my weekly rant.....MB alignment.

[mpvue]

Originally Posted By: Rick in PA
This is an interesting point. My wife and I were recently car shopping and I noticed a lot of "luxury" brand cars on the used car lot. We didn't bother looking at them, I guess in part because we know they come with a "luxury" cost of maintaining (and insurance?). Unfortunately, not all buyers stop to consider that. I guess we'll be seeing more "luxury" cars draining the pocketbooks of those who can't afford it and breaking down on the side of the road.

10yo escalades appeal to a certain segment of society that can't afford a new one, but they might be able to swing the payments on the old one, at least for awhile.
I've been seeing more mazda millenias lately too, usually beat up. what was once a $40K car is now just a few thou, so I guess it's kind of economical now (until you realize what kinds of repairs pop up on an over 100K mile car...)

 

[Norm Olt]

All my Mercedes vehicles have stayed in alignment as long as I've owned them with no uneven tire wear: having them serviced at an independant MB shop means that when a tie-rod end (etc., and rare in my experience) needs replacing the car gets aligned as a matter of course. Probably not much out of alignment to begin with, and having the right tools to do a job always helps...

Cheers!

 

[brelandt]

I was for awhile there refusing to align BMW with the AFS system. When my managers starting getting complaints from the customers that I wouldn't align it and then they start on how Big O has already aligned it once, I was threaten to be demoted. This is what was told to me but I'm sure it was worse than that when they first found out and then cooled off before doing it.
Most service writers get what are called SPIFFS. basically a dollar amount for each service they sell or tires. If I kick the vehicle off of the rack they get [censored].
I tell them to sell the offending part if it was why I refused to align it or stop sending me cars that need special tools. They usually say things like, just set the toe as best as you can.
I wish I could control what goes on but I am just a pee-on with 1 year experience in their eyes.

 

[The_Eric]

Originally Posted By: brelandt
I was for awhile there refusing to align BMW with the AFS system. When my managers starting getting complaints from the customers that I wouldn't align it and then they start on how Big O has already aligned it once, I was threaten to be demoted. This is what was told to me but I'm sure it was worse than that when they first found out and then cooled off before doing it.
Most service writers get what are called SPIFFS. basically a dollar amount for each service they sell or tires. If I kick the vehicle off of the rack they get [censored].
I tell them to sell the offending part if it was why I refused to align it or stop sending me cars that need special tools. They usually say things like, just set the toe as best as you can.
I wish I could control what goes on but I am just a pee-on with 1 year experience in their eyes.


Sounds like where I work. The the boss is all "I've been doing it this way for 35 years"... I usually say something like like "Great, just because you've been doing it wrong all these years, doesn't make it right." or something about things changing, but that arrogant putz won't have any of it...

 

[Volvohead]

You've got to pay to play with a Merc.

We forked over the $200 to have our R129 aligned correctly for the new $1,000+ tires. And I know it will need new tires again in another 15-20k.

Still drifts slightly to the right, so spending another $500 to have the AMG wheels straightened, refinished, and the new tires remounted and RF balanced (a rare dealer bargain).

Sixteen spark plugs: $110. Fuel and air filters: $40 each. Fleece oil filter: $20. One wiper blade: $45. New battery: $150. New hood liner: $100. New door straps: $40 each. Flaky right door mirror: $6-800 (next month). That's just the parts. Triple or quadruple it if a dealer does the work.

Dealer trans flush, filter and refill: $300. Dealer coolant and brake flush: $275. Full tank of premium fuel: $80. New tank sender when the gauge only shows 7/8: $150 (next month).

Driving a perfectly running SL500 with the top down on a lovely clear day: priceless.

 

[brelandt]

This past week the Hunter guy showed up to repair my alignment rack and to recalibrate the heads. The front plates where missing every single ball bearing! The rear plates had about 25% left. Now the rack works great but then he just drove off and didn't calibrate it! So, it took 1 year of what they called me whining about the rack to get them to fix it. So is it going to be another year to get it re-calibrated?!?!?

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: Volvohead
You've got to pay to play with a Merc.

We forked over the $200 to have our R129 aligned correctly for the new $1,000+ tires. And I know it will need new tires again in another 15-20k.

Still drifts slightly to the right, so spending another $500 to have the AMG wheels straightened, refinished, and the new tires remounted and RF balanced (a rare dealer bargain).

Sixteen spark plugs: $110. Fuel and air filters: $40 each. Fleece oil filter: $20. One wiper blade: $45. New battery: $150. New hood liner: $100. New door straps: $40 each. Flaky right door mirror: $6-800 (next month). That's just the parts. Triple or quadruple it if a dealer does the work.

Dealer trans flush, filter and refill: $300. Dealer coolant and brake flush: $275. Full tank of premium fuel: $80. New tank sender when the gauge only shows 7/8: $150 (next month).

Driving a perfectly running SL500 with the top down on a lovely clear day: priceless.


Having owned 2 beautiful V8 Mercs in the 90's I must agree.

The level of driving satisfaction is high. But for me in my experience so were the frequency and cost of repairs!

 

[lexus114]

The MB`s that are produced now seem to be much more reliable.

 

[hattaresguy]

If it was an S280 that's a gray market import.

W140's are great cars if you keep up on them, sadly they are cheap enough that the people buying them now really shouldn't own them.

 

[The_Jeff]

Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
W140's are great cars if you keep up on them, sadly they are cheap enough that the people buying them now really shouldn't own them.



Yeah and you should see the punks they're letting into Yale now!!!

 

[Volvohead]

Originally Posted By: lexus114

The MB`s that are produced now seem to be much more reliable.


Not according to the service manager at our dealer. He thinks the later ones can be non-stop computer and electronics issues, and VERY expensive to fix. He's talked a couple customers into older, less complicated vehicles.

The R129 by contrast has far fewer computer controlled systems. The big trouble spots to watch for on them are the power top hydraulics and the xenon lamps. We don't have the latter, and we're reconditioning the former this winter ($550 for upgraded cylinder seals).

Filters and other consumables are not that big a deal. Neither is fixing what amounts to some minor "candy" items like squeaky door checks. Most of it is comparable to the prices on a Volvo R.

Owning many Volvo's over the years - including some high performance turbo ones - is good practice for owning one of these big Germans.

Our SL is absolutely worth the price of admission. And I can still spin a very skilled wrench. Changing 16 plugs on this M113 engine was a stroll in the park compared to an old '90s S10 Blazer or some Japanese V-6s. Pop the filters in along the way, glue a new hood liner in, and pocket the $650 in labor the dealer would have charged to do it. Took an evening, and the wife hovered around to marvel at her dashing mechanic once again (its a very livable garage).

But I can see how one of these SLs would not be a good choice for someone used to keeping a Neon in the street.