Update to my thread re "Replacement engine for 2010 E350 Cdi"

[Ductman]

As promised, I thought I would update this thread about my friends unfortunate episode with the engine of their E350 Cdi:-

https://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/...ement-engine-needed-for-2010-e350-cdi.178380/

We returned home at the beginning of this week and I spoke to my pal on Tuesday morning. He had already arranged for the car to be towed into our nearest MB dealers, rather than the good indie that I use, for the problem to be diagnosed. Well, £300 crisp notes later, it was discovered that the turbo had, indeed, failed bigtime and spewed its innards into the combustion chambers via the inlet manifold! Further, they said some of the broken bits have probably got into the DPF, so are probably blocking that too. Incidentally, oil level in the sump appeared to be good, so it is unknown precisely what caused such a catastrophic turbo failure.

Anyhow, long story short, he has been offered a few hundred quid for the car as is, by one of the MB workshop techs and is currently in negotiation for a brand new E250 Cdi estate to replace it. He now accepts that it was foolish in the extreme to attempt the fast return journey home from Nice whilst the engine was making an undiagnosed loud mechanical noise. Expensive lesson learned and I don't think he will be doing that again!

Many thanks for all your helpful suggestions.

 

[vtaylor78]

They actually took £300! To tell your friend this ?

 

[Jim2]

As promised, I thought I would update this thread about my friends unfortunate episode with the engine of their E350 Cdi:-

https://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/...ement-engine-needed-for-2010-e350-cdi.178380/

We returned home at the beginning of this week and I spoke to my pal on Tuesday morning. He had already arranged for the car to be towed into our nearest MB dealers, rather than the good indie that I use, for the problem to be diagnosed. Well, £300 crisp notes later, it was discovered that the turbo had, indeed, failed bigtime and spewed its innards into the combustion chambers via the inlet manifold! Further, they said some of the broken bits have probably got into the DPF, so are probably blocking that too. Incidentally, oil level in the sump appeared to be good, so it is unknown precisely what caused such a catastrophic turbo failure.

Anyhow, long story short, he has been offered a few hundred quid for the car as is, by one of the MB workshop techs and is currently in negotiation for a brand new E250 Cdi estate to replace it. He now accepts that it was foolish in the extreme to attempt the fast return journey home from Nice whilst the engine was making an undiagnosed loud mechanical noise. Expensive lesson learned and I don't think he will be doing that again!

Many thanks for all your helpful suggestions.

"he has been offered a few hundred quid for the car as is, by one of the MB workshop techs" Un Quote "
Why are there warning bell's sounding and red light's flashing in my mind???

 

[Ductman]

Yep. More to the point, he was prepared to pay it even though he already knew the engine was boogered.

 

[Ductman]

"he has been offered a few hundred quid for the car as is, by one of the MB workshop techs" Un Quote "
Why are there warning bell's sounding and red light's flashing in my mind???

Know what you mean but it was definitely shot and he didn’t have too many options.

 

[Jim2]

Of course as a tech,he may intend scrapping it,,,,plenty of good body panels, transmission, rear axle etc. or alternatively, he may be able to source an engine himself. But for small ( relatively speaking ) money, he obviously see's an opportunity. Still, would have been better IMHO if he had taken it to your indy first.

 

[Ductman]

Of course as a tech,he may intend scrapping it,,,,plenty of good body panels, transmission, rear axle etc. or alternatively, he may be able to source an engine himself. But for small ( relatively speaking ) money, he obviously see's an opportunity. Still, would have been better IMHO if he had taken it to your indy first.

Maybe so but he needed to get something sorted ASAP and buying another, whilst expensive, is the least hassle. He will be back on the road by middle of next week going this route.

 

[bembo449]

Ive worked on enuff derv cars that have lunched their tubbys and over 90% live to fight another day , even an old pug van that ran on its own oil ( i had to use a hedge to get it to stall ) still ran for another few years after , if he lets it go for a few 100 them more the fool him

 

[Ricardo_e220]

He would have been better sticking it on eBay spares or repair...

sounds all a little suspicious, and he’s clearly a little crackers having a 100k+ car taken to a main dealer with hourly rates in excess of £120!

I’m sure any other decent garage would have been able to give him a repair cost....

 

[davidsl500]

sellthecar.co.uk would have given them a price as a non runner and would collect

 

[pgh13]

Further, they said some of the broken bits have probably got into the DPF

Probably saw(ed) a hole in the bottom of his bank a/c too!

 

[Jim2]

To recap on this cautionary tale...Ductman left no stone unturned in trying to get his friend to do the right thing..from day 1. But despite all his advice, his friend would not listen, and instead, at the end of the day, delivered the car to his local MB dealership, and as they say, the rest is history....so all it confirms is that while you can take the horse to the water, you cannot make him drink. Personally, I'm more that a little suspicious about the tale he was told by MB..( and it seems that I'm not the only one, judging by the comment's )...but without verification, it is as it is. Ductman tried his best for his friend, so it's not his fault.

 

[Botus]

Anyhow, long story short, he has been offered a few hundred quid for the car as is, by one of the MB workshop techs.

so the tech bolts on a turbo from another customers car (he diagnosed enthusiastically) and sells it for 8k, nice Christmas present for 90 mins work!!!

 

[daibevan]

Don't forget that unlike many on here most people haven't a clue about anything mechanical and are just relieved to get back on the road, believing anything they are told in the process. Don't be too hard on him.
People of my (our?)generation had no choice but to try and find out why things stopped working and then fix them ourselves, or do without. Now people are encouraged to throw away and buy new no matter the cost. ( To be honest this really infuriates me )

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Thanks for the update a pity there wasn’t a better resolution for your friend, sounds like he was plain unlucky with the total engine failure turbos letting go are thankfully quite rare nowadays and it’s always easy to say ‘what if’ in hindsight.

 

[bembo449]

I may try and hunt him down and offer a fiver more than the MB tech to take it off his hands

 

[Ricardo_e220]

Don't forget that unlike many on here most people haven't a clue about anything mechanical and are just relieved to get back on the road, believing anything they are told in the process. Don't be too hard on him.
People of my (our?)generation had no choice but to try and find out why things stopped working and then fix them ourselves, or do without. Now people are encouraged to throw away and buy new no matter the cost. ( To be honest this really infuriates me )

good point, despite being officially middle aged now and from the disposable generation my dad taught me to be mechanically sympathetic but to also understand a good bit about cars and be prepared to get stuck in where possible...but this is a good reference, people can be given great advice and support, but given the lack of mechanical sympathy initially it’s going to cost between £20 and £40k minimum for a car replacement.... unless like so many others it’s a pcp replacement on a ‘how much can you afford a month mister’ approach.... this 3 year car cycle is why people are even more inclined to dispose of cars also they are too technical past a certain point and it’s such a huge waste of nature’s resources, but keeps employment high in Germany......

 

[Ductman]

Yes I can understand the comments you’ve all made and agree with most. Unfortunately, my pal and his wife returned home from their holiday a few days before mine, so were keen to get things moving. Had I been here, I would have advised him to get my indie to inspect it first and only then put it on eBay as a non runner, assuming the diagnosis was as expected.
Curiously, although he uses a man and a van to service his own car, a slightly older S Class, his wife insists her car, this E, is serviced at a main dealer. Her reasoning is that she wanted to maintain the Mobilo life warranty although I guess it did at least provide them with recovery home.
It is very easy now to advise what they should have done but it is what it is and expediency has won the day. They have just the one car each and both are used daily, so it was important for them to get it sorted early. I’m a bit more fortunate in having a few cars at my disposal, so wouldn’t be faced with similar. Also the dealer was very clever in giving them a loan car whilst they are waiting for the new car to be ready, which has kept them on board, as it were.
For my own part, I would always rather repair and reuse, rather than throw away, which can be a source of annoyance for my wife as she often complains she can never have anything new. But as others have said, it is a generational thing and I regard it as a point of pride when I can repair something and get a few more years out of it.
Sadly though, not everybody is as capable with their hands and my friend very definitely falls into that category.

 

[Wighty]

To recap on this cautionary tale...Ductman left no stone unturned in trying to get his friend to do the right thing..from day 1. But despite all his advice, his friend would not listen, and instead, at the end of the day, delivered the car to his local MB dealership, and as they say, the rest is history....so all it confirms is that while you can take the horse to the water, you cannot make him drink. Personally, I'm more that a little suspicious about the tale he was told by MB..( and it seems that I'm not the only one, judging by the comment's )...but without verification, it is as it is. Ductman tried his best for his friend, so it's not his fault.

Well said Jim .

 

[davidsl500]

It would be interesting to track the registration number and see where it turns up - and how quickly...