Never buy my parts at the dealer or go to the dealer (I do everything myself) for anything. Complete rip-off when I can buy $18 lemfoerder ball joints off of pelican instead of $80 MB ball joints from the dealer and they have the MB label. Also, they won't want to work on the car because the techs have absolutely no idea what a CIS-E injection system is or an OVP relay and what it does. I wouldn't want them working on my car anyway, the cars are getting aged and sometimes good condition parts are harder to find. They may break something or screw something up. And let's face it, just cause you work at mercedes does NOT mean you're a good tech. My father worked at mercedes for 20 years and they brought in a lot of young guys who broke stuff all the time and they'd cover it up and charge the customer double.

Dealers are the devil! And so are the parts prices.

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Only diesels in this driveway.
2005 E320 CDI 243k Black/Black
2008 Chevy 3500HD Duramax 340k
2004 Chevy 2500HD Duramax 220k

Wow, this thread makes me sad... I didn't realize that because I am a dealership technician that I've lost all mental capacity to service, diagnose, and repair classic Mercedes-Benz vehicles. So does that make me a "demon" since I work for the "devil"?

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1985 300TD - "Panzer Wagen" - undergoing full restoration (resto - mod)
2014 GLK250 Bluetec - Wife's car

Mercedes-Benz Master Certified Technician.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joshuajeeper/

Sorry Josh you took offense to my post, you shouldnt take it personal. Ive had a lot of sour experiences at two different dealers in the past. Plus a lot of techs who had no idea what they were doing. I work on MBs myself at an Indy shop on the weekends. I'm sure not every tech is dumb, but the quality of the techs has gone downhill since MB will hire about anyone these days.

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Only diesels in this driveway.
2005 E320 CDI 243k Black/Black
2008 Chevy 3500HD Duramax 340k
2004 Chevy 2500HD Duramax 220k

Sorry you took the negative commentary the way you did. The comments directed to the MB stealerships apply to just about every make and model out there. In my experience Ford is the worst of them all though.

The problem isn't the dealer directly, it's that so few people today actually KNOW how to work on a vehicle or even how to diagnose or troubleshoot the problem. You bring the car in, they plug in a computer, if it doesn't spit out the answer, they're lost! And that's assuming they didn't lie to you in the first place and say that your problem is "normal".

For every 1 good, competent technician out there, I'd say there's easily 15-20 bad ones. And that's not just in auto-service...

__________________
Current stable:
1995 E320 149K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 120K (SLoL)

Black Sheep:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

Gee, there's nothing like a backhanded complement to make our guy feel better about himself. . .

Remove Ford and insert any brand and you will find anyone that says the same.

And there's a reason for this. Many people with enough intelligence to do this kind of work run away from being an auto mechanic due to the poor image and car owners that treat them like their career path is a choice of last resort because they are too dumb to do anything else. RE, if you are not college bound, you are a waste of time.

Sometimes certain behaviors are in the range of normal. The tech didn't design the car or build it but you expect them to posses the knowledge of hundreds of engineers that spent millions of $ and who knows how many man hours designing the car? A dealer tech is bound to fix the car the way the factory says so due to liability, this further restricts what a tech can do. With computer controls, a tech can't bump the timing up or swap carburetor jets like the old days.

Then don't paint all with the same brush. What line of work are you in?

I've been in and around the auto business for 40+ years, owning a shop from 1988 to 1997. One of the reasons I closed it was due to growing weary of problem customers wanting free work. Customer expectations frequently out run reality.

I then went to work for a few factories fixing equipment perceived to be more complicated that a modern car when in reality they are easier for me. I only have to educate the customer once and they are happy the equipment is running again rather than an automotive customer that is irate they have to spend $ 50 for a repair.

RE:Free work. Your original clutch lasted 50 K miles, the replacement someone else put in lasted 50 K and the one I " just put in " lasted 50 K also and now you are threatening to file a suit against me because it should have lasted longer? Losing a days work standing around a court room where the customer is always the victim and the business the deep pocked bad guy is far more expensive than just stuffing a clutch disc in the car and sending them away hoping something else major fails before then hit another 50 K.

Again, nothing can offend you unless you allow or want it to. If you're reading people's negative commentary as a direct personal insult, perhaps you should be re-reading what's being said. Anecdotal evidence is just that...anecdotal. Does it represent the majority of what's going on? No. Does that make it any less relevant? Again, no.

Having dealt with several brands of vehicles over the years, I have repeatedly had horribly poor service with Ford dealerships, and not just in one location either. It doesn't matter which one I went to (or family members for that matter). Having WON two separate lemon-lawsuits against Ford Motor Company, I think I can justify my opinion.

I'm not one of the "complaining" customers you're painting in a bad light, but when my vehicle self-applied brakes and left me stuck in the middle of the expressway at rush hour unable to move out of the lane I was in, I think that's pretty serious. Follow that up with visits to no less than FOUR "dealerships", TWO visits from factory reps sent down from Dearborn, and 6 months of in and out of the shop with no resolution, you bet your sweet ass I'm filing a suit. Sorry, I don't spend my hard earned cash on a piece of $hi+ And for what it's worth, when you washed your car the day before and bring it to the dealership yet again and the front wheels are black with a thick layer of brake dust from the 7 miles you drove to get there, that isn't normal. No amount of attitude from the "service manager" will convince me otherwise either.

I work in an engineering field way more complicated than the automotive arena, and we see the same thing going on in our line of work. The "techs" have evolved into parts changers, unable to actually solve the problem.

There's a BIG difference between using fault codes to troubleshoot a problem and using them to guess what module to swap out. Experience tells you the code means something, complacency tells you it means a failed part.

In no way did I or anyone else say that ALL techs are bad. Yes, customers are a big part of the problem, but go take your car to a dealership with an actual tangible problem and you likely won't get it fixed the first or second time anymore.

__________________
Current stable:
1995 E320 149K (Nancy)
1983 500SL 120K (SLoL)

Black Sheep:
1985 524TD 167K (TotalDumpster™)

Gone but not forgotten:
1986 300SDL (RIP)
1991 350SD
1991 560SEL
1990 560SEL
1986 500SEL Euro (Rusted to nothing at 47K!)

I apologize for my comment and perceived negativity, I did not mean it as a way to stir the pot per say. It just becomes very draining day-by-day to read comments, overhear commentary, or even be belittled directly because I am a "blue collar" worker. Which as we all know goes for any such profession, I know I'm not special in this sense.

I know that every dealership is different and every BRAND is different as well, but I will have to disagree on the "techs are part changers" and are only as good as the "computer" will instruct them (with my knowledge limited to the Mercedes-Benz world). When I (or most of my co-workers) diagnose any vehicle, the Xentry is involved maybe 15-20% of the time. Every technician is at a different skill level and carry their own experiences.

I am not however, saying you shouldn't be upset or angry when something doesn't get diagnosed or repaired properly. Those are very justifiable responses and actions taken against such are warranted. I'm just so tired of the "stealership" being bashed for various reasons and the technicians being reduced to the intelligence of 9th grade high-school dropout that can barely even change parts.

But... I am the only who is still perusing the forums, therefore I suppose the "hurt feelings" fall solely upon myself... LOL

__________________
1985 300TD - "Panzer Wagen" - undergoing full restoration (resto - mod)
2014 GLK250 Bluetec - Wife's car

Mercedes-Benz Master Certified Technician.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/joshuajeeper/

unless you see a gray haired mechanic at a dealer,for get it with a 20 year old car.The dealer in my area hires young,so they don't have to pay good wages,or benifits.I have to figure out my own problems.

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1999 w140, quit voting to old, and to old to fight, a god damned veteran

You need to find an independent mechanic to service your car. The so called "mechanics"that employed my the dealers work cheap and have no skills! In San Francisco, the dealers charge an hourly rate of $175.00!!! Talk about a profit center! Never underestimate the other guys greed!

[QUOTE=oldsinner111;3692910]The dealer in my area hires young,so they don't have to pay good wages,or benefits........QUOTE]

Absolute nonsense..........