Ah yes. Many independants get a "cut" on parts so I could see why he was not pleased.

Im not sure that I would want Mercedes to learn anything from the Japs. Would you want them to learn to engineer cars to go 200K miles and then be thrown away? Would you like them to learn how to make cars that have zero resale value after 10 years? They could also learn how to turn their backs on their cars after 10 years and stop selling parts like many of the Japanese car makers do as well. Replacing some plastic parts seems trival compared to recycling your car in another 75K miles. :)

The reason everything is broke under the hood is because some knuckle head broke it. To top it they didn't bother to fix it, all that stuff is cheap.

BTW M119's prefer coper single electrode plugs.

You haven't found the right mechanic yet - keep looking.

Yes and no. Out of respect for my mechanic I let them buy the parts for my cars when I do repairs unless its a big ticket item. The only time that I would bring parts is in a case where I got an exceptionally good deal on a part and I would ask politely if it was ok while getting a quote on the job upfront. Many owners will call in and ask for a quote for parts and labor show up with the parts and expect the quote to remain valid. I have no issue with a mechanic that would be slightly annoyed with that as the profit that they make on the wholesale price they get on the parts in some cases helps them be more competitive on the labor rate as some jobs are more labor intensive than others but yet are "simple" repairs that most customers will balk at a high labor rate.

It depends on how it was approached. If it was a surprise when the car was being dropped off that borders on trying to take advantage of someone. If it was negotiated in the original price its another thing. For a first time visit to a mechanic I would never recomend bringing your own parts. You don't want a reputation of being a cheap skate. At that point your car becomes their bottom priority in the shop. You want your car to be their top priority and you wanted it treated with respect and care as if it was their own car.

I shy away from mechanics that come up with bizzarre reasons not to use customer parts but at the same time respect a shop owner/mechanic's need to make a living.

Yeah alot of those rear diff side seals only seep and do not need attention unless you have an actual wet drop of oil at the bottom of the housing, then you should get it resealed, but having the fluid level checked is the best way to determine leakage/loss of fluid.

That is a good paying job at the dealership, but usually not necessary in most cases.
Keep in mind, theese guys are there to make money, and they will note everything they find hoping you will bite on some of it.

Yeah ,almost every 97 E-420 I run across now days has the ears on the top of the air mass cover cracked or the rubber isolators broken where the nuts hold them down.

I carry them on my truck and usually have to order a new cover for every car I go out to.
Alot of shops put the cover on cockeyed and nothing lines up correctly and the portion that covers the air filter is usually distrorted and will not go back on right.

Sounds like you need to find a good independent that is not afraid to let you walk into the shop and have the items that need adressed pointed out to you so you can make a decision after actually seeing the evidence.

I almost feel slighted. I recently took my car in for an alignment amd the dealer did not suggest a thing! Either they don't think I'm good for the money, they don't care when they see a problem, or the car is squared away enough that there were no other problems. Now I'll be up all night thinking about it.