w124 - Clears, Before and After - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

#16 03-02-2001, 02:18 PM

Saw a white 560 SEC like mine with clear corner and taillights, It was uh, ugly. The corners were'nt bad but the tails looked like they were broken or missing, weird.

#17 03-17-2002, 12:25 AM

Could somebody give me the scoop on how to install new clear front turn/parking lenses?

Any special tips or tricks? How do you get at them?

I really like the look and can't wait to see how they look on the black 400E.

Thanks in advance. This is a great forum.

ebennz · #18 03-17-2002, 02:01 PM

this is hotly been debated before and here we go again!

the aftermarket clear corners do NOT hold up as long, they don't fit as well, the quality of the plastic is FAR inferior.

i've been there and done that.

if you want clear corners get the oem hella or bosch ones, you will NOT regret it.

the u.s. ones changed for 94 & 95. the yellow reflector is more visible and therefore a better safety item, it doesn't have the appeal the clear ones have [imho].

peter

Ashman · #19 03-18-2002, 01:27 AM

My depo Clear corners I bought form www.gapa.com, look good, fit well, and still look as good as the day I bought them, which was september of 2000. right when I signed up for thsi site and bought my car.

Mine were made in taiwan, and they looka nd fit well.

When I update to euro headlights in the future, if the clears I have don't look right, I'll get the bosch ones as mentioned otherwise I'll just keep the ones I have, which work wella nd look good if you ask me. They are just a bit whiter in appearance than the Bosch clears which appear to be clearer and slightly smoked from what I have seen.

But on a black car, the Depo onesI have look great. See for yourself on my site.

Alon

ebennz · #20 03-18-2002, 10:53 AM

to each their own.

usually people buy the "off-brands" [non-oem],because they are less expensive. we all know the old saying "you get what you pay for is [for the most part] true"

the same goes for these corners. why did you buy a benz in the first place? quality? longevity? something like that?

these are words and experience and the opinion of someone who has had both types.

it is your money and your car and of course your choice.

i've never heard anyone complain about buying oem clear corners.

for you "new folks" do a "search" on clear corners, decide for yourself.

as always, this is my opinion from my experience.

peter

BENZ-LGB · #21 03-18-2002, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by wilton
We people are really funny/strange sometimes, aren't we? I remember about 1964/5 when manufacturers started the big switch from clear to orange parking/signal lights - people were switching out their older, clear lenses to orange for the same reasons so many now are switching from orange to clear. ... That's one reason we all have different names, isn't it?

Maybe so, but this is the reason why I am keeping all of my skinny ties and all of my wide ties. Eventually we shift from skinny ties to wide ties and then back to skinny ties. If you live long enough, you see styles recycle over and over. Perhaps this is because there is no true creativity. Even movies are getting recylced, with remakes of old classics. As the proverb says, nothing is new under the sun.

Just in case, I am going to keep my old polyester leisure suits. You never know when there will be a run on polyester leisure suits

Staying alive, yeah, yeah, staying alive

Zeus · #22 03-18-2002, 12:59 PM

Crowe -

I recently installed the newer W124 corners on my '89 300E - the clear ones with the slim orange/yellow band at the back. They are Bosch and they fit perfectly - exact same dimensions, etc. as they old ones. I really like the look of them, I actually prefer the look of these ones to the completely clear corners. Plus, these remain legal for those of you who live in areas where this could be a problem. JMHO.

Crowe · #23 03-19-2002, 06:35 PM

I like the looks of the newer W124 corners with the small yellow band and hope to find some at the junk yard.

el presidente · #24 03-20-2002, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Crowe
I like the looks of the newer W124 corners with the small yellow band and hope to find some at the junk yard.

What type bulb do these clear corners w/ band of yellow take?

Crowe, have you priced these? What do they run?

Zeus · #25 03-20-2002, 12:45 PM

I paid $75 CDN each for the Bosch corners.

The corners themselves take a regular double-filament bulb, OSRAM no. 7528. There's a good post about bulb types in this forum.

You can also spec out your car at http://www.sylvania.com. They'll give you all the bulb numbers abd type for your car.

hpapad01 · #26 03-20-2002, 01:30 PM

Ashman,

I was looking at the collage and your 92 300CE has fog lights under the front bumper. How did you install them? Did you buy a kit or you got them from a 500E.

Thanks
Herk

Ashman · #27 03-20-2002, 07:47 PM

Herk, I bought a set of cheapy lights from pep boys. I mounted them behind the front airdam, and cut out one horizontal slat on each side to reveal the light.

Looks good both during day and night.

Which is why I did it.

Alon

hpapad01 · #28 03-20-2002, 07:59 PM

Ashman,

Thank you for the info. It looks good. Maybe I will try to do the same thing to my 92 400E. I am actually trying to find a front air dam from a 500E, but I like your idea.

Thanks again

dieseldude · #29 03-21-2002, 12:35 PM

Just to confirm what others have been saying here. If you're getting some clear corners - go with the Bosch or Hellas. Just yesteray I recieved some smoked front turn signals from an ebay auction I won. 'Made in Germany', 'OEM quality and finish' were advertised and caught my eye (silly me).

Upon intial inspection, the glossy plastic lens felt somehow 'soft' compared to the factory Bosch's that are on my car. Upon installing them, I noticed the bulges and unven width of the rubber seal, on one side even allowing a pretty noticeable gap between it and the body. The brand was TYC, I thought they were made by in-pro, but they were actually just the German distributor.

From about five feet away and further they looked great - tied in nicely with the smoked rear turn signals - just the look I was going for. Unfortunately, knowing (and seeing) how poorly they fit, and wondering how long they'd look nice, I took them right out. I don't know why Bosch and/or Hella don't make the smoked front signals as they do the rears, but I'll be ordering my clear Bosch's today and returning the TYC's. The dealer on ebay was Import Vision if anyone is interested - pleasant and easy to work with, but sub-par quality for what I ordered.

Moral of the story, in most cases 'true OEM' is the best. And 'Made in Germany' doesn't guarantee quality.

Regards,
- Ryan

ebennz · #30 03-21-2002, 10:21 PM

ryan,

fortunately you can return the JUNK corners you were stiffed with.

thank you for sharing your experience with us.

i had a similar one with the crap ones i first bought, but i waited too long to act. that was a $ 50.00 mistake i'll never make again.

people that consider the "off-brands" NEED to hear more of these stories.

i HAVE NEVER HEARD anyone ***** about the oem quality!

are you going to get the all clear or yellow reflective strip ones?

peter