Mercedes grrrrrrr

[Gordon R]

Eldest has a 72 plate Mercedes EQC400. On last service, mechanic advised him he needed discs and pads all round. Their estimate was around £2k. I advised him to check discs - very, very minor lip on them - they did not need doing. Bought some pads for front and back off E*ay. They arrived yesterday and we intended fitting them today. Whipped front wheels off - nothing wrong with the discs and the pads were only about 1/4 worn. We had the new ones to compare.

Round to the back. Discs fine, but pads had a few thousand left in them and nowhere near the wear indicator. As we had the pads, we decided to change them. Swift comparison showed a minor difference in the lugs where they fit into the carrier. We visited Brakes International and Europarts who all stocked the pads, but they too were identical to those from E*ay. He rang Mercedes Bolton, who couldn't be bothered answering the phone. In the end we drove round - they didn't stock them, but they arrive tomorrow - £163. That is £135 more than online and £120 more than Brakes International.

I have no idea where motor factors get their part numbers from, but all had a different idea about what the pads should be. Looking at the pads, it would have taken about 5 minutes to grind down the lugs to fit, but eldest wanted the proper part. 

Just a rip off. To make it worse, the rear calipers retract the pistons when you programme the car. They wound in 2/3 of the way and I had to wind the rest by hand. Not the usual 2 or 4 prong piston - I have an air powered piston retractor - these had 3 prong fittings. It's almost as if they don't want you to do it yourself - perish the thought.

Edited August 1 by Gordon R

[TIGHTCHOKE]

He is really unlucky with that motor and VERY lucky you have the patience to sort it out.   

[Gordon R]

Got his wife's V Class to do next.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Good grief................................

[oowee]

Credit where it's due to you that you know how to do it and have the tools.  

Is it made in China? 

[Wymondley]

14 minutes ago, Gordon R said:

I have no idea where motor factors get their part numbers from, but all had a different idea about what the pads should be

It's not always easy for the dealers to keep up either when manufactures change a supplier during a production run or rationalise the parts they use.

Car built today... type A caliper and pads, built tomorrow, type B and so it goes, and there's no obligation to pass that information on to anyone outside the dealer network.

Oh the joys of the motor trade, glad I'm out of it.

 

 

 

 

[Poor Shot]

Can you not take the part number off of the existing pads and google a replacement that way? 

It's very unlikely that the parts will be bespoke to the EQC400 and very likely that they are fitted to another MB car that will have readily available spares in a motor factors or a third party OEM equivalent.  

If the existing pads don't have a part number then take the part number off of the new pads box, google it to ensure a replacement is available and then hand back to the parts desk clerk. Sod paying £135 more than you need to just because you're going via a dealer parts desk. 

I'd also be asking questions of the service manager of the dealer that carried out the servicing and asking him why his staff are recommending replacement of only part worn pads and discs.  

[wymberley]

That's what happens when you buy a car named after a woman! 

[JohnfromUK]

My thoughts are that manufacturers and their franchised dealers are doing their best to discourage people doing their own maintenance by charging extortionate markups on (even routine) maintenance spares (such as brake pads) sold to 'others' as parts. 

My own experience with Mercedes was a long time ago - but their parts were astronomically expensive - but they did have a good logistics system and the obscure parts for my relatively uncommon (G wagen) were there next day.

I do have more recent experience with BMW, both with the franchised dealer and an indie (who I have known a very long time and trust).  The indie could get genuine parts (I had both brake and suspension parts supplied and fitted through him),  Comparing the parts prices - the indie could buy them for around 1/4 to 1/3 of the price BMW franchised dealer was quoting me. 

Some manufacturers also use extended warranty packages to 'tie you in' to maintenance from a franchised dealer.  I had an extra cost 10 year extended warranty on my BMW (which to be fair was comprehensive and was honoured) - but mandated annual (or more frequent as dictated by mileage) service at a BMW franchised/authorised service centre.  I have recently moved to Toyota.  They have a slightly different warranty.  The annual service by a Toyota Franchised dealer on a 'new' or 'approved used' Toyota gives a further year of Toyota manufacturers warranty up to a vehicle age of 10 years (or I think 100K miles).  This is above the standard new car warranty.  You are tied in to Toyota dealers, but they do have a fixed price service menu, but the warranty to 10 years is at no cost additional to the service charge.

https://www.carwow.co.uk/guides/running/toyota-relax-10-year-warranty-explained-everything-you-need-to-know

Time will tell how well this works as I tend to keep my cars a long time (unless there are good reasons not).

[udderlyoffroad]

8 minutes ago, JohnfromUK said:

The indie could get genuine parts (I had both brake and suspension parts supplied and fitted through him),  Comparing the parts prices - the indie could buy them for around 1/4 to 1/3 of the price BMW franchised dealer was quoting me. 

This.  Albeit you can't usually jump into the car a drive to your nearest indie specialist parts supplier, but am sure there's a one for Merc that knows the 'gotchas' when it comes to mid-model revisions.

[Gordon R]

The part number fits any number of Mercedes models, but despite the same part number, they are not the same. I would normally have raised an eyebrow if someone had told me that, but having seen it with my own eyes, I no longer scoff.

As for the mechanic involved, my lad has been through this before and complained. He got a free service a couple of years ago. These are expensive cars and the dealer seems to think buyers have "mug" stamped on their forehead.

 

[JohnfromUK]

Just now, Gordon R said:

These are expensive cars and the dealer seems to think buyers have "mug" stamped on their forehead.

 

I think a lot of new expensive cars are either lease or company (also usually lease).  Relatively few private buyers.  I assume that brake pads and discs (as wearing parts) are not under warranty?

[Gordon R]

Tyres, brakes - consumables. 

[Rat Boy]

Was in my local independent garage a couple of weeks ago. On the ramp was a 73 plate Range Rover getting it's rear pads changed. The mechanic was saying he had to purchase Genuine Land Rover pads as Land Rover have not allowed after market pads to be made yet. He said the difference in price between genuine and after market parts is just stupid.

[Gordon R]

My eldest went to pick up the pads this morning. surprise, surprise - not arrived. Yesterday the parts lad said "call any time after we open - they deliver overnight". Eldest asked why no-one had phoned him to save a wasted journey. He was told they had better things to do than phone everyone whose parts didn't arrive. Eldest asked why they had insisted on a phone number and then not used it. He couldn't get an answer. Waiting for the Manager to contact him and explain it.

He isn't happy. Maybe time for the angle grinder.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Not having much luck, I admire your resilience. 

[Dougy]

Ive just had to replace the ABS Module on a Toyota invincible £1200 , i felt like Christmas had come early, and not in the nice  receiving gifts way.  Unfortunately its huge gamble fitting anything aftermarket 99 out of 100 it will fail to communicate, they have certainly tied that one up well and good.  

[ph5172]

We have a car that is on a model mid life ‘refresh’

its pot luck of the parts are for this model or the previous iteration. 
 

if it’s pads and such I now pay the extra and go into Parkers and pass the pads over the counter. 
It’s probably more expensive but I get a guaranteed fit. If they don’t have it they can trawl their catalog and compare tech drawings. 
 

I am a bit sad but so have a list of part numbers from various boxes so I can get the next sets from the internet 

[BobbyH]

I’m an ex car mechanic of 8 years for VW, and the cost of brand parts VS non genuine parts is absurd! 
MK5 Golf brake pads and discs, £400/£500+ genuine, non genuine sub £200!

 

Best one I ever had, was I once had an old 1989 polo that I rescued from a barn, it needed a new master cylinder amongst other bits. For the master cylinder, withVW parts, with employer discount was approx £215. GSF with trade discount came to £15!!!

[Gordon R]

Mate popped round today. He has a Skoda Octavia - taken it for a service to a garage he had used for a few years. Aside from the new battery, they said he needed an ABS sensor on nearside front. After getting it back, he noticed an array of warning lights, intermittently flashing - four related to brakes and one tyre pressure. Scuttle covering wiper motors had two clips missing, which they replaced after he said the scuttle was flapping about. Garage checked and said there was nothing wrong with the sensor / warning lights, which flashed at random intervals. A quick Google suggested ABS sensor. After a few terse words with the garage, he bought another sensor and arrived at mine.

Whipped the wheel off to reveal an list of faults:-

Locking wheel stud was undone by hand.

ABS sensor held in on a couple of threads.

Bracket holding ABS sensor wire held on by a few threads.

Wire leading to the ABS sensor had the snap connector missing and had been chopped off. It now sported two small female spade connectors.

Put new sensor on - same warning lights. Went back to original. I noticed one of the spades wasn't as tight a fit as I would have liked. A right fiddle to put them onto the male connectors, due to restricted access in the ABS sensor. Small pliers - gave it a squeeze - problem solved. Taped up the connection to avoid water getting in. 

He showed me his new battery and I noticed the foam surround was tucked under one side of the battery - now sorted.

I have panned Mercedes, but incompetence isn't restricted to main agents. 

[TIGHTCHOKE]

I bet they used the "apprentice" for that job, need to tell the garage about it in very strong terms. 

Oh and not use them again.

[Gordon R]

He has already had strong words and none of the family cars will ever be going back there. Instead of holding their hands up, they got defensive - defending the indefensible.

I will hold my hands up and admit I laughed when I saw the shambles. My mate took it rather less well. I have actually never seen him angry - a very calm lad - but I thought he was going to explode.

The garage had diagnostic scanners and couldn't locate the obvious problem. I found and fixed the problem in about 10 minutes including taking the wheel off. The reason was that they relied on a scanner, whereas I took the wheel off for a proper look.. 

Scary.

[JohnfromUK]

Unfortunately, diagnostics are a mixed blessing.  It's an area I used to work in (service and repairs, though not on motor vehicles but we had a lot of 'plug in diagnostics').  As a very simplistic example, a 'module' may show up as 'faulty', get changed (usually BIG money) - and all is well afterwards.  But if the module is sent for repair (most aren't nowadays, but some are sent back for investigation as part of the ongoing reliability growth work that many manufacturers carry out on relatively new products) it often shows as "no fault found".  The actual fault may have been a poor connection, or a need of a 'reboot' etc.  We used to get that sort of thing a lot.

The other thing on items being returned to the customer/owner in good order is that we always used to have either a full inspection by an independent (of the repairs dept.)  inspector, or a 'buddy check' - and it was mandatory for this extra stage to happen and had to carry initials of the inspector/checker on the service record.  That tended to pick up the odd human error like loose fasteners etc. that the electronic tests didn't cover.

Edited August 11 by JohnfromUK

[Mungler]

The world is heading towards everything being a replacement sealed unit, diagnosed by a plug in laptop and swapped out by someone on close to minimum wage.

Craft, skill, knowledge and mechanical understanding on the decline.

But, being told work needs to be done when it doesn’t - that’s an absolute no no. Especially when dealing with something nearly new and premium / top end.

I think it was J reg when Mercedes became no longer run by engineers but by accountants. That said, probably the same across the car industry.

I’ve always had a thing for cars and have had a large number and wasted a small fortune on them. If I could go back in time and talk to the 20 year old me (who wouldn’t have listened anyway) I would have told him to buy Toyota, drive it into the ground and then (15-20 years later) buy another. I digress.

[Gordon R]

Mate's car is a 17 plate Skoda Octavia estate, whereas my son's car is a 72 plate Mercedes EQC 400. Different cars, different garage - same garbage service.

Just Googled the garage where the Skoda went. Some excellent reviews, but an ominous number of reviews where work hadn't been done, half done  and total failure to solve the problem. I started leaving a Google review, but decided against it. It's my mate's car and it's up to him to do any follow up action needed.

Mungler - got to agree. We have changed a number of cars which served us well, but got rid because we had had them too long. Our shortest ownership is an hour, our longest being 6 years. The latter was my wife's Suzuki SX4 auto. Got rid at 65k, running like a sewing machine. Evans Halshaw said it was the cleanest car they had ever had on a trade in. I told them we looked after our cars, whereas it had been to the local car wash for a £15 valet.