PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post

ksing44 · #13 02-25-2006, 06:57 AM

Based on quite a bit of good advice on multiple forums, I am planning to get through this with minimum expense and not fix things that are net actually causing me problems at this time. After all, I can always give up on the car 6 months from now, 1 year from now, or 2 years from now. I really don’t have to give up on it right away. I am going back to the dealer, just to get them to re-fix some things that were never just right after the last service. Then I am going to change my ways and go to a very highly recommended independent mechanic. I am not a DIYer, except for rather simple cosmetic things, so I will just have to accept going to someone else for the repairs. I respect all of you that are so inclined with the DIY, but I just don’t have the time to devote to making all of my own repairs or the desire to have fixing my car become my new hobby. Between my work, exercise, very basic maintenance on my home and car, and spending some time with my wife and son, there just isn’t much time left for intensive car maintenance. I have fiends that love hanging in their garages and working on their cars. With one in particular, it is a family affair with his dad and his sons. That is great for him, but that just isn’t how my own family has evolved.

One way I am going to cut costs is that I think I may just let the front timing cover go for a while. I don’t seem to be losing a significant amount of oil, so perhaps I can let it leak for years. I have heard that all Mercedes cars tend to leak and that it really isn’t a Mercedes if it doesn’t leak a bit. I am definitely not fixing anything as a preventative measure, like replacing the head gasket before it leaks, or the wiring harness before I see a symptom of a problem. As for my interior cosmetic issues, I patched up the steering wheel again and it seems OK. Last time it was very nice for about 6 months, so I guess it will be fine again for another 6-months. I am just conditioning the seats regularly now, so I should be OK as long as the cracking in the leather seats doesn’t turn into actual rips. If not for other maintenance issues, I would have simply reupholstered the seats, replaced the steering wheel with one of those nice burl and leather wheels, and even gotten some nice big swaybars. Instead, I am going to save my money for absolutely essential repairs done at an independent mechanic. I will wait and see how long I can hang in there with this car.

A year from now, I wouldn’t mind dropping a couple of thousand dollars in repairs, but I just paid about that much for the water pump, the transmission stuff, and the 90K check up, so I just don’t want to spend that much money on the car right now. I was starting to feel that that the car was going to be a money pit. Especially since both previous repairs are still slightly off. I was starting to wonder if the mechanics really could keep my car running properly. For that, I will also have to just wait and see if they get right this time.