Shops Are Useless These Days - Page 4 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Squiggle Dog · #46 05-29-2016, 11:36 AM

When I was doing the rear wheel bearings in my 300SD, I didn't think I was going to be able to remove the bearings from the hubs. The factory service manual showed a special splitting tool for removing them. I couldn't find the tool for rent anywhere and didn't want to spend a lot of money and wait days for a tool that might not work.

So I took them to the local Mercedes-Benz dealership service department asking them to remove the bearings from the hubs (assuming it wouldn't be their first time). The first person I asked kind of scowled at me and said he would have someone help me. I waited and waited and finally a guy wearing a clean vest came over and asked what it was that I wanted. I explained and he glared at the box of parts (which I had cleaned) like, "Get these icky relics out of my shop." He told me, "We are not a machine shop. We do not work on parts off of the vehicle." I asked what he suggested I do. He said, "I would call around to a machine shop. We sometimes send parts off to a shop in Scottsdale (1 hour away)."

It really disappointed me that the Mercedes dealership didn't have the desire or capability to remove and replace wheel bearings on a set of hubs from one of their own cars and the cold manner in which I was received.

I finally found (after much driving) a machine shop that removed the old bearings and pressed new ones on. Of course, when I went back to have a flywheel ring gear removed, they said it was beyond their capability.

97 SL320 · #47 05-29-2016, 08:07 PM

Was this dealership in existence 36 years ago?

To what model year should they purchase and retain tools? 1970 , 1960 , 1950 . . ?

What other special tools should every MB dealer have on hand?

Every tool in the shop needs to be heated / cooled / lighted / protected from rain / snow / secured / maintained and purchased. Are you willing to pay the overhead for storing a tool that might be used once decade plus the labor to do the job?

I'm sure the Better Business Bureau would be very interested in resolving you poor treatment. Maybe even a class action lawsuit for others harmed by this dealer not having proper tools.

Seems that if you opened a shop that catered to 25 + year old cars, had every special tool on hand and charged what you would want to pay, you should have a booming business no?

Squiggle Dog · #48 05-29-2016, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 97 SL320

Was this dealership in existence 36 years ago?

To what model year should they purchase and retain tools? 1970 , 1960 , 1950 . . ?

What other special tools should every MB dealer have on hand?

Every tool in the shop needs to be heated / cooled / lighted / protected from rain / snow / secured / maintained and purchased. Are you willing to pay the overhead for storing a tool that might be used once decade plus the labor to do the job?

I'm sure the Better Business Bureau would be very interested in resolving you poor treatment. Maybe even a class action lawsuit for others harmed by this dealer not having proper tools.

Seems that if you opened a shop that catered to 25 + year old cars, had every special tool on hand and charged what you would want to pay, you should have a booming business no?

Go away, raincloud. Any competent Mercedes dealership should be able to remove and replace rear wheel bearings. They just didn't want to be bothered because it wasn't brand new or a high dollar repair. I don't appreciate the sarcasm and your adversarial responses. If I had a shop that catered to 25+ year old cars and had the tools on hand, I would have a booming business. A lot of people tell me I should open my own shop because they like my work. I always offer very generous amounts for work. But I don't really like working on cars and have no interest in being a mechanic.

Zacharias · #49 05-30-2016, 01:05 PM

Wow, someone plant a tree. I am about to not only agree with SL320, I am going to also say that a Mercedes dealer service operative telling someone to take a hike was completely in the right.

Funny thing is, I feel like I know you. Or knew you. I knew a guy 20 years ago who had a very similar attitude.

Life (where his cars were concerned) was one big fight. Fight with every shop or dealer or indy shop or parts counter he dealt with because no one would do things the way he wanted or sell him one bolt when the manufacturer only packaged a set, or whatever. Or give him photocopies of the factory manual he refused to buy. Or yes, finish fiddling with s**t he had taken apart and couldn't finish the job on.

And of course there was no such thing as a quick job for him. Why just change the trans fluid when there are seals that can be done, etc.? He literally had to buy additional cars because he would start stuff on his fleet and end up with two cars sitting in limbo with stuff half done.

I am not sure what make of automobile has dealers that accommodate drop-in "help me with my s**t" requests. Feel free to provide me with concrete examples to enlighten me.

The mechanics who were trained on these old cars are now largely retired. Do you seriously think Mercedes is training new hires on their 1970s-1980s technology? Let alone when the dealer may not have even opened its doors until 10-15 years ago? So you really, really think that a dealer FLAT RATE SHOP should drop everything, dig out the old service literature, and start messing with some junk in a box?

And yes, it may be your beloved parts, but to any mechanic a guy walking into his shop with stuff in a box is carrying a pile of crap. That's the bottom line.

You really need to move closer to Whunter. He may be one of a few guys left in the CONUS who would put up with your massive sense of entitlement.

Squiggle Dog · #50 05-30-2016, 01:32 PM

Zacharias,

My point is that SHOPS ARE USELESS THESE DAYS and there is no point in taking in a car or part to be worked on because they can't or won't do it. And yet a backyard mechanic like myself can end up doing it. You are WAY OFF BASE saying that I have a "massive sense of entitlement". You have NO IDEA what you are talking about. I am probably one of the most realistic and grounded people you will meet. I almost never ask anything of anyone.

I almost never ask for help. I do almost everything myself. Occasionally I feel like something is out of my skill level and I will take something to a shop that absolutely should have the capability to fix it. For replacing rear wheel bearings, for example, all you really need is a either the splitter tool, or a torch. Any ASE-certified mechanic should be able to tackle it. And if not, fine. But what really bothers me is their whole negative get out of my shop attitude.

I have bought all my own factory service manuals. I buy a box of bolts when I only need one. 20 years ago I was too young to have a driver's license.

When I take apart a transmission to replace the reverse discs and find that the rest of the seals are hardened or torn, of course I am going to replace them. What sense does it make to do the job halfway only to have to do it over again? When I repair something, I do it all the way. That's why I can get in my 1980 300SD (or the 1968 200D before rust consumed it) and drive it from coast to coast without worry about it breaking down. When I fix a car for someone else, I try to do as much as possible while I'm in there if the owner is in agreeance. Then they thank me for it later because their flex disc didn't come apart and the driveshaft didn't tear up the bottom of the car.

It's not the "make" of car manufacturer that has dealers that accomodate, it's all based on the individual shop or mechanic's judgment. Heck, one time the Mercedes dealership in Washington agreed to do an alignment after I replaced the steering box myself with a new one. Do you know what the mechanic said after initially complaining about not wanting to do the job? His exact words were, "Wow, whoever installed that steering box knew exactly what he was doing. That wasn't bad at all."

What a horrible attitude to have. I was a bicycle shop mechanic and manager for years. I wouldn't turn any job away and nothing made me happier than turning a seemingly hopeless repair into a successful job. I would bend over backwards for my customers and loved to see the smiles on their faces when I was done. Same for the occasional car repairs I would do for friends. I enjoyed the challenge of taking a pile of parts and making them work. Granted, I have other aspirations in life and don't want to be a mechanic. But this world is changing so much. Years ago mechanics were happy to help people and could often bang out a job in short time. Now it's all about throw things away and replace them. And if they don't want to do the job, instead of turning away a person gracefully, they do it in an insulting manner.

And how am I in the wrong to be upset when a company boasts having the original Bosch test equipment and will test injection pumps for free, and then when I come back to see if the pump passed, I get a box full of parts with a "Yeah, the pump is bad" with no explanation of exactly what was wrong with it, and then a "That will be $100". Seems like bait-and-switch to me. You go in being told they will test the pump for free and then they charge you $100 and you get back a pile of parts.

So bottom line, don't ever take your car or parts to a shop because they can't or won't work on it. That is the point I was making and you are doing nothing but supporting it, but in a condescending way that belittles me and makes false assumptions.