Whyyy do they do this? Possible rip off?

[brokenthusiast]

I really hope I'm not beating a dead horse with this, but the people at the garage said that the ABS BAS ESP control unit(that hard drive looking thing that controls the three functions, as I understand) costs about 1100 Pounds in INR at least. But when I go online and search for units, I find it to be around 20 Euros from top rated used sellers on ebay. What am I missing here? If the cheap ebay unit might be bogus, what seller/ website would you suggest for this? And if I do find the right one, can it be installed on the W210 2001 E220 CDI in India, or is this a region specific thing? Just as a reminder, this one has the transmission of an E270 CDI of the same era. I have an uncle in London who might bring it to India if we find the right one. Also have people I know in Germany and Sweden, if that information is of any use for finding this unit. Will the part number of the module in Europe for the same model and year match that of India?

Thanks in advance.

 

[markjay]

The module in your car will have a Mercedes Benz part number. E.g. A 212 123 45 67. Make sure that the substitute unit has the same part number. With regards eBay prices, these will be second hand units pulled-out from cars at the breakers yard, so will obviously be much cheaper than a brans new unit bought from an MB dealer.

 

[brokenthusiast]

The module in your car will have a Mercedes Benz part number. E.g. A 212 123 45 67. Make sure that the substitute unit has the same part number. With regards eBay prices, these will be second hand units pulled-out from cars at the breakers yard, so will obviously be much cheaper than a brans new unit bought from an MB dealer.

Does mercedes Mercedes Benz(or bosch, rather) still sell these modules brand new? And about the ones on ebay, I'm aware that they usually come from cars that are not running, thank you. How is the quality of these products, usually? Anybody who had obtained this module for their car, please share your experiences. Feel free to share a good online seller for these types of modules.

 

[E55BOF]

Make it easier to help; tell us the part number..

 

[brokenthusiast]

Make it easier to help; tell us the part number..

Just found it.

Part no. 031 545 07 32 Q02

Picture attached below for reference.

 

[brokenthusiast]

Follow-up question: On the second half right hand side, there's numbers that read 01-04-24. What does that mean? Something similar to an expiry date?

 

[E55BOF]

There are lots of them on eBay, all used parts, from about £20 upwards. There is one new one with Mercedes in the UK, but it costs £1776...

The part number is the same unit all over the world; India, USA, Nigeria, anywhere. Get your uncle to buy two, from different sellers with good feedback, and send them to you by post or bring them to you. They will probably both be serviceable - the large number on eBay at very low prices suggests they are very reliable - but just in case you get a dud, you have a spare.

Of course, if they are very reliable, there's no guarantee that a replacement unit will fix your problem, but it will not cost very much to get one and try it.

The numbers 01-04-24 mean it was manufactured on 24 April 2001.

 

[brokenthusiast]

There are lots of them on eBay, all used parts, from about £20 upwards. There is one new one with Mercedes in the UK, but it costs £1776...

The part number is the same unit all over the world; India, USA, Nigeria, anywhere. Get your uncle to buy two, from different sellers with good feedback, and send them to you by post or bring them to you. They will probably both be serviceable - the large number on eBay at very low prices suggests they are very reliable - but just in case you get a dud, you have a spare.

Of course, if they are very reliable, there's no guarantee that a replacement unit will fix your problem, but it will not cost very much to get one and try it.

The numbers 01-04-24 mean it was manufactured on 24 April 2001.

Thanks a lot, E55BOF.

I didn't know that new W210 ESP modules were officially available at Mercedes. Not that I'm gonna buy one brand new, but it's good to know.

With my luck, I might actually need two modules. Wouldn't it be easier if he just brought it to India in his cabin bag/ check in luggage if he comes for here soon enough(assuming it's allowed)? Also, what did you mean when you said servicable? That it might need some refurbishing or that it can be worked on easily?

About the part number being the same the world over, I don't get the point of asking about the part number, not that I have a problem with that obviously . Nothing passive aggressive or anything, I'm just a little confused.

Anyway, I just found one on ebay from a seller "parts_emp_ltd" (says 98.8% positive feedback from about 51,000 people), 22 quid, comes from an 02 E220 CDI estate. Another one is 24 quid, seller name "moto-auto-parts24", 100% rating of 758 customers. I'll be searching for more. Any recommendations regarding sellers? Not asking just within London, but also Germany, Sweden and Canada as well. Offline places are on the table too.

Are there any sources where I could learn how to replace and install an ESP module and such on the side of the highway, if it ever comes to that? Because I'm planning on keeping one in the car like I would a spare tyre.

 

[Salal]

That car seems more hassle than it’s worth. However in regards to your problem and the ESP/BAS control module they should be a straight swap if you want to change it and that you know your current one. Most control units on W210 are not really programmed or coded. You just have to make sure that the MB and Bosch part numbers match. You may have to recalibrate the steering wheel lock to lock afterwards to clear the lights and erase the fault memory on diagnostics.

Buying second hand is just a lucky dip, hence the not bad advise about buying two due to your location. And try buy one from a seller that’s a breaker as most likely it would have came from a working car.

 

[E55BOF]

Brokenenthusiast, I asked you for the part number to be sure that we were all talking about the same thing. We are.

Judging from the number of these modules on eBay and how much cheaper they are than brand new ones, very few people buy them, so they must be very reliable. Whether somebody brings them to you or posts them to you doesn't matter; whatever you prefer. You will almost certainly only need one, but at that sort of price I'd get two.

'Serviceable' means 'working'; unserviceable means not working.

If you want to know how to do jobs on the car, just Google the question, or ask on MB forums.

 

[markjay]

What E55BOF was saying, is that the part is the same all over the world, i.e. there isn't a different model of the ABS/ESP control module for the Indian market.

BUT - different models of Mercedes will have different types of control modules. Also the same model of car but from a different year could have different module. So it's important to make sure that the part number of the unit that you buy on eBay is identical to the part number of the unit currently fitted to your car. I.e. it's not enough that it 'looks the same' or that the seller says that it came from the same model of car.

Also, there are many reasons why a car could have an ABS/ESP fault.

The most common ones are:

- Weak battery

- Any voltage problem e.g. faulty alternator or faulty voltage regulator

- Faulty wheel speed sensor (stroboscopic ring) on one or more wheels

- Faulty Steering Wheel Angle Sensor (fitted to the base of the steering wheel)

- Faulty brake light switch (under the brake pedal)

- And, if the car was left parked for a long period of time and the battery went flat, it will show ABS/ESP fault, that needs to be cleared using a diagnostic computer, but the car will be fine after that, without replacing any parts.

So it's important to identify the fault correctly using STAR diagnostic computer, and not just replace parts.

 

[brokenthusiast]

Thank you for all your replies. I've stumbled across a car breaker store on ebay named apexcarbreakers, and matched the part numbers. When asked about whether I need to reprogram the module, they've said that I do need to reprogram the module. Unfortunately, my quest for an answer on google has proven unfruitful. When he said that it needs to be reprogrammed, does he mean that I need to recaliberate the steering wheel lock to lock? Or could it be something more complicated than that?

 

[brokenthusiast]

There's a seller named "bestpartsforu2", who has replied that it doesn't need programming. Don't know which one to believe. This one costs 10 quid and the breaker's costs 27, just putting it out there.