Hello,
At the risk of sounding like the forum crybaby, I have to post that some nut case broke off my W115's hood star AGAIN. The Taiwanese made star was thicker than the German stock piece and I used washers to increase the spring tension on the star, so the elongated S shaped piece that holds the star distorted and broke off, so the idiot has got his/her Mercedes hood star, albeit a Taiwanese made one. I think I will remove the rosette and just put a plastic plug in there.
I am hoping that this is the final chapter in this nonsense. Any further vandal damage to my car and I will have to take action to protect my property.
Have a good week.

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Nachi11744

In my case they liked the badge below the star better...they took that instead. Angered me - it had such a nice patina. Maybe someone could rig up a 120 volt charge on these coveted Stars..like an electric fence.

ZAP! GET YOUR HANDS OF MY STAR!

Mark

1974 280

I finally got a used one for my Fintail on ebay last week. Inspired me to give the poor thing a polish...
T-Cut ad'

I like the idea of charging the star. Should be pretty simple to rig something up from the batter to the star should'nt it? Without electrifying the hood that is...

- Peter.

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2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

Again???

Probably his buddy wanted one too.

The "electric fence" idea of running a hotwire to the battery positive terminal might not be that difficult to do. The hardest part would be insulating the star mount from the grill itself - maybe using ceramic, plastic or thick rubber gasket. This would not put a drain on the battery until somebody got zapped.

Or have you thought about permanently welding the star to its mount?

After twice getting it ripped off, now is the time for serious action. It almost makes you want to sharpen the edges of the ring to a razor's edge, doesnt it? Or maybe a skilled jewelry craftsman can cut a groove in the ring for installing actual razor blade edges from cheap disposable razors, glued in place.

My concern about wiring up the star is that you're more likely to get a dent kicked in your car. I was so pi$$ed off when someone broke mine that I probably would have killed the guy who stole it, plus the fact that I had to drive home with the obviously absent star made things ten times worse.

I think the forum challenge is to design an easy to remove star. The old Rolls Royce mascot's mounted to a heavy column which just slots in the hole

The idea of electrifying it sounds great. But the badside: Some poor old bastard with a pacemaker comes walking along and brushes the star by accident.... can you say lawsuit? But yeah, I have given it a LOT of serious thought despite possible "drawbacks". I don't know why these lousy asses can't just leave our stars alone! Aye, just the thought of how many I've had stolen pisses me off all over again........

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http://www.carsponsors.com/images/av...o_mercedes.jpg

1967 Mercedes 250S w/ 350 Chevy V8, stock transmission and rear end.
1968 Mercedes 250S w/ 229 Chevy V6, 350 Turbo Transmission with shift kit, and 1981 Corvette rear end.

Just to avoid coronaries and lawsuits, it would be quite easy to hook the star to an alarm switch - say with a thin wire attached at the spring hole in the star's base. You could adjust it so it would sound if the spring is stretched, not from just merely brushing against the star. Otherwise, it may be time to pull the clip and remove the star and dummy-cap, keeping it in the trunk or glovebox until a safer parking space can be found. Fortunately, it's been 15 years since one of mine has been ripped off. (Having said that, lets see if mine's still there tommorrow!)

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

A buddy of mine rigged his up to a very loud horn. So when you pull the star up the horn blasts. I have a small movie file (AVI - format) of it with sound but I'm not sure if I can post it here. -Richard

They sell magnetic stars you can just pull it off for the night, or at least they won't break anything stealing it. If someone steals my star my next one will get a super sharp edge put on it, after they slice open their hand if they dent my car thats ok, insurance will cover that. After they get their hand put back together I doubt they will be stealing MB stars again.

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1999 SL500
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

Hello,
I will buy a junkyard star/rosette, sharpen the edge of the hoop and star on both sides and then epoxy it in place, so it cannot bend. That way I will not be buying new parts every few months, plus the sharp edge should discourage the low life that is doing this.
Have a good week.

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Nachi11744

In doing that (sharpeing the star so it will cut the heck outta some lowlife star theif), keep in mind it leaves you open for all sorts of tremendous law suits. While I myself would like to have a trunk monkey that would jump out and just beat the hell out of anyone who even touched it, a person has to remember that in our current law system, you could lose your ass by doing something like that. Also, always keep in mind the innocent pedestrian that stupidly stumbles into your car. Yeah yeah, I agree, they should be more careful.... BUT... I'd hate to see some curious little blond haired blue eyed toddler grab ahold of it in one of their known moments of curiosity.

Go out and buy a fog horn, and rig that thing up right under the grille. Scare the hell out of em, but I suggest you don't do anything that would be intentionally harmful........

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http://www.carsponsors.com/images/av...o_mercedes.jpg

1967 Mercedes 250S w/ 350 Chevy V8, stock transmission and rear end.
1968 Mercedes 250S w/ 229 Chevy V6, 350 Turbo Transmission with shift kit, and 1981 Corvette rear end.

And sharpening the star will grind through the chrome to the zinc-alloy - not pretty and the alloy won't maintain a very durable knife-edge. A very loud alarm is a better idea.

Happy motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

He isnt living in the US so it shouldnt be too much of a problem with lawyers

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1972 280SE 4.5
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