Non OEM Front Grill W205. Quality ?

[Scooby_Doo]

Has anybody bought a non OEM diamond grill for their W205 . How does the quality and finish compare to the original ? There are plenty on ebay for circa £100 compared to OEM at circa £350 but not sure how good they are. Bentley/Mercedesgrills have been mentioned on here but they don't sell the diamond grill. (Can't decide between the diamond and Panamericana at the moment).
The main problem is that most sellers have actual pictures of the grill showing 13 rows of diamonds either side of the MB star (OEM) but stock pictures only have 12 diamonds so I don't think that you're getting what's in the actual picture in the advert , if you see what I mean.
Any recommendations as to where to buy please ?

 

[markjay]

I bought an after-market 'C63-style' grille for my W204 off eBay for £118 (so not a diamond grille and not a W205...).

It looks fine on the car, but when installing it I noticed that the fittings at the back were all cheap nasty poor-quality plastic bits, a far cry from the well-engineered high-quality fittings of the original MB grille.

But, as said, once on the car it looks fine.

Hope this helps.

 

[Scooby_Doo]

Just seen on ebay - MB Newcastle have one for sale @ £484.00 so I suppose you pays your money and take your chance.

 

[Paulhick]

Put a c63 grill on my c204. 100 quid of eBay and the quality is fantastic.

 

[Trickythemerc]

I have a non OEM one on my CLK A Chinese job, but quality wise it seems OK and I prefer the diamond pattern as there is less chance of stones hitting the aircon condenser.

 

[vijilants]

I bought a W205 AGG GT style from CKS and the quality was fine.

I had bought one from an ebay supplier and the quality was very bad and had to be returned for a refund.

 

[Paulhick]

I bought a W205 AGG GT style from CKS and the quality was fine.

I had bought one from an ebay supplier and the quality was very bad and had to be returned for a refund.

Yeah that’s who mine was from. Am very impressed with the quality.

 

[Wotchmaker]

Anybody got pics? Curious to see examples

 

[Scooby_Doo]

Recently managed to find an OEM C43 diamond grill on ebay for £160.00 ( CKS £135 - no star ) complete with MB Star , one stone chip on the chrome fin.
What I have noticed is that most non OEM diamond grills have 12 vertical rows of diamonds either side of the star whereas OEM's have 13 rows. I did see a non OEM grill with 13 rows but it had a very wide rim behind the star. The one thing to watch on S/hand OEM grills is the part No , some sellers show part No's with a line through them but the grills are produced with multiple part No's on the upper tabs and the part numbers not applicable to the version produced are struck through and only the No for that version is not marked.

 

[LeeJV]

I've just orderd a new Pattern one for my 205 buddy, should be here next week, I'll let you know in quality and fitment next week if that helps

 

[Scooby_Doo]

An example of how MB number the grills - this is my original 2018 C250 AMG line saloon twin slat grill , I assume that the struck out numbers are for different versions of the twin slat grill, eg "Night Edition ". The single slat grill I bought - C43 with single slat but black background was numbered A2058804383 don't know if it was for the saloon or coupe but it fitted. Looking at grills for sale on ebay there are so many different numbers advertised but no actual photos of the numbers.

 

[LeeJV]

AMG Diamond Black & Chrome Style Front Grille Fit Mercedes C Class W205 2015-18 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for AMG Diamond Black & Chrome Style Front Grille Fit Mercedes C Class W205 2015-18 at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

This is the one that I have ordered buddy, it was recommended to me from another club. The OEM star also fits straight into it.

Again, will post more detail when it arrives

 

[Scooby_Doo]

Very similar to mine - advert states it comes with the star , so excellent value @ £99.95 + free postage.

 

[Scooby_Doo]

AMG Diamond Black & Chrome Style Front Grille Fit Mercedes C Class W205 2015-18 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for AMG Diamond Black & Chrome Style Front Grille Fit Mercedes C Class W205 2015-18 at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

This is the one that I have ordered buddy, it was recommended to me from another club. The OEM star also fits straight into it.

Again, will post more detail when it arrives

Anything cooking on that new GRILLE ?

 

[LeeJV]

Oops
Actually forgot, I didn't even arrive, apparently it got lost in transit, they wouldn't send out another one untill the original was found or refunded. So I ended up going through PayPal to get my money back.
By that that time I lost patience and wrapped it instead.

 

[Scooby_Doo]

That's a really nice job, did you DIY or what? What wrap is it ?

 

[LeeJV]

Hey buddy, I had it done professionally its Avery Dennison Vinly
Had the whole car dechromed and Tints done.

 

[Scooby_Doo]

That's an excellent job , I had my sill inserts wrapped a while back, not a good job, he rushed it as he was double booked. Going to get them re-done once lockdown is over. Still mulling over getting my mirrors done.

 

[LeeJV]

It looks a little odd with white mirrors if your replicating the night pack like me, then they should really be black

 

[Scooby_Doo]

It looks a little odd with white mirrors if your replicating the night pack like me, then they should really be black

The original plan was sill inserts & diamond grille , I didn't want to go full night edition , I think there's too much black on a white car. I nearly bought a set of black OEM mirror covers , but firstly I roughly wrapped the white ones to see how they looked. Without wrapping the chrome window surrounds they didn't look right. So I've settled for the "half" Black Edition look.