Is this repair price reasonable?
 

Preface: I have NO problem paying a professional a fair price...at all.

However, I have a history with this dealership of unnecessary repairs -- 2, to be exact -- and they are actually crediting me for those on my current repair (on a previous issue they just threw $1,500 of parts at it and the problem was an $80 OVP).

94 C280

Are these r/r prices reasonable:

1. Belt and tensioner $800
2. Drag link $667
3. Lower control arms rebuild $613.
4. Idler arm bushings $173

Just making sure. I'm not doubting that the items are needed -- just that this is a fair and reasonable price.

Sounds like ....
 

a real rip off on the belt and tensioner. Parts can't be more than $250.
Can't comment on the other items. I suggest you get a breakdown on parts and labor and then compare price of parts with what is available from Phil at the "Buy Parts" button above. If dealer wants more than 150% of Phil's price, I'd protest.

W/O knowing the VIN, prices are hard to determine.
early C280's use belt tensioner 103-200-08-70 with a list of $290. & labor is about 2.2 hrs.
later ones use a 104-200-08-70 & only cost $105. & labor is about an hour.

The drag link lists for $270. & takes about a hr to install. Plus alignment.

Thanks, guys. The car only has 82k miles on it so I want to keep it maintained and run for a long time. I can do most of the "minor" repairs (I changed the wire harness, brakes, etc.) but steering items -- frankly -- I want to leave to a pro.

I'm getting a breakdown on the parts/labor.

-- When he says "drag link", he is speaking of the full tie rod assembly (left, center, right, ends, boots and all), right? He gave me a price of $667, full assembly should be approx $350 w/ markup so that's another $300 of labor.
-- When he says "lower control arms are busted" -- I'd have to assume he means the bushing kit for both sides. With markup, we'd still only be talking $200 or so in parts so the price he gave me would include $400 of labor [unless I'm missing something, this doesn't seem right especially when this will all be disassembled anyway for the rest of the items].

I am having him replace idler arm bushings, damper, drag link, lower control bushings.

I'll post when I get the breakdown. Thanks, guys. I have a certain $ to spend, and I just want to prioritize what is most important and get it done with the money I have to spend.

Are you sure those parts need replacement? Maybe a second opinion is needed. At that low mileage I'd be surprised if all those parts needed replacement. The belt probably and the tensioner, maybe. I've never had any make of car, even Ford, require that much front end work at that mileage. :confused:


My '86 300E, with 160,000 miles, still has all the original front steering parts in good shape with only the damper replaced. The tensioner is original too. I'd hope that the durability of the MB hasn't gotten that much worse.

He said that the idler arm bushings are busted, the boots on the tie rods are busted and requires new drag link to be installed, and lower control arms are busted (I assume this means the bushings).

I bought the car 3 years ago from the proverbial little old lady (this one was for real). In 2005 (94 model) it only had 41k miles. I put 41k more on it in less than the last 3. So, the dry rubber parts were somewhat brittlish and my harder usage has precipitated this is my guess.

But, no, I've not had a 2nd opinion. The car is, though, 14 years old even though it only has 82k miles on it.

Do you ever do any of your own work? Do you have any desire to check these things out yourself? These things you can inspect yourself. Then you can tell what the situation really is. That is a lot of money just for cracked boots. You are correct in your description of the drag link, aka center link aka tie rod assembly. Those prices all look about 30% high.

Well, I had them do the other work that I had it in for (rear O2 sensor above the cat, and a couple of other items I couldn't do). I'm going to change the steering damper myself and take the time while under there to inspect the items that they've mentioned.

Frankly, I need new tires so I'm going to get those before I have the front end work done anyway so I don't need 2 alignments.

I thought that the labor on the control arm bushings and drag link looked about 2 hours too high on each job.

I hope your mechanic gave you a better desciption of the issues other than stating its "busted". The markup on parts is a bit high.

When evaluating repair costs there is an important factor to consider and that is trust and quality of work. There is a local indy I use who I knows how much I care for my car and respects that fact. I am willing to pay him for his time to go the extra mile.

What symptoms is your car exhibiting?

Unless you have been a regular participant in the Paris-Dakar rally it would be hard for me to believe that your car needed such an extensive list of front end parts after 82K miles. I recently went over the front end of a 98 CLK320 with over 215K miles and the only components that showed significant wear were the outer tie rods - which were replaced for $25 per side IIRC.

While I have not had any problems with my ball joints I have heard that ball joints are a problem on the W202 chassis car.

At 70-80 mph, it feels like tires are out of balance. Now -- my tires currently need replacing and, I'm sure, are out of balance. But...when they were newer and confirmed in balance, I still had that "vibration" that I'm describing but to a lesser extent.

I'm going to get new tires, get them balanced, change the steering damper and see where we are. I am going to visually inspect the boots and bushings while I change the damper.

I think you have a good plan, I'll offer a couple of additions.

1) When the tires are installed have the wheels checked for lateral and radial run out - Over the years I've found quite a few bent rims and while you can balance a wheel/tire combo on a bent rim it won't produce a smooth vibration free ride. I can't remember the exact specification but IIRC anything more that .015-020 run out is not acceptable.

2) Ask the person that is going to install your tires what kind of balancer he is planning on using - and how he is going to mount the wheel to the balancer. The best solution is dynamic (two-plane) balance that uses a "pin-plate" mount to attach the wheel to the balancer using the lug nuts to apply the mounting force. High-end tire shops will have this equipment and know how to use it. Insist that after the wheel is reported to be "in-balance" by the balancing machine that the operator removes the wheel from the balancer and remounts it 90 degrees from the first location - then re-check the balance. The wheel should stay in-balance when mounted at any position on the balancer - if it doesnt something is wrong.

3) At the risk of staring a flame war about tire brands I've got to say that over the years I've found high-end Michelin tires to require the least amount of weight to balance out - and they seem to stay in balance for a longer period of time compared to other brands. I know they are absurdly expensive but they are all I use on my cars.

Go see Erol and Varkas at Erol's Autobahn 6007 Lenox Ave
Nashville, TN 37209
(615) 352-4700

I used them for all my MB repairs for +3 years and +3 cars. Good guys, know the cars, and fair pricing. I went to MB in Brentwood a couple of times, but never did feel the love.....

One of the things I miss about Nashville! Tell Varkas (he will be the suave guy at the desk) that Clay and Deborah say hello from Colorado!

Clay

Methinks you are overpaying, and getting unnecessary work.

Your control arms and ball joints are not bad (assuming your miles are correct). If you replace your tie-rod ends and adjust the front wheel bearing play, your car will be as tight as a Tennessee virgin for another 100K. You've got at least 50K before worrying about ball joints. Remember that your car is essentially a heavy-duty taxi.

The belt is a DIY. What's wrong with the tensioner?

Also, I second the recommendation of trying the other shop.

He said it is getting weak. Also, they email me today to tell me I need a new tumbler set in the ignition because the "key is sticking". Huh. I gave them the old worn out key. They new one I ordered works fine. New ignition at 82k?

They seem to be like the scammers that keep on coming back again and again to the old person they successfully scammed once.