Mercedes Parts – A tale of three boot locks

Do they make Mercedes Parts like they used to?

Members of the classic car community will recognise the phrase ‘they don’t make them like they used to’, but what does that really mean?

Take a look at the three Mercedes-Benz W113 Pagoda boot locks shown below. Three Mercedes parts, all new in the box with the same makers mark ‘Bomoro’ showing – all genuine Mercedes parts.

The ‘Bomoro’ name was affiliated with a number of luxury European marques of the 1960s and 70s.

Fig 1 shows the original 1960s die cast item, complete with a heavy duty rivet to keep everything in place.

Fig 2 shows an item from the early 1990s, punched from sheet steel and galvanised. The countersunk holes are gone, meaning only pan head bolts can be used.

Fig 3 shows a modern offering, the lever arm barely half the thickness of the 1960s original and held in place by a simple roll pin. Out of the box, we doubt this lock would release the boot lid correctly.

All of these parts are genuine Mercedes parts, in Mercedes parts boxes showing just how the quality of components has changed as the decades have gone by.

In this case, Fig 1 is a component now available through SLSHOP from our Holland Haul. Here at SLSHOP, we wish to supply the very best parts and materials whether they are being fitted in your workshop or ours.

Today in our parts department and workshops, we find that New Old Stock it still the best solution – more so for the Pagoda. With new remanufactured components, non genuine is often the same calibre as new Mercedes-Benz parts.

For customers in our parts store and workshops, this knowledge is vitally important. After a decade working with three generations of SL, our experts are attuned to which products to use (and advise) and when. The relationship between our workshop and parts department allows us to understand these parts, sourcing or building the very best components to complete a given task, sharing our knowledge and experience though the breadth of our product range.

If you are restoring a classic Mercedes-Benz SL and would like assistance in finding the right parts, do contact our parts team: tel +44 (0) 1789 337 070 or [email protected]