Found this website while researching the failed odometer on my late father's 98 F150 -

Odometer Gears - Mercedes-Benz - 124 Chassis 84-95 Mech.

Quite a few other makes and models as well.

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Just say "NO" to Ethanol - Drive Diesel

Mitchell Oates
Mooresville, NC
'87 300D 212K miles
'87 300D 151K miles - R.I.P. 12/08
'05 Jeep Liberty CRD 67K miles
Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club

See the recent post regarding cheap odometer repair for gear source & link. The gears are only a few dollars unless you need the supplier to tell you what you need and how to repair. It looks like tooth count is given at the link you posted.

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.

You can buy a lifetime's worth of wiper assemblies at the PnP for the price of one wiper gear For that price, it should be made of metal.

Sixto
87 300D

Not everyone has access to good salvage yards.

I'd think that some people out there like fixing odd bits on the car but have no interest / time to sift through a salvage yard and would rather have new parts delivered to their door.

The cost of a used part isn't just what you pay the guy at the gate, it is the cost of your time door to door plus the cost of the part. In other words, if you can make more $ at your day job than you can save digging around, buy it new.

For the record, I'm more interested in value than cost. Also, I have a running tab at my local scrap metal yard that I work off fixing their equipment.

Precisely, there isn't much value in a $100 replacement gear segment. To begin with, the cost of the gear segment exceeds the cost of a good used wiper assembly delivered to your door. Add to that the incremental time to replace the gear segment in the wiper assembly, and the incremental time to educate yourself since the task isn't covered in the FSM. The price probably reflects their cost to fabricate which, unfortunately, erases any prospect of value.

I'm just bitter because they won't fabricate replacement gears for a W140 front seat mechanism. Now a W140 driver seat isn't something you can get delivered to your door for $100... probably not even if the seat were free.

Sixto
87 300D

I've purchased from this company and they deliver what they promise.

Maybe not cheaply, material costs are minimal, but it can cost many thousands to fabricate the molds for the product. Given the relatively low volume of sales, the development and setup costs need to amortized over relatively few units.

I'm glad we have companies like this to help us repair our cars, and I do not mind supporting them, so they will be there when I need another part.

Sixto, logic would suggest that if there is a company producing a repair part, the market must be judged strong enough to justify entering.

So.... if they are making this part available, then the rate of failure must be significant. This reduces your chances of finding a GOOD used part in the junkyard, potentially costing you several multiples of your time...

Each person's metrics are different, that is, how we value our time. I have the ability to keep parts cars for my hobby cars, so I'll likely try to salvage the used part as my first try. Some repairs are so obvious I don't even bother to try the used part, just seek out new.

Jim

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14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles

Fair enough. We don't get enough ice and snow here to tear up the gear segment. I've pulled a dozen or so wiper assemblies in search of good blower motors and all have passed the basic extend and retract test.

I don't doubt there's a market; I doubt the size of the market at $100. There's a sizable market for updated 3.5 liter 603 connecting rods in this forum alone. I wonder how many MB sells to retail customers or anyone besides Metric Motors and Adsit. I don't think there are enough folks who will pay $100 for the gear segment for that product alone to turn a profit. I also question the demand forecast when the customer base is receding and there is minimal to negligible collector potential for these cars. Not many 500Es or Sportline coupes have icy windshields. I'm with you - I'm glad someone makes them.

ps - I keep my parts cars the same place as Charmalu and Jeremy. I pay only for the parts I need and I don't have to bother disposing of a non-rolling hulk. The caretakers are nice enough to find new parts cars for me every week

Sixto
87 300D

I used to do that, then discovered it was less expensive and much more convenient to maintain my personal pick n pull. Plus, I know what is out there will still be out there if I need it.

Jim

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14 E250 BlueTEC black. 45k miles
95 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 66k miles
94 E320 Cabriolet Emerald green 152k miles
85 300TD 4 spd man, euro bumpers and lights, 15" Pentas dark blue 274k miles

There aren't a lot of rusty cars here so everything at the PnP that isn't a wreck is a candidate to get back on the road. Case in point, Charlie's on his way to a $300 non-running 240D that looks better than my car. From a private party, not the PnP. Getting a PnP car back on the road is more paperwork than I care to tackle so it's a good place to keep parts cars as parts cars. If I suggest it, I'm sure the neighbors will gladly pay my entrance fee in exchange for keeping parts cars away from the neighborhood

You can also think of it as social parts car'ing. If the car I need parts from is gone, which I can check on their website, I can ping Charlie, Jeremy, Otto, etc. to see what's available where. We should augment the eBay and craigslist alert thread with a PnP alert thread.

In other words, I wish I could keep parts cars at home.

Sixto
87 300D