$70/hr plus the special tools...

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I'm not a doctor, but I'll have a look.

'85 300SD 245k
'87 300SDL 251k
'90 300SEL 326k

Six others from BMW, GM, and Ford.

Liberty will not descend to a people; a people must raise themselves to liberty.[/IMG]

Well, as you can see, you are getting no sympathy.

I think I am safe in saying that most of us have been there done that relative to driving old cars and being basically broke. When I returned to college after Vietnam, I luckily had a new VW bug. It was financed. If it had been a car that required much in the way of repairs I would have been screwed. I was barely scraping by and couldn't have come up with money for major hits.

The world doesn't work the way you think it should. It is not at all relevant that you can't afford to pay the apparent going rate to have your car fixed. The situation does not make the shop dis-honest. They know their costs and they can charge whatever they see fit.

Sincerely,

Good luck.

Steve

I source all of my parts and purchase them dirt cheap, so when I call a shop I ask for LABOR estimate only. I mean, LABOR is the risk- not the part. Am I wrong here? for example, if I were a high-rise window washer, I would demand a high salary because the actual JOB itself is a risk- I wouldnt demand high payment for my window washing fliud, now would I? It is the same fluid used on the street...right?
So, in my estimation, $60-$90 per hour is a fine living for a mechanic. But now he wants to jack prices on parts 75% too.
Ethically, you cant charge someone 1/5 the cost of the entire value of an automobile for a service job that is to be done by someone whose JOB it is to fix things.
The mentality of a professional mechanic is like that of a lawyer that works for Dewey, Cheetum and Howe. Yes, this statement is baseless, offensive, and distesteful, but, from my mechanic experience, you walk into their shop and they say to themselves, "How much can I squeeze this sucker for?"

I am not a sucker. I will get this done and then share with the world exactly how I did it and the total cost.


I suppose that this thread exposes the nature of the beast. The harder the job seems, the more likely one is to be taken advantage of.

So, my feeling is that, because I refuse to be taken advantage of and asked for a fair labor price, the shops do not see a high profit margin from having me as a custmer. Never mind the chance to help out your fellow human just trying to make it. Never mind the reputation that may come with being honest. Nah. It is way easier to simply deny me fair service and make the same ridiculous profit from some other poor jacka$$ for a tune up, oil change and rotation. (All of which I can do in 1 hour on my VW).

I am not looking for sympathy. Just tossing ideas around.

Also, as far as there being alot of 23 yr. old Mercedes around, well, here I am, in the home of the GreaseCar Company and all day every day you see neuvo-hippies rolling around in their greased 300D's, so there should be some competition, eh? We all know that neuvo-hippies are cheap, no? Thats why they run on grease....

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1984 300D

Yes, you are wrong - there is plenty of risk associated with installing parts where the prime consideration for purchase is "dirt cheap" costs.

Good luck with your plan but I'm guessing you are not going to be able to find an independent shop where you will be able to dictate the terms and conditions under which the shop owner will complete the repair.

I don't know about W123's but I've done a set of lower control arm bushings on a W124, several special tools are required. Parts alone were over $100 as I recall - I don't think $500-$700 is at all unreasonable for the job.

2x eccentric pin kit - total $39.00, 19..50 each- OEM (Mercedes)
2x bushing kit, lower inner - total $36.90 , 18.95 each - (Lemforder)
2x Bushing Kit, lower inner - total $25.00, 12.50 each - OEM (Febi-Bilstein)

total parts cost - $100.90
free shipping

That is cheap. And yes, I do expect a shop owner to do a requested job at an estimated price, within reason. Don't you? I mean, you are an educated consumer, aren't you?
You dont walk into a barber shop and ask for a $10 haircut and walk out after spending $50. At least I dont.

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1984 300D

First they are probably quoting book time for the job, mechanics count on being able to beat that to make money. Secondly its a pita job, more so considering its a 23 year old MA car. Every freaken bolt is going to be seized and need to be snapped or cut off. Suspension work on old northern cars sucks its horrible, everything is rusted and seized.

$500 seems like a fair price.

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200

FWIW I had the entire front suspension rebuilt of my td buy a tire place that also does suspension work. This included ; LCAB, UCA, ball joints, castor joints, tie rods, shocks, and the centerlink. They let me supply the parts and they had it done in about a day. The only thing they didnt get right was the alignment.

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a few mb diesels

Unfortunately, the market determines what is a fair price. And near broke college students (assuming you are like I was) do not make up a significant portion of the market.

So, you will be creative and get it done another way. Isn't life great?

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2009 VW TDI Jetta Sportwagon 172k miles (rear-ended harder than Elton John on 8/4/13. Total loss)

1991 Volvo 240 142k miles (T-boned by a stop sign runner. Total loss)

I have deleated my reply predicated on your last post.
Takes a big man to apologize.





.

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[http://languageandgrammar.com/2008/01/14/youve-got-problems-not-issues/ ]

"A liberal is someone who feels they owe a great debt to their fellow man, which debt he proposes to pay off with your money."

I am a blunt person. Many of my posts say it like I see it and are often critical. The typical response is anger, followed closely by run and hide, or silence. Never any hint that the person even considered my points.

I am impressed that a young guy had the maturity to think about all this feedback and recognize the error of his ways. Keep listening as you progress through school, and career.

Now just so you don't think that many of us older guys haven't been there, here is a short example. Years ago I took over management of a smaller plant. My experience had always been bigger plants, Fortune 500 company. I didn't like the quality of a certain type of tooling. I reamed the salesman and basically said I was switching to Supplier A. Turned out that Supplier A and Supplier B weren't interested. Not enough business for them.

So tail between my legs, I confessed my mistake to the original supplier, and begged him to come back. He did, but never let me forget it!

Steve

Moral of the story: Before you ream out original salesperson and threaten to switch, make sure that the other suppliers are willing and able. IOW, BEFORE I fire you, I make sure I already have your replacement lined up and ready.

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow