Independant in SW London/Surrey?

[angus falconer]

Hi,

Does anyone use a godd independant in the SW London/Surrey area?

 

[drainaudio]

Hi, try http://sec-shop.com/.
They were recommended to me by Richard at Mercseller when I became tired of the (extremely well known) MB specialist I was using not resolving issues, wasting my time and charging me for work that hadn't been approved. Take the car back 5 times before steering wheel is straight after tie rod replacement and wheel alignment anyone..
Anyway, my MB is booked into SEC-Shop in about a weeks time and just the conversations I've had with Charles over the phone have been superb.
The guy is obviously an enthusiast who loves to work on good examples of MB and the service is very much on a personal level from what I can gather. They also offer lots of restoration services, underbody waxoiling etc and the labour rate is more competitive than London independents with all the same workshop facilities.
Cheers, Geoff.

 

[angus falconer]

Hi Geoff

Will pass the information on - it's for my boss who runs an SL60 (W129)

 

[H1MKK]

Hello - it Angus Boss (!) here (Thanks Angus)- yes Im pretty desperate..the ECU has just packed up on my SL60 and Woking are quoting me £1300 plus VAT and parts...I cant cancel xmas so any ideas on who might repair/replace cheaper would be gratefully received...Thank you!!

 

[reflexboy]

Try TM Motors in Molesey: 020 8941 4044. Very well qualified technicians, and resonable too.

 

[mjtray]

If you want a Mercedes Indi that's a wiz with something a bit special, give Colin Ferns a call on 020-8332 7660. His premises are in Richmond.

 

[mjtray]

Hello - it Angus Boss (!) here (Thanks Angus)- yes Im pretty desperate..the ECU has just packed up on my SL60 and Woking are quoting me £1300 plus VAT and parts...I cant cancel xmas so any ideas on who might repair/replace cheaper would be gratefully received...Thank you!!

Eeek!......you could try doing a search on ECU's, as I am sure over the years I have read posts from other people recommending companies that are capable of rebuilding a fried ECU.

One word of caution though.....your SL60 uses the same engine that was in my Mercedes E500, when I owned one...albeit that your engine is bored out to 6.0's. If your SL60 is one of the early ones, your ECU problems may be down to the wiring harness failing which causes an electrical spike in the ECU, which wrecks it. If your harness has failed it's also likely to have knocked out the some or all of the coil packs.....the replacement for all of this will be @ £2700+ vat. The reason I know this is that when I bought my E500, the last owner had to fork out this money just prior to selling the car as his wiring harness failed.

Its not an uncommon fault and as a word or warning to anybody buying a W124, SL ,W140 or W202, from the mid 90's you need to check that this work has been done or at least get the harness checked, as these harnesses will fail....its only a matter of time and chance. You can blame the dodgy eco-friendly insulation in the harness which breaks down prematurely causing the wires to touch and consequently short out.

Good luck, hope it all works out for you........if not let me know and I'll buy your SL60 off you and work on it as a project in my spare time.....sounds a bit mercenary, but I don't mean it to be, its a genuine offer if it all becomes a bit too much like hard work/hassle.