They charged me for diagnostics on my 300 sl's hard top. Got absolutely nothing for my money. Notified MBNA 2 weeks ago and haven't heard back from them.
European Autowerks has been reccomended by a friend and I will report after my appt. on Monday.

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Ben C. Simmons

I used Larry's Imports in Virginia Beach last week for an ARS light - as recommended by others on this Forum. Nothing was found and they cleared the fault. I was very pleased with the operation and the cost for the reset was very reasonable plus they wrote on the receipt that if I needed to it bring back (I suspect a seat belt sensor) that they will not charge for the reset.
Bottom line: just like Kim's Autorama for the bodywork, I felt the shop was interested in fixing the car - not about how much of my money they could take from me.
Cheers, Socks E420

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SocksE420
97 SL500 74K
96 C280 110K(SOLD)
96 E320 111K(SOLD)
95 E420 107K(SOLD)
88 300TE 142K(SOLD)
77 300 D 144K(SOLD)

I agree that Larry's is a good shop. They know what they are doing and they give MBCA members a discount on parts.

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http://www.benzworld.org/forums/imag...e_steering.gif
1998 C43 ///AMG
1999 C230 Custom 5-Speed Manual

I need a mechanic who can work on a 1990 300Ge in the Roanoke Va region. I dont mind going afield some for the right person.
TIA

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John
92 500e, 85k, silver/gray,all stock.
96 Club Wagon,Hypertech chipped( College Hauler)
97 320 SL 50k
1980 BMW e21 323 Baur conv.
1990 300GE 99k

Are there any good places in Manassass? I heard JCP of Alexandria and SilverStar of Vienna are both good, but there are a lot of places closer to me and I was wondering if anyone had heard of anything in Manassass or Fairfax? Thanks

I was involved in an accident that damaged my rear door and quarter panel. I got an estimate from a shop in Rockville and quoted for 15 days repair. I was going to have them do it but I could not bring it in for another 2 weeks. I called American Service Center, the guy (that’s later on was fired) told me that the can take my car the next day.
I brought it in on Oct 31st. He told me that once they work the numbers with the insurance adjuster they’ll start working on it. Two weeks after it was in the shop I called, he said the insurance has not approved to replace the quarter panel & their labor rate. I called again the next week (3rd week) still the same. Then the day before thanksgiving he called and said it’s been approved and they are going to start working on it. Two weeks passed, hasn’t heard from him, I called back and he started BS-ing me that they are still waiting for the labor rate approval which he said HAD been approved. It was probably just his excuse. They probably had not even started working on my car. I started calling this guy every week after that. Remember I dropped that car off on Halloween. Around thanksgiving I joked to my wife, maybe we’ll be getting our car back around Christmas. GUESS WHAT, Came Christmas I still did not get my car back. He said they are almost finished but the insurance adjuster had not approved the final supplement for the repair. I finally fed up and called the adjuster myself. She said they haven’t heard anything for from the dealer about the supplement request. She was the one that finally called the dealer and asked for it. I had to wait for another week after my car was done just for the paperwork. Something what they could have done while they were waiting on the repair.
I finally picked up my car on Dec 30th. The employee at Enterprise could not believed I had that rental car for 61 DAYS. That poor insurance company paid $2000 just for my rental.

My suffering did not end there unfortunately. After I drove off, I turned on the radio and it was not working. Came back to the body shop. The guy told me that they have to contact the insurance company for another supplement because the amplifier was inside of that quarter panel. I felt that the Body Shop was the one that supposed to be responsible for it. They probably messed it up during the installation. But I did not say anything. At this point I don’t care who should pay for it as long as I got my car back the way it was.
I took that car home because they don’t have anyone to check on it at that time.

I washed the car over the weekend and noticed an area where the paint was unmatched. Not to mention that I found scratches all over my trunk because whoever washed it probably used dirty rag. I couldn’t believe 2 months in the shop and they could not even do it right. When I picked it up I saw that patch I thought it was a wax or polish residue which was all over the car when I picked it up. Turned out they did not polished that part completely after they wetsanded it. Something that their so-called (bogus) Quality Control should have picked up.

I brought the car back next Friday for the radio and paint issues. Got another loaner. I did not hear back from them until Wednesday. A guy from Service department called demanding me to pay $100 before he would even looked at the car.
At this point I was REALLY REALLY MAD. I called the body shop and was gonna explode to that guy, only to find out that they fired him the day I dropped my car. I had to explain my situation all over again to another person over there. She finally approved the diagnostic. She contacted the adjuster and the insurance denied the repair. The Body shop said I had to pay for $972 to replace the amplifier. To make it short, I got into a big debate and threatened to sue them since they are the one that messed it up. I finally got them to pay for it.

Picked up my car after for another 10 days in the shop. Guess what, rear speaker not working.

This morning the whole radio is not working again. Have to go back to them AGAIN.
I’m so frustrated. Contemplating to sue them at this point.

Sorry for the long posting. I just have to vent this.

If I were you I would never bring my car to American Service Center. Considered yourself warned!!

I really feel for you. Good luck getting it resolved. When I went in for a price quote to repair damage a delivery truck did, I got a bad, bad vibe. It was like talking to the soup Nazi. The communication skills of the folks working that desk really leave something to be desired. It's a shame. Many folks there are top notch. I've met two of their technicians, two parts guys, and some sort of professional service manager. They all struck me as top notch folks. Too bad their management sucks.

Update:
I brought in the car yesterday to check on the speaker. Got into another loaner (a KIA). Service advisor called in today, apparently the bodyshop did not seal in the quarter panel properly. Water got in, wet the amplifier and blew the speaker. I guess that's what caused the damage to the amplifier first time around. They probably need to replace that again.

Silver star motors in Vienna are rip-off artists...I carried in two bare steering knuckles and two new ball joints....failing common sense I forgot to ask how much before i had them do it..and assumed it wouldn't be much ...its 10 minutes work with the right tool.....they chaged $150 to press two ball joints (I supplied) into a set of bare knuckles I hand carried in. There was no other labor. Hope they think it was worth it....hell will freeze over before they get another dime from me. Some people had good things to say about them....thats why I went there. Thats just one persons experience.....your experience may be better.....they were friendly enough but felt like I was raped when he handed me the bill.

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Proud owner of ....
1971 280SE W108
1979 300SD W116
1983 300D W123
1975 Ironhead Sportster chopper
1987 GMC 3/4 ton 4X4 Diesel
1989 Honda Civic (Heavily modified)
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Section 609 MVAC Certified
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"He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you." - Friedrich Nietzsche

are you serious? larry's
A) installed a used fuel tank that leaked at the feeder line and had an algae problem
B) charged me to fix the problem
C) the next day i woke up to find a huge puddle of diesel under the tank where the screen is (although they fixed that for free)
and D) left a bunch of tools under the hood. i heard them fall out shortly after picking my car up, then got a voicemail from whomever worked on my car basically begging for his tools back, offering me a free oil filter change (minus parts) if i returned them.
oh yeah, they broke the expensive line that goes from the ALDA to the overboost protection valve, too.

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1985 300D Turbo "Eunis"

This is case of decline over time. You'll notice that the positive comments about Larry's came in 2002. Since then, they've moved to a bigger location, with a bigger overhead, and seemed to have suffered a decline in service. I have not been to Larry's for repairs in more than two years. My last couple of experiences, although not rip offs, were not entirely satisfactory either -they insisted my car needed new motor mounts to pass inspection, when I had replaced them a year earlier. The engine was rocking excessively, but it was due to a cross threaded rack damper pin, which I knew. Anyway, I'm currently not thrilled with Larrys, but I'm still waiting to hear the better alternative in this area.

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Tjohn

82 300 SD
77 450 SL (gone)

Yep. I had a trasmission problem so I brought my car over there. I told the owner/head tech Peter, that the tranny was having problems shifting but there were no gears grinding or slipping. It felt like there was some sort of "sensor" that went bad. I mentioned a few possible problems I thought it might be (things from reading this board). I could tell he didn't really like me doing that as he is German and a professional tech. He told me I needed a new transmission to the tune of $6,500. The actual repair was the 12 pin connector, cost about $500 for the repair. For a MB only shop to make such a bad "misdiagnosis"...inexcuseable.

Johnhef is right up the road in Frederick, if you're looking for a good indy mechanic. He's a certified MB master mechanic and a helluva a nice guy.

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

He even has frequent GTGs at his house. How could you not trust a guy that lets you know where he lives and use his bathroom?

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http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...aman/Fleet.jpg

Peach Parts W124.128 User Group.

80 280SL
85 300SD
87 300TD
92 300D 2.5 Turbo
92 300TE 4Matic

Do you guys have a phone number for him? Would love to call and chat with him about a problem I'm having with the ML right now and it could use a master mechanics touch.

Has anyone heard of this indy MB mechanic:
Randy Rodman
The Auto Shoppe
910 Philadelphia Ave
Silver Spring, MD
301-585-6464