Hello,
Although I am new to Pagodas, I have owned several classic cars and a few Mercedes. I can honestly say that the parts availability is one if the greatest aspects of owning a vintage Mercedes. I read somewhere recently that over 90% of the parts are still available at the dealer. On that note, there are three classes of parts:
1) "Factory original" would be a part obtained from Mercedes dealer (or through a vender that obtains the parts wholesale and then resells retail). It may have a Mercedes stamp or P/N marked on the part. It should be noted that the vast majority of Mercedes Benz parts are (or were) manufactured by subcontractors such as Bosch, Girling, etc.
2) "Original Equipment Manufacturer" or "OEM" parts are obtained directly from Mercedes subcontractors and are usually indentical. These parts may lack a Mercedes star symbol or variant of part number but otherwise is the same. Most of the time there is a substantial savings with OEM parts and they are just as good.
3) "Reproduction" parts are available through vendors in cases of obsolencence or when the design of a part can be reproduced at a cost savings. Sometimes the parts are as good (or better), while some are not quite up to par. For example: The rubber inserts on the body moldings are available as reproductions....I am told these are just as good. The chrome rings for wheels (used on Pagodas through mid 280SL) are also available as reproductions at a substantial savings. I am told if you look real close they are not quite as good as the original. So one would have to enquire item by item on reproductions.
Another common term is "NOS" or "New Old Stock". This is a factory part that was likely manufactured during the same period as the production of the car. Parts of this nature are often found on Ebay, etc. One must be diligent when obtaining NOS parts as time can often age or fatigue a part if it or a portion of it is perishable.
I hope this helps....I am sure others with add some more information.
Best Regards,
J. P. Mose
1968 250SL
