Looking for Thoughts on After Market Grille Stars

[demichae]

Like many of us, the star on my grille broke off the surround frame.  I took it to a chrome shop to see if they could fix it.  They quoted me $1,300.  There are stars on Ebay for $800, which are after market reproductions, and I'm wondering what people's thoughts are on these, or what experiences they have had with them if they have purchased one.  Do they look the same?  Do they rust? If one entered their Pagoda in a concourse event, would the judges be able to tell the difference?  Looking forward to hear what people have to say.

[mdsalemi]

I have not seen any aftermarket grill stars available on the open market… but maybe you were seeing listings that I am not.

Anecdotally, I understand that somebody was casting the grill stars in brass some years back and selling them. They required a bit of hand work before they were in the condition good enough for chrome plating… but if you could get them in a reasonable condition they would be a big improvement over the pot metal casting supplied originally. Of course the Mercedes-Benz lawyers came after them big time.

As this is a weak spot on our cars and also a very costly one since they are not supplied any longer, this is ripe for a modern solution such as 3-D printing.