Labor costs for all mods
 

Hi, I was wondering how much are all of you guys who mod your cars paying for labor. My side marker for the driver side got hit and I needed to change it. I bought the part for $20 and Different places are asking for about $100 just to install it?!??!? If any of you are in the SoCal area please tell me a place i can get good labor for a cheap price. Also i'm curious how much all of you other people have paid just for the labor of all the mods for your cars. Please post

Side marker
 

Unless you are the helpless type, you can replace it yourself in 15 minutes. You have to loosen the fender liner for access and then it just pops in. And plugs in to the wiring.

Easy.

The way the dealership people said it, they said the housing is from inside the bumper and they even have to take out the tire in order to access and change the part properly. I've asked about 3 different dealerships so far and like 2 other tire stores. Do you know anyone who has changed theirs or can you post a DIY?

How many??
 

You REALLY went to five places asking about this little task? To get at the fender liner, just jack the car up and turn the wheels to the right which gives you all the room you need. You certainly don't have to pull the wheel.

Can you post a DIY. I don't wanna risk messing up my car because of this. And ya man if places are telling you $100 for something this small, what do you expect me to do. I have to find a place that would do it for a cheaper price or see if I could do it myself. But i need instructions.

There already is a DIY for this I believe. You don't even have to take the tire off, just pull the fenders out by undoing the clips (search the forums for exact instructions) then reach in to the side marker.

Hi,

Below is an old thread: DIY for clear/smoked side markers. Installation steps are the same for OEM side markers.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...installed.html

People have reported having their nails broken or bent/flipped (?) when pulling out the little pushpins. Use a tool. Still an easy job. Have fun.

I just had to do this the other day to switch out my bulbs to LED. you dont even have to jack up the car. just turn the wheel to give you clearence and then pull out the pins using a flat head screw driver. pull back the liner and now you'll have full access to the side markers. just try it, it's hard to break anything, besides your side markers are already broken. :rolf:

I live in SoCal, and this weekend I wanted to replace my luxury grille with a sports grille that I had bought. I called around a bunch of place. Most said they charged $85 to $100 because that's the cost of an hour of labor, and they charge for the entire hour even if it only takes them 20 minutes.

In the end, I found two places that had really good reviews on yelp who only charged ~$40:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/pinkys-automotive-los-angeles (call and ask for Ralph)
http://www.yelp.com/biz/network-auto...nc-los-angeles (call and also ask for someone named Ralph)

I ended up picking the first place, and I thought they did a fantastic job, for only $40 out the door. If those places are too far from you, you might try finding an auto shop closer to where you live. Another piece of advice: you might focus your search on "body shops" as opposed to "general automotive repair," because mods are more in the area of body work.

$100 is a total rip. $40 is still a rip. DIY in 20 minutes (both sidemarkers).

find a w204 enthusiast around your area and buy them a coffee... thats like $3. done.

It is ridiculously simple. I am the helpless type and took mine out with the DIY.
The basic steps are:
-turn the wheel to whichever side that gives you more access (turn off your engine),
-look for the three bumps (they are pins, use a flat edge to remove them),
-remove the anchors for the pins
-pull the fender lining by trying to stick a finger in or use a flat edge, and locate the side markers from the inside (very apparent),
-next look at the clips on which the piece is held (they are pretty much held above and below)
-if this isnt clear enough refer to the DIY... good luck

also some of the members had the side markers installed with a screw aswell as being clipped...if you have the screw make sure u unscrew it first before unclipping..