[ds968]

Just got back from my mechanic's shop ( balance belt adjustment ) where he was also working on a customer's Mercedes S 500 with a busted front shock. Price of the part / shock cartridge only : ..are you ready for this ? ...here it comes.... any minute now....wait for it.. $ 1,300 !! [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif[/img]

So I asked him, why not replace it with some after market Koni or Bilstein, or whatever else for a fraction of the cost.. well, he checked all over the place since yesterday, but it seems Mercedes thought of that well in advance [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dry.gif[/img] and there's nothing else that will fit in there, or one can retrofit, without practically changing the entire suspension. Oh, but there's more - even if you were going to do that
( change the entire supension with non-MBZ components ) the car would throw more error codes than you can handle, unless you reprogram the ECU ...assuming it even allows that.. because everything is integrated with the master computer and various systems will shut down ( ABS, etc ) if it reads a foreign element which does not reconcile with what was originally designed to be there.
On that topic, one of my coworkers who has a 05 or 06 E 320 ( or E 350 - not sure ) tried to get a better and needless to say a far less expensive aftermarket stereo when his $ 2,000 MBZ head unit broke - ha! , the joke was on him I guess - one cannot put anything in there other than the factory MBZ radio because that's also integrated with the computer in a way that causes everything else, sound related or not, to go bezerk !

They call this high-tech, all computer dependent set up to be a material value, a great attribute of these new vehicles. Right [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dry.gif[/img]

There is no way anyone can convince me this is not a deliberate attempt by car makers to rip off the public, holding everyone by
the cojones without any choice but to buy dealer crap at exponentially higher cost than a like-quality part you might otherwise find elsewhere.

Suddenly our 17 year old cars' parts and choices of aftermarket parts seems a lot more reasonable than it did yesterday. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

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[Scott Collins]

Great story!!! Cajones!
That's the first time I every saw that spelled out. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif[/img] It hurts...

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[DiREW0LF]

Unfortunately prices like that are standard for any high(er) end vehicle. My Range Rover was the same way. One shock/airbag assembly was a little over $1500 from an online wholesaler. Land Rover wanted over $2000 for it. Same thing with our Jaguar. Technology and engineering cost money, though I'm not saying every over priced part is highly engineered or technological... When it comes down to it though don't buy the vehicle if you can't afford or are not willing to maintain it properly.

As for changing the stereo, it can be done but you either need an interface box to connect to the CAN bus to tell the BECM that everything is ok. Or in some cases the proper diagnostic tool can turn off the checks for he standard radio.

High parts prices are the reason that most 924's, 944's and some 968's are so beat. They were in a price range where average Joe enthusiast could buy one, but when it came time for repairs he couldn't or wouldn't spend the money on the proper parts/repairs. You can already see the Boxsters and Caymans going down the same path. And with those not only are parts expensive but most engine related items require the engine to be removed or half the car being disassembled. Asside from the fact that I don't fit into a Boxster, ease of repairs and maintenance are a major factor why I would never buy one.

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[rxter]

Sounds like MB has installed an immune system. Nice...

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[durtkillon]

I think it's only going to get worse in the future. Most car companies buy their entire dash from a supplier. Visteon, Jonhson Controls, etc... They all package the climate control, security system, GPS, stereo with integrated steering controls and a CPU that is programmed to manage it all. The upside is that MB and the like gets bragging rights for all the features that come standard and it didn't cost them much to buy it as a package with good fit and finish. The downside is that nothing is off the shelf and is programmed specifically for the car. I don't believe they do it to make money. I think they do it because it's difficult to compete. I guess that's a chicken and egg discussion.

On board hard drives, WIFI, wireless sync and streaming video are all projects OEM's are working on with their subsuppliers. Even Ford Focus designers are hashing these features out. It will sell cars, but second generation and DIY owners will rue the day when it comes time to replace unique componentry.

As for the shocks, I wonder if MB used the ferro viscous (not sure that's the correct term) shocks that control the viscosity of the fluid by changing an electric field. Cool technology, but that would explain why they are not available off the shelf and why they throw error codes if they are disoconnected.

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[4matic]

Mercedes uses the Airmatic shock and suspension system. You can get rebuilt shocks for $400 and the rebuild dyi kit is not bad. A porsche 968 owner complaining about repair and parts costs? Please..

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[ds968]

<!--quoteo(post=81946:date=Oct 16 2009, 09:54 AM:name=4matic)-->QUOTE (4matic @ Oct 16 2009, 09:54 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}><!--quotec-->Mercedes uses the Airmatic shock and suspension system. You can get rebuilt shocks for $400 and the rebuild dyi kit is not bad. A porsche 968 owner complaining about repair and parts costs? Please..<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->

any idea where one can get rebuilts ? my mech's sourcing came up empty on that as well..

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