m_berman

Requested MB dealer to change out my fuel filter (only 25K mi)

Came back with a quote for $700! This price is due to the fact that the back seat needs to be removed to gain access to the filter which is located in the fuel tank which is accessed thru the floor board under the rear seat.

Assuming $100 for the filter (Pep Boys brand is $15) and the remaining $600. for labor and at a rate of $135/hr, this is about 4 hours. Sounds a little outrageous.

Anyone had experience with the fuel filter change out?
.

MB_Forever

$700 for a fuel filter change and $135/hour

Why are you changing the filter so early and shouldn't be covered under warranty still?

sleewell

i recently got quoted 765 for mine, and i know its way easier to change than yours. some places just try to rip people off that dont know any better i guess. needless to say i didnt give them my business and wont be back again.

it does seem early for the fuel filter, i have 62k miles on my car.

RedG

Why would you even want to put a $15 generic brand filter (even at the longshot that its correct) on a $90,000 car? Besides that a lot of upper end cars have a filter, strainer, and other included parts.

hcetzneb

The fuel filter is part of the right sending unit... The part is quite pricey maybe mr. brenton
can help here with the correct price. labor wise i think book time is 1.5 -2hr to replace.

135hr were is that my dealer is a 120 and were in one of the richest towns in the usa so that seems alittle high.. and also we offer diffrent labor rates for service work / diag work.

m_berman

I will not cheapen my $100k+ investment with a $15 piece of junk. I was just using Pep Boys as an example of the probable cost of a paper element fuel filter. No matter how dressed up it comes from MB, it is still a paper element fuel filter.

I know that there is a unique canister that receives the fuel filter inside the gas tank which can only be accessed after removal of the rear seat and access door in the floor board. Maybe the Germans can take a lesson from Uncle Sam and place the filter in the gas line on the underside of the car. If they did that, Jiffy Lube will charge $49. to replace it and MB stock would drop a couple of bucks.

Even though its replacement is recommended at 50K miles, I prefer to replace it at its half life due to the fact that it's probable that I may not keep the car long after 50k miles. I also like to get the benefits of replacing the wear and tear items including the maintenance replacement parts so that I can get some miles out of it instead of replacing just right before I sell the car. I hope that made some sense.
.

Improviz

...and I don't think it's because they're stupid, I think it's because they're trying to rake in the $$$ through their repair departments, consumers be damned. Another example like yours was our BMW, which when the thermostat went out cost something like $500 to get replaced.

Crap like this pushes my loyalty to its limits, I gotta tell ya...given that 98% of the time I drive pretty mellow, I'm starting to ask if it's worth it; of course, this could just be my early mid life crisis stage wearing off as well!

m_berman

+1

JustPete

Not to sound smart *** here but ...

The chances of your fuel filter being anywhere close to inadequate at 25,000 mile's is slim and none unless you're using old dirty fuel, going to old cheapo stations or refueling in a sand/dust storms frequently. I'll wager that the recommended 50K is half what the filter is capable of easily.

Here's a little news flash.

At any reputable , new stations selling quality gas, inside that metal cabinet that you pump your fuel from is a big *** fuel filter that removes contaminants and debris. The underground tanks are fiberglass and no longer full of rust. And the fuel itself filtered before getting there.

The filters on the pumps are changed at every flow inspection here. I know because I owned a bunch of stations a while back as one of my investments.

Filters today on the fuel are a "just in case" type item and can literally last the life of the car. It's not a boat separating water, or a diesel getting clogged with algae. So unless you think someone is dumping dirt in your tank or it's full of rust already ...

If you really need to make your wallet 700bones lighter I'll send you my address to help you alleviate your conscience.

JustPete

And so long as you don't fuel up at places that look like this ...



I'll bet that filter could go another 62k before it becomes restrictive enough to be a problem.

turbotom1

I could make the argument that since these $100k cars have hand built racing motors that $700 is cheap insurance to assure you are getting all the performance you paid for.

Is your Gasoline made in Russia or China ?
http://www.loc.gov/rr/business/BERA/.../refining.html

Dogshine

why do you want to do this?

mikekuriger

the stock fuel filter on my 91 isuzu is still clean (cut it open) - 300,000+ miles on that beast too. I agree with JestPete, fuel is very clean by the time you pump it in your car. Of course, airplane fuel is even cleaner - they have 3 huge filters on their pumps.

JustPete

Here in the states the refineries are local in 90% of the cases. They aren't shipping gasoline to the USA from Russia or China. And like I said ... they're filtered again at the pump.

turbotom1

Sure and so is the water I get from the faucet ... but I still use a Brita filter.

JustPete

I'm not suggesting you shouldn't use a filter at all. ***** happens.

All I said was, the gas refineries are local, which is true. We don't buy gasoline from Russia or China.

And that the gas is filtered just prior to going in your tank through one of these ...

or something similar.

And that changing a car's fuel filter at 25k miles is a waste of money.