Chilton guidebook accuracy?
 

Does anyone know how closely the Chilton labor guidebook matches actual Mercedes dealer labor in both time and cost?

Thanks

Usually the labor guidelines in Chilton, Haynes, Clymer, etc. manuals are taken directly from the OEM allowances. ;)

The labor times in the flat rate manuals are derived from manufacturers' warranty labor times; they are not necessarily the same. For example, a pinion seal on a rear axle might pay 1.4 hours in a Chilton book. There will be a number in parentheses next to that 1.4; it'll look like 1.4 (0.9). That means that the manufacturer pays 0.9 hours for that repair. The customer pay labor times are most always a little higher than warranty times. This is due to several factors. An out-of-warranty vehicle may have body damage, rusty nuts and bolts, some that may need to be cut off to perform a repair, grease and oil all over it, independent shops that lack the experience and/or dealer special tools because they have to repair all makes and models, not just a few, etc. Usually the warranty time is simply increased by a percentage (40-50% in most cases) to get the customer pay time.

Thanks guys. That's what I needed to know.