The only mechanic I know who has no problem with such arrangements is a friend of mine who works out of the shade of a coconut tree - he's my regular "coconut-tree" mechanic.

He's an ex-Beemer tech with over 10 years experience in K-Jet and KE-Jet systems.He also does MBs and strictly provides only diagnosis/labor.

He insists that his customers supply the parts (probably coz he doesn't wanna fork out any cash up front on parts).

This works well for me coz I enjoy DIY work on my car when I can.When it gets tricky (esp if I lack the correct tools), I go to the guy.

For the more expensive parts (fuel distributor, ECU) I get used units from a local wrecker with an exchange policy on defective parts; no questions asked.

If the part fails, I would pay for the extra labor to re-fit the exchanged part coz the parts are now "my problem".

It's more than worth the hassle coz I have already saved over a thousand dollars going with this guy than to the regular MB shop.

For the more difficult jobs (for example when a lift is required), I go to the regular MB workshop for help.

My opinion is that you get what you pay for.

You pay peanuts, you get monkeys.If you're lucky, you go bananas!