List of Indies, Essex area wanted

[S500 Pete]

Hi,
I seem to recall a while back that there was a list of recommended Indies somewhere on the Forum.

I usually use Alex at AMF but he is fully booked at the moment and I have an intermittent engine light showing Camshaft sensor problems so I want to get it sorted asap

 

[Blobcat]

Help with Mercedes Specialist Finder

Hi all, As you know our sister website www.mercedesspecialistfinder.co.uk, helps owners to find a specialist, either in their area or nationally. We need your help... We update the site as often as we know or hear about any changes, but you might know of a new garage opened up or one that...

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[Wighty]

Hi,
I seem to recall a while back that there was a list of recommended Indies somewhere on the Forum.

I usually use Alex at AMF but he is fully booked at the moment and I have an intermittent engine light showing Camshaft sensor problems so I want to get it sorted asap

Gemtech is mentioned sometimes near A12/127 junction
PMW is a German brand specialist in Chelmsford
PrestigiousLTD is mobile in Essex
Waterhouse MB , Braintree is an MB workshop that isn’t full MB prices ??

I would have thought anyone with Star can diagnose and replace a camshaft sensor ?

 

[Wighty]

Alex Crow , Stowmarket as well

 

[S500 Pete]

thanks Wighty,
Alex has now said he will look at it next week and I will leave it with him for a while.

I will be able to check your list on this post with an easy search in future though if needed

 

[MissyD]

thanks Wighty,
Alex has now said he will look at it next week and I will leave it with him for a while.

I will be able to check your list on this post with an easy search in future though if needed

Alex has helped me out in the past , lovely guy

 

[Blobcat]

Alex has helped me out in the past , lovely guy

He’s ok…

 

[Wighty]

He’s ok…

You better delete that before he see’s it buddy

 

[alexanderfoti]

 

[Simon Barry]

You better delete that before he see’s it buddy

I recently read that he will not work on W215 nowadays, is that true ?

 

[Blobcat]

I recently read that he will not work on W215 nowadays, is that true ?

Ask him… @alexanderfoti

 

[alexanderfoti]

Course not, I have a W215 so that wouldn't work well! As long as the owners realise the costs involved in certain jobs, I am happy to work on them.

 

[Wighty]

I recently read that he will not work on W215 nowadays, is that true ?

That might have been the thread from @C16RKC , another Indy called Alex

 

[kgd]

Hi,
I seem to recall a while back that there was a list of recommended Indies somewhere on the Forum.

I usually use Alex at AMF but he is fully booked at the moment and I have an intermittent engine light showing Camshaft sensor problems so I want to get it sorted asap

Hi Pete
ive had this problem and it took the following to solve it
changed cam shaft sensor magnets and seals also added the “ pigtail”:modification ( Engine light still on)
changed O2 sensor ( downstream) light still on
changed air filter and cleaned ECU using compressed air. ( light still on)

code reader now read
Self adaptation of mixture formation

extensive reading through various forums indicated it may be low fuel in the tank

filled car up and it hasn’t come back and I’ve driven about 500 miles

 

[C16RKC]

I recently read that he will not work on W215 nowadays, is that true ?

That was Alex Crow in Stowmarket. Took my W215 in, looked around it, serviced it, then said he did not like the W215 and did not want to work on it again.

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

 

[C16RKC]

I should add that Alex Crow is a phenomenal mechanic, and I had a wonderful service from him on my four different W220 models, and my w216 model too, before hand.

But he told me W215 owners are generally made unhappy by the ownership experience so he's certainly not somewhere to take your W215. He was quite rude to me when I dropped it off and I was left feeling pretty annoyed he let me take it to him before turning it away. Particularly as I had told him about all the work it needed.

I'd stick with Alexander Foti. I've seen his presence on this forum for the last 10 years and he has always been supportive and helpful to everyone generally, as well as being active in helping those with W215 models.

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

I should add that Alex Crow is a phenomenal mechanic, and I had a wonderful service from him on my four different W220 models, and my w216 model too, before hand.

But he told me W215 owners are generally made unhappy by the ownership experience so he's certainly not somewhere to take your W215. He was quite rude to me when I dropped it off and I was left feeling pretty annoyed he let me take it to him before turning it away. Particularly as I had told him about all the work it needed.

I'd stick with Alexander Foti. I've seen his presence on this forum for the last 10 years and he has always been supportive and helpful to everyone generally, as well as being active in helping those with W215 models.

I can kind of see Alex point. W215s are a nightmare. Parts are expensive, they not very nice to work on, are overly complicated, you touch one thing, something else breaks and for some reason, the people that own them arent so forgiving, patient or concilitory. That said, it comes with a Benz badge so you have to do your best with both car and customer where you can.

I was in his shoes a few weeks ago however and I returned a 129 that was riddled with an electrical issue that I was heomorraging time on using equipment that wasnt up to the job, mainly because I didnt have the old Bosch HHT that you need to read and operate the archaic tech that was on it. Hated having to make that call but it was in the interests of everyone. Alex probably felt the same.

 

[alexanderfoti]

"The people that own them arent so forgiving, patient or concilitory."

I find this with 215 owners, and Every Single GL and ML! If the people seem unreasonable or don't understand that we cannot be linked to every fault after we touch the car, then I decline the job.

 

[C16RKC]

I agree on all accounts, it is his decision what he wants to work on.

But it's not that simple.

After our phone call, he took the job on, and let me drop the car off to him, before then changing his mind the day I arrived with it (he is an hour and a half away from me so it is not a quick drop off). I am not stupid and was able to give him a list of faults before hand, so he knew going in that this was a very big project. It actually could have been a whole lot worse. But I had also told him there was no hurry, and that it was not a daily use car, so he could fit it in around other works.

From the minute I arrived he was negative and slightly aggressive. He told me there and then that I could only have the courtesy car for a day, and that I'd need to take collect the W215 later that afternoon; he's never done that to me before, and it was a nightmare to arrange with work at such short notice. If he had told me before hand he did not want me to take a courtesy car, I'd have got my wife to help me drop the car off; like I have done countless other times. But I also had to listen to him whine about how he did not like W215s, and that the owners are unhappy people; to be frank I don't give a flying rat what he thinks about W215 drivers. What has that got to do with anything?

I think he was too polite to turn the job down initially, because he had worked on my cars for so long, and perhaps felt a little obliged. But I think when I arrived that morning he was full of regret, and struggling to work out how he was going to get rid of me. He was incredibly rude to me, and got quite nasty when he asked where the service book was and I said that I could not remember if I had put it in the car or not. Oddly even though I told him I thought it was in the glove box, he clearly did not bother to look; because when I checked afterwards it was there, but he had not stamped it after he had serviced it. If he had not been so aggressive we could have checked there and then, and would have found it.

But what annoys me more having read the above, is that I have never reacted with anything but understanding when he has diagnosed issues for me, and I always pay promptly and in full, so there was no reason to think I would do anything but happily pay for the work he would do. I am no stranger to how expensive the bills can be on big cars, after all I have owned quite a few wrecks in my time. I spoke to Alex's mechanic when I collected the car, and he said the car would need over £1,000 spending on it, but probably not as much as £2,000 - that's hardly mega money in my book for this sort of car in the condition it is in.

So I whole heartedly respect his decision not to work on the car, but I think he went about deciding it in a very disrespectful way. I actually think he took full advantage of my polite and tolerant nature.

But at the same time, he had never been like that in the last 10 years of working on my other cars, so I also would not hesitate to recommend him. He is certainly a gifted mechanic, and I had always found him to be professional and polite before I took my W215 to him.

 

[C16RKC]

I was in his shoes a few weeks ago however and I returned a 129 that was riddled with an electrical issue that I was heomorraging time on using equipment that wasnt up to the job, mainly because I didnt have the old Bosch HHT that you need to read and operate the archaic tech that was on it. Hated having to make that call but it was in the interests of everyone. Alex probably felt the same.

This I can certainly agree with, if one finds a fault and thinks "I'm not in a position to fix this", then the best thing to do is admit it.

But sadly that's not the case here is it.