Going to the MB Dealer, what to expect? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

GradyService · #1 09-22-2006, 10:46 AM

The sunroof has been rattleing in the 560 for about a week now, so I made an appointment with Bob King Pontiac-Buick-GMC-Mercedes of Wilmington, NC. They mailed me a coupon for a free 27 point "safety" inspection. The service advisor said that the sunroof was probably just off track, and if it was they'd fix it for free. Also, they'd grease my power antenna (2 parts of the mast go up but one doesn't), and replace the little rubber grommet at the bottom for the cost of the grommet. I figure that they'll also try to scare me into a '07 S550

by telling me things I already know such as:
1. Oil leak
2. Transmission Fluid Leak
3. Power Steering Leak
4. HVAC- Blower Failure
5. Suspension needs repair
Basically, with the help of this forum, and with my MBUSA CD Manual, I'm trying to work through all of this as best as a local mechanic, who rarely works on anything but a big 3 product in his service station can

. What I was wondering about was how to get them to tell me exactly Where the fluids are leaking, and Which suspension parts are shot.
Thanks, Dave.

Jim B. · #2 09-22-2006, 11:30 AM

Let us know what happens, (I'm especially interested about the antenna (my 126 only goes up partway like yours, would lube fix it) and the antenna grommet is gone too.

The sunroof lube is a recommended service at 30k (I was given a MB dealer issued bulletin by a dealer Tech in Okla.) that is often neglected.

It was discussed here before, if the sunroof on the 126 is truly off track it's a dealer for sure fix (DIY not possible) and very expensive, over $1000. The pop up feature is the vulnerable piece...)

MB sunroof lube only comes in a huge expensive tub, and generally only is sold to the dealers, but a few suppliers might sell it in a small amount like in a film cannister. Mine hasn't been done since 2000 so I guess it's pretty dry by now...I never use the sunroof that much, that's all.

As to the coupon "come on" offedred by your dealer, my experience with those is that they WILL go over your car with a fine tooth comb, and you'll be presented with a breath taking list of many, expensive, "fixes" needed on the car, things like flex discs and who knows what else. It'll be up to you to figure if you want it all done, or really does need the work done.

If you are a perfectionist, and the dealer has honestly represented the faults he's found, be sure to be sitting down when you recieve their report

TX76513 · #3 09-22-2006, 11:32 AM

Free is Free take what you can get, then politely ask for a written estimate on other things they have found. Understand, this free 27 point is to help them drum up business for the shop.

Jim B. · #4 09-22-2006, 11:33 AM

Sometimes leaks can be sourced by dumping some tracer dye in the transmission (for example) and coming back later and having a black light shone under the car and the leak can be pinpointed, you mechanic will likely know about this

david s poole · #5 09-22-2006, 11:46 AM

how about this.tell them you want to drive the car to seattle and what needs to be done to get you there.

5280BENZ · #6 09-22-2006, 04:18 PM

I purchased the following sliding roof lube from a MB dealer 8 yrs ago.

"Gleitpaste-500g
Lubrication Paste-1.1023 lb., for the sliding jaws on the sliding roof.
Part # 001 989 14 51 ."
:wtf:

blueeagle289 · #7 09-23-2006, 07:14 AM

I just worked on my 92 300CE sun roof; the pop up feature assembly on the right side was twisted and jamming the slide action. I just removed the piece that looks like a tuning fork on both sides and the problem was cured. The roof still pops up fine and slides OK. In Dallas, I don't use the sun roof much anyway. Also, I believe there are lots of lubes that you can put on the slides to lubricate the movement. Any good heavy lube, including white lithium, should work -- if you are not using the roof every day. It is not difficult to lube it anyway once every 3 months. I put new jaw bushings on mine as well to stabilize it; you can order them from Phil. The instructions for working on the sun roof are in all the manuals that people have also. Taking it apart is not that difficult. BC

rchase · #8 09-24-2006, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GradyService

The sunroof has been rattleing in the 560 for about a week now, so I made an appointment with Bob King Pontiac-Buick-GMC-Mercedes of Wilmington, NC. They mailed me a coupon for a free 27 point "safety" inspection. The service advisor said that the sunroof was probably just off track, and if it was they'd fix it for free. Also, they'd grease my power antenna (2 parts of the mast go up but one doesn't), and replace the little rubber grommet at the bottom for the cost of the grommet. I figure that they'll also try to scare me into a '07 S550

by telling me things I already know such as:
1. Oil leak
2. Transmission Fluid Leak
3. Power Steering Leak
4. HVAC- Blower Failure
5. Suspension needs repair
Basically, with the help of this forum, and with my MBUSA CD Manual, I'm trying to work through all of this as best as a local mechanic, who rarely works on anything but a big 3 product in his service station can

. What I was wondering about was how to get them to tell me exactly Where the fluids are leaking, and Which suspension parts are shot.
Thanks, Dave.

Hmmm,

Sounds like a waste of time really. Most MB dealers don't have anyone who can work on 140's anymore let alone 126's due to the high turnover in the industry. I have found that most dealership mechanics are inept and unskilled. I would not let those guys within 50 feet of one of my cars even for a 27 point check. Most of these mechanics have just gotten out of school and are just parts swappers in an enviroment where getting cars in and out the door is more important than correct repair and diagnosis.

Back when I was driving Volvo S70's the dealerships broke more on my car than they repaired. One time their incompetence caused a small fire on the inside of my door panel which caused it to have to be replaced. After that experience I stopped going to the dealers. I got better service from the independants in my area. Even though they did not have $500 danish and "free" loaner cars they were cheaper and did a better job.

If you do waste your time expect for the MB dealer to try and scare you into expensive repairs. None of the information you will get from them will be objective at all. They make their money by "scaring" the owners of late model cars that don't need work. Imagine what they will say when you bring your 126 in that likely does need work. Expect to get a hard sell and even be insulted by the service advisor when you decline the work. He will say something like "its really a shame that a car like this is not maintained well" or something else meant to embarass you into paying for their overpriced and substandard service.

Find yourself a local independant and have them go over the car. Its likely they work on several of these cars on a regular basis and know what to look for and know what's important to fix first.

ayrtonsenna · #9 09-24-2006, 05:52 PM

my indy knows my car like the back of his hand, and he's still cheaper than the stealership.

Hatterasguy · #10 09-24-2006, 09:20 PM

No offense but I wouldn't waste my time. Whats that going to take a few hours, yawn I have better things to do.

For one don't assume any of the techs there have any experiance with a W126. Most were probably still in grade school when that car was currant. Although some dealers do. A W140 is on the edge, they deal with W220's all day long thats what they know best.

Secondly all they are going to do is come up with a $10k list of crap that you may or maynot need.

Thirdly the W126 sunroof if it is "off track" won't close or work. Secondly expect and estimate of about $2k to fix it.

fahrgewehr2 · #11 09-24-2006, 10:56 PM

I've used that dealership before, and purchased a few parts there. No complaints, and the mechanic who did the work was an older guy who knew the older models. This was two years ago, and i don't know any names or whether the same people are there, though.

Do a search on Wilmington and there is a thread with some shop recommendations.

sokoloff · #12 09-25-2006, 11:45 AM

The Wilmington dealership has always treated me well. I think they might have a few techs who know the older cars. I'd talk with Del Eaves the service manager first though to be sure. He's a member of MBCA and is a pretty straight shooter. If you're an MBCA member, let him know.

Len

rchase · #13 09-25-2006, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fahrgewehr2

I've used that dealership before, and purchased a few parts there. No complaints, and the mechanic who did the work was an older guy who knew the older models. This was two years ago, and i don't know any names or whether the same people are there, though.

Do a search on Wilmington and there is a thread with some shop recommendations.

I have been to many Atlanta dealerships and have had decent results at the parts counter. If your lucky and end up with an "oldtimer" in the shop with the knowlege of the older models and an appreciation for them you get a good job done.

The sad truth is even MB dealers have been struck by the "commodity" business model of most of the car dealerships. When I was in the business most of our money came out of the service department. What did not come directly out of the service department came out of the service department scaring people out of their cars with the "big bill" tactic. The service department would scare them right out of their 2-3 year old car that they bought new and we would graciously trade it in even with all of its "problems" that we deducted for so we could "repair" it. In most cases the car was sent straight to the Porter for a detail job and then driven straight onto the used lot without any repairs.

While the dealerships have no interest in our older cars they play the big bill tactic in the hopes that you don't know any better and have deep pockets. Most of them figure your at the dealership anyway when there are plenty of resonably priced independants so your pockets are just as ripe for the picking as the guy that rolls in with the out of warranty 220 chassis.

cudaspaz · #14 09-25-2006, 11:22 PM

I agree with rchase,
Go to an independent who knows how and works on theese babies all day long.
The dealerships ran the old timers off and have a bunch of kids practicing on the cars and who 's chest starts to pound if they have to work on one of theese older pups.
Your'e a mechanic, you should be able to look their list over and look at your car good on the lift to see if what they say, you should fix.

Check your suspension out yourself and see what it looks like, then get their opinion when you take it to them so at least you'll know if they are being honest with you.
The antenna probably needs a mast or the motor is weak.
have the engine steam cleaned and shot with leak trace powder, drive the heck out of it and recheck for leaks.

GradyService · #15 09-26-2006, 12:15 PM

Well, I went to the dealer yesterday. Got there at about 9:30, and I did deal with Del Eaves, the Service Manager. He was very nice and knowledgeable about the car. They checked it out, and told me that it was leaking a little oil from the front crank seal, but until it got worse not to even worry about it. Then they said that it needed both Tie Rod assembly's replaced. (At least it wasn't ball joints ) Amazingly, they recommended that I go back to Tony's Foreign Cars where I bought the car and have them replace it, because they not only didn't have the parts in stock (Tony's did

) but the only guy there who still worked on the older models was out sick. They said that the antenna had started back working right with a little grease, and that the sunroof's plastic tracks were cracked

. But they did get it to stop rattleing

. They gave me a 550.00 estimate for the replacement of the tie-rods, and a free car wash. They let me call Tony's, make sure the parts were in stock, and I drove over to let them do it. Wonderful service, the job only cost 199.00, and they used Genuine MB Parts

. The owner, Tony, GAVE me a set of floormats out of a nice 91 560 with a shot tranny (when I bought it they only had tan mats, but he said if I ever was around when he had some grey ones that he'd give them to me). Enjoyed doing business with them again. ( They had some beauties in there:
66 230SL
69 280SL
77 450SL
80 500SL Grey Market
88 560SL, not to mention about 3 rolls, a bentley, a maserati, and about 40 MB Sedans from the 108 to the 220 chassis.
Thanks, Dave.