Need a new auto gearbox after 52,000 miles??

[Blobcat]

What is &amp? is it some kind of text talk?

No it is how the forum displays an Ampersand when quoted

 

[television]

No it is how the forum displays an Ampersand when quoted

In my little world I think that I would see it as,

" My car has a radio&amp fitted"

Malcolm

 

[Socrates]

also talk to George Fraser in Acton, west london - he knows these thigns back to front (ATs not A classes)

hes fixed my box twice now - once was a stripped main gear, once was a failed bearing (30,000 miles later)

1200 quid the first time - 250? quid the second. now drives perfectly... nice bloke etc etc - place is total chaos, and you will be waiting for ages - but its worth it.

I too tried to get dosh from MBUK - they said they might consider it - if the work was done by a main dealer - i then told them the main dealer refused to do the work as the gearbox is 'a sealed unit, sir'

Guy

I have a 300SL and Geaorge looks after that. He's not dead cheap but he knows his stuff.
As to the other 'mechanics'. Tell them that the misdiagnosis is their fault and say that you will be writing to the Office of Fair Trading about their behaviour. If that doesn't do the trick immediately. Write to the OFT. These things usually work. the law says that your car must be fit for purpose and 52,000 out of a gear box is not fit for purpose!
Good luck.

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

Can anyone suggest a decent Merc specialist in the Glasgow area please who wont fleece me or do I trade it in for an Audi A2 tdi??

thanks in advance

Richard.

Hi Richard, I hate to say this on an MB forum but I'd swap for an Audi. The only problem I had with my Audi was a new clutch at 130,000 miles at a cost of around £300. Not sure I'd recommend an A2 though, I think they were as problematic as the A-Class, which is one of the reasons they stopped making them.

My gearbox has had a new gearbox control unit fitted and the oil/filters changed and it's still crap. The loaner I had (with only 5000 miles on it) was also crap. I have very little confidence in MB gearboxes, although there are lots of people on this forum who think they are superb.

I have had a litany of problems with my car that would have cost a fortune if it wasn't for ServicePlus (wonderful, wonderful idea), none of which I would expect on a 4 year old car. MB have been good at fixing them BUT they have replaced things they didn't need to that would have been VERY expensive if I'd had to have paid for them (like the gearbox control unit).

Personnally I have been very disapointed with my car in a lot of respects, although I still think it looks great. It has definately dented my opinion of MB and made me think seriously about buying another one.

If you take out ServicePlus you can at least be comfortable about how much it's going to cost you when it goes wrong, but (and it's a big but) prestige cars as mercs are supposed to be, should not be so damned unreliable and MB should not be so damned unbending when they do go wrong.

Hopefully MB are getting things right now but I'm not convinced and it doesn't help those of us that can't afford to buy new.

 

[Pipemaster]

Audi for a Merc - nope and here's why..

I had an Audi 2.5 TDi 6 speed Avant and it was a nice car. good quality leather, nice looking but... The steering rack started to leak - looking for a replacement - no luck - cant relly buy one of these from a breakers as you are never sure whats happened to them. Dealer OEM price in excess of £1000 to replace. The car handling was not as good as the merc and it didnt have the prsence of a merc- interestingly the estate area was no more useful than the 220 we have now.

With all the assocations of Audi with VW's and Skoda the cache of an Audi is not the same as it once was - OK brand me a snob - but if we wanted just a wagon then a Rover 420 SLDi would do wouldnt it??

The probelm with gearboxes - from a laypersons point ofview - is that you cant ever really tell what sort of tratment they have had by looking at it. if the car has been parked on a steep hill everynight all its life with P engaged nad no handbrake it stands to reason theres going to be a greater stress on it than if it were in flatlands of the fens.


I had a bit of a shudder when I found out the gearbox on my 129 is sealed for life yet the previous one was not I would like to know what "sealed for life actually" means becuase Ii dont know of any oil that does not degrade over use and would feel a whole lot better if i could have the ATF changed at regular intervals...

I first drove merc in 1985 it was my bosses 280 4 door saloon. I hated it and liked it at the ame time. It made you feel good driving it - tight and solid with a bit of go but the seats were hard as park benches and it struck me as being austere. I spent years saying I don't like them - now guess what, I have 2.... the moral is - dont bin the Benz because of one experience - every marque has its problems - as you can see from the technical part of this forum. Ask yourself - if the garages you had been to had fixed whatevcr the probelm was first time would you still feel the same way - or is it their possible failure to sort it out tainting your attitude towards merc's?

but in any event you need to sort out the crap service you have had so far becuase they cant expect you to pay for their incompetence and erroneous diagnosis

There endeth the reading for the day...

 

[television]

Hi Steve, reading your post I saw the bit about gearbox fluid.

The sealed for life program has been scrapped, and the fluid should be changed at 40k miles along with the filter. You will notice smoooooother changes when this has been done.

Best Regards, Malcolm

 

[OmniCognateNeutronRangler]

All fair points Pipemaster. I suppose you can be unlucky with any car and I think I've made my opinions pretty clear on this forum as to my opinion of merc build qulity and reliability so I'll leave that subject alone. I had an Audi for a long time did lots of miles in it and had very few problems so I guess I'm a little biased.

Would I have another Merc? To be honest I probably would, I'd just know a little better what to look for this time. If someone offered me an SL for instance, I'd bite their arm off for it even if I had the "what if...." thoughts going through the back of my mind.

Sorry if it sounds a little like I have hyjacked the thread, I seem to do that. I hope you get your gearbox sorted. Make sure to let us know the outcome.

Incidentally, you may want to try the Trading Standards Office. If you have had work done on the car that you are now being told by others was unneccessary they would be very helpful. I have dealt with them in the past (not over car issues) and had money back from a cable company even when they didn't actually need to just to get the Trading Standards off their back and to save them from some bad publicity.

The Americans have something called the "better business bureau" that lists companies that are well kown for service above and beyond the call of duty. We could do with one of those ever here

 

[quattrokid]

thanks gents for your comments, I would like to add a few more of my own please:

1) the car Mum gave me has been with the family since a few months old, it was an ex demo as I believe.
2) Mum only does a few thousand miles per year with 90% of that on flat roads (well as flat as a British road could be)
3) the driveway is flat as well.
4) it rattles and squeaks like a hamster wheel.
5) Mum replaced this 170 tdi avant garde with a brand new straight out the box A class 150 and you know what... its CRAP!! the quality would shame Vauxhall never mind MB!! it rattles and sqeaks like the old one.
6)My uncle swears by MB having owned from new countless S class 500's, He currently has a CLK 500,an SL55AMG, an E classEstate diesel and an SL 500 Silver Arrow I think its called. You know what... they have all been back to MB with defects!!
7) Mercedes Benz rides on its past glory, Audi now rule the roost for quality of the interiors and finish and are rapidly catchin up in the performance stakes as well.
8) I didnt realise that the Audi A2 warranted the comments above, HOWEVER, no one yet makes a car thats perfect and although I am very gratefull to my Mum for helping me out here, if it wasnt for the fuel ecomony of this wee chariot it would be dropped like a hot stone.
NO WAY should ANY prestige manufacturer produce/sell a product that doesnt last 5 minutes past its warranty period and more often than not with my Uncles SL55 AMG to mention 1 spends more time in the dealer than he has it and to me this is a down right bl**dy disgrace from MB!!!!

My car hasnt had any Merc dealer fiddle with the gearbox yet, simply because, a) I cannot afford a replacement gearbox and b) I'd rather sell it and trade it in for a reliable car wether its an Audi or a Japanese car and that would be a first for my family to choose Jap cars over German!!

 

[quattrokid]

thanks gents for your comments, I would like to add a few more of my own please:

1) the car Mum gave me has been with the family since a few months old, it was an ex demo as I believe.
2) Mum only does a few thousand miles per year with 90% of that on flat roads (well as flat as a British road could be)
3) the driveway is flat as well.
4) it rattles and squeaks like a hamster wheel.
5) Mum replaced this 170 tdi avant garde with a brand new straight out the box A class 150 and you know what... its CRAP!! the quality would shame Vauxhall never mind MB!! it rattles and sqeaks like the old one.
6)My uncle swears by MB having owned from new countless S class 500's, He currently has a CLK 500,an SL55AMG, an E classEstate diesel and an SL 500 Silver Arrow I think its called. You know what... they have all been back to MB with defects!!
7) Mercedes Benz rides on its past glory, Audi now rule the roost for quality of the interiors and finish and are rapidly catchin up in the performance stakes as well.
8) I didnt realise that the Audi A2 warranted the comments above,I was lead to believe that it was dropped because it was an expensive car to make out of alluminium but it was done as a continuation in the development of manufacturing methods for the next A8. The A2 was even designed from the outset to accept a quattro drivetrain..It was also expensive to repair and as a result it didnt sell in the numbers envisaged by Audi, HOWEVER, no one yet makes a car thats perfect and although I am very gratefull to my Mum for helping me out here, if it wasnt for the fuel ecomony of this wee chariot it would be dropped like a hot stone. Pity really as I like this A class, its driving position is like sitting in an armchair at home and the view is pretty good as well, but I wish to God Mercedes didnt put so many bean counters in charge of model investment counter measures and design good quality cars like they USED TO DO!! I would never buy a new Merc with my own money, Id rather buy if at all an old one, one when in the days of build quality costs didnt matter.
NO WAY should ANY prestige manufacturer produce/sell a product that doesnt last 5 minutes past its warranty period and more often than not with my Uncles SL55 AMG to mention 1 spends more time in the dealer than he has it and to me this is a down right bl**dy disgrace from MB!!!!

My car hasnt had any Merc dealer fiddle with the gearbox yet, simply because, a) I cannot afford a replacement gearbox and b) I'd rather sell it and trade it in for a reliable car wether its an Audi A2/ A3 tdi or a Japanese car and that would be a first for my family to choose Jap cars over German!!

My WR quattro now has 135,000 miles on it and thats a 1987 model with its original clutch, gearbox, engine and it still goes as the day it was built its just gone for a rear wheel bearing change... something my Merc has had before it reached 40,000 miles!!.. my Ur S4 which I had with over 200,ooo miles on that was original fit as well so to say that Audi isnt up with Merc is true... theyre MILES AHEAD for quality and inovation!!

ok that will do before I get banished after 3 posts!! but gearboxes should last the cars lifetime not a couple of years or 30-40k miles then fail, hardly inspires confidence to buy another does it??...

 

[SteveCassidy]

another thumbs up here for George Fraser, the man's a gent. Rebuilt my C43's gearbox and delivered it back home at 1am - I was on the ferry to France the next day at 6!

 

[Socrates]

I have a 300SL and Geaorge looks after that. He's not dead cheap but he knows his stuff.
As to the other 'mechanics'. Tell them that the misdiagnosis is their fault and say that you will be writing to the Office of Fair Trading about their behaviour. If that doesn't do the trick immediately. Write to the OFT. These things usually work. the law says that your car must be fit for purpose and 52,000 out of a gear box is not fit for purpose!
Good luck.

Sorry I don't mean the OFT I meant to say the Trading Standards Officer

 

[Socrates]

Just another plug for George Frazer. When I bought my 300SL it was supposed to have had a B service done, it soon became evident that it hadn't. Now this car is my daily runner so everything has to be done on a Saturday. Took it to George who found one or two extra problems. However, he didn't keep it another day he finished it same day and delivered it all the way to Richmond a 9:00 at night for free - didn't even have to go and fetch it!

 

[clelly]

I know nothing about cars, am skint after Xmas and need your advice...

I have an A Class 160 Avantgarde auto ('00/W reg), 52,000 miles, which has been off the road since Xmas. Auto transmission keeps failing and sticking in 2nd gear, intermittently at first, now more or less permanently.

Took to Garage 1 (independent Merc/BMW "specialist") who said I needed a new gear selector unit (cost £400). Fault reappeared on drive home from garage. Back to garage 1, then said gearbox needed stripping down and rebuilding (estimate £2500).

Took to garage 2 (MB main dealer) for second opinion. Said I needed new gear control unit (estimate £960). Work done but fault not fixed. Now say I need completely new gearbox (estimate £4100 so that's £5000+ for whole job). They don't recommend fixing old gearbox as there would be no warranties etc. Garage says it's asked MB for contribution - so far the answer is "no" and we're in stalemate position. By the way the car has always been professionally serviced at right intervals but has had other unusual faults (e.g. leaking petrol tank requiring replacement) mostly just after warranty period ended.

Has anyone else had a similar experience? Should a Merc auto gearbox last more than 52,000 miles? Does anyone have any ideas for cheaper solutions or tips on how to negotiate a better deal? As I said I'm completely non-technical so anything that needs doing I'll have to find an "expert" to do it!

Hi Charlie,your story has has made me reconsider our families current situation.,My wife has been nipping my head to buy her an 2-3 year old A class for a few months now . If we still go ahead with a purchase it will have to be a manual version,the autobox sounds like a headache I could do without.

 

[Pipemaster]

Hi Steve, reading your post I saw the bit about gearbox fluid.

The sealed for life program has been scrapped, and the fluid should be changed at 40k miles along with the filter. You will notice smoooooother changes when this has been done.

Best Regards, Malcolm

Thanks for that really vital piece of news Malcolm. I will have it sorted asap as I have been quite concerned about this.
Good news is I get the car back tomorrow after the paint shop has done their thing and the wheels get some loving on Friday

 

[cadz7]

Hi I Got A Merc A160 Triptronic With The Same Problem First Gear Slips But The Rest Are Ok. Did You Have Any Luck Sorting The Problem Out? What Was It? Thanks Richard