte if you can find it, but I guess that's a matter of taste.
Also a good idea hitting the inner plastic of the euro lights.

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

Right here Nate:

https://www.mbpartscenter.com/oem-parts/mercedes-benz-panel-1238880923

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1981 240D 4sp manual. Ivory White.

If anyone wants to see visual differences between installed W123 aftermarket and OE grilles side by side, here you go: https://www.facebook.com/groups/W123NA/permalink/3210183625715021/

The new plastic inserts from MB have a defect in them all in the same place. I can even see it on earlier pictures in this thread. My suspicion is that they're stopping distribution based on customer complaints. I know some guys who've returned theirs for refunds based on the defects. Here's more pics. Not mine.




Parts can show up as available on dealer sites that use Revolution Parts and not be available. I've gotten a few refunds because of that.

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'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.