Vehicle: 2001 E430 Sport in Desert Silver and 2002 C320 Sport Wagon in Arctic White
Location: Germantown, Maryland
Posts: 1,535
Hmmm,
My car is worth about 15K to 16K trade in value today. So if I purchase an AMG and E63 badge I could sell my car for 70K at that Caddy dealer? I on the way!
__________________ Mercedes Benz E430 Sport
2001 E430 in Desert Silver with Sport Package, COMAND, Xenon Lights, Rear Sunshade, Heated Seats. Added K40 Stealth Radar, 30% Tint, XM Radio!
I so hate that. Now theres a girl at our office with an SL500 that has the full AMG treatment with wheel/body kit etc. She however doesn't have and AMG badge on it and will never put one on.
__________________
“The thing is Bob, its not that I’m lazy….. Its that I just don’t care” <img src="http://img17.exs.cx/img17/5918/sig20qr.jpg" border=0>
When I worked MPI (Military Police Investigations) back in '96 in GA; I worked several cases were Soldiers were claiming they bought the car in Germany, switch out the badges (on BMW's Benz's and Audi's) and then sell them for a tidy sum. This scam died down a bit as the internet grew and Soldiers were more informed.
I recently returned to GA and have found the same thing going on again. But in addition to the false badging the owners have added huge rims, lowered them, strange paint jobs, spoilers and fins sticking out all over the car....sometimes my eyes hurt from it.
__________________
"The man who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The man who walks alone is likely to find himself in places no one has ever been" Alan Ashley-Pitt
I saw a cretin a little while back (Indian muslim with long flowing robes) at the local MB dealership bringing in his 380 sec for a service.
He had removed the silver rear badge and front Benz badge in the grille, and replaced them with gold plated / coloured units.
The back badge was now a 1000 SEC !
Guys at the dealership were struggling to hold a straight face and call this cretin "Sir"
That was the thing to do in the 80s, hopefully he'd just acquired it second hand and will return it to original. I've seen a W220 badged as S2000.
And yesterday, I was at the Auto Show and this company that outfits sound systems had a SL600 on display. A SL600 AMG that is. Yeah, you can fool the general public, but you can't fool MB nerds.
__________________
1981 300SD DB881 ext./code #236 leather int. aka: thistle green ext./olive int.
1982 300D, DB877 ext./code #135 mb-tex int. aka: petrol green ext./creme int.
It's not what's on the outside, its what is under the hood, I love my Designo S600, smoothest thing I ever drove, 0-125MPH before I even think of looking at the gauge (though I doubt that would impress a judge) - I've toyed with the idea of an S65AMG, maybe if I lived out west, but here in NY, I've only been able to hit 150+ a couple of times - and I didn't feel safe at that (deer, dogs, etc). God bless the "posers" who can only afford the badges (maybe they should go for an OEM set of Designo Floormats (>$600 versus S420 stock at about $85) .....
I saw some kook driving an S-Class up the 5 freeway in Orange County, and it had Maybach badges. Not sure what the point is. It reminds me (but worse) when people put an AMG badge on the normal MB, when a BMW 5 series has M5 badging, etc....
What exactly does this do?
1. You don't impress the car fanatics because you are a poser and they know it isn't real
2. You don't impress the non-car fanatics because they don't know what it is anyway
I can see teenagers doing something like this on a Honda, but for someone that has an S-Class, it was pretty funny. I wanted to follow him and wait til he left and put a piece of paper over the Maybach badge that says "Chrysler".
It's what I call the Fake Rolex Syndrome. Anyone who noticed the watch would also notice it's fake and the impression created would be the opposite of what was hoped for. Sad.
The AutoGuide.com network consists of the largest network of enthusiast-owned enthusiast-operated automotive communities.
AutoGuide.com provides the latest car reviews, auto show coverage, new car prices, and automotive news. The AutoGuide network operates more than 100 automotive forums where our users consult peers for shopping information and advice, and share opinions as a community.
Mercedes Benz E430 Sport
Linear Mode
