[QUOTE]Originally posted by placo1
[B]blueriomedina,

Your mechanics labor rates are very high from what I can see. You many want to shop around unless you really love his/her work and the work is above and beyond what is necessary.

Afshin,

You are right those prices are ridiculous high they were a quote giving to me from the MB dealership here in SA. I have been doing most of the work myself with quite a substantial saving of money just by ordering the parts from FastLane. Just to give you and idea of the difference. The MB dealer would have charge for parts and labor $1,167.60 to change the following:

Belt Tensioner $249.60
Tensioner shock $52.00
Serpentine Belt $40.00 labor $570.00

Transmission Cooler Hoses L&R
(R) $49.00
(L) $42.00 Labor $165.00

I did this job myself; the same parts from FastLane came to be $234.00 so in parts alone I saved $198.60. I save overall $933.60. That is not including a new thermostat, and coolant change which I also did, Thermo from FastLane ~~ $14.00 had it ship overnight cost me extra $13.00, the coolant from MB dealer $10.00/gallon X2. No matter how you cut it if you can do the job yourself you can save quite a bit of money. Of course I know I won’t be able to do everything, limiting factors such as tools, and time, will probably make me take the car to the dealer or a mechanic that specializes in MB.

Blue