Anyone seeing this thread would best avoid URO at ALL COSTS!
Dang you URO!

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'95 E320 Wagon my favorite road car. '99 E300D wolf in sheeps body, '87 300D Sportline suspension, '79 300TD w/ 617.952 engine at 367,750 and counting!

I agree. People often mistake "febi bilstein Germany" for the company and country of manufacture. All of the red and white Febi packages I have seen in the last year have "febi bilstein Germany" printed on them. To me that's very misleading.

I failed to ask the rep exactly where and by whom the casting was manufactured. I got sidetracked during the converstaion and forgot about it. I'll try to get him to divulge that information tomorrow.

I called the Febi sales rep again today. I asked him where the casting for the M103 fan bearing bracket was manufactured. He couldn't tell me. He said that he was in sales and manufacturing had that info. He also stated that they don't share that info because of "industrial espionage." I would think that if it were manufactured in Germany they would readily state the same. He also couldn't tell me who manufactured the bearing portion of the fan bearing bracket. All he told me yesterday was that the individual components which make up the fan bearing bracket were sourced somewhere and collectively assembled into the fan bearing bracket assembly in Germany.

I pulled out two other Febi parts I had on my shelves for my W126. One is an M103 thermostat housing. There is no "made in..." sticker on that box. Oh, and there are absolutely NO marks on the housing itself. There's nothing embossed or stamped on the housing. I mean nothing. He couldn't tell me who manufactured that either.

It's becoming clear to me that Febi is little more than a re-boxer. The sales rep told me "we're not a foundry, we're not an electronics company and we're not a plastics company. So, exactly what do THEY manufacture and where? I haven't been able to ascertain that.

Now, they may very well source some good parts. However, the fact that I don't know who actually manufacturers many of them, and they won't tell me, is suspect. When I purchase Lemforder parts I know what I'm getting. EVERY Mercedes part that I have ever purchased has had the country of manufacture clearly printed on the box and very frequently embossed in the part itself. All of the Bosch parts that I've purchased have clearly had the country of manufacture printed on the box and/or on the part itself. I won't continue buying Febi parts unless I know where they were manufactured.

Interesting stuff, Franco. In the globalized economy, who knows anymore? The important thing may be to only buy original MB "Geprüfte Qualität" parts. That way, no matter where in the world it was produced, it had to meet MB specs for quality and function.

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1988 California version 260E (W124)
Anthracite Grey/Palomino
Owned since new and still going strong and smooth
MBCA member

Past Mercedes-Benz:
1986 190E Baby Benz
1967 230 Inherited from mom when she downsized
1959 220S Introduced me to the joys of keepin' 'em goin'

There are only 10 kinds of people in the world--those who understand binary and those who don't

Yes, it's true that purchasing OE Mercedes parts is one of the only ways of assuring the quality of any given part. However, purchasing parts from companies that are know OEM for Mercedes is another.

Lemforder is one of the best examples which comes to mind. Just this week I purchased some suspension bushings for my W126. One of the boxes is OE Mercedes and the parts have the Mercedes star and part number embossed in them. The other box is from Lemforder. The parts are absolutely identical with the exception of the Mercedes star being absent from the Lemforder parts.

I have many parts which have had the Mercedes star ground out of them. Those parts were obviously manufactured for Mercedes, but sold on the open market where they cannot use the Mercedes star. Again, they are absolutely identical to the OE Mercedes parts, but minus the star. Many electrical parts I have are like that.

Now, I have taken mostly all OE Mercedes parts off of my 1990 300SE which had only 62k on the clock when I purchased it from the original owner nearly a year ago. Not one of those parts has been Febi. The 4 original suspension shocks I changed were Bilsteins. The belt tensioner shock and the two engine shocks were all Stabilus.

If I find a part with "Febi" and the Mercedes star embossed in it I will report back.

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/vintage-mercedes/322028-anyone-else-uro-brand-windshield-rubber.html

Mythology: #6.
Automotive mythology #101

Parts with the MB star ground off are typically OE rejects that failed lot testing at 85% (or lower) of OE minimum specification.


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__________________
ASE Master Mechanic
asemastermechanic@juno.com

Prototype R&D/testing:
Thermal & Aerodynamic System Engineering (TASE) Senior vehicle instrumentation technician.
Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH).
Dynamometer.
Heat exchanger durability.
HV-A/C Climate Control.
Vehicle build.
Fleet Durability
Technical Quality Auditor.
Automotive Technical Writer

1985 300SD
1983 300D
1984 190D
2003 Volvo V70
2002 Honda Civic

https://www.boldegoist.com/

Why is the star ground off I never seen it my self but I have been told that is common both in Europe and USA. There most be a reason for that why make a Mercedes logo and then ground it off.

Last time I bought something from a MB dealer in Europe it was a maintenance part maybe a filter the part was manufactured in South Africa! anyone in US have that experience. By the way I agree no China part in a Mercedes if you can't afford quality buy a Chinese car.

Unfortunately more and more "official" (real) MB parts in real MB boxes are actually being made in China these days. That's the honest truth.

For oil filters, there is a manufacturer called GUD that is based in South Africa. They make EXCELLENT quality oil and air filter products but they are very difficult to get here in the US. They may well have been the OEM, even for an MB part.

GUD was the brand I was first confused Africa parts in a Mercedes. Yes many parts is manufactured in China but the well-now brands have a quality control they do not won't to destroy a brand name worth millions in the market selling crap.

M.B. Has an assembly planet in South Africa.
C classes for Australasia are made there.

for customer

__________________
ASE Master Mechanic
asemastermechanic@juno.com

Prototype R&D/testing:
Thermal & Aerodynamic System Engineering (TASE) Senior vehicle instrumentation technician.
Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH).
Dynamometer.
Heat exchanger durability.
HV-A/C Climate Control.
Vehicle build.
Fleet Durability
Technical Quality Auditor.
Automotive Technical Writer

1985 300SD
1983 300D
1984 190D
2003 Volvo V70
2002 Honda Civic

https://www.boldegoist.com/

Whenever I get around to buying another used Mercedes I am going to want a written certification from the owners that they are not aware of any URO parts being installed on the car. Such a car is simply not worth as much.

Why would anyone knowingly install that cancer on their car??????????

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Peach Parts W124.128 User Group.

80 280SL
85 300SD
87 300TD
92 300D 2.5 Turbo
92 300TE 4Matic

Best quote I've seen in a long time. Amen.