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500E / E500 Aluminum Grill Trim Strip Information

Blackfin

E500E Enthusiast
Member
Just polished up the grill. Outer surround looks good. Plastic is nice and in one piece, assuming that part is NLA.
Does anyone have the part numbers for the metal inserts, the four horizontal and one vertical one running down the grill?
 
Just polished up the grill. Outer surround looks good. Plastic is nice and in one piece, assuming that part is NLA.
Does anyone have the part numbers for the metal inserts, the four horizontal and one vertical one running down the grill?


  • grille strip 1x vertical 1248880285 [$26 MSRP each]
  • grille strip 6x horizontal 1248880385 [$21 MSRP each]
 
I recently ordered a set of the strips, one of them was on back order from Germany, but came in relatively quickly.
 
I recently ordered a set of the strips, one of them was on back order from Germany, but came in relatively quickly.
Did you receive the OG complex-formed-metal-strips, or did you get the new-for-the-new-millenium "chrome" plated plastic with plastic mounting doohickeys?

I got the latter in 2018. :thumbsdown:
 
If I remember correctly these trim strips are very pricey.

Jlaa: I have solved very similar broken tab problems by drilling two small (1 or 2mm) holes in the lens tab and then passing a wire through, then twisting the ends together under the anchor block with pliers to achieve a bit of tension.

drew
 
Did you receive the OG complex-formed-metal-strips, or did you get the new-for-the-new-millenium "chrome" plated plastic with plastic mounting doohickeys?

I got the latter in 2018. :thumbsdown:

img_9719-jpeg.107072
 

img_9719-jpeg.107072
My prefacelift car uses the same center grille strip as above. See 1st photos below. The photo below is the OG complex-metal-formed horizontal strip that came off my car as originally manufactured.

1598544995818.png


And these subsequent photos are what was sent to me to replace those horizontal strips. You can see that the cross section of the metal strip is no longer so complex, and there are plastic pieces to facilitate mounting. It is cheaper now.


1598545021768.png

1598545035537.png

1598545049875.png
 
  • grille strip 1x vertical 1248880285 [$26 MSRP each]
  • grille strip 6x horizontal 1248880385 [$21 MSRP each]

Sorry if this is a dumb question but are these strips the same for post facelift grills as well? My parts guy says its only for 92-93 but he isn't the quickest of cats.
 
Yes, the pre- and post-facelift strips are different. Need to look it up in the EPC/ISPPI to confirm part numbers -- it is indicated.
 
Just polished up the grill. Outer surround looks good. Plastic is nice and in one piece, assuming that part is NLA.
Does anyone have the part numbers for the metal inserts, the four horizontal and one vertical one running down the grill?
 

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My prefacelift car uses the same center grille strip as above. See 1st photos below. The photo below is the OG complex-metal-formed horizontal strip that came off my car as originally manufactured.

View attachment 111804


And these subsequent photos are what was sent to me to replace those horizontal strips. You can see that the cross section of the metal strip is no longer so complex, and there are plastic pieces to facilitate mounting. It is cheaper now.


View attachment 111805

View attachment 111806

View attachment 111807
Yeah, I had the same issue with the spare strips I bought. They feel so much flimsier than the original design parts that were on the car. Same thing with other parts such as the spare grille plaque losing its color after only a few months, the hood star having cheap plastic parts vs the original metal parts, etc., etc.). Because of that I’ve more recently started to look for NOS parts instead of new spares, as these still have the original design and material instead of the profit maximized spares design MB sells today. Maybe a bit nit-picky, but hey, whatever floats your boat and I happen to like the search for NOS parts

 
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Aluminum Grill Trim Strip Guide

Pre-Facelift cars:

  • Center vertical trim strip: 124 888 02 85 (1 needed) - list $26 / $18.60 each
  • Horizontal trim strip: 124 888 03 85 (6 needed) - list $21 / $15 each
Screen Shot 2020-08-27 at 3.47.12 PM.jpg

Facelift cars:
  • Center vertical trim strip: 140 888 21 85 (1 needed) - list $9.00 / $6.36 each
  • Horizontal trim strip: 124 888 06 85 (6 needed) - list $26 / $18.60 each
Screen Shot 2020-08-27 at 3.47.03 PM.jpg
 
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Current pricing of trim strips added above. The discounted pricing is from MB Annapolis.

Other online dealers may be a bit more or less, depending on their pricing schema and discount structure.
 
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