Beauty Rings

[Garry]

I purchased a set of generic Beauty Rings today from a local car parts shop for $45 a set.  They appear to fit just fine on a spare wheel I had here. 

I have seen ones advertised for W113's selling for hundreds of dollars a set on flea bay.   I think I am missing something here.  What is wrong with what I have just purchased, are the W113 specific rings something very different?

Garry

[DaveB]

Indeed they must be relatively cheap to make so I don't think the MB markup can be justified on any other grounds than that's what some buyers are willing to pay. The generic type with the 'multi-prong' back will rust quicker than the MB versions in my experience (I had one of them and three genuine). But if you keep on top of the rust, no problem. It certainly looks fine!

p.s. I see you have a Thor hammer - is that the type with a rolled leather face? Seems perfect for the job.

[thelews]

There's nothing wrong with them.  But, they are not of the substance and quality of the MB one and the profile is slightly different.  They are thinner and stainless (?) rather than chrome, I think.  Anyway, they work great and it's hard to justify 13X the price for an MB one if you're not showing in a white glove concours with knowledgable judges or selling the car for over $100K.

[114015]

Garry,

Agree with the others.
The aftermarket ones do fine for a "driver" quality car.

For a really nicely preserved Authentic they are more of a no-go.
You _can_ see the differences once you have an original ring in your hands ...

Used ones are available. Just be patient. Dont' t pay the price some silly ebay-sellers demand...  :'(
I have been looking for these for > 20 years and have got plenty.
Some of these were less than $$ 10 each but would need proper rechroming in order to be perfect.

Basically .... your choice.

Good luck with your 230

Achim

[Garry]

Thanks for replies.

They are for my wife's driver so sounds like they are fine.  will be interesting to get to compare with the real thing.  They are actually steel chromed not SS polished.

Garry

[dseretakis]

Does the 230SL utilize 13 or 14" wheels?

[IXLR8]

14 inch

[Benz Dr.]

You can pay as much as you would for new ones, or even more to have them re-chomed, so keep that in mind before you pull the chrome plating trigger.
 Removing all of those little dings from people trying to pry the caps off before the ring is removed can be very costly. That, and curb rash, make a lot of used ones not worth doing.