BIL's 2012 S550 Mercedes Repair Bill

[ls1mike]

Originally Posted by Kjmack
The cost is all relative , if you're driving a car in your financial means the cost is the same for a guy driving s 8 year old beater Ford as it is for a guy driving a Mercedes . kind of like the price of a house a poor guy says wow what a waste of money the rich guy is well that's what a nice house cost . My father always had a nice Mercedes , I never heard him complain about the cost of ownership , why ? He could afford it .


You are right, but in this case I make more money than him and you see what I drive. Could I afford it? Probably. I don't want one.
Not everyone who makes enough money to buy a luxury import wants one. I have heard that from friends time and time again.

"Mike why don't you get a (insert Lexus/BMW/Mercedes here)" Because I don't want one.

"But I thought you were a car guy? " I am. I like to tinker with stuff that is relatively easy to maintain and upgrade.

When they gave him the estimate he thought about getting rid of it until they gave him a deal on the labor. I don't see it staying too much longer as they have some sort of Mercedes SUV they bought used too and he is worried about that one now also.

 

[Kjmack]

Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
The German cars are beautiful, but crazy expensive in every way.
Reliability is suspect at best. Total cost of ownership is insane.

I used to hate Hondas and Toyotas; the early ones were throw away cars.
I help a lotta people with their cars and help people get cars.

Hondas and Toyotas all the way.
Oh yeah, our new Tesla Model 3 motor has 2 moving parts, as I understand it.

MB is a status symbol; not something I am interested in.
Every study shows Lexus is superior.
In the end, it's your $$; buy what you like.

I totally agree Lexus is a great car and will probably out last a gas Benz easily with less repair costs , look at the resale vs Benz .Not even close

 

[4WD]

Same here … some that I mentioned work for me … they like the handling and image … I just keep doing LT's and full sized SUV's … prefer some ground clearance and ride height … light towing … More basic kit …

 

[RooflessVW]

I get that you feel superior because of your LS-powered 'Murican cars, but don't act like happened to your BIL's car is a common occurrence. Yes, it is something that can happen, but it is not common.

Just like GM's AFM issues or their ignition cylinder that killed a few people, or their numerous other design failures over the years. How's the Corvette's cooling system? Did they ever get that figured out?

Yes, European cars can cost more to maintain, but they also typically have more features and by their very nature are more complex. People often balk at having to replace S-Class or 7er suspension bushes regularly, but they don't have any complaints about the compliant yet competent handling.

I wonder if a 170,000 mile '03 'Vette would have been more reliable than my Carrera. I doubt it.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Originally Posted by Kjmack
Alot like location in housing , California real estate is probably five times higher than Michigan sure the weather is nicer but it's still a house. do people make five times as much money in California as Michigan for most jobs I doubt it so does it justify to live in California for better weather it's up to the individual.

I see your point, but cars are depreciating assets while houses tend to be appreciating assets.
Basic finance says to invest into appreciating assets and to minimize spending on depreciating assets.
Where else besides Silicon Valley can you make so much $$ on a real estate investment? Or any investment?
If you are talking salary, then yes, people don't make 5 times more than a comparable job in Michigan.
But if you bought a house here anytime in past 50 years, you are looking pretty good.

Having said that, it has gotten pretty ridiculous, depending on if you are buying or selling.
I am in the process of selling my folk's home in Sunnyvale, near the Apple Spaceship.
They paid $28K when the house was built (1600 sq ft) in 1969 which was a lot of money at the time; it will sell in less than a week for about $1.8M; probably more.
FYI, prices are down from last summer's peak. But heck of an investment.

Personally, while it is certainly nice to have this equity, but when teachers and police officers cannot afford to live where they work, something is wrong.
Just my opinion...

 

[ls1mike]

Originally Posted by rooflessVW
I get that you feel superior because of your LS-powered 'Murican cars, but don't act like happened to your BIL's car is a common occurrence. Yes, it is something that can happen, but it is not common.

Just like GM's AFM issues or their ignition cylinder that killed a few people, or their numerous other design failures over the years. How's the Corvette's cooling system? Did they ever get that figured out?

Yes, European cars can cost more to maintain, but they also typically have more features and by their very nature are more complex. People often balk at having to replace S-Class or 7er suspension bushes regularly, but they don't have any complaints about the compliant yet competent handling.

I wonder if a 170,000 mile '03 'Vette would have been more reliable than my Carrera. I doubt it.

Slow down man. Where did I say any of that? I used the ls stuff as an example. Not once did I say it wasnt a nice car or a bad car. I did not bash it or say anthing bad about Mercedes. You are reading way to deep into it. I was just floored by the repair bill.

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted by The Critic


On a semi-related note, my buddy's 2016 E350 had an issue where the spark plug for cyl #5 just did not want to come out. The dealer had no luck either and ended up replacing the cylinder head. Luckily, the car was under the unlimited mileage CPO warranty (it had around 75k) so the $6k bill was covered.


Over the years I pulled the heads of lots of engines for this problem, the Ford Kent engine was the worst. Even the so called plated plugs get seized up in some engines, never seize on every plug every time.

 

[DoubleWasp]

Euro luxury was born to be leased

 

[JeffKeryk]

Originally Posted by DoubleWasp
Euro luxury was born to be leased

Yup; that's what I hear...

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted by SLO_Town
Typical Mercedes. I owned one, bought new, and it was one of the worst cars I've ever owned. Getting them to do warranty work required begging.


What year was yours? Older ones were worse, the more recent ones are better.

Originally Posted by Ws6
Because as a luxury vehicle, you should be replacing it every 3 years to remain on the cutting edge of comfort and style. This is why people lease these kinds of cars vs. buy them.


Mercedes is 4 years/50k. In this particular case, he could have bought it as a CPO and gotten up to 7 years unlimited miles. CPO adds about 3-5k more to the price though. But it probably would have been covered.

Originally Posted by joekingcorvette
Note to self: Do not buy a Mercedes unless you have money for very large repair bills.

The real mistake here is taking it to the dealer. An indy mechanic can be 1/3 to 2/3 the price of the dealer. The S550 engine is the same as the E550 engine and in the E class forum, this doesn't really come up much so it sounds like one of those rare things. Plus it was an S class. I own two E classes, even I'm slightly scared of an S class, but maybe if the price of a 2014 S class drops a bit more in a couple years, I'll bite. They are fun cars to drive though. I also read the manual and enjoy all the options it has, I actually search out ones that have all the options and I'm mentally prepared for the cost of repairs if they break.

Originally Posted by Kjmack
I totally agree Lexus is a great car and will probably out last a gas Benz easily with less repair costs , look at the resale vs Benz .Not even close

That's why the Benz is a better buy as a used car. Lower price for more stuff. It's easy to be more reliable if you have less tech and less options.

 

[ls1mike]

Originally Posted by Wolf359
Originally Posted by SLO_Town
Typical Mercedes. I owned one, bought new, and it was one of the worst cars I've ever owned. Getting them to do warranty work required begging.


What year was yours? Older ones were worse, the more recent ones are better.

Originally Posted by Ws6
Because as a luxury vehicle, you should be replacing it every 3 years to remain on the cutting edge of comfort and style. This is why people lease these kinds of cars vs. buy them.


Mercedes is 4 years/50k. In this particular case, he could have bought it as a CPO and gotten up to 7 years unlimited miles. CPO adds about 3-5k more to the price though. But it probably would have been covered.

His was not CPO, but the SUV they have is. I don't think they are real found of the couple independent guys in the area and like I said his dad has purchased 3 cars there and he got the SUV there. The most recent car his dad bought is an AMG S63 which is one [censored] of a car. So he just took it to the dealer they know. I don't blame them for doing that I would have to be comfortable with the shop pulling my drivetrain too. .

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted by ls1mike
Originally Posted by Wolf359
Originally Posted by SLO_Town
Typical Mercedes. I owned one, bought new, and it was one of the worst cars I've ever owned. Getting them to do warranty work required begging.


What year was yours? Older ones were worse, the more recent ones are better.

Originally Posted by Ws6
Because as a luxury vehicle, you should be replacing it every 3 years to remain on the cutting edge of comfort and style. This is why people lease these kinds of cars vs. buy them.


Mercedes is 4 years/50k. In this particular case, he could have bought it as a CPO and gotten up to 7 years unlimited miles. CPO adds about 3-5k more to the price though. But it probably would have been covered.

His was not CPO, but the SUV they have is. I don't think they are real found of the couple independent guys in the area and like I said his dad has purchased 3 cars there and he got the SUV there. The most recent car his dad bought is an AMG S63 which is one [censored] of a car. So he just took it to the dealer they know. I don't blame them for doing that I would have to be comfortable with the shop pulling my drivetrain too. .



I guess it depends on the area. There's a few indys near me too that are highly recommended online, but I've found their prices are basically 80-90% of the dealer and they're not as a nice in terms of no loaners, no free snacks/breakfast/lunch. But I've found others that really are 1/3 to 2/3 cheaper.

 

[ls1mike]

The loaner was a big thing as they had the car 2 weeks. I know there are lots of shops here in the Seattle area. I agree with you but I also understand taking it to someone you are familiar with.

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted by ls1mike
My brother in law bought a used one about two years ago. It currently has 54,000 miles on it. Very nice car. I like it.

He had a repair bill recently that blew my mind. He told me about today at our annual Easter egg hunt for the kids.
I saw the receipt and I was speechless.

He got a check engine light and took it in. It seems one of the of the Cam Position sensors leaked oil and wicked its way through the engine harness to the
computer. What blew my mind was to fix it the Engine and transmission had to come out. A refurbished computer alone was 1070.00 dollars, bunch of parts were
replaced that totaled just over 3000,00 dollars.

Total cost was over 7000.00 dollars. I told him next time we will just LS swap it.

Has anyone here ever heard of something like that? I am having a hard time wrapping my head around it.

Toyota Sienna leaking sunroof: $5,600! Someone posted that here on the forum.
Toyota 8 speed transmissions that have huge issues. My friend bought vehicle in October. In November took it to dealer since it was shifting like someone who never drove stick shift. After 20+ software updates, Toyota comes back and said: well, you can always trade in vehicle. They actually offered him trade in value, like he was trading in regular vehicle. He was afraid they would say: well, your transmission is bad, so we have to take out more money. Finally, after more than half a year, they came up with some software patch that makes shifting better, but far from shifting he had in Sienna with 6 speed.
When you have a bill that high in Mercedes, you can always see some positive side of what car offers. When you have bill of $5,600 for such POS as Sienna, or transmission issues in HL, there is no positive side of it.

 

[edyvw]

Originally Posted by ls1mike
My brother in law bought a used one about two years ago. It currently has 54,000 miles on it. Very nice car. I like it.

He had a repair bill recently that blew my mind. He told me about today at our annual Easter egg hunt for the kids.
I saw the receipt and I was speechless.

He got a check engine light and took it in. It seems one of the of the Cam Position sensors leaked oil and wicked its way through the engine harness to the
computer. What blew my mind was to fix it the Engine and transmission had to come out. A refurbished computer alone was 1070.00 dollars, bunch of parts were
replaced that totaled just over 3000,00 dollars.

Total cost was over 7000.00 dollars. I told him next time we will just LS swap it.

Has anyone here ever heard of something like that? I am having a hard time wrapping my head around it.

Things like that can happen in any car. However, taking it to a dealer is where the real problem is. I have friend who is Euro mechanic, but does other vehicles too. Few days ago, my work colleague calls and says do I know good mechanic since he knows I am into cars (he has no idea about anything that relates to driving). His mom has 2005 Honda Accord, and went to Honda dealership for AC issue. Estimate bill: $2400!!! For Honda Accord!
He took it to my friend. He found a leak and compressor had to be replaced, but at ridiculous friction of that price. Dealerships, regardless of brand, will throw money at the problem, until they stumble on part that is problematic.

 

[Skippy722]

Originally Posted by andyd
Oil is non conductive. Other than a slimy mess, what is the result? At last somebody made a computer that leaks oil !

Seriously, does the oil mess up electrics?


The oil itself no not really... the contaminates and whatever other crud it picks up along the way definitely are conductive.

 

[Dino01]

Originally Posted by SLO_Town
Originally Posted by 4WD
There are a few of those and Beemers around the office … always hear of the cost of repairs or even general service. Some have gone to a lease to bail from that moment in time … Lot different from the older simpler MB's that ran forever …
The smaller 200 Diesel in the EU are pretty darn reliable … Waiting for one to get me now …

Having owned the same generation MB and BMW side by side, there is no comparison. From fasteners, to suspension pieces, to floor pan stiffeners; the BMW was SUPERIOR.

That said, our E90 will be the last BMW I ever own. Our E46 will go down in history as one of the best vehicles I've ever owned - and I've owned over 30. The E90 is very, very good. But the new BMWs I see in showrooms seem to be ridiculously over engineered and complex. Not for me.

Scott

Didn't those generations of BMW (E46 and E90) have main bearings as an interval maintenance item on some engines? I've always wanted an E90 M3 but the VANOS and main bearings scare me away, as do all the cheap plastic cooling system parts that made me eject on my E34.

My 208 has been a great car but I really wish it was the AMG 55, it gets up and goes ok but another 50-60hp would be great, I just had a couple bimmers of various gens and they really were total nightmares by comparison so I've been apprehensive, but seeing the prices on the E90s has tempted me again...

 

[ls1mike]

I didn't mean this to become a thread about what is good or bad...
My brother-in-law always gives me a hard time about owning GM stuff, that is why I made the comment to him next time we will just LS swap it.
I just couldn't believe over 7000 dollars, but I suppose I do all my own stuff except for transmission rebuilds (I will pull it, deliver it and reinstall it) so
I haven't ever had a huge repair bill or at least more than 2500 bucks, and that was for a really nice transmission.
His dad now lives with him and got him turned on to Mercedes as that is what he has drove for the past 10ish years.

 

[Kjmack]

Originally Posted by ls1mike
I didn't mean this to become a thread about what is good or bad...
My brother-in-law always gives me a hard time about owning GM stuff, that is why I made the comment to him next time we will just LS swap it.
I just couldn't believe over 7000 dollars, but I suppose I do all my own stuff except for transmission rebuilds (I will pull it, deliver it and reinstall it) so
I haven't ever had a huge repair bill or at least more than 2500 bucks, and that was for a really nice transmission.
His dad now lives with him and got him turned on to Mercedes as that is what he has drove for the past 10ish years.

Do those gm ls engine's still come from the factory with those awful burs in the camshaft openings ? Heard they really had to be cleaned up pretty good to be a smooth engine .

 

[ls1mike]

Originally Posted by Kjmack

Do those gm ls engine's still come from the factory with those awful burs in the camshaft openings ? Heard they really had to be cleaned up pretty good to be a smooth engine .


I am not sure I understand your question. I have changed about 7 different LS cams and I am sure I know what you mean? They are line bored at the factory.