W210 Rear bumper molding installation
 

Howdy folks,

Had a little boo-boo on the 98 E300TD a little while back, damage only to the rear bumper, 99% contained in the plastic, wrap-around moulding piece (thank goodness)...Found one online for around $100 (much cheaper than the parts counter) Looks like it matches up nicely, now it's at the shop being painted.

My question is, how easy is it to install? I inquired about install at the shop, and their fancy computer quoted 1.6 hours?!? It looks like it will just snap in place (once I pry the old one off...what's left of it.) Or is there something I'm missing? 1.6 hours sounds like a complete bumper removal, or an over-exaggerated estimate to charge more $$.

Any advice? Thanks for your time!!

TC:confused:

I can't speak from experience, but if it's anything like the W124 (fortunately MBZ tends to follow similar methodology even as their designs evolve), you will have to remove the whole bumper and remove the impact strip from behind. Removing the bumper is typically not a big deal - usually 4 or 6 bolts removed from inside the trunk area.

the impact strip on the bumper is a snap on thing, maybe they are including lunch break along with a couple of smoke breaks in the 1.6 hours time frame.

Jeez, I wonder what they're smoking?!? Hey, Thanks guys, that helped a lot, think I'll give installation a try myself.

TC

Please let us know if you beat the 1.6.

The bumper molding snapped right into place, with minor difficulty with the clips at both ends, but very easy to figure out. The hardest part was prying/breaking the old molding off, but the entire job was definitely NOT the 1.6 hour job that "the book" had listed. If I had to do it again, I could do the install portion in 5-10 minutes.

Also, before I started, I had the molding painted at a local shop for $89, with a lifetime guarantee against bubbling or chipping, etc. (Much more reasonable than another shop that specializes in those "paint the whole car for $250", they wanted $160 just for the bumper!)

Hope this helps anyone who has to replace their molding, I also took pictures along the way if anyone wants them, just shoot me an email.

Cheers! And Thanks for the advice.

I take it you did not remove the bumper assembly and remove the absorber from inside. The 1.6 would allow for all that, which typically needs to be done to guarantee you won't damage the other portion of the bumper. The 1.6 is a fair estimate of time to do the job properly.

Pete you are living in dream land if you think a shop is going to take the bumper off, if they can snap the old stripes off and pop the new ones in!!!

I did not say what a shop would do. I said what should be done to allow for the 1.6 hours. If my techs take the short cut and damage the bumper, they are going to be responsible for the repair or replacement of the cover itself.