From this site a new alternator for your car is $225.10. If you took it to a shop or dealership, it would be closer to $350-$400 plus installation which would be another $100+ since its about an hour job (in my guestimation based on my experiance with my '78 300CD and '88 560SEL)

I was going to say this is a snap to do for a DIY'er but I'm not familiar with your model. (I'm a DIY'er on the previously mentioned 2 models) On my cars the alternator is held on by 2 bolts so it's pretty simple. The tools needed for the job (at least for my 2 cars) are a socket wrench and a closed-end wrench sized appropriately to the nuts and bolts used to hold the alternator on.

And yes, if there is a core charge, its a deposit you get back upon sending in the old alternator.

Good luck!


Scott