[dieseldan73]

New to this forum and MB. Just bought a nice southern mb with full service history from day one. $2000 and think i was a great deal Drives sweet and I love it. The diesel motor is so smooth on the highway and not a slow as i thought as no turbo. So since it was in FL and GA it's rust free and no dents but the paint is cracked and I want to paint it. I need a front bumper cover so wondering if they make any decent aftermarket ones or just get a factory one. Looks like they don't paint these or do you have to paint these. The plastic looks colored. Let me know any links if you have them and if anyone knows a good paint shop in CT. Will also scoop out the bone yards for one but do not mind buying new as it will look good with the new paint.. Pics will come before/ after the paint job

 

[Timroperco]

Yes, you should paint any bumper cover you buy. I bought an aftermarket bumper cover one-line for about $150 about four years ago since my original was dinged and had a big chunk missing where the rectangular tow hook panel used to be (passenger side). My 94 e320 is black with gray trim panels, so I was tempted to simply replace the old with the unpainted new one ... but while the flat gray primed panel may have gone unnoticed, it would have looked a bit cheesy.

Funny thing is, the unpainted bumper sat in my garage for about two years ... they are easy to remove/install, but I never got around to taking the aftermarket one to a paint shop. Then, when I dropped off my car locally for an oil change two years ago, someone accidentally backed into the front end with a truck, damaging the headlight, grille and dinging the fender. The other guy's insurance covered the cost of repair, but I simply gave the repair shop the bumper cover assembly I had waiting. They painted it and replaced the old one, and made the whole front end look brand new! They reported no problems with the after-market bumper cover.

Sorry, I can't recall where I purchased my bumper cover assembly, but a Google for "94 e320 bumper cover" produces many places ... and here is one:

Car Part Wholesale - Auto Parts and Accessories Catalog - Replacement Front Bumper Cover - Primered, Plastic, OE replacement

Hope this helps!

Tim