Lost my indie
 

I'm in mourning here - my Indie, Janke Autotech here in Vernon, BC is closing down suddenly. He's a great mechanic with excellent skills on both old and newer MB's, Audis and the like.

I spoke to him today and in a relatively small town he simply can't make a go of it, especially during the winter months. For 3 years in a row the business has ended up losing money.

This is a real blow to me as there are some jobs I simply don't have the skills, tools or especially the time, to tackle on my own - things like suspension work, more complex brake work or wheel bearings for example. Kinda throws a cloud over Mercedes ownership for me.

Maybe a good time to stock up on some cheap tools? Hate to see a good Indy fail though.

Sorry to hear that.

I'd be a sad puppy if my favorite went away!

Yeah, it's the more complex jobs that have me worried. Especially around the 380SL. It needs a new torque converter seal in the tranny, a new rear crank seal in the engine, flex disk and front brake flex lines.

Brake lines and flex disk I can probably tackle OK - it's just a case of fighting rust more than anything else I imagine - but the engine and tranny seals have me scared.

The old SD just keeps on going and I can handle most routine jobs on her OK. Problem is she's a daily driver for me and as you well know, sometimes you just need something fixed right NOW :)

Maybe with out the Shop Rent to pay he will be able to earn enough by working on his own without the Shop.

He's off to the oil patch in northern Alberta to make some real money ....