One of the biggest 3rd party shops here in Austin was just acquired by new owners and when I called over there to see if they had room for my 280SE (for the AC) they said that as of about February they weren't working on "the older cars" anymore. This is the second time that's happened to me. Has anyone else found that the independent shops are tossing out the vintage cars in favor of the new ones with presumably a higher profit margin?

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kalpol
79 280SE
82 Fiat Spider 2000
81 Fiat Brava
04 BMW R1150RT
96 Jeep Grand Cherokee

I think they just don't have the expertise to fix the older chassis any more ...specially MFI systems.[which yours has]
..But, There are plenty of guys here that know this stuff ..
So , maybe post your complaints here...

...or someone will give you a recommend for your location

good idea...
...anyone know a good Austin, TX shop?

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kalpol
79 280SE
82 Fiat Spider 2000
81 Fiat Brava
04 BMW R1150RT
96 Jeep Grand Cherokee

I've known a couple of MB Dealer mechanics who refuse point blank to work on older cars. It's not so much skills, it's more to do with risk. Most of these guys work by book hours. They have become so good at their job that they can bill 80 hours of book work in 45-50 hours.

If they work on an old car, they have to deal with rusty parts, or dried and cracked wiring / vacuum lines etc that will turn crap if they touch it. It just slows them down and they don't want to deal with all the bits and bobs that break.

I know exactly how they feel because that is what I had to put up with on my 59 truck. Every time I touched something I ended making three to four part runs.

As I have tools and work space, I have been successful in locating mechanics who are willing to do side work and paying them by the hour to come to me and work at my location.

With the amount of cars that I have, I can pretty much guarantee 5-8 hours / week. It works well for both of us as they get some extra work and I get my cars worked on for a whole lot less then $80/hour.

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With best regards

Al

Look through this list, it ought to yield something...

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/texas/

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

Ben's is supposed to be best - even us Houstonians know that. What's the name of the shop that quit doing the older cars?

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- Brian


1989 500SEL Euro
1966 250SE Cabriolet
1958 BMW Isetta 600

Are there enough other shops willing to pick up the work? Around here anyone that can work on the cars can clean up since every dang car is being put back on the road and unfortunately some are very poor. The bad part is that people think the older cars are as reliable as newer ones and whine about it.

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1974 240D 3.0L 4(M) - 250K -OM617.910 + 300D FW + Rajay turbo power!
1977 6.9 3(A) - 84k

i turned away a guy with a 60's car today, not because we don't want to help, just that the techs either can't or don't wanna work on cars that old. then the parts guy starts pissing and moaning about having to look up parts for cars that old. we do work on old cars that current customers have, just don't take new ones.

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1967 250 S
1967 280SE
1968 250S
1971 280 SE
1973 220
1974 280 S
1975 450 SEL
1976 220 D
1979 300SD
1983 300 SD
1985 230 TE euro
1986 280SL
1986 500 SEL euro
1986 190E 2.3
1990 300 SE
2003 C230 K
2004 C230 K
1987 560SEL
1987 300SDL now in canada
2005 C230
1998 C43 AMG Sold to DON
1993 190E 2.6
300TD Former daily driver Totaled
current:
R320 CDI
Ram 2500 Cummins

The '60s Carb and Mechanically Injected car systems are so foriegn to the Full Electronic systems of today that it is kinda' like taking your old mechanical typewriter into a Computer shop and askin' them if they could give your "Keyboard " a good Oil/Cleaning tune up...and maybe change the ink tape while they are at it..

That would spin some heads ....

Ben's.

There's two other places, Tower Auto and Austin ********. I've been to both before - Tower was OK and ******** was OK until the last visit when I got pretty annoyed with them taking some shortcuts. But everyone else seems to like them in the shop thread posted above, so maybe I'll give them another chance. Tower is more of a general European place... the guy is a little difficult to talk to but they did a good job on the AC in my old 300D when I took it there. But I guess I'll try Austin ******** and just explain carefully what I need done.

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kalpol
79 280SE
82 Fiat Spider 2000
81 Fiat Brava
04 BMW R1150RT
96 Jeep Grand Cherokee

Here in N. Virginia, I called up a place that works on nothing but Benz cars. I gave my car info (1972 280se 4.5), and the lady who answered the phone went off to talk to the owner - and she came back and said, "Oh, no, we can't look at your car. He says that they weren't very good cars."

I started laughing so hard I couldn't say anything except, "Thank you, ma'am." Yes, my car was so poorly built that it has lasted 35 years with no rebuilds and runs great. Obviously some shoddy engineering.

I think alot of the shops want to be able to spend 15 minutes and then charge a few hundred $. In an urban area like Austin, though, you'll be able to find someone without much effort.

In a more rural area, you'll still probably find someone, but you might have to look high and low. I had a 280SE back in high school (in rural Arkansas) that I bought for $800 from a pretty seedy roadside dealer - and my grandpa's mechanic (who had a thing for old cars) did tons of work on it, and kept it running for five years. In a rural area, you just have to keep looking until you find a skilled mechanic who has a thing for old cars.

Never do business over the phone with mechanics. Instead show up after 5pm when sectys go home, walk into the shop with 6 pack cold beer. And never trust a mechanic under 50 yrs old for Vintage MB repair work.

These guys are craftsmen who deserve respect. Duck the front office and go straight to the garage, assuming you know how to speak their language. Take note of half-assembled engine blocks kicking around the place. Show special interest in project jallopies at the back lot.

Unfortunately 'white glove' MB owners have nasty reputation for being impossible to please. Show this aint true by sharing your enthusiasm with independent mechanics. Share everything you know about Vintage MB's and ask intelligent questions.

Seriously walk straight past the 'service manager' and front office support - go straight to mechanics for working on the car. Shun the front desk. Wrenches who actually do the work will respect you for this. Find yerself drinkin a few beers with em at end of the day and you'll be on most favored customer list. And for any repair over $200 privately tip the mechanic with twenty at least.

This is a tough one.

In our shop at least, walking around and talking to us techs... will get you nowhere. Nowhere. Our employer pays us to work for him, and he prefers that we do no "side work", it's a fireable offense. And don't even begin to think that we want to come by your house after work and tinker with your beloved project. It may be your baby, but it's only a car to us. If you're interested in fixing it, bring it to the shop and fork over the money. If you wander into the shop, we'll politely direct you to the office. If you insist on standing around, we'll shortly begin to ignore you and go back to work. After hours? We're not there. We go home at 5. Our lives consist of many things other than BMWs and MBZs.

The only half finished projects in our shop, belong to the owner, who is in that dreaded office up front, until 5 anyway. And they're '60s American muscle cars. And dirt bikes. And those of us in the shop, have no interest in them. If you're looking to spark up a conversation with us, try photography, hunting, motorcycles, guns, dogs, and perhaps even a bit of Star Trek.

That said, we do appreciate the folks who recognize that we are a talented and skilled bunch, and not just grease monkeys. A tip goes a very long way, but lunch (usually by customers who choose to wait on their repairs, and need somewhere to go when we close shop from 12-1, and accept our invitation to ride along with us lowly techs... Not all do.) goes even further. We'll remember, and go out of our way to help you long after the fact.

Please also remember, that while it may be your baby, it's business to us. When someone approaches with a $3500 car and begins asking about $5500 worth of work, we start to think they might not be of entirely sound mind. Perhaps we don't need to get involved. After only or two jobs where the value of the repair exceeded the value of the car, and the customer was very evasive about the payment, we get a bit gun-shy.

All in all, I can't say we have a policy forbidding work on older cars, we just don't see many of them. The shop owner also had a restoration business for a while, working on primarily American cars, but as a business, it wasn't worth it. It's a great hobby, but not a good business for most. It has left us with an old Maserati hanging about, but even that's a headache.

I suppose all you can do is keep looking, there is somewhere that will work on the older cars, but those places aren't always easy to find. Or afford. Sorry we're not in Austin, though if it helps, it's on the list of places my girlfriend and I have considered moving. We've got to do something to get away from all these Californians...

MV

Make everybody really happy and squirt everything down with penetrating oil a few days before hand. And if you can supply your own parts, that will help plenty. Keeping a nice clean engine bay is nice as well.

At the risk of offending some one ( customers who read these forums..) I really hate it when customers insist on hanging around ,yapping about cars when i am up to my eye balls in someones sick motor,what is worse is customers insisting on buying their own parts on line....Changing heads on a V8 recently took 6 weeks because the owner said he would get me all the parts..he got them alright,all the wrong parts and he sourced them in Germany!!.I should have charged him storage!! thats why I have an account with a wholesale parts supplier who deals only with german cars,he has everything needed on the shelf,he delivers overnight if he hasn't the parts and genuine merc parts are available at reasonable prices which won't freak out the customers.
For those who cannot afford to pay straight up front for an expensive job ( engine,trans diff rebuild ) there is the option of finance at current rates.All garages here offer this in Australia today,those that don't, miss out.

I don't touch anything after 1990,because from 1990 to 2002 is the dead area where cars are often in the hands of the third or fourth owner...and the latest owner only wants a quicky repair to keep his bomb on the road.That sort of owner is best avoided to me and I love working on the older Mercs because of the simplicity and Quality of the cars in general.