"Mercedes-Benz" is a trademark of Mercedes-Benz of North America, Mercedes-Benz USA LLC and other Mercedes-Benz corporations. The word "Mercedes-Benz" is solely used to identify a make of automobile. It does not imply or indicate any affiliation or relationship between Stephens Service Center and the manufacturer or its dealers.
These are front brake pads we took out of a 2005 E350. The owner was a first time customer that complained of a loud knocking noise when they applied the brakes. We took the brakes apart we found these brake pads that are smaller then normal. One retaining pin was missing and they were moving so much in the caliper that they knocked. But even worse, the brake material is extremely glazed from overheating. The material is so hard the driver had to push much harder on the pedal to stop the car.
This car only had 37000 miles. These are "not" the brake pads Mercedes-Benz made for this car. The owner had taken the car to a national car repair chain which guaranties the brake pads they install to last for as long as you own the car. We saw the invoice in the glove box and they cost $99.95.
The brake rotors are now ruined from the excess heat. They also didn't install the sensors in the brake pads which turns on the warning light in the instrument cluster to tell you when they are worn out.
We are amazed that someone with a car this nice, or any car for that matter, would trust it to complete amateurs. They are very lucky they weren't in a accident. It doesn't take a big imagination to think of the life changing event that could easily have occurred. If you are trying to save money on car repairs, you might give it a thought about just how is the shop going to"save" you the extra money.
It makes you wonder how many accidents are caused by things just like this that no one seems to know what happened.
Benefits of a Broker Pre Owned Sales Assistance:
An experienced Broker that has bought thousands of cars
Avoids 70% of the new car depreciation
We check the car for your benefit, not for Used Car Manager's benefit
No risk .... If it's not perfect we give it back and get another one
Priced below wholesale and you can double check your price in Kelly Blue Book
A
When people ask for the price of a Major Service, such as the 30,000 or 60,000 Mile Maintenance, there is a big difference between the amount of work we do and the work others do on their service. You would think that all the services would be done the same way by every repair shop. I'm sorry to say, but we don't all do them the same way. A guy called yesterday and ask how much for a Transmission Service. Then he said "your the same price as the dealer". What he apparently didn't care about was the difference in how we do the service. They drain out 4 quarts of oil and call it good enough. We flush out all 10 quarts, which takes more time and cost more for the oil. If we did it the same way, our price would be half of theirs. But, we won't do it that way even if you say it's OK, because we know that even at half the price, it's a worthless service. Great, now you have to guess who's doing it right & who's skipping things to make it sound like it cost less. If we could see the car, then we have a better idea what we are dealing with. People are afraid they are going to get talked into a expensive repair they don't want. We can tell when people want time to think about what their getting into, and it's fine with us. I don't like getting rushed into spending money and I assume other people don't like it either. Throwing numbers out over the phone is just not what we like doing because it bad way to attract business. If we give you the lowest number and you come in, one of two things will happen. We'll see the car didn't really need whatever it is you ask about, and it that case we're the hero. If it's worse then what we were told, the customer thinks we pulled a fast one. So all it means is, we'll make half the new customers mad no matter how well we explain things. All people want to remember is the low price you told me over the phone.
A customer asked us the other day, if there was a cheaper way to do the Major Service. They wanted to do the service but their business has been slow and they needed to save money. We sincerely feel like we are all in this mess together. This is a new situation for everyone and we think it's best to just address it head-on. All the things that we do on a Major Service are important for one reason or another. Each of the car's systems have some price to pay if they aren't serviced. It's only a matter of time and there will be a failure of some sort. It's just the way machines are. But a machine will also last longer if it has some preventive maintenance. It doesn't matter if it's Space Schedule or a Lawn Mower. There are however, some things that cause bigger problems then others if they are ignored. For example, if the fuel filter plugs up, the car quits running. Yes, that can be a real problem depending on when it happens. But it doesn't ruin the engine. But if the transmission oil isn't changed, it will certainly ruin the transmission. So in that regard, the transmission service is more important then the fuel filter. To save even more money but still provide a reasonable level of protection, just the oil in the transmission could be changed. This is not the "approved" way to service the transmission, but we're not so self righteous that we tell you how to spend your money. Sometimes in life we don't always get to do everything the way we would like.
There are many repairs that can be done with a eye to saving money. We will explain the pros and cons of the particular service that needs to be done. Doing something is better then nothing at all. We know this mess won't last forever. We're betting that customers will remember who was trying to help out when things were not so good.
Examples of ways to save money on a repair:
~ Vacuum leaks in doors, climate control, closing assist, engine shut off, ect. (We can block off the section that leaks & then the remaining parts work.)
~ Fluid leaks (We can put "Stop leak" additives in the system to help. It's cheap & we've been amazed how many times it works. We even put "Stop Leak" in the systems just to prevent potential leaks before they start.
~ A/C leaks can be dealt with in several ways. The compressor may leak, but if we get the auxiliary fans working faster & sooner, it reduces the pressure in the system. The air is also colder. "Stop leak" also works in the A/C. Expensive hoses can be repaired for hundreds of dollars less.
~ Antenna motor is inoperative. (We can replace the broken gears inside for half the price of a new antenna motor.
~ Suspension struts that crack & leak air pressure. (We fill the cracks with epoxy for 1/200 of the normal repair price.
~ Transmissions that shift bad. (The electronic transmissions have a sensor plate inside that gets dirty with a metallic dust that clings to the speed sensors. Other shops replace the whole transmission. We have replaced hundreds of sensor plates & saved customers $5500.)
~ Many shops replace the brake rotors every time the brake pads wear out. This is not Mercedes-Benz policy. The rotors are only changed if they are warped or worn below their minimum. Normally a brake rotor will last three sets of brake pads.
~ Torn axle shaft boots. (We have a special tool that will stretch a special boot, that's not made by Mercedes-Benz, over the joint. This way we don't have to replace the complete axle shaft.)
~ If the Alternator fails, it's often because the voltage regulator brush's are worn out. (We install a new voltage regulator that saves 80% of the cost of a Alternator.
~ Windshield wiper motors that freeze up. (The grease inside the wiper gear gets old & dry's out. We repack the gear with fresh grease, & it starts working again. Saves 50%.)
~ 380SL & 450SL Windows that go off track. (We glue the guide rail back on. Saves 70%.)
~ Blower motors that burn up. (We will replace just the motor & not the complete housing. Saves 75%.)
~ Timing Chains on older V8's cost $1300. We can just replace the rails that break for $400.
~ Rather then replacing the radiator, we install a 75C thermostat in engine's that run hot in the summer.
We'll also tell you when you don't really need to fix something. Not every problem has to be fixed. Some things are only a nuisance, & they won't hurt anything. It can be pleasant change when you have someone tell you the truth instead of always trying to sell you something. We know if we build up trust, when you have things that must be repaired, you'll choose us. We have enough work to do, so we don't have to scalp everyone that walks through the door.
The above photo is a "Driveshaft Flex Disc".
A new customer said another shop told her it
was bad. There is nothing wrong with it.
NOTHING!
The photo on the right, is from the same car.
This is a Control Arm Bushing that is split &
is starting to rub its way through the
subframe. The wheel will literally fall off in a
few thousand miles. At best, it will be a very
expensive repair when the wheel comes off.
Mercedes-Benz even issued a Service
Bulletin "P-B-33.15/12d", about the problem.
They want it inspected on every service visit.
This is but one of the countless small but
important things we do at every service.
The shop that "inspected" this car for the customer is the same one that sold her the car. They should be well aware of the service bulletin.
They never mentioned anything about it. NOTHING!
The Flex disc is an easy repair. The Subframe and Control Arm is hard job.
"It is impossible to make anything foolproof because fools are so ingenious."
How does the "Check Engine" light work?
The warning light is complicated on newer cars. We won't insult your intelligence with some superficial answer, so here is a technical answer. The warning light isn't talking about the engine. (Some bureaucrat is having a good laugh over this.) The light is for the emission control system. The emission system over laps many other systems. The transmission, rear axle, wheel speed sensors, fuel injection, fuel tank, fuel pump, vacuum system, instrument cluster, tires, & air injection are all part of the system. (How the heck are the tires part of the system? If one wheel is different then the others, the speed sensors detect the difference & the engine control module needs to know the correct wheel speed.) Anything that will confuse a signal going the Engine Control Module is part of the system. The engine control module has the final say in what the fuel mixture will be. Anything that interferes with the data stream can cause the engine control module to switch to a default signal so the engine continues to run, but the engine control module is going to annoy you with the red warning light. If a important signal is lost, the engine control module is going to do more then annoy you with a red light. It's going to switch over to a "Limp Home" mode. It's saying, "HELLO; you behind the wheel. I'm not liking something that just happened. Because I'm a nice guy, I'm not going to leave you parked in the middle of the street, but I'm going to run real slow so you don't ignore me like you usually do." If the engine control module detects a misfire at a spark plug, it will shut off the fuel injector to that spark plug. It's saying, "Mr. Spark Plug. If your not going to do anything, I'm not going to give you any fuel. Because I don't want Mr. Catalytic Converter to get hot trying to burn off the unburned fuel Mr. Spark Plug is not burning." This is why one day the engine can run rough and then run just fine the next time you start the car. If the Engine Control Module doesn't detect a misfire, it keeps pouring the fuel to the cylinders. The misfire can be from a old spark plug that has a wide gap or doesn't ground well to the cylinder head because it is rusted to the threads.
As you can see, there are a lot of things going on behind that red warning light. That's why if you ignore it, you do so at your own financial peril. A overheated catalytic converter can be very expensive to replace.
Regular oil changes & maintenance service will truly save you money. Dirty engine oil breaks down at the piston rings & blows past them. The burnt oil hits the Catalytic Converter & causes it to overheat & plug up even faster then a misfire. (More later, it's bed time & I have to go home.)
Today we had a new customer ask a question that made me feel like I hadn't done a complete job of explaining things. He ask if it was OK if he called me from time to time with questions about his car. He was slightly embarrassed to ask questions about his car because he had owned for five years. As I later though about his question, I wondered what I might have said that made him feel like he couldn't call with questions unless he was spending money. I've always thought of the relationship with customer as a long term commitment. We don't charge customers for every little thing we do. We want you to be the place you go when you have a simple or big problem.
One of our regular customers called while they were in L.A. because the Check Engine light came on. The shop they went into suddenly was telling them they needed $6000 in repairs. They described what the shop was telling them & we told them to drive home. The car was OK & didn't need anywhere near $6000 of work. This relationship is not just about charging you for every word that comes out of our mouths. We know it's a two way street and it will all work out. It's amazing why anyone would think differently towards their customers.
