Just a simple little thing, but more useful than it might seem. There's
no easy way to close the trunk of these cars other than to put your
hand on the trunk and push it down. Obviously, this works, but leaves
hand marks all over your trunk lid. (Clearly, an unacceptable solution.)
For some reason, the handle that BMW provides is located up-under
and inside the trunk(?). I guess that works pretty well if you're closing
yourself up in there, but for most other times it requires that you
turn your hand around backwards, grab the handle and start the trunk
lid down, and then quickly pull your hand out of the way before it slams
on it. Gotta be a better way.
This device is just a simple L-shaped stainless steel bracket that
fits behind the license plate and is held in place by the license plate
bolts. It provides a small, unobtrusive little lip to grab to easily
close the trunk.
The one that I have is from SAAB (part number 02 51 827). It's available
in several different finishes as shown. I bought the black pearl, but
if I were to do it again, I'd probably save the $5 and go for the black.
The pearl is polished with a prismatic black surface finish. The black
is a matte black. You see very little of it anyway, so really not worth
the extra cost. About $20 - $25, depending on the version. These are
very nicely made, high-quality, all stainless, hand-finished parts.
I have the black and also the bright, mirror-polished versions avaliable
for a little less here: http://www.ultimatecupholders.com/trunkhandle.html
You can order all through SAAB's web site.
If you're a purist and have to stay German, Mercedes also has one, but
it's only available in a chrome-like finish.
Last, I seem to get a lot of questions about the license plate frame
shown in the picture. It's just a cheapy from the local auto store.
Think it cost all of $2.99. I do like the way that they trim the plate
and hide the hardware. There are similar metal frames available that
sell for about $25 - $50. You'd have to look close to tell any difference
on the car, and in fact I think that I like the shape of the plastic
ones better.