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Figures I can't have nice things. MB is going to burn for this.

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kevman said:
Just pay for the repair and be done with it. Seriously. The more you think about how it should have been recalled the more you're gonna be pissed. I've been in a similar situation on one of my cars and $900 later I have piece of mind and I'm done with it.
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But I like being pissed. My brother probably will run into this too. He's got an 06 R350...
 
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sdifox said:
yeah, break off a piece and it's a bullet... as to DIY...no. This ain't changing tires. wish I had shop friends.

solenoid, seal rings, chain tightener, balance shaft, counterweight and chain tensioner .

More than a week of labour 😱

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&...GUtNTZlNGVlNzk2NDVi&hl=en_GB&authkey=CK3b-LQN


PS the car is an AWD, I don't know if that makes replacing the balance shaft any harder.
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No way. More like one whole Saturday provided you have all the parts and tools gathered in advance.

And yea, you'd have slipping and slacked timing chain, guides, tensioners, and cam sensors and phasers being destroyed by the shit flying around as it comes apart, other sprockets getting chewed up, etc. Not cool for something that isn't even vital to the engine.
 
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fbrdphreak said:
That sucks man and is the prime reason why I don't see myself owning a high end car out of warranty.
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Um isn't your approach even more expensive than the OP's approach? He needs to pay maybe $1000 to fix some little bullshit problem. You're talking about eating depreciation on a Mercedes during its highest depreciating years. At a depreciation rate of 20%, a $40,000 luxury car is worth $8,000 less in the first year alone.
 
ShawnD1 said:
Um isn't your approach even more expensive than the OP's approach? He needs to pay maybe $1000 to fix some little bullshit problem. You're talking about eating depreciation on a Mercedes during its highest depreciating years. At a depreciation rate of 20%, a $40,000 luxury car is worth $8,000 less in the first year alone.
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Multiple thousands... I have read figures from 4000 to 7000 :\

And seeing how I am in Canada, I am sure it is going to be closer to 7000 than 4000.
 
exdeath said:
No way. More like one whole Saturday provided you have all the parts and tools gathered in advance.

And yea, you'd have slipping and slacked timing chain, guides, tensioners, and cam sensors and phasers being destroyed by the shit flying around as it comes apart, other sprockets getting chewed up, etc. Not cool for something that isn't even vital to the engine.
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I am just reading that service bulletin and doing a quick calc. unless I am reading it wrong. Should check if indie shops can handle this job I guess.
 
sdifox said:
Multiple thousands... I have read figures from 4000 to 7000 :\

And seeing how I am in Canada, I am sure it is going to be closer to 7000 than 4000.
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FUUUUUUUU
Option B: disable the warning light on the dash then sell the car to someone else.

I'm starting to appreciate the beauty of cheap cars. If I smash my crayolla into a power box, I can just throw it away and get another 🙂
 
ShawnD1 said:
FUUUUUUUU
Option B: disable the warning light on the dash then sell the car to someone else.

I'm starting to appreciate the beauty of cheap cars. If I smash my crayolla into a power box, I can just throw it away and get another 🙂
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I cannot do that. I am not willing to screw someone else over.

Mind you the total spent on maint and repair on my Protege5 is still more than what I have incurred so far with the E350 4Matic, albeit the P5 was a longer time frame. Particularlly memorable was the 1700 dollar timing belt + water pump job on the Protege5.
 
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sdifox said:
But I like being pissed. My brother probably will run into this too. He's got an 06 R350...
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haha...then you would have liked my situation , I just passed the powertrain warranty by 4k miles when I had my issue. Would have been covered if the goddamn car acted up earlier.
 
sdifox said:
I cannot do that. I am not willing to screw someone else over.

Mind you the total spent on maint and repair on my Protege5 is still more than what I have incurred so far with the E350 4Matic, albeit the P5 was a longer time frame. Particularlly memorable was the 1700 dollar timing belt + water pump job on the Protege5.
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Is that including the $7,000 you're about to spend? Also sounds like your protege was kind of a lemon. I've had a 08 civic for 3 years now and 50,000 miles and we've had a rear caliper that needed to be replaced. That's it. I'll bet that with that out of the way we've got another 40-50 thousand trouble free miles ahead of us. How many miles on your Mercedes?
 
OILFIELDTRASH said:
Is that including the $7,000 you're about to spend? Also sounds like your protege was kind of a lemon. I've had a 08 civic for 3 years now and 50,000 miles and we've had a rear caliper that needed to be replaced. That's it. I'll bet that with that out of the way we've got another 40-50 thousand trouble free miles ahead of us. How many miles on your Mercedes?
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not yet of course. 114k km on the E350 right now. Maybe it's me :hmm:

I have not talked to MB stealership yet.


Humm, MB did send me a 15% off coupon for parts and service 😛
 
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kevman said:
haha...then you would have liked my situation , I just passed the powertrain warranty by 4k miles when I had my issue. Would have been covered if the goddamn car acted up earlier.
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That really sucked.
 
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id start intensely looking into finding the most respected independent mb-only or german-only mechanic in your general vicinity.
 
OILFIELDTRASH said:
You gotta have cash to own a mb. I don't get the guys making under 100k buying these German cars? Really you should be making about 120k minimum before owning a luxury car IMO. Hopefully you can afford the several thousand dollars repair bill. Good luck.
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At least. In a number of parts of the country...120K is not "luxury" money because housing, etc. costs so much.
 
ShawnD1 said:
Actually 120k is above the median in every county in the US.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highest-income_counties_in_the_United_States

Highest one on the chart is $110k and that was before the economic meltdown.
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Yeah...but the median can't necessarily afford a luxury vehicle. From a purely financial perspective, premium/luxury cars should probably only be purchased by the top 5% earners. Again, that is from a purely financial perspective...I understand that more than finances drive people's purchasing decisions.
 
That sucks. That's worse the the HPFP problem affecting my BMW. BMW finally had to fess up that they had a problem after it was brought up on Nightline. Hopefully, it will get brought out too and shame MB into standing behind their customers.
 
That sucks. 🙁

The only inherent problem with the engine in the Insight is a weak/faulty EGR valve, typically only lasts about 150,000 miles. But it's only a $180 part, and takes about 5 minutes to replace.

The only major problem with the car in general is the transmission. They suffer from a weak input shaft bearing. They can last anywhere from 80 to 200,000+ miles, depending on your driving style.

I'm hoping when mine goes out again that I can have a transmission shop find a beefier bearing...
 
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