Rip Off Mercedes Oil Service !!!!

[romas7887]

Hello fellow merc owners.

I recently noticed a few trickles under my '03 E Class E270 w211 CDi. So I took it to a Mercedes dealer for an inspection. To my horror they quoted the following problems:

1. turbo oil leak
2. gear box oil leak
3. rear differential leak
4. worn steering knuckle points

Well they said all that needed to be done was replace some seals at £40. But they said it would take 23hrs work to sort the oil leak AT £3000. £3000 your having a giraffe I thought.

So my fellow merc owners pleaassse help. Does anyone know where I can get this work done at a sane price. I'll buy you lunch !!!!

thanks

 

[Blobcat]

£130 per hour now that really is going some.
I'm sure other members will come up with some inde garage recommendations.
How far out of warranty are you?

 

[romas7887]

warranty

damn warranty ended in june 07 !!!!

 

[Blobcat]

Well since it's only October 06 you have 8 months remaining. Unless it ran out in June 06 , if it did and you have a relationship with the dealer I would do a deal with them, suggest you pay for the parts and they pay for the labour.

 

[Parrot of Doom]

1. turbo oil leak
2. gear box oil leak
3. rear differential leak
4. worn steering knuckle points

I'd start by examining where each leak is coming from. For instance, on the turbo, it shoud be a relatively simple device to remove and to replace any seals. It may just be a leaky pipe, and not the turbo itself.

The gearbox oil leak, if its just a leaky gasket on the oil pan then it should be quite simple to replace. See here http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=16659&highlight=atf+change

Diff leak, thats probably just a weeping diff. I wouldn't worry too much unless its actually dripping noticeably. Mine does it, the diff on my TVR did it as well. Happens a lot, could just be a blocked breather.

Dunno about 4. My advice is to find a good local independant, there are plenty around, and get a realistic estimate. £3000 for those repairs is frankly a gigantic ripoff.

 

[Blobcat]

Steering knuckle joints are 1 hr per side and 0.3 hrs to take the wheels off. Total 2.3hrs - or that's what the MB system states.

 

[jberks]

Get yourself a decent indie.
23 hours work is crazy - it doesn't take that long to pull the engine out. I suspect they are doing the normal trick of working directly off the sheets, looking at whatever is allowed for each job. These tend to be loaded in favour of the workshop to allow for problems - if they don't find any they are quids in. We do the same thing when people ask for fixed price, you have to err on the side of caution and quote high to cover the risk, but generally you finish early and come out ahead.
In any case, 23 hours at an indie is around £1100 and I suspect you'd get a fair discount for that volume of work - if it's actually needed.

I was once quoted £500 by the dealer to sort the power steering on my Ford to get it through it's MOT. My local mechanic gave the pump a quick wipe and it passed the retest!
Never gave me any trouble.

 

[twickman]

I had a leak 2 years ago and the local Merc garage quoted me about 3500... I took advice on this forum and got the lot done for 1000 at a tranmission specialist. I can't help you with the specifics but please stick with this forum for the answers... good luck

Dave

Hello fellow merc owners.

I recently noticed a few trickles under my '03 E Class E270 w211 CDi. So I took it to a Mercedes dealer for an inspection. To my horror they quoted the following problems:

1. turbo oil leak
2. gear box oil leak
3. rear differential leak
4. worn steering knuckle points

Well they said all that needed to be done was replace some seals at £40. But they said it would take 23hrs work to sort the oil leak AT £3000. £3000 your having a giraffe I thought.

So my fellow merc owners pleaassse help. Does anyone know where I can get this work done at a sane price. I'll buy you lunch !!!!

thanks

 

[Flying Scot]

I'd start by examining where each leak is coming from. For instance, on the turbo, it shoud be a relatively simple device to remove and to replace any seals. It may just be a leaky pipe, and not the turbo itself.

turbo does not have 'traditional' seals - it gets a bit hot in the turbo for them - what it has are two little piston rings one on each side of the turbo shaft if they are leaking i would suspect excessive crankcase presure - blocked flame trap or something similar (fave fault on T5 Volvos) not a worn seal - the turbo oil supply and drain would i have thought be the most likely cause of the problem a loose connection being fave.

 

[OlafMaxwell]

My main dealer charges €80 an hour....23 hours makes that €1,840 plus Vat or €2,088.40 including VAT or about £1,400 for main dealer price. If you can include a trip to Ireland, to Waterford you could have a nice few days away. They are one hour from the Rosslare ferryport. her option is a good indie as suggested.

More than anything your experience highlights the need to get a full and thorough inspection done by someone independent before Mercedes warranties expire. I have little doubt these leaks etc were all apparent before the warranty expired in June but the dealer either failed to notice them or more likely simply ignored them and left them until you spotted them. There were many problems with the turbo on the 270cdi and I am aware of a number of people who had theirs replaced under warranty, particularly 03 and 04 models. If you have not done much mileage this would support this argument.

I threatened to go legal over this experience and MB caved in when I used the argument of incompetent dealers. They will not want this appearing in the press.