id never take my 300sd to a place where they are used to working on brand new cars...those guys are so spoiled that the first sight of grease makes them cringe....they cant stand to get dirty,or be seen working on some 20 yr old car...every one of them had rather be doing some trivial maintenence on that 2003 s55 amg in the other bay.....i wouldnt doubt it if they just made up some crap about your car to overcharge you just for "having the nerve to bring that car up there"....my advice to you would be this...find a good independent mercedes mechanic,one that drives an old school benz like ours,and can appreciate it..and knows about thier every quirk...my mechanic drives the exact yr and model car that i do,and hes done every bit of service(except oil changes etc.)to it since it was new.....im sure there are plenty of them in your area who specialize,and more importantly,appreciate working on cars like ours...you just have to do some looking....there are some honest mechanics out there...mine even gives me freebies from time to time....once i mentioned that my key didnt slide into the lock like it should,felt like it was getting stuck on something inside....well i came back that afternoon,and he had replaced the whole door lock assembly,and handed me a new key,and said"it was gonna get froze up before long,so i just replaced it for you" FOR FREE! i almost fell out,a mechanic that actually didnt charge me for something....they may be like the loch ness monster,but theyre out there