Buying a Mercedes is Maintenance a costly isse

[Xulfiqar]

My cousin had a 2003 something, remained more in workshops than on road.

Once had a totally locked down boot, had to break the lock free to open it up,

Then had a stuck sunroof

Then in june had the worst thing to happen, the climate control messed up and heater came on automatically with family on board.

Sold the ride and never ever thought about it again.

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lol...

the heater getting stuck is usually a problem in Pakistan.. because - koolent bewaqoof bananay ke tareekay hain OR - sabb coolent aik hotay hain OR drivers putting in whatever they got best kickback on.

if you add the caltex red to benz genuine coolant, you end up with gel/mud in the cooling system.

trunk locking.. - I have seen many people manually locking the bootlid to hard lock and wonder why it wont pop open.

[Xulfiqar]

I lived in the US for quite a long time!

nice.

you still believe JD power is worth two hoots?

[Xulfiqar]

according to JD power a 2013 ford fusion has overall a 2 star powertrain reliability, - while a mazda 6 has 4 stars.

They are the same cars with different skin.

[Marschall]

//youtu.be/<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7Yqigblh5rI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Star people https://youtu.be/7Yqigblh5rI

[hyder_m29]

I own a benz myself. shes quite a senior citizen now.. about 16 years old... I just keep up with maintenance and drive.. Im my own mechanic.

Yeah, but you could be driving a cardboard box on plastic wheels and have it run smoother than an S class on weed.

[Xulfiqar]

Yeah, but you could be driving a cardboard box on plastic wheels and have it run smoother than an S class on weed.

now that would be epic

[margallar]

Jo humari aukat.....the only car most Middle class people can actually maintain properly is a mehran....Humari biggest achievement...corola/civic ley lena....what a life....

[rajaatta]

do you know of the user mindset in USA??

they even damn complain of the car having shallow cupholders or having space/hatch not suitable for their dogs.... - I think you need to do some better research.. research which actually applies to Pakistan or to a country similar to Pakistan....

btw - mechanics all over Pakistan are frankensteining toyota repairs by shotgunning parts at the problem.. This is laughable

Come on bro not all mechanics. Few of them are still present there who work by book and diagnose the problem properly.

[Xulfiqar]

Come on bro not all mechanics. Few of them are still present there who work by book and diagnose the problem properly.

hmm

you're right.

99.8% are shotgunning parts.. the rest are okay.

[deltree]

let me give you an example.brake pads of a w203 costs around rs 35000.if this seems ok to you then go for a w203(civic is not even near to the drive quality of a w203).rest is all your choice.

Someone just bought them for a 2003 merc I dont know if its a c or e but for 8k for the pair. Obviously not from Shahnawaz and obviously not original Merc but OEM ones.

Within one week of buying the car from the mechanic whom it was maintained with after the brake pads were replaced three new error codes arrived none of them close to the brakes. I thought I would be able to point out to the owner if he told me the codes what was wrong. What I received were three codes with subcodes against them. Never did I know such possibilities existed k sub codes bhi hotay hain....needless to say they were so obscure I would never be able to help the owner in anyway. And here I thought simple lancer civic jaisay codes hongay. Meinay taubah ki k Pakistan mein mercedes khareedon after seeing that, a guy with a job and limited time cannot manage a used mercedes in Pakistan if he has keera k error free car rakhni hai.

[Xulfiqar]

Someone just bought them for a 2003 merc I dont know if its a c or e but for 8k for the pair. Obviously not from Shahnawaz and obviously not original Merc but OEM ones.

Within one week of buying the car from the mechanic whom it was maintained with after the brake pads were replaced three new error codes arrived none of them close to the brakes. I thought I would be able to point out to the owner if he told me the codes what was wrong. What I received were three codes with subcodes against them. Never did I know such possibilities existed k sub codes bhi hotay hain....needless to say they were so obscure I would never be able to help the owner in anyway. And here I thought simple lancer civic jaisay codes hongay. Meinay taubah ki k Pakistan mein mercedes khareedon after seeing that, a guy with a job and limited time cannot manage a used mercedes in Pakistan if he has keera k error free car rakhni hai.

haha

as with any manufacturer the best tool for diagnosis is their own workshop scanner, in this case your best bet would have been a STAR or autologic. Those subcodes which you mention are presented with detail in the correct scanner, e.g. the benz 5 spd automatic gearbox has 4 or 5 generic P0xxx codes and close to 200 sub codes.

Those sub codes make the job easier for the technician/mechanic reparing the car.

I think the problem lies with the approach to the repair. I use the benz/BMW repair approach on all cars I repair. It makes my life easier. e.g. if I want to repair a mazda 3 headgasket. I will completely remove the whole engine and gearbox from the car and then repair it. Rather than trying to become a chipkali and invent new tools to approach hidden stuff.

[kkoool]

lol...

the heater getting stuck is usually a problem in Pakistan.. because - koolent bewaqoof bananay ke tareekay hain OR - sabb coolent aik hotay hain OR drivers putting in whatever they got best kickback on.

if you add the caltex red to benz genuine coolant, you end up with gel/mud in the cooling system.

trunk locking.. - I have seen many people manually locking the bootlid to hard lock and wonder why it wont pop open.

We already know which coolant to use, if i remembed correctly it was phosphate free and on spec for that model, the design and location of that valve was hideous, we had to remove the dashboard to get to it.
For the coolant part you are true many people just put whatever they get hold of.

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[qaswah1]

hahahahaha.........i am running a 1977 w123...... man it not dheet ....its perfect.......ride is better than any toyota or honda ....... durability is also fantastic..........just maintain her the way a merc wants to be maintained ............... not like the way ustad jee wants to maintain......... what i believe is that vehicles like merc, range rover and BMW can be maintained easily if the owner is logical and try to understand what car needs rather than what mechanic wants.........

[umarkhan1]

hahahahaha.........i am running a 1977 w123...... man it not dheet ....its perfect.......ride is better than any toyota or honda ....... durability is also fantastic..........just maintain her the way a merc wants to be maintained ............... not like the way ustad jee wants to maintain......... what i believe is that vehicles like merc, range rover and BMW can be maintained easily if the owner is logical and try to understand what car needs rather than what mechanic wants.........

once we were got in an accident in a w123 while coming down the hill(our driver slept).and believe in me that car was again on the road after our car was towed back on the road.that was a one solid machine.really loved it.

[Xulfiqar]

We already know which coolant to use, if i remembed correctly it was phosphate free and on spec for that model, the design and location of that valve was hideous, we had to remove the dashboard to get to it.
For the coolant part you are true many people just put whatever they get hold of.

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removed dashboard????

mercedes have never ever put a heater control valve in the dashboard, its always in the engine room.

[accord786]

Salaam

Fantastic topic and great replies from very knowledgeable and experienced people.

Once before, a year or so ago, I had put up a topic of buying an Mercedes Benz E240 (w210) but then dropped the idea and just bought a corolla as the maintenance issues were scaring me.

I have now sold the corolla and really want to buy a Merc again.

Everyone has their opinions but would anyone be in a position to give more real life examples of the costs of maintaining one in Karachi and a reputable and honest mechanic that can be used?

Xulfiqar bhai had mentioned the following problems that can be expected from a car of this age :-

in absolute realistic terms I can list down the issues that this car has specially in Pakistan, the rear subframe mounts are shot, the rear control arm bushings are torn, the front bushing of the front lower control arms are shot, the main ball joint (aka supporting joint) is shot or loose, the engine mounts are shot (replacement in M112 engine requires unbolting the compressor and alternator), the gear mount is shot too (too much twist from engine) engine is running with water as coolant or el cheapo coolant - which is worthless, the brake rubber pipes are shot, the wheel bearings need servicing, The automatic transmission will be leaking ATF from the connector bushing.

How much would this job cost with parts and labor approx?

There were 2 cars of this model being advertised for not too long ago on Pakwheels as well so just want to analyse and see how much it would cost me after getting all the work done as above

People who own Mercs in Karachi and don't take it to Shahnawaz, where do you take it to please

Kind Regards

[Rabeelch]

I agree with Cruzee there is no car like a mercedes.......but let me tell you from where the problem starts.

Selection: Buying any mercedes try to opt for a facelift generation they have probably sorted out most of the little gremlins.
Seller: 95% of merc owners dont do anything here by the book,not that its there fault but german cars require a complete different way of maintainance.
Mechanic:Here lies the most sour part of owning a mercedes Let me tell you about the best mechanics in the Potohar Plateau
a.SMART SERVICES : My car was vibrating took it to them they looked left and right pulled out the plugs and coils did the wrong way of compression test and said "Bhai app coils change karay" Price 42k.I said ok why dont you get the coils from that S class and we can swap and see, we swapped and the result was the same ustaad ji said "Sir jee nawi laoo phir check kartay hain". I left . My uncle took his ML 350 07 model and they asked 5 LAC for harmonic balancer change can you believe that
b.Shah Nawaz: Took it to them they said app ki gari bhut purani hai we dont look at these old vehicles becuz engine purana hai i said saab ji !!!engine 2006 tak yahi istamal howa hai.They looked and said aap nay our kisi jaga chek karwai hai i said Yes and told them about smart services the guy looked at me and said sir theek bol rahay hain plz change coils.My uncle got his Harmonic Balancer changed from them for 1.5 Lac.
c.Babu Javed : "Sir gadi park kar jao and come after 2 weeks" After two weeks sir please change injectors.Took injectors off a friends merc but result same.Javed said sir kaam lamba hai will req 30 more days.I Left
d.Mighty Papu : Sir new mounts required" I told him i just changed them he said sir HI-Octane dalo. I was already using. Confused he said throttle body is required new one.FACEPALM
Wont tell you about other idiots but only Papu Ustaad had the guts to say that sir we cannot diagnose unless we have the right equipment and know how.
All these mechanics do work by tuka and because they think they are mighty ustaads they dont listen to you.

PARTS : Running Parts are not expensive i.e filters and fluids. BUt sensors and body parts will murder you i.e if you want to source them new or used.

As a daily driver mercedes bhut dheet gari hai it will keep on running but will definitely give you electrical issues,there is no comparing it with a honda or corolla amazing drive and feel.If your a family guy on a limited budget with a fix pay scale my advise to you is stay away it will take your family and budget.If however you have good amount of time and a good pay scale i strongly suggest you go for a mercedes, you will come to know what engineering is.

Very Impressive and detailed

[Rabeelch]

Jo humari aukat.....the only car most Middle class people can actually maintain properly is a mehran....Humari biggest achievement...corola/civic ley lena....what a life....

You are very wrong about middle class bhai, there is no more mehran middle class in Pakistan now

[qwertypoiu]

Salaam

Fantastic topic and great replies from very knowledgeable and experienced people.

Once before, a year or so ago, I had put up a topic of buying an Mercedes Benz E240 (w210) but then dropped the idea and just bought a corolla as the maintenance issues were scaring me.

I have now sold the corolla and really want to buy a Merc again.

Everyone has their opinions but would anyone be in a position to give more real life examples of the costs of maintaining one in Karachi and a reputable and honest mechanic that can be used?

Xulfiqar bhai had mentioned the following problems that can be expected from a car of this age :-

in absolute realistic terms I can list down the issues that this car has specially in Pakistan, the rear subframe mounts are shot, the rear control arm bushings are torn, the front bushing of the front lower control arms are shot, the main ball joint (aka supporting joint) is shot or loose, the engine mounts are shot (replacement in M112 engine requires unbolting the compressor and alternator), the gear mount is shot too (too much twist from engine) engine is running with water as coolant or el cheapo coolant - which is worthless, the brake rubber pipes are shot, the wheel bearings need servicing, The automatic transmission will be leaking ATF from the connector bushing.

How much would this job cost with parts and labor approx?

There were 2 cars of this model being advertised for not too long ago on Pakwheels as well so just want to analyse and see how much it would cost me after getting all the work done as above

People who own Mercs in Karachi and don't take it to Shahnawaz, where do you take it to please

Kind Regards

I do not recall the members exact Id but some Lodhi sahab bought a w210 after selling his perfect lancer.. went on to find a very good condition w210 but turns out it developed some sort of a problem(which i also dont recall) and diagnosis and importing the part urned out to be a problem for everyone... that even scare me from buying an old benz

If some member recall he can find that thread for us

[unknownlady34d]

Aoa. Mr Mehdi i would suggest you to buy a 2008 Honda accord. Its drive is better than the c180 amg. My hubby's ex 2008 uk spec was a nightmare. Majority of its engine parts are made of plastic. He spend over $7000 dollars on it over time span of 14 months. He finally sold it and now he is a proud owner ofa 2008 Accord. Its very spacious and its drive is just amazing. I have driven it many times. He doesnt cares about the M star badge anymore. If you really want to have a merc, so buy a 1990 w126 s class. Zero electronics or w124 series. You will love them and they wont even cost you anythibg near to an accord. My dad has a 91 w126 and he bought it from Iran embassy in 1996 and its still running well.