2000 E320 sedan: Will an aftermarket tail light assembly match the original??? A used one is about $100.00 while a new aftermarket is about $56.00 on ebay. Any input is greatly appreciated.

 

If a tail-light assembly qualifies as a body part, you may find a CAPA certification. If so, it's a good bet.

 

I just checked for you. You can buy a new one online at importec.com for $80.81 free shipping and no tax. That's what I would do and don't take any chances.

 

Even a new one MAY not match!
Discoluration / fading / atmospheric bourn dust deposit occurs over time.
A non OE part may be better or worse.
Depends how critical you are.
No way of telling whether you will get a good match.
Need to buy pair to be absolutely sure.
Would go for secong hand part (of similar age) but get price down.
Stuart.

 

Stuart, I replace a 97 E320 not too long ago and it is hard to tell which one is new. Of cource I live in Seattle and this person lives in sunny Florida. We are talking about a 2000 model. I would still go with a new one unless he can find a used that he can hold next to the other good one he has. From my point of view these things take time that I am not willing to spend. I prefer to order on-line or over the phone and a few days later I get my part delivered at home.

The other think to take into consideration for tail light lense (at least for my 97 E320) is that the aluminum contacts on the lense rust over time and I use to get a lot of false burnt light bulb. The lense looked just fine from outsidem, but I just got tired of rusty contact from the inside and chenged the lense. So take this into consideration if you consider a used one.

 

I've got no problem with a new one being fitted but this is even more expensive. Colour should not be a problem BUT it MAY BE. i.e. Old vs new/fading etc.

WRT the rusty contact you refer to this is an MB problem caused by the brake stop lights melting the cluster housing locally and causing intermittent contact. Only certain cure is a new cluster unit although a number of DIY fixes can overcome the problem.

Stuart

 

It would seem that some are getting this problem fixed on MB's dime - at least if you have an SLK....

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/r170...ericanpie.html


It's 19 pages, so you have to get pretty far into the thread before you see evidence that people got free repairs. I think that I will look into this for my '99 E320 as I'm tired of having one brake light most of the time...