Have you had your badge nicked?

[merc man]

badge

i have had the badge stolen/broken/bent a few times, it has chipped the paint and left dents around the area as well as raising the area of the badge hole, my local body shop was able to sort the problem with out needing a new bonnets but after the 4th time i decided that i could not be bothered to repaint the area so i touched it in it looks abit off but at £150 to get the local stonechip repair guy to fix is abit too much. im looking in to adding a lille 'spark' to the badge when the cars ignition is off. if it happens again ill just add a flat bonnet badge, but i do like the bonnet star and it was the main reason why i brought it over a 3 series​

 

[pineer35]

out off interest.you can buy magnetic stars, a 2 part item,base stays on bonnet,you can remove star when vehicle left.
I think you can buy them from a german or american, site via. Ebay,(happy searching).
Eddie

 

[grober]

Chaff.

Rumour has it that if you own a Porsche the car isn't really "run-in"until its been "keyed" along the side. Its almost a "rite of passage" for Porsche drivers. Look at the badge as "chaff" to deflect further unwelcome attentions tho this theory fails if they use the badge to inflict further damage of course. The penalty of owning a classy motor I,m afraid. never found a source for the retractable bonnet badge.

 

[jwarren]

but i do like the bonnet star and it was the main reason why i brought it over a 3 series​

Here here mercman, totally agree - its not poncey or anything - but seeing that badge on the front as you drive - well, makes me feel good!!!:bannana:

 

[BonzoDog]

Caught one lad[17ish] at midnight ish on saturday trying to rip mine off - shouted from the front door - car's about 15 yards away - he ran like a scalded cat.

His mate had a lump of 2"x2" so I went and got my Maul [like a pick axe] handle [but longer and a bit thinner] and went looking for the little darlings - luckily for them the initial shout had warned them off.

Or maybe not.
A neighbour of mine a few years back caught somebody breaking into his Audi in the driveway. A fight ensued but the thief got away. Nevertheless my neighbour felt that he had done enough to keep him from ever coming back. A few weeks later he came home and somebody had opened up the car, slashed the seats and caused other damage.

 

[Hugh]

Had my star pulled off the other day in Magnet car park. Drove round to my local independant to arrange replacement. They asked me to open the bonnet because they said that the spring under the bonnet sometimes falls into the fan and damages it. On opening the bonnet, the spring was sitting right near the fan. Close one!!!!

 

[Birdman]

Never lost a Mercedes badge but my VW Golf had its badge removed by some Beastie Boys fanz back in the 80's. Felt quite pleased they'd honoured my car that way. Gave it proper street cred it did. Dovercourt Battersea were doing a roaring trade in replacements. Those were the days.

I have a neighbour who steals air from my tyres. Not sure what he does with it though. It's free so does that count?

 

[CAT220]

Took the car to MB Giffnock (Reg Vardy) in Glasgow on Saturday. They were very helpful, theguy in the parts dept came out had a look at the car, asked for the keys asked us to take a seat in reception, came back with the keys 10mins later, £16 incl VAT and fitted free of Charge. Was very impressed with their sevice!

Nice CLS 63AMG in the showroom aswell

Cheers,
C

 

[BrianA]

Sorry to hear about the damage to your car jwarren.
Ironically last week the news showed some kids running up the street over the boot and roof and landing on the bonnet of a car where they then jumped up and down for a short while,then slapped each other on the back and walked back to their 'mates'.
It was a report on the ASBO farce!
I think reporting of this nature is as much to blame as video gaming when it comes to copycat mindless vandalism and violence.
No doubt they're trying to get their badges of honour.
There again maybe the stealers are hiring them at 2 quid a badge?

Bri

 

[lexie]

just had my badge stolen last night in front of hour house. no paint damage though.

past few months we have had 3 cases of vandalism. first they ripped off my wifes [edit: girlfriend, not wife. we are not married] front number plate. few weeks later my girlfriends car had a huge orange square sprayed on her door. now my bonnet badge is gone.

i'm thinking of connecting the star to the horn using a relay or something like that. does anyone know if this is possible (bearing in mind that the front of the engine bay might not be the best place for unshielded circuits)?

 

[mikeoldskool]

my bagde got nicked after 2 days of owning my merc i was gutted and its true wot u say its not the same without the badge hope you get it all sorted soon

 

[Kam]

Little B******s woke up christmas morning to see that they have stolen my merc badge, luckily they didnt damage my bodywork. Gonna check the spring hasnt fallen onto the fan.

 

[OzC36]

Lexie,

I am sure your girlfriend knows about your wife, but does your wife know about your girlfriend!

You could end up with more than your from emblem ripped off!

 

[JFleming]

hahah - I was thinking that!!

 

[lexie]

Lexie,

I am sure your girlfriend knows about your wife, but does your wife know about your girlfriend!

You could end up with more than your from emblem ripped off!

I'm sorry about the confusion. There is only one woman in my life. We are not married, but I tend to use both "wife" and "girlfriend". We are almost 10 years together, and in august we welcomed our first born, a son. I concider her more my "wife" than "girlfriend", but since we're not married, "girlfriend" is the better term.

 

[Flash]

i'm thinking of connecting the star to the horn using a relay or something like that. does anyone know if this is possible (bearing in mind that the front of the engine bay might not be the best place for unshielded circuits)?

OK - sounds like your neigbourhood is a "hot spot" for b*stard vandals.

Your best simple, cheapest and easiest option IMO would be to manually remove your star every evening. It only takes a few seconds to do remove/fit and can be done with a pair of pliers by accessing the base of the star from inside the bonnet.

To remove the star on the newer Mercs you simply rotate the base anti clock wise and vice versa to refit! On the older generation Mercs i.e. W126 is not as easy as a pin has to be removed to release the spring and take a bit longer.

 

[lexie]

To remove the star on the newer Mercs you simply rotate the base anti clock wise and vice versa to refit! On the older generation Mercs i.e. W126 is not as easy as a pin has to be removed to release the spring and take a bit longer.

I learned that today. Picked up the new star and fitted it myself. 21 euro's (14 pounds I think that is). But thanks anyway for the info. It would have saved me a couple of minutes searching for the right tool.

I thought they would have a huge stock of these things, but it had to be ordered. Took 2 days to arrive at the dealers. Apparently my dealer hasn't heard of stolen badges for quite some time.

 

[Thmsshaun]

I never lost mine although have seen many Mercedes around my area without them.

 

[Birdman]

I want you to know how seriously we take badge theft around these parts. Yes, even off Vauxhalls. Astras. From a Solar car park.
Zero tolerance - that's us!

 

[Flash]

I want you to know how seriously we take badge theft around these parts. Yes, even off Vauxhalls. Astras. From a Solar car park.
Zero tolerance - that's us!

It was probably the badge of a marked Police car that was Vauxhall Astra...