How Much Would Mercedes Charge to Fix My £900 eBay S-Class? (£1000 Luxobarge S1:EP3)
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- čas přidán 22. 08. 2024
- Episode 3 in the £1000 Luxobarge Series. I thought it would be interesting to see what a Mercedes main dealer would find wrong with my cheap W220 S Class and how much they would charge to get it fixed to their standards! The results are somewhat predictable...
Merc dealer would be proud to display your '02 plate; longevity and loyalty are the brand values. My '03 and '13 have never seen a stealer since I got 'em, but run so well that to part with either would be to send a pet to the pound... You're old enough to have one comfortable car, so man up and nestle in the old girl's leathery depths...
A couple of weeks ago I took my 1997 SL600 to our big MB dealer in my home city and it attracted a lot of attention. As I was standing at the parts counter I had random people come up to me asking me if it was for sale. Feels good man.
@@SchwarzeTulpe you are so fortunate to have that car I'm planning to make one out of an sl280 in a few years keep hold of yours !
With my mild dyslexia, I read that number plate as 'No Clue'.
SPOT ON THE
In the entire history of mankind; those security lug nuts have only been useful for locking the owner out and leaving him stranded by the side of the road
Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo true!
Problem with main dealers is they are part replacer’s, they don’t repair cars!.....they diagnose a fault, then change every part pertaining to it, not the single culprit! Buy the parts from a main dealer if the car warrants this!, then get a trusted specialist to put them on.
True, but it's the same with every garage now.... just replace parts... they never repair anything... the day of the proper mechanic is gone
Nope! Quite happy with it!!
@@lewisbrown51 generally yes. but my tech is a true proper mechanic.
Problem with apostrophes is they can represent abbreviations or indicate 'belonging to', whilst many people think they represent multiples. What's really annoying is I put all that effort into learning how to correctly use the apostrophe and it turns out it doesn't fuck'ing matt'er!
@@K1lostream 🤣🤣🤣
Maybe you should have place the car in a “service position” when removing the wheel…that’s why maybe it went back flat
There is no service position.
True,not all cars can be lift just like that
Mercedes dealer: numerous minor and semi major faults are detected
Jack: The Merc drives comfortable and is MOT safe so why bother 😃
Main stealers don’t repair - they replace. Not mechanics, only fitters.
@@dizzy2020 I too speak from experience and knowledge of main dealer operations.
A quality mechanic will invariably branch out on their own and give the customer what they want not what stealership accountants and shareholders demand.
@@modmod392 some of those independent brand specialists know how to charge too. In some cases they’re sometimes not much cheaper than dealers for routine stuff like servicing. They’re a better bet though for fault finding especially on older cars.
@@samcourt6228 totally agree
@@dizzy2020 do MB dealers discount for older cars? BMW have their value service for stuff from four years which drops the price considerably for routine work and gets pretty close to the local indy. I guess the kicker is when there is additional stuff that needs doing and you get stung for main dealer labour rates.
Unfortunately true, main dealers may well have skilled technicians, but the ethos will always be to change as many parts as possible to make as much money as they can out of the customer. My opinion is based on long term experience and that of others.
Re the 'air injection pump', I presume they're talking about the secondary air pump aka 'smog pump'. Firstly, you don't really need to replace this at all, it's just for emissions on cold start. Even if you do replace, although the OE Bosch pump is quite expensive (although I can't see how they get >£1000 to replace that), you can buy a chinese version for
Thanks for the info!!
I also presume it is an sai and simple fix is just to pull the relay out (especially if it's failed and sounds like a hoover due to the casing separating).
Interesting report. To be fair, I have an invoice from Mercedes for £5500 on a Smart Roadster, so doesn't seem too bad on an S Class that was originally 9x the price!
Jack did you put the car in Jack Mode before lifting the car?! If not that will be the error. The W220 doesn't have a button to put is in jack mode, so a trick is too leave the hood or a door open and this way the car will keep the strut charged as a safety procedure.
Agreed
Yeah I wondered if that was the problem. My car (not a Mercedes) has air suspension and I was told to put it in jack mode before a tyre fitter would jack it up to remove the wheel
That is so clever.
Thank you Inacio, that’s great to know and I’ll try it next time!!
@@Number27 you welcome.
With regard to the air suspension, is there no pre-jacking procedure for "locking" the air units and preventing excessive droop during work? On at least 3-4 cars I've had with air suspension they've had a service/tyre change mode which if you failed to follow would show the types of faults you observed. Worth paging thru the manual ...
Yeah, my feeling is with a finicky suspension setup like this, you can't just jack it up and lower it back down and it not freak out the computer.
This was my first thought and I don't know anything about cars
This, I think jack torgot to put in “jack” mode
You can just jack them up I own one and have never had any issues doing this the only cars I know that you have to put in service mode are Tesla and land rover
Do t think there is a specific procedure with these cars!!
That would be a good episode taking the merc to a german cars specialist to see the difference in price and or criteria.
Some German indies charge as much as the main dealers.
@@1701_FyldeFlyer But they tend to know what they're doing .
Find a garage that repairs Taxis
Mercs are just German Taxies. This is just a posh trim version.😁. And remember if a for hire vehicle is off road its not earning and if its not right then theres legal hell to pay.
What a great way to have your car fully inspected and have a list of faults and parts that need replacing or attention!
Was there a cost involved in that or is that a free inspection and quote for work?
That’s not bad for a main dealer, wonder what a specialist would make of it.
My thought exactly!
Looking forward to this progress, I bet a lot of this can be sorted quite cost effectively over a period of time.
Check the hand book on changing a wheel.
Some air suspension cars need either to be lifted on all 4 corners at the same time, or have the boot open with the hazard warning lights on to change a puncture.
The part with having to have the boot open sounds pretty logical. It's sort of a message to the computer that the changing of the wheel is a emergency procedure (side of the road changing of a punctured tyre) and that the computer should ignore any signals from the suspension-sensors that there is something wrong with the suspension.
Yeah I was thinking the same thing. Teh air suspension may need to go through a self levelling cycle after you jack one corner. May be fine.
@@ibast1 Could be that the system usually monitors the total air-level of the whole system, triggering the "emergency-signal" makes it check each corner seperately. From Mercedes-perspective that would be a huge moneymaker if the procedure is ignored.
I was thinking the boot thing was bs 🤣
@@tomf4547 That's how Range Rovers are, tailgate open, hazards on.
This has become one of my favourite car channels. 👍
Thank you!!
@@Number27 Honestly pal top quality viewing. I can imagine it takes an age to do and edit these videos. I also Like how you experiment with figuring things out and will try and do it yourself before heading to a garage. Its entertaining and very interesting. Look forward to the next one. 👍
@@Number27 was absolutely chuffed for you when you figured out the coil problem.
Great stuff Jack, liking this series as much as the 308!
This barge content is pure gold. I have a Swedish barge, Ulrika, and she has a terrible drink problem.
lol, all Swedes have a drink problem! Even my Volvo 66 is a bit of a drinker and only prefers the dear stuff (99 RON). I bet Ulrika is a bit of a good time gal though?
@@doktoruzo She goes like a barn door in a gale.
@@enzodisciullo2557 . Ha,ha ! Like most Swedish birds
Nice video. Entertaining and informative. All common sense suggestions and the price quote was far lower than what I thought they would be asking for. Would be interesting to see if a good sorted version of this car would be the repair price plus the original purchase price of this car. Looking forward to the next episode. Keep up the good work.
As a Merc owner Ive found dealerships have a set time for doing the job, this doesn't mean they will take that amount of time, i.e. Book says 1.5 hrs but technician takes 45 mins. I have a very good man in North London who does what's needed and charges for the time he takes, never a worry for me.
There won't be any S classes left on ebay, after everyone watches your series of videos. I'm really enjoying this so far. Thank you.
Now, immediately go to the nearest breakers yard and purchase four normal MB wheel nuts. Then take that security adapter, and the four corresponding nuts and throw them as far as you can, preferably in different directions! Invention of the devil, in my books.....
My 2001 Lincoln has rear air suspension using bags similar to this Mercedes. Before the car is lifted, I must toggle a switch in the trunk ('boot') that disables the system and basically locks-in the pressures in the bags. If I fail to do that, when I put the car back on the ground the rear suspension is totally collapsed. Luckily, both times I have forgotten the switch the car did haul itself back up to normal height. But that did not happen immediately; it was several minutes of stressful waiting. I think your car may have a similar arrangement.
As for the cracks in the bags, I would be very surprised if they could leak without failing completely due to the high pressures involved. The original bags in my car were still functional at ~130k miles, but they also had fairly deep cracks in the folds. I replaced them with heavy-duty Arnott bags, which cost $100 apiece. The replacement was a bit of a pain, of course; suspension work always is.
Thanks Michael! Will find out about the lifting procedure if there is one!
Great video and interesting to see the cost at Mercedes to bring a car like this back to nearly perfect. I had a 1999 Mercedes E class until a few years ago and it was still running great, but with only 80,000 on the clock. A simple thing for the headlights to make a big difference, is to smear them with Mothers Metal and Mag polish and then give them a good rubbing, preferably with a buffer and only takes a few minutes. Wiper blade from Halfords or the pound shop and that's a bit of money saved haha.
I've used the headlight polishes and they do a good job if the lenses are not too far gone. In places like Florida they deteriorate so badly you have little choice but to replace them. Fortunately, most Floridians are so old they no longer drive after dark.
I think you got a good deal there, Jack. I was honestly thinking five figures and not four, on that estimate. Great car to just run into the ground and spend the bare minimum on.
Full marks to Oxford Merc for parking the car at the front of the dealership.
Regarding the propshaft coupling, a lot of times they actually look fine at first, no visible cracks on the rubber, but the wear is usually around where the bolts go, and it is only noticeable once taken off.
Hi. I have owned and driven my merc s320 for 200,000 km and have gone through most if not all of the issues. For the airmatic issue, please consider changing the "height level sensor" at the driver side front tyre as a cheap fix before deciding to change the strut since it appears the strut is fine. There is a "height level sensor" for each of the front tyres. But there is only 1 sensor located for the rear wheels and this is located at the rear axle central position - you might want to make sure that sensor is secure and not loose. It can become loose and you must secure it otherwise it can cause your rear suspension to drop. As for the rear prop shift coupling change, i think you would be able to manage it as a DIY but you should raise the car on all four tyres in future to do any work under the car. This will avoid loading the weight of the car on less than 4 old air struts which could then cause a leak.
spill the beans, how much was that diag. at merc ?, my guess £160.
suspension got confused with u fannying on with wheel off, reset itself when car saw correct signals from OSF height sensor. there will be a "jack mode" setup in car software somewhere to prevent repeat
i work at a main stealer, thought they did well, but were u recognised off the telly, so getting "special" treatment?
splits in rubber doughnuts usually start around bolts, in a circular pattern, so worth another look
keep the good content coming, onwards + upwards!
£122 dod diag!!
@@Number27 good price, must be your boyish good looks.....
You should take the list to a back street merc specialist for a revised quote and get it all done. I'm guessing less than a grand. (£)
Looking at it from a purely economic perspective -- the £900 that you spent on the car already is irrelevant. From an investment perspective it's a sunk cost. It's gone. All that is important is the future investment (what MB suggested) and the return (what you can sell the car for). For example, if you bought the Porsche GT3 from your brother for £9, does that mean that you'd never consider investing more than maybe £50 in the car? Of course not! As a wise flipper, you'll invest what you need to in order to maximize the value of the car when selling it.
The concept of the purchase price defining what you'll invest in a car is curiously common, but economically silly.
This is absolutely logical. The low cost a a former high value car requiring apparently (not always actually) expensive repairs includes a discount that in a perfect market allows the cost of those repairs against the value of a car of the same age and condition not needing any obvious repairs. Of course, markets involving humans reflect our psychological biases so it is never quite so neat as that. The key point is that the purchase price being very low is not an indicator that a car is not worth repairing, it is often an (approximate) indicator of the anticipated cost of repairs. Assessing what is good about the car is obviously what helps with a decision on purchase - a mechanically repaired car with a ratty interior and terrible paint is not going to make sense.
At 7:00 I would buy the parts and have a go at fitting them myself, them get a local garage to fit the rest. Most of the parts do not sound expensive 🤔 while the fitting times indicate that most of the quote is for labour charges. 😱 Rear brake pads; lower ball joints; transmission oil filter and pilot bush. Rear propshaft coupling. At 8:00 buy the oil pressure switch and see if replacement fixes the engine fault. 😎 Then enjoy wafting along until you start another project. 😀
I had the CL55 with hydraulic suspension. Very similar. When you jack it the wheel over centres its sensor. When back on the ground, re start and it will then re set. I drove for 3 years with ABC valves faulty which lock and hold the height on turning key off. It slowly sank after a day. So long as it jumps right up on start it will keep going. Vibration will definitely be the rubber Guido joint. Febi do them about 40 quid. An hours work and fixes it.change gearbox rubber bush at the same time. It's a world of difference !
So glad you shared your experience of taking an oldish girl for a health check. Ying and yang when it comes to should you spend the money or not and make a profit.
As you said earlier, your not about keepers unless it’s special, so maybe fix the fixable and let someone else carry the Baton. 👍🏻
Methinks we have a budding British Hoovey in the making. Now to find an equivalent wizard😊
It would be really interesting to see how much a mercedes specialist would charge to do the exact same work, as a comparison to main dealer cost.
If only the repair costs depreciated at the same rate as the vehicle! I agree with the other comments here:
1) Not bad at all for a main dealer. Looks like they gave it a decent going over.
2) Yes, it'd be interesting to see what a decent independent specialist would make of it. They can do a lot of cost saving things that a tech at a MB dealer wouldn't be allowed to do.
The air injection pump is for reducing emissions on cold start, it doesn't do anything once the engine warms up, it may fail a cold start emissions test but it has zero effect on normal engine operation. I own a 2002 C240 with a 2.6lt V6 similar to yours, mine had the same fault code, turned out to just be a bad electrical connection on the air pump, fixed the connection and no more fault code so check that first, just remove the front engine plastic cover and the air pump is at the front centre of the engine and its very easy to access, good luck with it.
It would be interesting to take it to a Mercedes specialist and see what they say and price accordingly.....
Seconded.
That be great!
@@waynepantry7023 I think he meant an independent specialist …
@@waynepantry7023 Mercedes specialist as apposed to a Mercedes Main dealer. Their labour prices are considerably cheaper in general.
considering its age i actually don't think that was too bad haha. i would've expected10k+ they're such beautiful machines. used to have a W140 and even my mechanic told me to junk it as it was just not worth repairing anymore when the fuel economy when 20L every 100km on HIGHWAY!. it had done 340,000 kms on it, time was up on it. still hands down best car i've ever driven.
A German car I had about 14 years ago needed a side light bulb, hellfrauds didn’t have the correct tool for getting the light module out and I had nothing I could improvise with either … off to the main stealer.
1.5 hours later I had a bill for £28 for a bulb and three pages of report telling me my 3 year old car required £3600 of work …. I took the car and the list to an independent specialist who looked at the report point by point. Nothing wrong.
In decades of main stealer interactions I’ve had one good experience and more bad experiences than I care to remember. There seems to be a culture of seeing any sign of wear and tear equalling mandatory replacement. Common sense goes out of the window if the “computer says no” … can’t wait for the high voltage milkfloats in 9 years time!
Just to give a counter to that viewpoint.
Back in 2010 I bought an ‘04 C180K Estate with 20k miles on it. Nice one owner car and introduced me to the delights of waftomatic Mercedes driving.
3 months into the pride of ownership some oik ripped the Mercedes star off the bonnet (hood for our American readers). It was one of the last cars that didn’t give a hoot about pedestrian safety - don’t walk in the road is my advice. I thought this has to be a bagload of cash from a main dealer. Imagine my surprise when the service desk operative said that will be £25 fitted. I could have hugged them.
So it’s not all doom and gloom. They are expensive, but you are buying a quality car. Like all things it may well drop out of the main dealer service regime after a good few years, but my current Mercedes is spannered by a main dealer and I find them professional and helpful. Yes I could get it cheaper if I shopped around. But trust is a marvellous thing - I have faith and trust. Let’s hope it stays that way 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻.
So for all you Mercedes sales people and service team, I salute you. Don’t think the world is against you.
I recall one occasion with my Audi, it was at the dealer for something and the service girl when handing the car back stated I needed new wiper blades as they were smearing. Thing was, I had replaced them myself but 3 weeks previously with a new pair purchased at that very dealer. She had a face like a smacked arse when I enlightened her. Still, she was hot, so I wouldn't have minded giving her a spanked.... ahem.
@@thepub245 yep that was my experience with a garage run by the four hoopsmen of the apocalypse…. Except it was a bloke with a beard. 18.5k car with 3.5k of non existent defects. And smacking his Harris wasn’t anything I wanted to do!
The funny thing was there was an issue with the dashpod binnacle. I rang the helpline and explained i had only had the car 3 months, tried to book it in for a warranty replacement as it was a known issue. The main stealer tried to charge me £90 for a diagnostic test to tell me what I knew and £900 for the dashpod (dealer reduced price from £1300).His jaw dropped when I pulled out a 2p post it note with a helpline ladies phone number and reference code which meant it was free.
The “courtesy car” was a 1.9tdi A3 hatchback in pov spec with moonbuggy tyres and more plastic wood trim than you could shake a walking stick at. Having then dropped the bombshell it was going to be free, name dropped that I was working on a project for Kate Moss my courtesy car when they did the dashpod was a fully loaded A4 s-line with 56 miles on it.
Dealers are no different to the Arthur Daley’s of the world, more front than Brighton but if you play them at their own game you sometimes come out even!
@@spunkbubble1 Absolutely my friend, it doesn't pay to be gullible!
@@spunkbubble1 Yes and come to think of it, its all gone quiet on the diesel compo thing too. 🤔
I hear people ragging on Mercedes, saying they don't make them like they used to, etc. But every one that I've seen has held up well for all its years on the road. My wife has had three over the last 21 years and they've all given her great service and reliability. I'm starting to feel like your investment in this one may turn into one of your video stars...as well has giving you some great entertainment and driving experiences.
Most people who say that are the ones claiming the older ones lasted for years and years when in reality yes they did but they still needed to be repaired and back then when u bought something u kept it for years where as now it’s a throw away society but when u was a kid it was unheard of a car going 100k miles without needing anything (apart from a service) now pretty much every car goes that far without a problem
Suspension sounds fine. They don’t take well to just having a Jack shoved under one corner and jacked up. Much of what is listed there is DIY to a competent mechanic.
Some of the older Mercedes (avoiding the W210 like the plague) are really well put together. Where Mercedes upset me is when I came to service an SL350 (2014) - they quoted changing the 6 Bosch Iridium spark plugs at £350. The car had done 30k miles and an iridium spark plug is good for nearly 100k. The plugs from Bosch are £10 each and are as easy as any plug to change. It was listed as “optional” so I declined it (on environmental grounds as much as anything). Mercedes said “That’s fine but you’ll lose your Mercedes breakdown cover if you don’t have it done”. It was at that point I stopped buying new or recent Mercedes and stopped using main dealers. On the whole I prefer not to be blackmailed 😉 As with others, it would be great to see what a non-franchise specialist would charge though maybe not fair if you have no intention of getting them to do the work.
But would you leave the spark plugs in for 100k tho I’d be wanting to change them at 40k for peace of mind
@@bmwman1981 Spark plugs are now good for 100k. Changing them for "peace of mind" is like clapping your hands to keep away the elephants.
@@terry94131 you’ll not be saying that when they are seized in when you do change them like I have seen
@@bmwman1981 I would not be changing them at 40k, no. I’d either change them at 100k or at a point when the performance or emissions suggested it was time. What particularly upset me with this particular car is that Mercedes made such a fuss about the spark plugs but didn’t update the Sat Nav (whilst it was still in warranty/free update) “because I didn’t ask” and then wanted to charge me £100 to do it. It’s cynical. In positive news, I now run older Mercedes (currently a S212 E250 Estate) which are great value and I can use specialists with none of the Mercedes franchise nonsense.
I replaced all four airbags on my GL, on the drive, Jack. Not as easy to do as other people on CZcams suggested but absolutely doable by an amateur. Buy Arnott replacements over OEM versions.
Potentially harder to do if the fronts have the electronically adjustable dampers too because they are integral with the front strut and I couldn't find a plug to allow me to separate the whole assembly from the rest of the car, so I had to perform the spring replacement within the wheel arches.
The rears were dead easy.
It is normal for the car to drop on one side once it has been jacked up then lowered to the ground. Because the gap between the road wheel and body increases the car thinks it is riding too high and exhaust the air from the strut. I am surprised you didn't have this symptom on all four wheels when you lowered the car down off the hoist. When I was working with these cars at Mercedes Benz, I always had to start the engine so the car would raise so I could remove the hoist arms from under the car after I had it up on the hoist. Cheers enjoyed the Video. Now you can take the car to an independent workshop who will let you know what and what not to worry about. I would suggest the tail shaft coupling be looked at to see how bad it really is. Love what you post, good work!
Apart from the rust, you’ve got a proper merc.
My brother hated his GLC 43 AMG that much for shocking build and crap gearbox he sold it back to them after 2 months.
So little really wrong, not a bad bill for a Mercedes main dealer especially for the essential repairs. You definitely bought yourself a truly excellent car.
Hi. I bought a 2002 S320 with 183k km in March. As far as I've understood water in the Airmatic system can get in because the rubber pipe between the compressor's air filter and the compressor perishes and splits.This can let water in, which can damage the compressor but also the solenoid valves in the air distribution valve block. Mine's at an independent Mercedes specialist right now for a similar issue and I'm waiting for their verdict...
Oh, I'm so ready for a laugh with this... bring it on!
Thats not nice .....Wont sub you.
@@gazzertrn in an expectant way nothing more, good content and not that bad, still looks good for the money.
@@Lot76CARS yeah but lotta money too fix
@@gazzertrn I think some eBay used parts and free labour he’ll have it fixed, after the Ferrari will be a walk in the park for Jack
@@Lot76CARS by the way i did sub your site its rather good .
Great video, Jack.
My dad has the facelift 2005 S350, W220. It's had a few issues, but overall a great tank.
Good luck with bringing that baby to nice shape. We should appreciate cars from those days way more. Take care.
£5,400. Just for Chuckles & Giggles, go back and ask for a quote on moving the Steering Wheel over to the proper side of the Car.
😂🤣😂🤣 Cheers Mate!
Been watching for a while but never commented. Can I just say: credit to you for tackling a track rod and end, AND having it run straight afterwards.
Cheers Richard and thanks for watching!!
Surprised it's not worse. Main dealers do have your trousers down. Great vid
Great video as always, looks like you got a good car for the money, could of been alot worse ☺️ If you can rebuild a Ferrari Engine then the work on the Merc will be childs play 👍
I have an Audi A6 with air suspension. I've been through so much trouble with the system, and replaced all four air springs. Your issue is mostly likely simply because you jacked the car up. When the car is raised, the vehicle thinks the car is too high, and it releases air out in order to drop it back down to correct height. Obviously it was jacked up so it kept releasing air until there was nothing else to release. When you dropped it back down, there was no air left. By the time you started it again, it realised it was way too low and threw up its arms and asked for help. All it needed to do was reinflate itself but it didn't realise that until you reset the code.
@number27, I had the same car for similar price. Had all the Airmatic issues and replaced struts with replacements from Arnotts. Before you lift the car you ned to know the proper process otherwise you get the same issue you had with the struts that were lifted not being reinflated immediately.
Listen out for a noisy air compressor.
Great video, the cylinder shut off system on these cars was called ZAS it was an optional extra from factory to shut down 4 cylinders on the S500 .
Your front left airbag leaked because when you jacked it up, it stretched the rubber airbag out further than it has usually been flexing whilst driving along. And thus let all the air out! The airbags 'roll' inside of themselves like one of those kiddies snake toy things, thus often the leaky bit is hidden inside and sealing against it self.
That is a pretty decent report. The price tag, however, is worth a few thoughts..
Quite interested in what & how this car turns out to be!
Side note: Took the car to the local dealership shortly after it got into my possession. Paid like 25 quids or so.
They listed ABS outage, Airbag failures, a rusty steering shaft, a cracked battery tray, a badly corroded oil sump. Their generous offer to replace the oil sump, valve cover gasket and the oil was around 450 Pounds.
I declined the offer - had no money that much, to be honest.
When I first brought my car to the mechanic back then, he was cussing continuously at them. Some of the stuff they listed (pulleys rusted, steering shaft corroded, battery tray cracked, in need of replacement) was either not crucial OR existent.
Years later:
- battery swapped, old one died in the winter. no fault codes - modular may be present, have no access to those
- oil sump replaced - it was corroded AND dented (I did not cause that)
- battery tray cleaned up, clamp painted (DIY) - no cracks present
- car passed overseas MOT with flying colors - examiner had no objections
In the end I paid like ~350 Pounds for the sump and the valve cover gasket to be replaced, with all fluids changed.
So one could take it to the dealers and yes, they do replace stuff ... but take it with a grain of salt.
The reason the suspension went down was because you took it from its level and it let's air out and then resumes to auto level
Didn’t do it other times it’s been up on the air though?
A used W220 era Benz reminds me of Christmas - loads of Christmas tree lights all across the dashboard! :-)
Don't forget - Mercedes are not going to tell their customers "We took the air valve out and gave it a bit of a blow-through with the WD40. Give it a go and see what happens". Mercedes are going to fix ze car! Immediately!
I love this content Jack! Keep it coming buddy😃👍
Thanks buddy!!
Blimey!!!!!!!!!!!!! Expensive buddy, but fair play to them for going through it all. A super interesting story all of this regarding the merc. Actually lots of positives too with the report, thankyou so much mate i love this channel 😊🌈 Andrew
Ah thanks Andrew, great to hear you’re liking the content!
The first part was interesting, replacing the track rod.
The second parts been done so many times on other channels and it still doesn't get any less annoying.
Nobody buys a 900 quid S class then has it fixed at MB main dealer by shelling out 6 grand.
Who'd trust a MB main dealer anyway, they couldn't diagnose the air suspension issue and are simply interested in replacing parts and racking up huge bills.
Enjoy it for what it is, fix what you can and live with the warning lights. You're smoking round in a 60k motor for less than a grand, proper VFM in my book 👍
Looks to me to be a pretty fair total quote for a M Benz, original parts and a dealer price. keeping in mind what´s involved,
Labour and parts sure wont get any cheaper just because the car is old and was cheap to buy.
But most, if not all something you wont have problem with sorting out yourself and also save on aftermarked parts when available.
Are aftermarket parts not a false economy though? Apparently they are not as durable as OEM and can even impact on safety in the event of a collision.
@@thepub245 not secessarily. Most car manufacturers do buy a lot of parts from other manufacturers so you can find many parts much cheaper under the brand name of the parts manufacturer. Only difference in that case is the brand name on the packing. The part is the same.
Brake parts, electric parts to name some.
Also there is lot of aftermarket manufacturers out there offering wery good product.
I´ve never had any aftermarket parts that I would consider would comprimise safety but for sure there are also parts out there lower in quality and thus maybe not economical to buy as they may not last as long.
That air suspension warning did happen because You did lift that right front corner. It happens always when changing tires and goes away after waiting a minute after start.
On the suspension matter, those airmatics always lose air when jacked up, somehow the valves are releasing the air so all the weight doesn’t push on that strut. Just start the car and set up the suspension on the higher setting and will level itself
The car is a good one for age and mileage. Good buying Jack. The rust on the wheel arch is worth doing then as you said. Nice comfortable reliable daily driver. Excellent.
What a great video! I had a friend who bought one of these with air suspension. You can image what the costs were to refresh the suspension from the MB dealer!
I would check the lines to the struts at the pump. As I recall they have o-rings and they can leak. If not there check all along the line. You also jacked it up without putting it in service mode as far as I could tell.
The reason the strut went down was because you jacked it up without telling the car, so it tried to level itself. You lowered it and it confused the system.
Looking through the MOT history on an old car is always interesting and a potential clue to how well looked after by previous owners. Yours looks good! Interesting to see it was couple of months late for the 2013 and 2014 MOTs …….. forgot or pushing their luck maybe? However worth checking the rear brake pipe picked up in this years advisories. Everything else mentioned you have covered I think.
The fact that you are willing to.drive.70 mph in a £900 car is the most gutsy thing.
If you can troubleshoot and fix a 308, this should be a piece of cake.
I have a Citroen C5 with the hidropneumatic suspension. Its not exactly the same as your car, but it also auto levels.
When you are changing a tire, the procedure is to first set the height to the highest position because if you don't, the car will try to go down as you are jacking it up, because it thinks the car is too high. It measures height based on the position of the roll-bar.
Your car probably deflated the front right strut while it was hanging loose because it thought it was too high.
I think you can shave this bill in 1/2 by doing some DIY and the more difficult ones done by an independent garage. All parts, especially steering tie rods, ball joints, should be Mercedes OEM if possible. This car is worth a lot more than 900 quid, even though the market says otherwise. Pretty sure once it's all done you can sell it for at least 1500-2000 quid.
After owning 2 SL’s and using main dealers I learnt that the red boxes are likely to be needed within 12-18 months !
Great episode, Jack. What impresses me most is how much car you actually got for your 800 - correction - 900 quid....Hoovie, man -are you taking notes sir?!
On some cars with air suspension , you have to set the system into a certain mode before you can jack it up. It tends to mess up the height sensor setting.
Excellent result. No surprise that the price is high but it all helps with the overall strategy. Interesting …..
Car needs to be put in jack service mode through instrument menu and steering wheel buttons
Love your videos, Jack! Take the 308 out to get some tacos and do a review!
Great video as always Jack. The Merc is certainly different, and a "diverse" choice, and a great watch. It's sad that "on paper" it costs so much to fix at Mercedes but it'll be a good watch as you fix it urself. For those of who aren't so good at spanner work, the costs would be scary!
Look forward to seeing the next one,, I think the car suits you. You look very comfy! Ben 🚍🚌🙏
Air leak could be from valve block, not necessarily the strut. There is also a level sensor behind the wheel, if you accidentally moved this it could have deflated strut to compensate for it thinking the car is sitting too high
I’ve decided I quite like this idea. Buy an old cool car (for cheap) and see what’s wrong. Much more relatable than buying a Ferrari/Porsche/Lotus (although still v entertaining!)
Yes but always avoid bad bodywork and rust. Then it becomes a money pit
It certainly has given you back more than you expected. Very interesting episode. Would be good to know what an independent would charge.
The strut may not be leaking. It may be you just confused it by jacking up one corner. It may need to go through a levelling process after you do that.
If it eventually does prove to be failing you have a few options. Some people are rebuilding these. Also, you can reputable aftermarket brands. And lastly you can go new Merc. The replacement itself is not a big job. I'd replace in pairs.
For mine, mechanically, I'd replace that oil pressure switch myself and maybe look at the prop shaft. And I'd put both ball joints on a to do list.
As you said - to be fair MB just doing their job. They don't inspect with a view to "what's the cheapest option" but "what needs to be done" ( erring on the attitude of "on the safe side to make sure it doesn't fail in the next month"). Porsche is even more breathtaking - I never had my Boxster inspected without leaving the dealership £5,000 lighter...every time, time after time!
That's a great video ! For me, safety, then reliability, then whether I would get even 50% back on a repair if I sold the car would my decision tree. The report from the dealership looks pretty comprehensive. Very weird that the air suspension fixed itself. But great that it did !
Weird indeed.. some say it’s just that jacking it confused it! Seems absolutely fine now!
After watching to end, not as bad as I thought.Spending £6000 or £7000 for such a beautiful and exclusive piece of kit that would be mechanically sound isn't a bad proposition in my book.
Jack The donut (guibo joint) on the drive shaft could be suspect despite "looking" fine. Experience with big BMWs suggest replacing this and ensuring you don't misalign or unclock the mating ends when it's all apart. Otherwise more wobbling ensues. Cheers!
Thanks Judi! Will look into it!
Not too bad in my opinion, as a previous w220 owner. I was expecting more like 10.000. I guess it would be more like 10k if you would take care of all the problems (at the dealer). Mine was in great shape, always maintained at Merc dealer and it still took about 2000 Canadian dollars every year to maintain its state. People are always trying to give the impression, and I am not talking about you, that it is not that expensive to maintain such a car in perfect shape. This is only true if you are OK with it not driving and looking like a Merc S-class. Meaning: flawless! And I am just not OK with that personally. Still a great car (mechanically and driving-wise, at least). Quality-wise...mmmhhhh...not so great. The switches, plastics in many parts of the interior and other quality aspects of the car are simply awful compared to previous S-classes. Those were not cheaper either to maintain btw.
Yes such a shame some of the details and plastics are so cheap. It does drive beautifully!
@@Number27 Agreed. I really enjoyed driving it for many years, despite the costs. Drives like a big 190e (w201) in my opinion (having owned and loved one for a long time way before). And mechanically it is indeed a reliable car capable of 200k plus kilometers. Enjoy it! For just a couple of thousands you can't go wrong.
Congratulations on your New Buggy Jack! I'm assuming it would be in line with my 2002 Jaguar. lol Best of luck going forward with your new Mercedes S Class, I look forward to going on another journey with you!
Stay Well my friend. ❤🙏❤
Enjoy your Jag Larry!!
Jack, like dealers from all brands, they could well afford to give you a car for free then make a handsome profit off all the services. That to a great degree is the "fixed price servicing" deal with new cars is all about. You end up paying hundreds of dollars for an oil filter, 6 litres of oil and quarter hour of the workshop apprentices time.
😄😁 yep .. thank for watching Gary!
Great follow-up vid Jack. To be honest, that estimate really surprised me. I thought it would be much more than that. You seem to have struck lucky with this baby. Sure there are things to monitor/fix, but it's 20 yrs old.
Overall not bad at all👍. Have a look if there is a rebuild kit for the air compressor. I did the unit on FIL’s RR sport. Includes the filter and new desiccant absorption granules, seals etc.. Cost about £70
My dad got his Mercedes from their a few years ago brand new . He said they are bloody useless in the service department when his had a problem and ended up taking it to Mercedes in Aylesbury