mkoons

Picked up a pair of Euro springs on line for my C43. Need to have lower control arm bushings & ball joints replaced. So contacted 3 local shops to have these items plus the springs & new Bilstein sports installed. 2 shops declined to install the springs. 3rd shop quoted me $2030. (10.6 hrs labor) Seems like I am getting ripped off. Recently had dealership replace spark plugs, $621.
Anyone know of a reliable & honest shop in North San Diego County area?

Saaboteur

Doing all that work is not a small job, so you have to keep that in mind when shopping around for labour. Replacement of of the front lower control arm bushings requires the control arm to be removed. Doing so requires removal of the spring. And then once you do all that work, you'll need an alignment too.

I think when I did all that work on my own, in my garage, I easily spent about 10 hours on it myself.

That said, I think what you need is an enthusiast friendly Mercedes repair shop. Perhaps some of the regional forums can help with that? That said, I also read mention of Automotive Connoisseur Group in San Diego, catering to the newer AMGs (and other high end brands). Perhaps they can help you?

503C43 ////AMG

I paid about $1,900 in labor to have the following installed:

Vogtland springs installed (front/rear)
Bilstein sport shocks installed (front/rear)
Spring pads installed (front/rear)
Febi lower control arms (front)
MB Arts Camber arms installed (rear)
K-MAC camber kit installed (front)
Drag link installed (front)
Steering damper installed (front)
Lemforder ball joints installed (front)
Sway bar links installed (rear)
Meyle HD control arm kit (rear)

The rear control arm kit consists of the following:
Tie rod (L & R)
Axle rod (upper front L & R)
Axle rod (upper rear L & R)
Axle rod (lower front L & R)

They wanted $360 to install only the springs, shocks, and pads

If they are charging $2k to install springs I would run the other way.

fredtga

if you are able to come up to los angeles to my warehouse in north hollywood i can install all for you for $500 just have all the parts with you.

LCA bushings, ball joints, springs & shocks.

99C43n843

damn I'm so glad I'm a tech and have done and can do all of it myself for freee )...my dealer charges $157.00 per hour.



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503C43 ////AMG

Yeah, I do as much as I can right now but currently I am living in a crappy apartment and have limited tools.

I have a TOP NOTCH shop that charges $80/hr for labor and will install any part I bring to them. Checking out the Lambo's and R8's in the shop when I drop my car off is almost worth the $80/hr alone

m a x i m u s

Check out BenzWorks in Huntington Beach, unless that's too far for you. Serge is a super cool and knowledgeable guy. Used to be a dealer tech for 10 years. I was just there a couple of days ago.