HELP, very uncomfortable shop experience

[brecchi]

So, I dropped my 87 190d off at a shop in NYC recommended on this forum. I talked to the owner and asked for a glow plug change and ream, trans filter and fluid change, radiator fluid change and thermostat, fuel filter and diesel purge, power steering fluid and filter change, to take a look at the blower motor which isnt coming on (but will if you jiggle it right) and to fix the drivers side door lock which doesnt raise up from the drivers side door (have to open from the passenger side). he also said i should change the tank filter, and said he had one that he would use.
The car was running smoothly when i dropped it off by the way. i got it a couple of months ago and dont have the time to do these things myself right now. Also, I had ALL of the parts already purchased ahead of time and in the trunk of my car.
He said that he couldnt get to it on friday but would have it ready by this afternoon. He scribbled out a ticket which I signed and when i asked about a price, he said he would call later that day. he didnt call but got in touch with me this morning and said there is an oil leak somewhere on the lower engine, and the drive shaft coupling is worn. (i feel no vibrations though).
He also said that he had done all of the work, but that the thermostat i had didnt fit (not really a problem for me, i guess he just reused the old one. Also, he said he changed the oil and filter which I NEVER mentioned. I just changed the oil (MOBIL 1) and filter myself a month ago. He saw a spare oil filter on the floor in the back of the car, separate from where all of the other parts were in the trunk and did the oil change. He kind of acknowledged that he misunderstood. he said it says "oil filter change" on the ticket though and that he couldnt change just the filter without changing the oil (which is besides the point). He also said the bill was $525 right now. I really wanted to speak to him about the price before, cause this is a bit high for me and i would have had him do less stuff. He said that he just did what I asked him to. I see his point, kind of.
Im going to go by later today. Its a bit hard to negotiate with him on the phone, he is an older gentleman with a thick accent. My questions are:

-All said and done, is this a fair price?
-What about the oil, Im just going to change it back to mobil 1 again, im sure no synthetic was used.
-In general, what to do about all of this, including the oil leak, coupling, etc? (he said he had to wash the engine to see where the oil leak was coming from.
Thanks for reading this, and for any advice, brecchi

[vstech]

that volume of things to do especially the blower motor problem chase down, will be pricey.
those are all DIY things to do because they are time consuming, but simple. you are lucky with 525, could have been much higher, but I agree, the shop should have given you a price before they started, you asked for a price up front.
the oil change deal is just what it is. some shops don't change just filters, some shops change oil on all cars no matter what. just chalk that one up to not specifically stating DO NOT TOUCH THE OIL
you are VERY lucky he found the flex joint and changed it. that alone will raise the bill over 150.00. they make no vibrations until they fail, and leave you stranded with a destroyed transmission and underbody...

[kerry]

Not sure what NYC law is but I'm pretty sure in Colorado, an estimate for auto repairs must include a price and any change in the price requires authorization. I would not walk away from a shop without a written estimate and the fact that the mechanic did not give one to you is a red flag in my mind.
But if the mechanic did everything on your list, the price does not seem out of line to me.
By the way, I'm not familiar with the 190d but the 123's don't have tank filters, they have tank screens which can be cleaned. Cleaning requires emptying the tank and removing the screen. I can't imagine a mechanic volunteering such work without evidence of a problem. That part seems odd.

[Stevo]

Sounds like you got off cheap, I wouldn't nit pick about the oil change after giving him a list like that.

[brecchi]

thanks for the quick replies. I wanted to mention that he did NOT repair the oil leak or the coupling, he just called to tell me about them before he did any work on it, since it was not what i mentioned. i have a feeling the blower motor may not be fixed, i dont remember him saying anything about it, so i am just not sure about that one. also, when he talked about the tank screen (it is a screen) i told him I just filled up the tank, so i am not sure if he did it or not. I plan on stopping by in a couple of hours to find out EXACTLY what was done. As he was explaining on the phone, i only got a basic idea. im going to have to go through the list. I just want to leave the situation not feeling completely had. I dont think he is a malicious guy, but I do feel that his carelessness is putting me in a bad spot. In the future i will be much more assertive in what i do and do not want. i just thought we were on the same page.

[marfa300td]

I thought $525 was a reasonable price for an oil change in NYC.

[Skippy]

In Nevada, you don't automatically give you a price up front. However, if you ask for a written estimate, they have to give you one. The odd thing is that they are allowed to go over their estimate by 20% without prior authorization.

I don't hire work out very much, but when I do, I find out what I'm going to be paying first.

As long as the shop owner did everything that was asked for, $525 seems like a pretty reasonable price. I would have DIY'ed most or all of that work and consequently spent a lot less.

[Codifex Maximus]

Yep, before I learned to fix my own Mercedes, I rarely got out of a shop for less than $500USD. Seems like no matter what was done, it always came out to about $500.

Save yourself some money... DIY.

[brecchi]

So I went to the shop and got the car. The owner put the car on the lift and went through what he did and pointed out the worn coupling and oil leak from somewhere towards the top of the engine. The final tally was:

1. Glow plug change -$125(!) Im sure there was no reaming involved. I did see the old plugs and they were pretty carbon-y.

2. The oil and filter change, he said he would swallow. Cheap ass sounding "CAM-2" diesel rated 15w40 took the place of my 2 month old Mobil 1 5-40 for these cold NYC winters. And the filter. (which was my spare). Also replaced the drain plug which was rounding out, and washer.

3. Differential fluid replacement - $50

4. Trans fluid and filter Change - $100. (used 6 quarts of my Mobil 1 ATF i had for this and the differential. I brought 8, im worried it should have taken more.)

5. Fixed the fan switch, sort-of. - $50. It blows really hot from the corner vents and cold from the middle vent. At least I can close what vents i dont want open. Says he had to remove the heater from the engine compartment, but im not sure he did.

6. Replaced fuel filters - $75! (didnt do the diesel purge, says he didnt go forward with more work after we spoke. but arent you supposed to purge BEFORE you change filters?! i could have replaced the filters myself just fine.)

7. Replaced the antifreeze ($50) and just poured the factory stuff straight in, NO WATER! Ignored the distilled water gallon-jugs i pointed out to him when I dropped the car off. The thermostat I had didnt fit, he got another one, and sent it back when he wasnt sure how i wanted to handle things after we talked. so the old one is in there.

So....it came out to $450. I dont feel good about it, but i was going to offer $400 for the work done when i thought it was going to be $525. I handed him the money as I saw him trying to add $40 for tax (its on the reciept). So yeah, I feel ripped off, although it could have been worse. He didnt call to discuss a price and just started digging in after saying otherwise. When he called me and knew I was uncomfortable, he held off on the diesel purge and didn't do the power steering filter and fluid change. By itself, $450 wouldnt be so bad, but considering I supplied all the parts (except cheap oil which I will be switching back to Mobil 1, another cost), and the things he didn't do, Im feeling fairly jipped. Any thoughts or suggestions at this point? i think the guy and his crew are more sloppy than malicious, he was personable enough and took his time going through exactly what he did, and the coupling and oil leak issues. i just figured that being old benz/diesel specialists, they would be much more on point, if not as anal as me.

[kerry]

Price does not seem out of line to me for what he did. Around here shops are getting $80 or 90 per hour so that would work out roughly to his price.

[Skippy]

I've dealt with much worse shops. I agree with your assessment that they are not malicious, just sloppy. Certain things you could have done better, such as supply a WRITTEN list of what you want done, and gotten a WRITTEN estimate prior to the start of any work.

Or you could just DIY.

[brecchi]

I hear you Skippy. I should mention though, that I brought a list to the shop, explained what I wanted, and then he looked at the list and chicken scratched some things down on the ticket right after we spoke. I glanced at the ticket and asked about prices, he said he would call later on in the day when he could estimate and before any work was done. The ticket seemed more like a personal reminder for himself, as I thought we were still going to work out a price/work point. No doubt though, in hindsight i could have been much more careful. Now though, Im more uncomfortable with the straight antifreeze in the car and the cheapo oil than anything else.

[Junkman]

I have had few shops do A to Z the way I want - even the expensive ones. You have to watch even a tire balance job. One place was going to add weights without first removing the old. Another stripped or didn't repair stripped bolts that hold the sway bar in. Another twisted lug nuts off - book calls for 75# torque. Another claimed to throw away 40 gallons of gas (93 suburban), installed a $30 (my cost) aftermarket fuel pump instead of the $80 OEM pump we agreed on. Charged me $90 for the pump. Another tried to charge $300 labor to install a diesel ram steering box claiming that the box I had was "difficult". I'm back to doing my own work. I'd let the oil stay until time to change it.

[vstech]

unless you are experiencing fridgid cold nights still, I'd leave the oil in place for at least 2500 or so miles before changing out to the mobil1... a total waste to swap out the oil at this point, UNLESS the oil he used is NOT diesel rated... if it isn't rated CH-I or J I would change it in 1500 or so... your call. on the other hand, if you change it now, you don't have to change the filter, just open the lid, and let the canister drain, then change the oil and call it good. you are going to have over a quart of the oil left in the cooler and lines anyway, so a little residue on the filter is not going to matter much.

if you are happy mechanically with what was done, and the only problem is the money and the lack of upfront quote, AND you still feel like a shop doing your work is best for you, then I would bring the work back to him in the future, but MAKE HIM SIGN YOUR LIST and get a WRITTEN quote before you leave the car with him.

only 6 quarts, means he did not drain the torque converter... so you did not get a complete trans change...
75 is his charge for INSTALLING the fuel filters? and you supplied them? ouch.

Originally Posted by kerry

Price does not seem out of line to me for what he did. Around here shops are getting $80 or 90 per hour so that would work out roughly to his price.

That's what I was thinking, dropping off a car with a list of issues usually costs $500-1000.