I have always been fond of those wonderful wooden gear ***** that can be bought at sites like Performance Products, so when I got my new 2005 C320 last December I ordered one. It arrived a week or so ago as it was back ordered but there is no way it can fit. It has a VERY large knurled screw at the base which clearly goes inside the boot. On top of the screw is a plastic dome shaped piece that obviously conforms to the shape of the underside of the boot and the outside of the boot, at the base of the new ****, is a wide, round chrome ring that obviously fits on the TOP of the boot. It is very nice. Only there is no way the screw and plastic bit will fit inside the boot. My car has a narrow ring at the base of the current **** and the top of the boot is also narrow. It feels like some complicated thing inside the boot, perhaps a bayonet mount (like my last car), but I don't know.

Has anyone got any experience with a **** on this car? I called the vendor and they say that the part number is certainly correct, although it could be the wrong part in the box - the **** itself is very fine, but has no part number stamped on it.

I asked the dealer and they said they have never seen one with such a large ****, they also said that often the **** comes with the boot already mounted and you replace both the **** and boot. On the web site though there is no way to choose a boot color or size, only the **** type.

Thanks - Lawrence