I had some body work done on my car (hood, grille, headlights) and dealer parts were to be used. How do I know if this was really done? For example, the headlights look identical, identical mold marks, etc, in every respect except they say "Automotive Lighting" instead of Bosch. However I have the box they came in and it is a Mercedes box marked A 202 820 27 61. I was assuming I would get Bosch lights.

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1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

Mike, I replaced the glass lenses on my 202 last year, and I was told that Bosch had stopped making them. Mine were an Italian brand, but they were of excellent quality. They are the OE replacements now, so far as I know

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former: 83 300D, 97 C230, 93 400E

current: 08 C300 Luxury , 92 500SL

Somewhere on the part it will have the MB part number, if it is genuine.

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1980 500SE/AMG Euro
1981 500SEL Euro
1982 380SEL
1983 300TD
1983 500SEC/AMG Euro
1984 500SEC
1984 300TD Euro
1986 190E 2.3-16
1986 190E 2.3
1987 300D
1997 C36 AMG
2003 C320T 4matic

past: 1969 280SE 4.5 | 1978 240D | 1978 300D | 1981 300SD | 1981 300SD | 1982 300CD | 1983 300CD | 1983 300SD | 1983 380SEC | 1984 300D | 1984 300D | 1984 300TD | 1984 500SEL | 1984 300SD | 1985 300D | 1986 300E | 1986 560SEL | 1986 560SEL/Carat | 1987 560SEC | 1991 300D 2.5 | 2006 R350

I think the lights are the real thing. I found this on "AL Automotive Lighting":
http://www.supplierbusiness.com/uploadedpdfs/Automotive%20Lighting(1).pdf
A joint venture between Bosch and Morelli. They are a major supplier to Mercedes and others. I am still curious anout the sheetmetal. I had a fender done some years ago and there is a sticker on it that says "RODOT" where the first "O" is the Mercedes star. But I can't find anything about them. My hood has no sticker but looks correct. But I don't have another to compare it to. Now I just need to round up all the little parts they forgot to put back on. Everytime I have had a car worked on (body) they always leave parts off, fasteners, little parts. And they leave things loose and disconnected. Is there any body shop in the world that does correct work?

__________________
1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

[QUOTE=mpolli Is there any body shop in the world that does correct work?[/QUOTE]

No

Hard for me to even want a car after it's had to go to the body shop, because they really never can get it back to original. There's always some issue somewhere

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former: 83 300D, 97 C230, 93 400E

current: 08 C300 Luxury , 92 500SL

So, specifically, is there a way to determine if the hood is genuine or not? I don't see any markings on it.

__________________
1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

If the hood is a OE MB part it will have a R DOT sticker with a Benz logo.

AL lighting is a subsidiary of Bosch.

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MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
ASE Master Technician
Mercedes Benz Star Technician (2 times)
44 years foreign automotive repair
27 Years M.B. Shop foreman (dealer)
MB technical information Specialist (15 years)
190E 2.3 16V ITS SCCA race car (sold)
1986 190E 2.3 16V 2.5 (sold)
Retired Moderator

Do you know specifically where the sticker will be? Under the hood pad? Would a shop ever remove the sticker? Is there any other way to tell if it is real hood, if they claim they removed the sticker? Will the dealer they allegedly bought it from provide me any assistance to verify that in fact they bought a hood from them or didn't?

__________________
1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

Can anybody tell me where the sticker should be on the hood? How do I know if the part is aftermarket or OEM? Thanks.

__________________
1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

We REALLY, REALLY try to get it right, and HATE to have the customer come back with any kind of issue,,,,, but,,,, we are not perfect, and in 25 years, I can truthfully say, we have never done a "perfect" job. The vast percentage of those imperfect jobs, are issues only a trained eye can see, and are usually inevitable in most repairs. The factory has procedures and equipment that no bodyshop has and duplicating factory seams, welds and finishes is next to impossible, without a lot of personal, time consuming involvement. That being said, the leaving off of parts and trim, screws, or whatever, is totally wrong. Our techs know that when I check a job, I want to see factory gaps, the proper screw and bolts back exactly where they belong, and a finish that no one can pick nits over. And oh yes,,, everything better work the way it's supposed to and align properly and go down the road straight. I tell all our customers on a big job,,, "You will get your car back when I am happy with it." If I'm happy, chances are you will be too.

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95 SL500 Smoke Silver, Parchment 64K
07 E350 4matic Station Wagon White 34K
02 E320 4Matic Silver/grey 80K
05 F150 Silver 44K

Looked at 2 new hoods, RDOT sticker was where the hood hinge bolts on.

__________________
MERCEDES Benz Master Guild Technician (6 TIMES)
ASE Master Technician
Mercedes Benz Star Technician (2 times)
44 years foreign automotive repair
27 Years M.B. Shop foreman (dealer)
MB technical information Specialist (15 years)
190E 2.3 16V ITS SCCA race car (sold)
1986 190E 2.3 16V 2.5 (sold)
Retired Moderator

Hi M.B.Doc,

Thanks for that answer. Can you tell me if it was on the drivers side or passenger side and was it on the inside or outside? Is it covering the mounting holes?

Thanks

__________________
1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra

M.B.DOC,
Can you say exactly where the sticker was?
Was it covering the mounting holes? What side, inside or outside?
THANKS!!!

__________________
1998 C230 330,000 miles (currently dead of second failed EIS, yours will fail too, turning you into the dealer's personal human cash machine)
1988 F150 144,000 miles (leaks all the colors of the rainbow)
Previous stars: 1981 Brava 210,000 miles, 1978 128 150,000 miles, 1977 B200 Van 175,000 miles, 1972 Vega (great, if rusty, car), 1972 Celica, 1986.5 Supra