Shop in Bowling Green KY?

[JamesDean]

Hi guys,

A friend of mine moved to Bowling Green and took his 560SEL. He needs some work done in the car and two shops and a dealership refused to work on his car because it's "old". He needs front and rear brakes, pads and rotors.

The dealership said if he insisted that they'd charge $6,000.

Does anyone in that area have any shops that they'd recommend?

Thanks guys!


Kris

[Tomguy]

First thing I'd do is call back, get that on a recording, and share it on YouTube and then with MB USA. I am pretty sure they'd get a large earful.

Second thing I'd do is find a good indy shop. Brakes are brakes. Sure, some newer cars have fancy carbon-ceramic two-piece setups, but a 560SEL's brakes are 4 wheel discs not too much different from any other 4 wheel disc setup from the 1960s to today.

[97 SL320]

Originally Posted by Tomguy

First thing I'd do is call back, get that on a recording, and share it on YouTube and then with MB USA. I am pretty sure they'd get a large earful.

Don't count on it, there have been other posts where dealers won't work on 15 or 20 year old cars, especially if the person didn't buy it new there / or isn't a valued long term customer.

Older cars carry a whole different set of needs / liability due to tech and deterioration not seen on newer cars. What if someone brought in a car with mechanical gasoline fuel injection or a D jet car, would you expect them to work on these systems?

" I just ( a few weeks ago ) had my car to the dealer for brake repair and now the pedal goes to the floor." < Old master cylinder failure

" I just ( a few weeks ago ) had my car to the dealer for brake repair and now there is brake fluid leaking. " < caliper piston pitted, so when it was pushed back into the bore it tore up the seal.

" I just ( a day ago ) had my car to the stealer for brake repair and they wanted to replace the master cylinder and caliper, rip off.

For the joys of working on an older car that can experience an unforeseen failure after service, pay attention to posts 1 , 2 , 10 , 12 , 14 , 17 , 22 , 26 , 36

https://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/399645-w210-brake-failure-questions.html

I'm betting JamesDean or the company he works for refuses to repair obsolete electrical / electronic systems for customers for many of the same reasons.

Originally Posted by Tomguy

Second thing I'd do is find a good indy shop. Brakes are brakes. Sure, some newer cars have fancy carbon-ceramic two-piece setups, but a 560SEL's brakes are 4 wheel discs not too much different from any other 4 wheel disc setup from the 1960s to today.

The braking system on this car isn't that complicated however what if the ABS isn't working and the dealer lets the car leave with it inoperative? Would they carry any liability if there was a crash attributed to the ABS not working?

How about a bay being tied up for a week while OE MB parts are being tracked down?

[Tomguy]

I was referring to the arbitrary $6k charge. It's one thing to refuse service, it's another to charge an exorbitant amount if a customer "Insists"

Also, pretty sure MB tries to have a polished image of its service and pride itself on service to all of its cars, including older / vintage models like a w126.