I know 2 excellent MB only mechanics here in Denver, one in the Lakewood area, another in the central Denver area. PM me should you need one or both numbers.

TomJ on this list is also an excellent MB mechanic, only diesels tho.

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1982 300SD (214 k, excellent shape) kidmobile running mostly biodiesel, gets 31 mpg hwy with 2.82 rear from a euro 500SEL



1976 115 body 240D 4-speed (traded for Jeep parts) - Engine lives on in my CJ7

The previous owner of my 85 300d had the radiator replaced in 2001. He paid $180. for the radiator plus 2 hours labor and anti freeze for a total of $282. Lets see if I understand you right, the mechanic said the problem was definitely the radiator, and you gave him permission to replace it based on his "expert" opinion. I believe the law would side with you on this one. Not only did he give you bad advice, he also way overcharged for the work he did., now he hasn't offered to make it right. You say he is a nice guy. This why they call them "con men". They get your CONfidence by being nice then screw you. I was in the printing business for over 25 years., if I screwed up on a job I didn't wait until the customer found the errror, I called them and offered to make it right. Far too may mechanics have no sense of ethics., in my opinion. A good and decent person would admit their mistake and eat the job, and not wait until you talk with them or threaten legal action.

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Gary
85 300D Ivory, 202,000
Beatus exsisto Jesu, verus et Deus verus Vir

The way I read it, he suggested that it was more likely that it was the radiator than the head and gave you the choice of which to do. If that is so, then I really don't see any legal recourse. I'm sure if you ask for a discount, that he would give you one.

On a side note, many people seem to think that all mechanics and shops are in the business simply to rip you off. This is more of a rarity than the norm. Most shops and mechanics try to get the job done right so they don't have to do it again, and to keep their customers. Just because you've run across a bad shop at one time or another, don't assign that lable to all mechanics or shops. I can tell you from years of working on cars that a mechanics job now days is just as complicated as a doctors. But a mechanic is expected to know the exact problem (even if symptoms are not present at the time) and fix it cheap right then while a Doctor only has a license to "pratice", meaning that even if they don't find the problem, people still pay and go back again and again until they do find it. Work with your mechanic. Try and inform them of exactly what is going on with your car. The more info they have, the more likely they are to find the problem and fix it. Sometimes, other problems are found also.

I agree with phantoms, that most shops and mechs are not out to rip you off, but to be paid appropriately for their time and skill. However, some mechs are better than others, and some jack up their prices more than others, and some just try fixing things rather than do diagnostics, because they are trying to save hassle and money. Why this is the case prbably has a lot to do with experience, training, and personality type.

Cazzidy, I'm so sorry to hear about your problems. I had a lot of problems with my car too when I first got it, and am now doing a better job a tracing them problems than $2000 and the mechanics did. Definietly talk to them and try to get a discount. Be your own advocate, don't worry about being a pest, you are a customer and need to feel satisfied about this situation or you won't be their customer any more. Yes mistakes happen. How this mechanic deals with the situation will tell you a lot about whether you want to continue to deal with them. There are other good mechanics in Santa Cruz, don't forget. Give a call if you want to chat.

you asked him to replace it without getting the cost of him doing the work. A new radiator cost me around $160 and took about an hour start to finish to get in the car. Before I have a mechanic do anything I read this board and look at what it takes to fix it myself. Most stuff I have been able to do and when it was more than I could do I had to bite the bullet and pay someone else to do it. There are many threads on this board about bad thermostats. If your car was not running hot before the thermostat switch then I would suspect the new one was bad and try another or at least check the new one before installing it in the car. Also what are you calling running hot? In the red zone on the gauge, or just hotter than what you were used to seeing? After a new thermostat my 300 ran just a hair above the 80c mark. In the dead of summer in town or on the open road at 75-85mph it gets close to 100c. Seems normal to me and as long as it does not get into the red or start eating antifreeze I will still call it normal.

As a twenty-something (master) mechanic, I find this discussion humorous while familiar.
I will not get on a soap box here, but these are old misconceptions.

The mechanic is in business to make money. Yes, he charged more than what you could have fixed the car for if you fixed it at home. Reasons abound. Likely the man has more to be concerned with than seeking to rip all of you off. If we mechanics are so lacking in knowledge, ability, skill, and ambition, how then do we continually, as you say, rip you off.

I have employed, been employed with and by, younger and older people alike. Age has nothing to do with knowledge. Classroom and on-the-job training have nothing to do with aptitude.

A +20 year old car with a cooling problem should get a new radiator. It was a less expensive repair than the head gasket. It is an old radiator and likely caused the head gasket to blow.

One thing disturbs me about your description. You said that the trouble began when your car ran cool, not hot. I have yet to see anything run cool because the head gasket blew. Also you said that the car ran great. A head gasket blown between two cylinders will cause serious performance issues.

BTW, how many of you have invested +$120,000 not counting licensing, educational, and governmental fees simply to gain employment? Bought any tools lately?

lucforce:

Excellent post, I sense that you have a generous dose of integrity. What would you do if presented with the position I suggested earlier? If you were told the concerns of the customer and allowed to make the decision, would you give him a discount to demonstrate that you didn't try to rip him or would you tell him full price, too bad.

I spent more than 120K to get a job and have bought tools lately. I'm both shocked at the price of good tools and amazed at their ability to vaporize into thin air when I need to find them!

I'm still looking for the right wrench to easily get those 10mm bolts that hold the fan on an OM617.

Agree with most of the mechs here, 20y/o radiator is a given, you don't want to do the head work and trust a blocked/inefficient radiator to protect it.

I don't think I'd do overheating/headwork to one of these without replacing the radiator (at leask my own car anyway.)

For the head and compression test, though rare, I've done compression tests on engines that had blown head gaskets and the compression was fine, never could find the gasket from the test. Sometimes you find it on a pressure test of the cooling system, sometimes in oil analysis, sometimes you just never find it till you pull a head, they can be that innocuous (but most are obvious on CT.)

Anyway, sounds like the guy isn't really trying to rip you and he probably didn't search all day for the most economical radiator (remember, his time costs, whether he's in front of the computer or wrenching a car) and a Behr is going to cost ~$300-400 so $500 odd $'s for the rad and R&R isn't a bad price. My suggestion is to do that kind of work yourself (easy and saves $$$'S!)

BTW, Shark, I have a Snap-On short 10mm wrench that is small and thin enough to get to the fan bolts easily, takes me about 10mins to get a fan off a 617, check your Snap-On guy and see if this is still an item (have had this wrench for 22 years), THEN walk to a car and try it BEFORE you buy it (they don't like that, but will let you do it to sell a wrench - or 20!)

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1984 300D Turbo - 4-speed manual conversion, mid-level resto

1983 300D - parts car

1979 300TD Auto - Parts car.

1985 300D Auto - Wrecked/Parts.


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"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there". Lewis Carrol

I have spent more than 300K over the last thirty years, to stay in this business, broken fingers wait for anyone stupid enough to reach in my tool box.

I stated my concerns that this vehicle was not diagnosed correctly, but the past can not be changed, is it really worth stirring the pot and possibly getting her mechanic angry.

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ASE Master Mechanic
https://whunter.carrd.co/

Prototype R&D/testing:
Thermal & Aerodynamic System Engineering (TASE) Senior vehicle instrumentation technician.
Noise Vibration and Harshness (NVH).
Dynamometer.
Heat exchanger durability.
HV-A/C Climate Control.
Vehicle build.
Fleet Durability
Technical Quality Auditor.
Automotive Technical Writer

1985 300SD
1983 300D
2003 Volvo V70

https://www.boldegoist.com/

I'd say over the course of a good mechanic's life that's a small amount. Here's nearly that much in tools and tool box.

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Hey Phamtoms, nice tool box!
I think I've got one up on most though, Mine is 12' long and rides on a LN 8000 Ford.
Complaints like this is why I no longer work on any vehicle that is not being used to make a living. When I worked on autos, I usually ended up with someone crying about a $100 bill when I thought it should be worth at least $150.
Now I only work on trucks and heavy equipment, and usually the owners are glad to pay the bill and get back to work, nuff said.
Jeff

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1971 R600 Mack toterhome (SuperDawg)
99 NU-WA Snowbird 34+2 SE 102 5er
If it's not diesel, it's not in my stable!
53 F100 617.951/auto
95 Dodge 3500 Cummins/5 speed service truck

Agreed. My brother-in-law (works for LB Smith) and his brother (works for Malphus) are into Off-road Heavy Equipment and the most important thing to their customers is getting the equipment back in use, not cost. It cost a lot more for an excavator, paver, etc. to be down and shut a whole crew down, so repairs are much more important to them.

Something that was missed in all this discussion is that by taking off the radiator cap, getting the car up to temp. and watching for air bubbles in the cooling water one can often tell if there is a leaking head gasket.

All other sources of problems mentioned here are well worth looking at. You are right in saying that if the car was running cool there would have been no reason to check for bubbles, but any mechanic that deals with the cooling system should have checked this out first.

The new radiator can't hurt, and in a 20 year old car it is probably needed. If not a new one certainly one that has been rodded out and pressure tested.

One of the problems with todays mechanics is that most have become 'parts replacers'. The other problem is that once they have replaced a part, even if it hasn't cured the problem, you are stuck paying for it.

I would tell the mechanic your concerns and see if he will give you the raidator at cost and a reduced cost on his labor. Bargining never hurt anyone and if often works. If the head has not already been reinstalled I would suggest you do a valve job. You might be able to take the head to a machine shop that specializes is head work. They can often turn a head around (get it back to you) in a day or so and probably for half the Mercedes cost. They can also 'face' (machine the surface lever) the head for you.

Don't get huffy or into a pissing contest with the mechanic. Have a bit of fun bargining with him and if he doesn't give in a bit then you know what kind of man he is and whether you want to do business with him again. These sorts of situations say a lot about the people on both sides so use it as a learning experience.

Good luck.