Repairs & maintenance when incorrect diagnosis & Information - Case study

[195910]

During my ownership of 500E, I Replaced lots of unnecessary stuff due to wrong diagnosis or bad info...Mechanics (MB dealer or Independent) get a lot of experience from repairing many cars on a daily basis, but they don't necessarily do the right thing or use proper procedure. All the official information sources are available for the Dealership mechanics but they still end up doing what they are "used to do" or what they want to do...causing loses to many car owners.

With the 500E, One does get carried away with the repairs and maintenance of these cars. I learned the hard way, but One must weigh any repair that he wishes to execute on the vehicle and do as much diagnosis as possible before paying for parts and repairs..So you don't end up paying $$$$$ for un-necessary stuff.

My list of questionable repairs (2004-2011):

- Timing Chain & Co (Bad diagnosis)
- Oil check valve (not required)
- Spark Plug wires set (Wrong diagnosis)
- Coolant tank (not required)
- 2 X Cool-harness (Not neccesary)
- 2 X AC compressor+tank+valve (1st turned out to be china remanufactured)
- 2X spark plugs (First were platinum)
- 2 X Horn (First replacement died after 2 month!!)
- Front brake disc to get rid of hum (didn't work, went away by it self later!)
- Rear Brake Disc to get rid of whine (Turned out to be bearings)
- Parking brake to get rid of whine (same as above)
- 2 X front Grill (1st was so called "German made", turned out to be uneven..replace with used original)
- 2 X used Tachometers (1st was 300E, so had to get right one from a E420)
- 2 X spare keys (First was actually fake "HIF" instead of HUF).
- Lots of attempts of refilling the Visco Clutch and adjusting the Bi-metal strip. (no use, replaced with OEM clutch)
- Wrong Tire load rating when I mounted the 18inch BBS (93 instead of 97), tires got worn out in a year !!

Now Even with all that my Total cost was no where near alot of other people, I had no limp home mode / ETA / Harness / ABS+ASR light issues; which caused heavy loses for some. I Mostly had WTF! type of faults.

What I ended up with is all this knowledge and experience (what's right and what's not). I also started self educating using official MB info sources + Computer training + any source of info I can find on various topics especially maintenance and electronic systems. Also trained on the use of Official MB diagnostics system (turned into second income

You also learn that its really difficult to find a real mechanic that knows what he is doing rather than repeat what he did before. Its a case of someone having knowledge and experience and using his head... three things difficult to find nowadays.

Regards

 

[JordiC]

It's not just cars that get misdiagnosed. This can also be applied to buildings and even humans. How many homeowners have been forced to pay for home repairs they did not need? How many people have had to deal with medical procedures and prescription drugs they didn't need? One must be self educated on just about every aspect of life to avoid getting ripped-off.

 

[gerryvz]

One must be self educated on just about every aspect of life to avoid getting ripped-off.

+10

 

[bing]

Mechanics, builders and doctors have 1 thing in common - "They all think that they are the BEST in the world!"

 

[Christian_K]

Mechanics, builders and doctors have 1 thing in common - "They all think that they are the BEST in the world!"

And all of them always just want your best - your money! ;-)

 

[yvrbenz]

I find that there are very few actual MECHANICS left.

Now all you have are legions of fresh-faced, wet-behind-the-ears, TECHNICIANS. No offense to the techs, I am sure they went through comprehensive training on how to find the diagnosis port, plug the computer into said port, read the output from the diagnostic computer and parrot what the computer outputs to the customer. That works great for all the newer cars but put something in front of them that requires actual troubleshooting skills to diagnose (like, say a 2.3-16) and most of them are completely flummoxed. And that goes for factory trained techs as well.

Long gone are the days of having the mechanics who could (in many cases) diagnose issues BY EAR, or just require a short test drive to determine what the issue is.

Granted, cars have become more complex and computerized requiring more complex and computerized equipment to diagnose issues, but basic troubleshooting should not be a lost skill.

 

[samiam44]

Amen "Mechanics, builders and doctors have 1 thing in common - "They all think that they are the BEST in the world!" "

I've found that out more than one. If they do something wrong, generally you find a different mechanic or shop at some point. So there is very little negative feedback in the system.


Michael