about to buy ecode Hella headlights from eBay Europe.. any local sellers??

for my '96 Passat B4 TDI... After spending a bunch of money to make my stock headlights work as well as they possibly can, polished, relayed, with almost $200 in the very best LED replacement bulbs.... I've decided they suck. Well, the driver's side one in particular is horrible, with the reflective material severely compromised so it emits very little usable light. Well, and the adjusters are also all broken, so the useless light won't even point in the correct direction. sigh. The passenger side seems reasonably passable with a nice clean and controlled beam being projected after all this $$$ and work..
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So I finally found two new e-code HELLA headlights, left and right from two separate European sellers on euro-eBay. I'm about to pull the trigger on these. But I would MUCH rather purchase some from a US seller, or from a forum member, or from someone somewhat local. This is my last call out before I drop $350 on headlights from far, far away, then another $170 on special H1 bulbs... ack! so much on lighting!!!
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Wish me luck!
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Did you try all the vendors listed on this site, and parts for sale?
Otherwise good luck!

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$370 isn’t a terrible price if they’re truly NOS Hellas. Is that shipped?

You’re getting ripped off on the bulbs. These are what I’m using, or at least an older version of the Night Breaker line.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Osram-Nigh...671976&hash=item42051b8d26:g:OPsAAOSwECNdSr3C

-Todd

Another thing is to make sure they’re for LHD, otherwise the light will be focused to the wrong side. Many times, you can see E1 on the lens.

-Todd

Every piece of the headlights comes apart and can be replaced. I swapped to high beam bulbs in my low beams as well, and actually like them better than my E-Codes in the wagon.

I have the parts you need to fix your stock lights that I'd be willing to part with.

Any thoughts on these? $330 oneBay.. They say the fit, but I'm not sure that they would... but it looks like they would accommodate a HID bulb in that projector lens.
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https://www.ebay.com/itm/Headlights...aylight-Chrome-WW-FreeShip-US-LP/202719782280
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TDIDaveNH said:

I have the parts you need to fix your stock lights that I'd be willing to part with.

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Thanks Dave, in the very least I need my whole left headlight replaced -- the reflective material has degraded until it no longer reflects. The right is OK but not great... I am pretty sure I simply need to replace them with something newer.
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I am quickly learning that body, lighting, and trim parts for these B4 wagons are difficult to find, and then way too expensive when they can be sourced... what a frustrating thing!
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But, again, thank you Dave. I think I will get this all sorted out pretty soon!

I also have a bucket of headlights and can send anything you need for just shipping.

Phi1osopher said:

Thanks Dave, in the very least I need my whole left headlight replaced -- the reflective material has degraded until it no longer reflects. The right is OK but not great... I am pretty sure I simply need to replace them with something newer.

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I am quickly learning that body, lighting, and trim parts for these B4 wagons are difficult to find, and then way too expensive when they can be sourced... what a frustrating thing!

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But, again, thank you Dave. I think I will get this all sorted out pretty soon!

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I have a green B4 California Varient that was hit hard in the rear end and was totalled by my insurance, I bought it back a few years ago for the engine & trans, and springs, I'm in no hurry to get the motor out, but when I do you can come tow it back to Texas for a song and a dance if you're interested. Most of the body parts are still in decent shape excluding the rear end and interior (I used it like I would use a truck,) for hauling supplies.

That said I have no idea when I'll get around to pulling the parts I intend to keep.

On the flip side of that I've never had any problems finding parts for my B4's at local junk yards, especially Pick your Parts - remember that all the B4 body parts are basically the same, including the gassers that were sold during that same time period.

Unless you just want to spend money for fancy stuff I don't quite understand why your not interested in taking Dave up on his offer for the parts you need, and at least out here in So Cal a complete headlight assembly with no rust would be fairly easy to source, but I can't speak for Texas salvage yards. Then there is the BMW headlight swap that was mentioned before, not perfect, but a few people on this forum made it work nicely with some tweaks.


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It’s been a few years since I’ve had any B4s in my local yards. This chassis was only around for 3 years, so I understand why they’re getting scarce. Luckily, I have some spare parts to pull from, when in need.

I do see them come up for sale, pretty cheaply. If I had land, I’d be buying a few for parts.

-Todd

Speaking of which, I have some body panels/doors/hatch for a B4V (wagon) and interior parts I need to move to clean out my barn before selling it. Most everything is free since I don't have room to store it. The kicker is that they're in Maine.

Abacus said:

Speaking of which, I have some body panels/doors/hatch for a B4V (wagon) and interior parts I need to move to clean out my barn before selling it. Most everything is free since I don't have room to store it. The kicker is that they're in Maine.

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Maine is so beautiful this time of the year!

Phi1osopher said:

Maine is so beautiful this time of the year!

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Time for a road trip!

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Maine will be nice for the next 2 months or so.

Just buy the left and right set from Latvia. They are just as good as any NOS Hella's that you might find from someones barn (not directed at you Abacus!). It being made of glass helps with the clarity issues of stock lenses. I cannot tell one issue vs my old stock German Ecode's I previously had. I do have the electric levelers and euro switch too. Blah blah blah blah.

My suggestion though is buy some thick lamin-x film to cover them. They still make them for the b4's. They are glass and they will crack and chip. BTDT.

What is this H1 bulb you are talking about that are so crazy expensive btw? Check out powerbulbs.com

No offense taken, and I agree. Being low budget, I wanted to give that as an option as well.

For lens protectors, get these if you can find them, they're cut properly and about 1/8" thick, much thicker than the tape. They are well worth getting.