the Cost of General Auto Repair

My engine overheated (about one week after I paid this shop over $700 to change the oil, rotate the tires, check all the hoses and replace a faulty power steering line that goes to the radiator.) Then I left the lights on, which drained the battery, and guess what? When a Mercedes is jumped with the key in the ignition, it fries the key, so the 'valet key' I'd been using since I lost my original no longer worked. Good thing I'd ordered a new one when I had it serviced the week before, right? NOPE. They won't just mail those special keys to you - so my husband had to drive 100 miles to go pick it up, and when he got there, they couldn't program the remote since he didn't have the vehicle with him. Imagine that. When we finally got the new key back and tried to start the vehicle, my husband figured out that it overheated because of a hole (actually 3 holes) in the radiator. When the engine overheated, it got really hot, then it cooled off and cracked the aluminum block.

I am EXTREMELY dissatisfied with the service I received from this shop. First of all, they ROBBED ME BLIND! Then, they did crappy work. I'm fairly certain that the holes in my radiator are related to the power steering hose they had just replaced the week before - but they refused to take any responsibility whatsoever. I had to pay $250 to tow the vehicle back to their shop (because they're the closest Mercedes authorized repair facility). Then, they charged me $769 in labor (and called that a discount) to tear the engine down far enough to tell me the block was cracked. The quote for a new engine? $20,000 - in a 1998? I don't flippin think so! So, I rented a u-haul and towed it home with the engine in pieces in the back. They wanted to charge me another $500 in labor to put the dang thing back together again. What the hell?! If I'm not gonna be able to drive it home, I guess I don't need the engine in one piece, right? So, I bought a 4-year newer Mercury SUV for about $8000 less then the quoted repair cost, and used that to pull it back home (with the u-haul car hauler.) Now I have the prettiest and heaviest silver lawn ornament you ever did see - sitting in the alley behind my house, right next to my ugly green trashcan. I'm still making payments on that son of a gun. Anybody wanna buy a Mercedes?

DON'T BUY A MERCEDES unless you live in Germany or just have money to burn. Don't even take one if somebody gives it away. You'll get robbed everytime you get the oil changed, which, by the way, you can't do at Wal-Mart. They don't have the 'special tool' you need to even take off the stinkin filter. You have to be a "certified Mercedes mechanic" to even purchase one. What a crock of you-know-what!