320CE Front wing Replacement
Discussion
Anyone got experience of replacing the front wings on a W124?
I'd like to replace my front off side due to tin worm (not a lot, just a few bubbles but the wing's been poorly repaired before so I'd like it swapped) but I'm confused about the options. An OEM wing is expensive but is my prefered option at the moment. If I can save money though that would be good but I've no experience of alternatives wrt fit and durability. Any advice?
I'd like to replace my front off side due to tin worm (not a lot, just a few bubbles but the wing's been poorly repaired before so I'd like it swapped) but I'm confused about the options. An OEM wing is expensive but is my prefered option at the moment. If I can save money though that would be good but I've no experience of alternatives wrt fit and durability. Any advice?
OEM is about £200, maybe £225, depending on how hard a bargain you strike at the parts counter.
Aftermarket is between £60 and £120.
You pays your money and you takes your choice. But...
Much of the cost of the job is the paint and labour. A Genuine Merc wing does not double the price of the job, it rather only increases it by maybe 25%.
If you're getting the painting and R&R done on the cheap, there's no point wasting a genuine wing. And vise versa: if you're getting a pukka paint job, you'd be a fool not to use a pukka wing.
Longevity of the replacement part is more down to the painter's preparation than anything else. A badly prepped wing will rust quicker than a properly prepped one, genuine or not.
When the car is this age, a genuine wing may need a bit of fiddling with to get a good fit.
In the limit, the genuine wings are better. The differences are pretty obvious.
You may wish to look at wings from here: http://www.vanwezel.be/english/index.htm. They supply German SPOB, a respectable parts supplier. Maybe a good compromise. But for the sake of £100?
Aftermarket is between £60 and £120.
You pays your money and you takes your choice. But...
Much of the cost of the job is the paint and labour. A Genuine Merc wing does not double the price of the job, it rather only increases it by maybe 25%.
If you're getting the painting and R&R done on the cheap, there's no point wasting a genuine wing. And vise versa: if you're getting a pukka paint job, you'd be a fool not to use a pukka wing.
Longevity of the replacement part is more down to the painter's preparation than anything else. A badly prepped wing will rust quicker than a properly prepped one, genuine or not.
When the car is this age, a genuine wing may need a bit of fiddling with to get a good fit.
In the limit, the genuine wings are better. The differences are pretty obvious.
You may wish to look at wings from here: http://www.vanwezel.be/english/index.htm. They supply German SPOB, a respectable parts supplier. Maybe a good compromise. But for the sake of £100?
That's just it -if there's a noticeable difference in the quality of the OEM part then I would be happy to spend the extra but if they're the same and the main difference is the quality of the paint / rustproofing job I get done (I've got someone lined up to do what I hope to be an"as good as new" job) then why pay an extra £100 for the sake of it?
The genuine wings are noticeably better, especially at the corners, near the indicator and near the 'A' pillar. It is obvious to anyone in the know. But there's point using a genuine wing in a cheap paint job. And conversely, to use a cheap wing in an expensive paint job would be to spoil the job for a ha'peth o' tar.
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