f you’re feeling more then a little confused when you get your Mercedes-Benz serviced, your not alone.  New customers frequently tell us  

that they're not really sure what service their car should have.  They are not at all confussed about how much money they have been

spending for questionable service.  Vertually every new customer tells us they have been spending way to much for very little service.  This

seems to be a universal truth for everyone these days.  The heart of the problem in most things, is not clearly understanding what we're

paying for.  When it comes to service on your Mercedes-Benz, it's almost impossible for a customer to compair the price for a service at one

shop with the price they pay at another.  That's because repair shops aren't all doing the exact same thing on a particular maintenance

service.  You would think that there should be some standardized list of things that are done on a particular service.  The first problem is

everyone doesn't even give the various services the same name.  It would be like going to one grocery store and the call a gallon of milk one

thing and every other store called it something else.  And if that wasn't confussing enough, the farmers that produce the milk decided

every few years that they would call it something else.  It's maddening for everyone.  Generally when things aren't clearly spelled out, it's a

way of cheating consummers.  One thing you can expect from us, is a clear explanation of what we are doing and why we have to do it. 

There is far more to service then checking off a bunch of boxes on a sheet of paper.  Each model has it's own ideosyincracies that are

generally not on a maintenance sheet.  There are hundereds of things that an experianced mechanic can do to prevent known problems and

save substancial amounts of money for very little cost.  There are lots of failures that tend to happen at about the same milage on every

model.  What kind of favor does a mechanic do you, if he just does what it says on a maintenance sheet and never mentions the hose that

he's seen break on dozens of other models like yours at the same milage yours is at?  Most people want to prevent an expensive repair

before it happens.  When we service a car, we'll tell you about the problem that we've seen or read a service bulletin about.  Sometimes a

new customer takes this the wrong way.  They've been scammed so many times that they

don't believe a mechanic really has their best interest at heart.  We know that loyal customers

are the key to success.  To gain the trust of loyal customers we have to prove that what we

recommend is going to be in the customers best interest. 

       opefully this economic mess we‘re in won‘t last forever.  Giving owners good advice 

about maintaining their Mercedes-Benz is the first step in saving money.  Many of the 

new customers we meet are looking for a second opinion about a repair another shop

has recommended.  Often the way the other shop wants to make the repair is not what

it will take to really fix the problem.  Owners will show us an estimate that is very high and involves expensive

parts.  While this may well fix their problem, there is often a much cheaper way to accomplish the same repair.  

We had a new customer with a CLK convertible that the top stopped mid way going up.  The other shop wanted

$4000 to "replace the cables".  First, there aren't any "cables" that cost $4000.  After a quick look, we saw the 

fluid level for the top's hydraulic system was low on fluid.  When the system gets low on fluid it quits working mid

way in its cycle.  We put more fluid in and it started working.  We gave the owner a choice.  We can fix the leak or

you can top off the fluid once in a while.  We see this kind of thing every day.  We know that if we are honest

with our customers it will come back to us in the long run.  It works in every kind of business we've ever seen.  We

have enough legitimate work that we don't have to resort to these tricks.  It's also nice to go home a night and not

worry about getting caught looking stupid.  If we make a mistake, it's not because we were trying to pull

something.  We'll make it right without being forced to do it. 

        e're often amazed when a customer will look strictly at the price and hasn't got a clue if they are getting any

value.  Every hour of every day, someone calls "shopping prices".  Some don't even tell us what model they

own or even what the problem is.  They just want a number.  If they do mention the problem, it's more in the form

of a question; "how much does it cost to fix a oil leak".   Last week a caller wanted to know the price of a

Transmission because theirs wouldn't shift.  They didn't want to hear that the car may not even need a

Transmission, they were sure it needed a Transmission and anyone that tries to explain what the real problem

might be,is just trying to waste their money.  We know that many people don't trust mechanics and frankly, it's

hard to blame them.  But we've been doing this a real long time.  I'm sure there is someone that knows more about

a few problems, but it's not enough to change the fundamentals.  We don't want to see you waste money any more

then you do.  It's our job to tell you all your options and what experience has taught us is the best choice.  Just

because you once had a Transmission that failed doesn't mean anything when it comes to a Mercedes

Transmission.it then you realize.  We've seen hundreds of Transmissions replaced because the

mechanic doesn't really know how to fix it.  Because they don't want to take the risk or they don't want to admit

that they don't know how to fix it, they just replace it with a new one.  They will rationalize it buy saying "sooner

or later it would have needed a new one anyway".  This is the typical mind set for all kinds of repairs.  We

would like to think that we have the confidence to repair any problem and not just throw new parts at a problem.