E320 headgasket
 

I am looking at a 95 E320 with just over 90,000 miles. The seller cannot tell me if the head gasket or wiring harness were replaced. In round numbers what should these repairs cost if performed by the dealer? How much less if performed by and independent? I could undertake the harness, but not the head gasket.

thanks,
Mark

I did both myself over the winter. I heard the head gasket costs about $800 to replace. Depending on the old part number, the wiring harness costs anywhere from $625 to $750 from Fastlane.

Tip: It's a good opportunity to clean out the problematic egr tube when the head is off the car.

The head gasket on a 3.2 liter M104 engine would range from $1,200-$1,600 at an independent (depending on whether or not you did valve guides / seals at the same time), and probably $1,800 - $2,400 at the dealer.

A wiring harness costs about $500, and 2.5- 3.0 hours labor to replace. A dealer would charge more for the harness. You can compare labor rates from those at the dealer to an independent.
Most independents charge $60-$65 / hr., while the dealers charge $90-$100 / hour for labor.

I believe the average dealer will charge a good deal less than $90-$100 an hour depending on the location.

I recently had the head gasket replaced in my '91 300E by Schumuacher European Motors in Scottsdale, AZ. The cost was $1,140 for labor and $148.52 for the gasket set. They did a superb job and gave me a rental car while they had mine.

Anti-freeze and the cleaner they used to get rid of the oil in the coolant was a few bucks more.

The M104 engine might be a bit more costly.

Great. Dealer labor charges must be cheaper in Arizona.

Yes, the M103 engine is cheaper than the M104.

I moved from Minnesota two years ago and the labor rates there were $65/hour in Rochester and about $10 more in the Twin Cities.

I suppose places like NYC or San Francisco would charge a lot more.

dealer here in NJ told me their rates are around $95/hr. my trusted indy gets $65 but he often charges actual time which have resulted in a number of $20 and even free visits...