[deandome]

After looking @ ebay &amazon, I thought there was only one type of rear window regulator (someone actually said it's the exact same level of crappiness as the OEM one).

But at this site, I count SIX different ones!! PartsTrain.com - Hard to Find Auto Parts and Truck Parts - Window Regulator For 2001 Mercedes Benz E320 Base 6 Cyl 3.2L

From top to bottom:

'Generic, $40 each; silver metal, looks just like the OEM

Black frame: Totally different design, but I think this is a mistake...I don't see rivet holes. But it looks so different/beefy, I wish it did/does fit the W210 (let me know if you think it DOES).

Dorman Regulator: looks like the std. design, but black, no silver.

OES/"Original Looks like the generic one for a LOT more $

WorldSource: ditto...looks like the other silver ones

APA/URO: ditto, again.

SO...whaddya think? Do you think they're all the same, quality wise, or are some better than others.

Thanks!

 

[fabbrisd1]

The OES is the same as genuine MB part, the rest are the China knockoff which honestly are OK quality is you buy at the best price USD$40-$45.

Aluminum rivets are OK for replacement, unless you have a steel rivet tool for the MB rivets.

Hardest part correctly drilling out the old rivets with the correct size drill bit by drilling off the rivet head.

Keep the beat !

 

[deandome]

I think I'm gonna go w/the Dorman one. They may well be all the same, but it LOOKS like Dorman is a real company who makes their own stuff. They seem to do one thing...window regulators...and they claim to work hard to improve the faults of OEM products.

Dorman Window Regulator Evaluation

Even though they're like $75 @ PartsTrain, Amazon has 'em for $45 each with FREE shipping (which makes 'em much cheaper than ebay)

Amazon.com: Dorman 740-453 Mercedes-Benz Rear Passenger Side Power Window Regulator Without Motor: Automotive

 

[Kajtek1]

I had bad luck with Amazon when rotors confirmed to fit did not fit my car. The kids at CS send we another identical set not even trying to understand what the problem was. Amazon refunded all the money, but I wasted lot of my time.

 

[deandome]

It's not really Amazon 'proper', it's a store called autopartsdirecttoyou that partners with them. What's cool is that they have the free shipping, just like Amazon proper...most partner-stores don't.

I had bad luck with Amazon when rotors confirmed to fit did not fit my car. The kids at CS send we another identical set not even trying to understand what the problem was. Amazon refunded all the money, but I wasted lot of my time.

 

[Check Codes]

Given that choice I too would buy Dorman.
They are an established line company and last time I checked their stuff was very high quality and made in the US.

Of course my first choice would be just to replace the green slider.

Good luck.

 

[Plutoe]

Don't waste you time with the aftermarket. Stick with an OEM part when it comes to a control module.

Now if you need a bolt or nut. The CHICOM stuff is good, made from iron rice bowls!!

 

[dsmith]

I buy the URO ones from rockauto.com for $35. 3 yrs now on one and 1.5 yrs on the other. Looks exactly the same as OE. If it's going to be crap, I want it to be cheap crap. Kind of like going to Taco Bell for my mexican food.

I am also interested in if the black Dorman one fits. Looks like a metal slider.

 

[deandome]

I thought about that...it may well be the problem that can be fixed by the regulator-repair kits I see on ebay.

But I didn't want to get inside & then find out I need the whole thing. I've seen pics of some of the originals people have removed, and some are pretty mangled. And I think one of mine is pretty bad/worse than the other, as one window can't be 'pushed' up manually, where the other one can, so I think a pulley might be broken too, and/or some pieces are jamming something.

I actually caused & heard the death of the passenger/rear regulator...I'm still haunted by the sounds During the test drive, the drivers side window slipped down a little without triggering the button, and the owner seemed to know that one was kinda messed, as he said it had happened before but he could get it back up (he had the child lock on the windows, which you do when you don't want to accidentally open them). But when we got back to his house, I then tried the other side, and there was big-time crunching/crackling noises.

The guy took $1000 off his price for this (!!), so I'm picking it up tonight (see my other 'should I buy' thread if you wish).

Given that choice I too would buy Dorman.
They are an established line company and last time I checked their stuff was very high quality and made in the US.

Of course my first choice would be just to replace the green slider.

Good luck.

 

[deandome]

I'll letcha know...I didn't notice that. And I think it's not really black as much as less 'chrome-y' than the others, so it photographs darker....you can see a lot of detail when you enlarge the Amazon pic.

Looks like the thing that actually slides in the rail IS metal, but it's attached to a plastic piece that I imagine holds the window. Maybe it's NOT crap, I'll report what I find out.

Not to brag, but I really am the king of obsessive comparison-shopping on the net $43.38 with no shipping or tax probby beats what you [email protected] RockAuto for the cheapies, as I don't see anything about free shipping there. And Rock does have the Dormans, but they're $54 there.

$

I buy the URO ones from rockauto.com for $35. 3 yrs now on one and 1.5 yrs on the other. Looks exactly the same as OE. If it's going to be crap, I want it to be cheap crap. Kind of like going to Taco Bell for my mexican food.

I am also interested in if the black Dorman one fits. Looks like a metal slider.

 

[fabbrisd1]

Actually even the OE part is a bit cheap feeling, it's a stamped metal part with kindof sharp edges even on the EE.

Keep the faith !

 

[Kajtek1]

Of course my first choice would be just to replace the green slider.

Good luck.

My too. Not only because it is cheaper, but you can spend few dollars in advance and carry the 1 oz part with you all the time to have it when needed.
I still have couple of sliders I removed from 190 on junk yard. The one I installed on our car couple years ago is still holding. Funny to put 25 years old part in 12 years old car.
Lot of members are discouraged by mangled cables, but OEM cables are very high quality and they straight up pretty well.

 

[Plutoe]

Go with the OEM!!

 

[Kajtek1]

Go with the OEM!!

Yeah. It is proven to break easy.

 

[Check Codes]

Go with the OEM!!

Care to offer any rationale to support your biased and emphatic opinion?

There are many stories on the forum of those who have replaced their regulator with the OEM only to have it fail in just a few years.

There are just as many stories of those who have sought out the cheapest source and had it last just as long.

The vast majority of the reported failures have been related to the little plastic slider with the metal insert that catches the springs on the ends of cable. Experience has shown that the OE part doesn't have lots of staying power, so what's wrong with using a cheaper part?

Moreover: This part isn't mission-critical -- true? After all, it's not like an untested Chinese-knockoff MAF sensor or a URO transmission pilot bushing that will damage other things or potentially strand you.


And hey, I guess you'd also criticize those of us who choose to repair the regulator with the new slider, since it isn't OE.


In the end it's likely that your greatest displeasure comes from not being able to yell at people to scurry off to the dealer to have the car scanned to see what is wrong when they hear that tell-tale crunch and the window drops.

 

[Kajtek1]

it is very clear to me. Plutoe is "professional" -more owners put breakable parts, more business he is going to have and as shop owners he gets about 30% discount on OEM parts, so he makes $40 profit on part markup alone plus regular labor charges.

 

[Check Codes]

it is very clear to me. Plutoe is "professional" -more owners put breakable parts, more business he is going to have and as shop owners he gets about 30% discount on OEM parts, so he makes $40 profit on part markup alone plus regular labor charges.

And that's why we need to keep calling out his BS, right?

 

[Plutoe]

Mr. Kajtek1, please allow me to call you that, I have waited for thousands of your posts to try and find a noun, adverb or adjective that I repeat I could make sense of.

My wait is over, your above post finally makes sense. However once again you only elude to one side of the story. Your OEM margin information is in the ball park, but if you do your research the margins on aftermarket parts are somewhat higher. Therefore in the pure economic sense I should always use aftermarket parts. I do not! When it comes to electro mechanical and or control modules I always use OEM---Why

Back when you were putting wrenches on Skodas, the word diagnostic compatibility was not known, but today control modules perform many repeatable functions that aftermarket control modules can not, unless they meet OEM specs.

How would you diagnose a car if the software could not read the module. I could go on, but then I would be like the "do gooder" check codes who always follows the pack and when you tell him to jump----he will always ask how high and very rarely adds any substance to a topic.

I have or never will follow the pack. If I have a different opinion/view, I will voice it. Now I guess you can call that BS if you want, but it is still my opinion and at least in this country opinion is one of my rights.

 

[Check Codes]

Mr. Kajtek1, please allow me to call you that, I have waited for thousands of your posts to try and find a noun, adverb or adjective that I repeat I could make sense of.

My wait is over, your above post finally makes sense. However once again you only elude to one side of the story. Your OEM margin information is in the ball park, but if you do your research the margins on aftermarket parts are somewhat higher. Therefore in the pure economic sense I should always use aftermarket parts. I do not! When it comes to electro mechanical and or control modules I always use OEM---Why

Back when you were putting wrenches on Skodas, the word diagnostic compatibility was not known, but today control modules perform many repeatable functions that aftermarket control modules can not, unless they meet OEM specs.

How would you diagnose a car if the software could not read the module. I could go on, but then I would be like the "do gooder" check codes who always follows the pack and when you tell him to jump----he will always ask how high and very rarely adds any substance to a topic.

I have or never will follow the pack. If I have a different opinion/view, I will voice it. Now I guess you can call that BS if you want, but it is still my opinion and at least in this country opinion is one of my rights.

Your opinion, as with any other, is welcome.

Your attitude, however, is not, and those are entirely different things.

An opinion by itself is simply useless. That's all it is. I like the Tigers, you like the Yankees, who cares?

But the BASIS for the opinion is what matters. You choose most of the time to proffer no basis for your opinion, rather just blurt out your opinion. That's what children and morons do all the time, and if you choose to lump yourself in there, no one here will stop you.

But that's what we call "BS". And *that* is an opinion grounded in fact because of how you choose to present yourself so much of the time...as in this thread, for example.

BTW, the word you're looking for is "allude", the meaning of which has eluded you.

 

[Kajtek1]

Mr. Kajtek1, please allow me to call you that, .

You can call me Kris, Kristopher or Krzysztof.
FYI Newer Mercedes have some parts make in Czech Republic, so I believe they are manufactured in old Skoda factories.
Now explain the mentioned economics a bit farther.
You are saying that on $50 aftermarket regulator you can take bigger markup than $40 I calculated on OEM regulator. So what is the percentage discount you are getting on aftermarket parts?