battery replacement
 

Recently the battery on my 1996 280c died and it was replaced by the Ewing Mercedes in Plano, Tx.

Battery replacement cost : $109
Labor to replace : $100 or so
TOTAL: $225 + tax

I was told the reason for the labor being high was that the computer settings had to be reset and it was going take 1 hr to complete.

I was just wondering if Mercedes are different than any other car with battery replacements? Or was I just fed BS!

Well, when I replaced my battery on my 300E, my mechanic didn't charge me a cent for labor. It took him about 1.2 minutes to install. Not sure how different your car is in terms of onboard computers, but I think the dealer may have gouged you. I don't think the computer needs to be reset manually or anything. I would assume that when you hook up the new battery, the car computer will reboot itself automatically.

I thought the only thing you really needed to do was to re-enter the anti-theft code for the headunit...

I think you got taken, my friend. The computer will always reset to default automatically. Zeus had the right experience.

No CPU "reset" is required for your car.

Your vehicle's battery is located in the trunk. Renewal requires removing the trunk floor mat, disconnecting the negative and positive battery cables, removing the one bolt securing the battery tie down clamp, disconnecting the vent hose and removing the battery. Installation is the reverse, plus entering the radio code.

This task can be completed, at a leisurely pace, in less than five minutes.

Perhaps the dealer has a minimum labor charge... but "resetting" the computer is bogus.

I concur...

Replaced the batteries on my W124 and R129 w/o the need to reset anything but the radio codes.

Oh yeah, the SL top operation had to be resynchronized, but again, that was an additional 10 minutes over the five minute battery swap...

Is there any reason why you can not put another 12v battery in your trunk along side the old one? Connect a pair of jumper wires (not cables) to the car's battery cables. Remove the cables from the old battery. Place a new battery in the battery box. Reconnect the cables. Disconnect the jumper wires and, as they say in Australia, Bob's your uncle. No loss of power and no resetting the computer.