$700+ For Shocks?????? - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Jim Dandy · #16 09-06-2004, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by psfred

If those were Bilsteins, the price was right on the mony. List is about $125-$150 each, three or four hours installation time gets you right at $700.

If they weren't Bilsteins, you were getting ripped.

I don't believe that they were.

Brian Carlton · #17 09-06-2004, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Dandy

Your post scares me. I'm almost of the mind to think you work there.

And, my guess was prior to your post (I was typing while you posted the individual costs).

But, thankfully, I do not work there and probably will not be going there for service any time soon.

george_hannah · #18 09-06-2004, 03:56 PM

My indy Mercedes mechanic wanted one hour of labor @ $70.00 to install each shock on my '85 300SD.

I took the new shocks to the local Midas shop and they charged me $20.00 each to install them and they did a great job.

-George

Jim Dandy · #19 09-06-2004, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by george_hannah

My indy Mercedes mechanic wanted one hour of labor @ $70.00 to install each shock on my '85 300SD.

I took the new shocks to the local Midas shop and they charged me $20.00 each to install them and they did a great job.

-George

This was at a Big O Tire, so I'm of the belief that the shocks were either Monroe or Gabriel. Even if it'd been a killer deal I was in no position to get them (my two daughters were with me and I had already gotten them to sit still for the better part of an hour).

psfred · #20 09-06-2004, 04:41 PM

Needless to say, I don't ever recommend anything but Bilstein or Boge for MBs. KYBs are too hard (although fairly good) and anything US is junk, pure and simple.

In fact, most aftermarket shocks are illegal in Europe, the car will fail inspection.

$700 for Monroe shocks is pure ripoff, they only cost the dealer about $7 each, and ride like rocks.

Peter

Jim Dandy · #21 09-06-2004, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by psfred

Needless to say, I don't ever recommend anything but Bilstein or Boge for MBs. KYBs are too hard (although fairly good) and anything US is junk, pure and simple.

In fact, most aftermarket shocks are illegal in Europe, the car will fail inspection.

$700 for Monroe shocks is pure ripoff, they only cost the dealer about $7 each, and ride like rocks.

Peter

Well, I have some Bilsteins on order and it'll give me a chance to make my high-dollar Lincoln floor jack that I told my wife I HAD to have pay off.

phantoms · #22 09-06-2004, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jim Dandy

What was kind of funny was that they didn't try and pitch me their most expensive tires (Michelins), but their store brand. I guess they thought they could make up the difference by selling shocks in the package. BTW, the "cheap" tires ride as good as the Michelins they replaced.

The store brand is where the largest profit margin is. This is why they usually push it.

Hatterasguy · #23 09-06-2004, 08:47 PM

So will bad shocks give you a stiff kind of hard ride? I have always thought that my SDL rides harsher than it should. My shocks are original and all are leaking around their seals, and when a bounce the car it comes back up to level fast and doesn't bounce like bad shocks usually do. Maybe I will push replacement up from next summer to this winter break.

Jim Dandy · #24 09-12-2004, 07:10 PM

Well, I replaced my shocks this weekend and I'm still not getting how anybody could justify charging $200 or so for labor on this job. The rear seat removal and reinstallation added maybe 1 man-hour to the entire project, but shock removal and installation on a W126 is a pretty straight forward affair. In fact, I would think the entire job could be completed in under 2 hours on a lift. It took me 3, THREE hours from start to finish on the floor of my garage, using a floor jack and a bottle jack, removing the wheels without the benefit of an impact wrench (I have a pretty nice I-R 1/2-inch impact, but it seemed like a big pain in the butt to drag everything out for this job), and riding herd over my daughters and wife (our youngest was trying to have a battle royale with her mother and older sister).

$702.32 for this job??? That's just CRAZY.

Hatterasguy · #25 09-13-2004, 12:03 PM

Did you replace all 4 shocks? Does the car ride better?

Jim Dandy · #26 09-13-2004, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

Did you replace all 4 shocks? Does the car ride better?

Yep, all four. The car rides SOME better, but not what I'd call dramatically different (the front end is firmer). Then again, the suspension is all in pretty good shape and my car has fairly low miles (125K).

Really, this is about as pud of an automotive repair as I've ever done on any car. Removal of the back seat is a little tedious, just due to its size (a second person is handy for this portion), but the actual shock removal and installation is a piece of cake. If I can do it on the floor of a garage inside of THREE HOURS BY MYSELF, and still find plenty of time to goof off, then why does a garage with a lift charge hundreds of dollars in labor for the same thing? I don't get it. If I had a lift and had used my impact wrench, I don't see it taking more than two hours. More like 90 minutes or less.

I can fully understand timing chain replacement at a garage costing around $700, but shocks? The labor times on this job need to be readjusted.

Richard Eldridge · #27 09-13-2004, 05:19 PM

I installed HD Bilsteins in my 124 in about five hours on the patio. About two hours was spent trying to compress the LR shock into the place where it dwells, AND lining it up to push the bolt through. After I figured out that this could be done more easily with a bottle jack and a "pickle fork" tool, it took 20 minutes, as did the RR shock.

It took me about 1.5 hrs, again, slithering around on my patio, to install nitrogen spheres on the 123 300TD wagon. No real difficulty. I bet it would have taken 30 minutes with a lift.

New HD front shocks on the wagon took about 2 hours. No major difficulties.

Jacking up the car and getting the jackstands in place was most of the difficulty.

Still, if each shock costs $100 and another $100 to install, that is over $800 for the whole job.

To pay the mechanic $800, I have to earn $1200: but if I do it myself, I need to pay only $400 and earn $600.

Five hours for $600 = $125 per hour, and I also get the benefits of exercise: the shock press, the jacking jumps, the carpal tunnel ratcheting exercise.