Do you have tools and service information to fix a 2000 - 2006 MB diesel?

Is it worth your money/effort to buy tools and service information to fix a 2000 - 2006 MB diesel?

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=mercedes+benz+diagnostic+scan+tool&btnG=Google+Search

How much do you think a full set of tools and service information to fix a 2000 - 2006 MB diesel would cost?

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as much as said car

I just bought a bunch of tools for the 606 diesel. What exactly are you needing?

Nothing at the moment.
This thread was started to consider if the newer MB diesels will be DIY possible, without $75,000.00 USD worth of special tools and service information.

The VW tdi community seems to be thriving, despite having to deal with computerized engine management systems. That community has far more of an experienced DIY ethic than over here in the MB realm, so they're more adaptable and resourceful with regard to changes in design complexity.

[QUOTE=H2O2]The VW tdi community... has far more of an experienced DIY ethic than over here in the MB realmQUOTE]

Huh? Cannot be so.

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The point I was trying to make there, is that lots of VW owners started with either the aircooled or early Rabbit h2o chassis, which were very user friendly and tought a lot of us how to tinker with our cars and be resourceful with tools and parts inter-change. The VW diesel and tdi guys have consistently shown a willingness to tinker with all aspects of their engines, including injection pumps and the electronic controllers for said pumps. MB owners are on the whole, much more cautious and conservative with such DIY entrepreneurship. That's not even disputable.

H202 has it correct! All you have to do is surf on over to www.tdiclub.com and you will see just how technically savvy they are. The VAG-COM program and the adaptor cable that allows you to hook up your PC to a TDI runs about $350. Thats not a lot of money, tool-wise. Will this ever happen to MB'z?? Maybe. Most MB owners a) have more money b) don't want to mess with a $55K car c) don't want to get grease on their yachting outfits. The TDI crowd is knee-deep in tweaking the hell out of their VW's often as soon as they roll of the dealership lots. That means there is lots of support for the new excited TDI owners. Not so with MB. Most here don't have the means to purchase a new CDI so we have to wait until they are used. That means the aftermarket and the demand is slow and may never respond. Also consider that for every CDI sold there are probably 50-100 TDI's. RT

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As times change things will adapt. I can garentee that you will start seeing plastic shops spring up along with machine shops, etc.. Also people will specialize in wiring harnesses and computer controls. Look at the 50's high end cars. They were extremely complicated and tech savy for the era and who here can't work on a 50's Cadillac with the support of a fourm like this or a shop manuel.

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Can OBD2 readers read codes from the new W211's? Is their a computer program that can? I suspect in a few years there will be then it will just be a matter of plugging a laptop in.

Besides worst case the dealer can read the codes for $100.

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Service info CD's can be found on EBAY for under $75, the tools are another matter. As a former VW TDI owner, I must agree with those who are saying there is much more DIY info out there for the newer VW's than there is for the newer Mercedes. The tdiclub website is awesome if you have a BW diesel. The members in my area often have GTG's (get togethers). These can be purely social or purely mechanical. We had one just to remove intake manifolds and clean them, got the job done on maybe 15 cars in one afternoon. In addition once a year they rent out a shop with a dyno to see what effects certain mods have on their cars. I can remember one person dynoing his car with the stock paper air filter element, then replacing it with a K&N element and re-dynoing, then removing some of the air intake snorkeling and snow screen and then re-dynoing, ect. It is a really interesting and tight-knit community. I miss it, although I still visit the website. I'm having a fairly negative experience with my new CDI. No problems with the car, it is wonderful and so far problem free, but the dealers are not helpful unless they have your credit card in their hand and are either ignorant when it comes to the diesel, or just plain arrogant and withhold information. And what's with this$230 oil change at 13,000 miles? It was quite a stretch for me to purchase this car, maybe I'm out of my league

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