SLK 171 rear subframe good will?

[Adam1966]

Whilst I don’t blame them for being cautious, it’s my gut feeling that ‘goodwill’ jobs like these are probably less favourable than the other bread and butter stuff hence they’re probably being cautious so as not to have a ramp tied up if things did go wrong.

Be interesting to hear from someone who does this work regularly as to how often these subframe bolts snap or shear off - and whether damage to the threads in the body is likely.

They must be pretty substantial - I wonder if they sieze into the bushes rather than the threaded part.

If so, I suspect removal may not be so bad - but still annoying if you’re only paid a low hourly rate by MB for the work.

Was the £900 suggested as an ‘in case/worst case’ charge? I mean they may not all shear off during removal so an additional six hours labour may not be necessary?

The price they quote is 6 hours and yes how would they know for sure that every bolt would have to be handled with the same time consuming caution unless they are all easily visible ( I don't know if they are ) or if they have prior painful experience that the bolts are as equally falable as the subframe issue.
It would take an answer from someone with inside experience to answer that I guess

 

[Will]

The price they quote is 6 hours and yes how would they know for sure that every bolt would have to be handled with the same time consuming caution unless they are all easily visible ( I don't know if they are ) or if they have prior painful experience that the bolts are as equally falable as the subframe issue.
It would take an answer from someone with inside experience to answer that I guess

What I was getting at is the six hours/£900 thing, is there a possibility that you wouldn’t need to pay the full amount if the bolts came out with less hassle than expected.

Could be worth negotiating on the brake lines as part of the job, as you’d usually be spending quite a bit on those to be replaced alone even if the subframe was okay

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I was in a main dealer workshop last week looking at the subframe on my SLK of a similar vintage. They showed me the condition of one which was being replaced on a 2012 SLK, and it was the youngest lad in the workshop doing the work. I didn’t get the impression that it was difficult work.

 

[Trickythemerc]

Warranty repair times are based on working on a new vehicle and no allowance is made for siezed or rusted fixings. Consequential damage to other parts is excluded from most claims unless agreed before work starts. The dealership will be working at warranty rate, which is less than retail rate and would have to stand any over cost work. The £900.00 is a safety net for them should things go wrong.

 

[BlackC55]

We did about 30 rear subframes before MB decided to do them FOC. Ive seen horrible corroded bolts but with some gentle persuasion they always come out. A little heat, some hammer blows in the right place and a impact gun is all that's required. Tell them to put their big boy pants on and stop being soft and to get on with it.

 

[BlackC55]

If they do snap they just need to be drilled out carefully and re-tapped.