2002 e320 failed mot on suspension

[jim99]

Hi, my 2002 e320cdi has just failed mot on four front suspension joints having excessive play. I have had the car from new and covered 43,000 miles, 99% of which is on dual carriage ways. The doesn't show any symptoms when driving. Garage quoted £700 to replace, I protested and MB agreed to pay half. i still think this is unreasonable and there should be no failures in the suspension after this amount of miles. I would appreciate any suggestions anyone has before I loose all faith!!

 

[jberks]

Who MOT'd it?
I've had cars fail for silly reasons, had them retested elsewhere and passed without a murmur. So much of an MOT is down to the opinion of the tester (or whether he's reached his target this week). I'd expect a small amount of play after 43k and 3 years but not enough to be an issue or failure. Did MB agree off the cuff or have they actually inspected it?

Assuming its right, then agreed it shouldn't be that bad at this stage, but then that's why MB have agreed to pay. You could look at it that you are paying for the 50% of the life of the component you have used. As you were short changed out of the other 50%, MB are picking up the tab for that bit. Sounds fair enough really.
You could argue but I haven't heard of anyone getting more that that out of them.

 

[jim99]

It was tested at a Mercedes dealership, wouldn't like to say if they might be a little bit over cautious with their testing...?

 

[jberks]

£45 may save you £300, although £300 for a full MB suspension rebuild and setup may be worth it. It would run very nicely after, but it probably does anyway.

I had a Ford failed at a ford dealer for a leaky power steering pump. Yes it was leaking, but it had gone through less than 1/4l in 18 months and in my view wasn't safety related anyway. Every few months, it would squeal a bit on full lock and I would top it up. If I ignored it for a very long time and if it did go completely, it would still drive ok, I just wouldn't be able to park. Hrdly a safety issue. The DVLA chap I complained to agreed that they were being a bit harsh, but not actually breaking the rules.

I took it to another garage (who were used to older cars). They gave it a wipe, ran it lock to lock a couple of times and as it didn't p... fluid all over the place, declared it ok and passed it.

All down to opinion.

I also wonder how much of the £600 is set-up. MB charge a fortune to set up the geometry. Over £250 last time I looked at the menu. My Indy charges £50 for the same job. Parts are pretty cheap so most of the cost will probably be labour at £95 ph. I suspect its £50 for parts, 2.5 hours labour, plus track, geometry and vat=£600+

If it were me, I'd take it to an indy. If he fails it (and probably won't), then chances are he will be able to do the whole job for less that what the dealer wants for your 50%.