R129 front wings

[RichardF]

I just had an "out the blue" speculative call from my local friendly supplier of mb parts today (not main dealer)

How much for a pair of wings says I, £807 per side says he. Good job I was sitting down, I didn't get the chance to ask if that Inc VAT!

 

[Will]

On the positive side, at least they are available!

 

[R129mine]

By them . They are only going to get more expensive.

 

[alabbasi]

I have a couple of pairs that I would sell for $200/side. Completely rust free but you'll have to figure out a way to get them from Texas.

 

[RichardF]

I wonder how much it would cost for an indi to produce a small fun of patterns.

 

[Doodle]

Welcome to MB's policy of price gouging. Picked up the correct set of brake pads pins and spring plates for my rear calipers, £110 Even the parts chap at Sandown questioned how they could justify that. Worse still, for the solid or later vented setups these parts are a third of the price!

Then you have the larger front brake shields (320/334 mm brakes). £450 per side for a piece of fricking pressed tin the size of a dinner plate. Richard Turpin is alive and well at Stuttgart, and he's making me genuinely considering moving on after nearly 20 years with the SL.

I wonder how much it would cost for an indi to produce a small fun of patterns.

One of my work colleagues jokingly suggested he would take one of the brake shields with him when he goes to visit family in India, and have someone there knock me out some copies. It's genuinely looking like a good idea now!

 

[ivan1983]

Not that I want to defend it but I think part of it is that in the past they had maybe 5 different models that were changed every 10 years with a minor face-lift in between, now they have so many more models a,b,c,e,g,m, etc Class with much shorter lifespans but they still have to keep parts for them.
The cynic in me also thinks they can't make much money out of the older cars and the newer ones have much more built in obsolescence
Alabbasi I might have to take you up on that offer at some point!

Regarding pattern part's someone used to make them as i have a pair in the garage that I bought off ebay without realising they were not genuine

 

[slade1]

Some body in Germany is asking over EU1000 for a new 300SL sun visor !!!!!!!

 

[RichardF]

Not that I want to defend it but I think part of it is that in the past they had maybe 5 different models that were changed every 10 years with a minor face-lift in between, now they have so many more models a,b,c,e,g,m, etc Class with much shorter lifespans but they still have to keep parts for them.
The cynic in me also thinks they can't make much money out of the older cars and the newer ones have much more built in obsolescence
Alabbasi I might have to take you up on that offer at some point!

Regarding pattern part's someone used to make them as i have a pair in the garage that I bought off ebay without realising they were not genuine

I'm not a stickler for originality, my cars a daily so whilst I keep it mechanically sound, it's (deliberately) imperfect cosmetically. If you wish to sell I may be interested in the wings you have, do you know which yr?

 

[ivan1983]

They are for a face-lift , however I don't think the wings changed during the life of the R129.
I'm going to hang on to them for the time being as I plan on getting a full body respray done at some point and will decide if I repair the current wings which are in very good condition, use the pattern parts or go original at that point

 

[horatio]

A BMW 635 CSI owner would’ve overjoyed to buy a wing for £807!

A pattern wing would be the absolute last resort for me. It’s always a shame to replace thick original metal and unless the bodyshop is skilled & prepared to put in the effort, you can end up with iffy panels gaps.

 

[RichardF]

I'd look after those wings, just been quoted £807 each.

Be careful pressure washing, any flaw or chip a pressure washer will find it. Also forcing water into seams, you really don't want to force water into!

 

[R129mine]

just sourced a left wing for the r129 in europe for roughly 200 euro's including shipping, there is no rust damage but some paint damage which is fine, it is the wrong colour anyway so needs to be resprayed, am just going to store it in my garage till it is required

just need to find the a spare for the other side for similar money

I just looked up the part numbers for the 129066 and 129067 (and 068) and they are all the same part number A1298800418 and A1298800318 although blinker hole is optional for the 066 and 067, this is UK spec, noticed that for the 129068 US spec the part number is different

• 129066 FRONT FENDER MERCEDES 500 SL / AMG 500 SL 6.0 (129066)
• 129067 FRONT FENDER MERCEDES 500 SL / AMG 500 SL 6.0 SL 500 / SL 600 AMG (129067)
• 129068 FRONT FENDER MERCEDES SL 500 (129068)
• 129068 US FRONT FENDER MERCEDES SL 500 USA (129068)

anyway, if anyone has the left wing for similar money (rust free) let me know

 

[Doodle]

It'll be next to the lost treasure of the Sierra Madre. €200 is an utter bargain unlikely to be repeated.

 

[R129mine]

just received the item from rrr.lt (Lithunia) only take 4 days with DPD.

It is in a really good nick (on the inside and no rust at all, which is what matters, the outside is the wrong colour so would need respraying anyway but is also in quite a decent state but again no rust!

will store it away for future use when inevitable at some point my own one will succumb to rust and cannot be repaired/treated anymore, hopefully that won't be for another 10 years or so