Mate of mine owns a Mercedes E320 estate avantgarde, 1998, 120k miles. It's an auto, and decided to stop moving forward the other morning whilst on its way to work. No horrid noises - just lost drive. I know how it feels.
Anyway, upshot was a tow to main dealer (Nooooooo!!!), diagnosis of completely lunched gearbox - debris found in the filter apparently - and a £4k quote to replace the box. Ouch.
Car's worth about 5kish. Otherwise good condition. The service guy at the Merc dealers was sniffing to buy it off him as spares or repair because he "wants the engine for his E200". Not suspicious at all, eh?
Any thoughts on how much a replacement autobox should cost for this car? Mate is in Cheltenham, if that helps.
Would you have the work done or cut your losses?
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I just bought an E320 of '96 vintage, straight six not vee and posted on here a couple of weeks ago about it. One piece of advice I got from Aprillia and other was to have the trans' fluid flushed and re-filled. Well, low and behold I ventured to Exeter yesterday on another van matter and dropped in at the Exeter gearbox centre run by Mr. Terry Porter and I posed him a question or two. He was the most unnasuming and polite gentleman I have met in a long time. He offered what I considered to be sound advice, did not try to 'grab' business or try to pull the wool over my eyes. He also runs an E320! I have no knowledge of costs, but I am in business and I struggle to see 4k for a gearbox job. Sounds ludicrous, but what do Builders Know eh!
Cheers for now folks...MD.
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The rest of the car sounds too nice to scrap, I would get it far away from that service guy and ring around the breakers for a used transmission. These cars are hardly rare and I am sure a few of them will have met an untimely end, leaving behind servicable drivetrain bits.
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Forgot to add, debris in the filter does not mean the transmission is completely done for. It could be from broken bands or clutch friction material. If a used replacement trans is too much then look into rebuilding the current one.
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From HJ's Telegraph column last year:
"Germane gear
We have owned a 2001X Mercedes C200K for 18 months and it has suffered numerous problems. It is automatic and has recently started sticking in gear, which is annoying and potentially dangerous. Any ideas?
J.K., via e-mail
It sounds like a problem with the solenoid valve block that controls the changes. Talk to Trevor King at King Automatics, The Chalk Pit, College Lane, Epsom (01372 728769). "
Could do worse than give this chap a call and see if he can assist for less than £4000. Good luck!
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If you're anywhere near cental Scotland try www.mackie-transmission.com. even if only for advice. I had reason to contact them when BMW 7 Ser. box was giving problems and they were very helpful.
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Sorry, skipped over 2nd last line your post, but advice can be useful from anywhere.
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Apologies again. Their website is still under construction, but their phone is 0141 778 4545
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A quick Google revealed www.grgb.co.uk/ in Bristol and www.testransmissions.co.uk/ in Westbury, Wilshire (free collection -> 50 miles..)
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Thanks for all the replies folks.
Current thinking is to ring around for quotes and get it away from the dealer. A 4 mile tow there and inspection has already cost £200, and they actually want a grand total of £4700 to replace the box.
Oh, and the service manager would like to buy it off him for £1000. Hmmmm...
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Thanks for all the replies folks. Current thinking is to ring around for quotes and get it away from the dealer. A 4 mile tow there and inspection has already cost £200, and they actually want a grand total of £4700 to replace the box. Oh, and the service manager would like to buy it off him for £1000. Hmmmm...
£4700.00. is 4k plus the v.a.t.
Have you ignored my post or have you tried the Exeter guy? OR phone others to get an average picture. If you phone someone up and sound like a 'normal' punter then you are more than likely to be shafted. You have to speak the speak and face them in their office. I am sure that many here know what I am saying even if I haven't put it in favourable terms. Can't believe 4k. Someone is 'P' taking and you should sort it. I would.
Regards....M.D.
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There have been quite a few problems with the earlier W210 autoboxes.
£4k is about the right price for a dealer-supplied recon unit. When you think about the new price of these cars its not really surprising is it?
You are unlikely to source a guaranteed used unit (I wouldn't fit one on a breaker's promise).
By far the best bet is to get the unit reconditioned by an experienced auto transmission rebuilder. I would guess you're looking at £1500 - 2500 depending on the damage and where in the country you are.
The debris could be a 'red herring' (depends what and how much is in there). Could be the front clutch failed, torque convertor failed (although they will usually 'try' to move). Hard to say since there are so many things to go wrong!
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That much to rebuild an autobox??....wow. I would have figured under a grand, but then I am comparing rebuild costs to what I am used to seeing in the US. Most transmission specialists there usually quote about £300-400 as an all in price. Granted those aren't for American cars and some Japanese models, but are they really that different inside?.
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I'm afraid they are - quite different. The MB later generation autoboxes are more complex, slightly more efficient and devastatingly less reliable than the typical US style Borg-Warner type transmission. MB need to realise that things which work reasonably well all of the time are a much better bet for their customers than things which work superbly for a short time. The Japanese also know this.
659.
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I'm afraid they are - quite different. The MB later generation autoboxes are more complex, slightly more efficient and devastatingly less reliable than the typical US style Borg-Warner type transmission. MB need to realise that things which work reasonably well all of the time are a much better bet for their customers than things which work superbly for a short time. The Japanese also know this. 659.
That's a bit of a strange statement. Borg Warner don't really make full transmission systems any more. They supply components and technology to other manufacturers (e.g. they did most the development work on the DSG for VW).
1990's American auto transmissions have generally been very unreliable. Ford gave up the fight some years ago and sold all their auto transmission interests to ZF of Germany. All the 'Ford' autos made at the Batavia plant are actually made by ZF, who are slowly re-engineering the products to make them acceptably reliable.
GM transmissions used to be reliable but came a cropper with the introduction of electronics. Most of the GM transmission range is now designed in Japan by Aisan-Warner (AW) and many of the components are produced by AW. There are obviously close business ties between AW, GM and BW.
Chrysler moved to using Mistusbishi-designed auto's some years ago, although many are still called 'Chrysler' transmissions and have Chrysler designations.
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That much to rebuild an autobox??....wow. I would have figured under a grand, but then I am comparing rebuild costs to what I am used to seeing in the US. Most transmission specialists there usually quote about £300-400 as an all in price. Granted those aren't for American cars and some Japanese models, but are they really that different inside?.
I suspect that most US transmission rebuilders would want $1000 for a rebuild of an 'old-style' transmission like a Ford C4. Then of course there is fitting on top. You'd pay a similar price in the UK.
A modern Merc rebuilt transmission in the US would, I bet, cost you $2000+ and then fitting on top. So again similiar to the UK.
The major factor is labour - they are complicated and take hours to rebuild, and even in the US labour is not cheap.
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Well, thanks for everyone's replies and expertise - all dutifully passed on.
He's found an indie in Gloucester who'll replace the box with a a used one for about £1k all in. He then intends to sell the car. The quotes from rebuilders were around the £2k mark.
He's also now bought a 98 R Mondeo 1.8 Zetec GLS to replace the MB. 150k miles for £495. I suppose we all come to it in the end. Just thought you'd like to know the upshot.
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