HELP Garage has gone AWOL

[memyselfandi]

Help Please

I have taken my Coupe C230K 2002 In for a A service and a couple of little gripes sorting as per my other thread on this section. The independant garage has called me to say that since I brought it in the Engine management light has come on and it is shutting down Cylinder 2. They say they have spoke to Merc and say say it is a known problem and it will need a new Cylinder head at £1750 Plus 11 Hours Labour. My warranty only ran out on the 30th of September 2005.

Anyone heard of this problem?

Can anyone advise me?

Regards

MemyselfandI

 

[tamrsoft]

I would be suspicious of the Garages statement. Replacing a cylinder head indicates a mechanical problem needs to be fixed such as warped head or a crack leaking coolant etc etc. You need to find out why the engine management light came on by getting the fault codes downloaded and not just by a 'so called' telephone call to Mercedes. Engine management lights are usually caused by faults fedback from the engine management system not from failing cylinder heads. The ignition or fuel injection may not be working on the suspect cylinder for some reason totally unrelated to the cylinder head. Check it out before blowing a lot of cash.

 

[mobeyone]

I would raise an eyebrow aswell.

Get a second opinion.

 

[david_h]

My money is on them taking it for a spin, caning the sh1t out of it, and breaking it.

Usual trick is to remove the bulb behind the dash, though it must be bad if they're admitting it.

I have sympathy for anyone who has to give their car to someone they don't know personally for repairs.

 

[30something]

Got any free legal helpline numbers? (you aften get them with bank accounts, RAC etc)
give them a call, this is a huge bill you are facing here and the fault (well catastrophic failure actually) occured whilst the car was in their hands.

 

[grober]

No-mans Land

£1750 +11 HOURS LABOUR on the basis of a phonecall! Maybe your caught in no-mans land between the independant and MERC dealer. Trust neither till you get some hard info. fault codes etc. If the independant starts work on the cylinder head you can wave bye bye to any compensation from MB!! To get some compensation from merc if its a known fault THEY WILL INSIST ON ANY REMEDIAL WORK BEING DONE "IN HOUSE". Maybe try another MB dealer??

 

[SportsCoupeRich]

ouch. def get the car away from the independants and straight to a mb dealership.

 

[Flash]

My instinct tells me they are "dodgy" - As others have already pointed out a phone call to MB cannot confirm what they claim and you def need a second opinion... Funny how they have a full breakdown of all costs before calling you too and the fact that this "fault" occurred as soon as you left the car int heir custody... I have never heard of the aboev being a common fault on on the W202 before...

 

[Shude]

I have never heard of the aboev being a common fault on on the W202 before...

W203

 

[Flash]

W203

Get it down to MB - dont mention indy had a look and try a good will claim...

 

[fuzzer]

W203

Its the same engine ...

 

[Flash]

Help Please

I have taken my Coupe C230K 2002 In for a A service and a couple of little gripes sorting as per my other thread on this section. The independant garage has called me to say that since I brought it in the Engine management light has come on and it is shutting down Cylinder 2. They say they have spoke to Merc and say say it is a known problem and it will need a new Cylinder head at £1750 Plus 11 Hours Labour. My warranty only ran out on the 30th of September 2005.

Anyone heard of this problem?

Can anyone advise me?

Regards

MemyselfandI

NAME AND SHAME the garage so that we all know to steer clear of them for the future I'd say....

 

[miknik]

271 engine right?

Its a common problem on the early ones, the valve guides weren't put into the head staright during manufacture and they wear, eventually you lose compression, normally around the 30k mile mark. A new cylinder head is the only way to repair this.

 

[grober]

Known fault!

There you go! Guess we must all be a bit paranoid on this forum! Sounds as if everyone was telling the truth. Mercedes used to be quite good at sorting known manufacturing defects for free. What's the mileage on the car. If its reasonable and its got a full MB service history then even if its out of warranty you still should have a claim. Some documentary evidence of the same fault on other cars would be useful. But as stated before its essential to let an MB dealer repair the car. If you belong to any motoring organisation like the AA / RAC get advice from them. GOOD LUCK!

 

[tamrsoft]

If you were the original owner of the car and Mercedes sold it to you knowing that engine had a manufacturing fault that would possibly fail within an unrealistic period of time then they have a duty of care to inform you (check with your local Trading Standards Office). I would gather all relevant notes from this forum and hit the Dealer and MB with them. Get them to sell you the cylinder head you should have had in the first place and not some faulty item they were trying to unload on an unsuspecting customer.

 

[miknik]

If you don't get a goodwill fix from MB then drop me a line. I've got a spare 271 engine kicking around in the garage with a good cylinder head I could pull off for you....