Am looking to purchase a 2006 R500 and am wondering how DIY friendly these are?

Im used to BMWs, have had several 3 series and 5 series of various ages from 94 to 2009 and have pretty much done everything from oil changes to replacing engines, transmissions etc on them.

Never had a Mercedes but always wanted to own one. i assume they are similar in complexity to BMW but just wanted to check with people that have owned them. I dont mind buying the special tools but if it is has to be hooked up to the dealer computer for everything that may put me off.

Appreciate any pointers

 

If your use to working on BMW's, your will love working on the Mercedes. For one, they dont have a ton of vacuum lines and there sensors do not fail after 120k miles. The shop tools are the same excluding the OE level scanner. I am a BMW guy myself, but just recently switch to a r350 and a E500 from a 545i which was plagued with issues.

 

good to know, i am looking at an 06 R350 myself and had the same question....now where do i find out if the car that i am looking to buy has the dreaded Balance Shaft issue? i can get the vin number, but i dont think i can get the engine number.

 

Any dealer can provide your engine serial number.

 

If you know how to work on cars, you can do it. They are no more or less complicated than the BMWs you are used to. I have worked on every vehicle I have ever owned. If you work through basic trouble shooting and have a good idea of how to use a multi-meter, you will be fine.

Funny, I just got my GT1/INPA up and running for my E70 BMW and I am ordering a Star Diagnostic tool for my R63. Maybe I am getting old and lazy. :-)

 

I have an R500, and not very complex for the lite work. Air filters, cabin filters, lights, wipers, oil changes, etc. are pretty easy and I handle them myself. I usually get the heavy stuff done by an indie such as valve gaskets, and the services such as transmission, brake and power steering flushes.

 

I have done all out of warranty repairs and maintenance on all my cars for many years and the R class and my C class is fine to work on. Brakes, suspension, valve cover gaskets, fuel filters, air filters etc are not much different. You will need a good set of Torx bits and sockets however. Many also use a vacuum extractor for oil so you don't have to raise the car and remove the plastic belly pan every time. The oil filter change is from the top. You can get most common parts on line. Make sure you use only approved oils.. The only thing you cant do easily is transmission fluid as you have to remove the pan to replace the filter and in many transmissions you have to fill to a certain level while at a specific temperature.

 

I find the R class terrible for DIY, very little online info for research, extremely limited parts online and zero aftermarket, just a rare vehicle in general. Working on it is mostly like any modern european car, complicated. You will need a dealer level scan tool to fix it properly or end up guessing.

 

This:

http://www.startekinfo.com/StarTek/

 

They are not that bad. You need to get comfortable with how the CAN bus systems work. Effectively it is a series of computers that form a network in the car.

As Star diagnostic tool is very helpful; but, a lot can be done with a multimeter and old fashioned diagnosis.

 

You can also refer to the ML for the same model year. The drive train and chassis are mostly the same.

 

It lacks a community/forum with indepth repair thoughts or processes, for example go check out a sprinter forum lots of indepth high mileage experiences and preventative maintenace procedures etc. The R forums are mostly dealership experiences and why does this not work...I have worked in lots of german car shops for years and yes as a mechanic we sometimes resort to the net looking for info or photos of a job/insight, nothing exists for the R.
You DO need the star diagnostic, for example the exhaust temp probes are a common problem but there are two, and OBD2 only has one chanel for it so which one do you replace? Guess...unless you have the star system with access to procedures/input tests etc.
The biggest issue for me personally though is parts, they simply ignore our vehicle when it comes to getting parts, even Bosch catalogues omit them for wipers etc at aftermarket parts stores. The ML shares many things, however without double checking on the oe parts program you may end up with the wrong parts (for example the exhaust temp sensors are NOT the same). It really makes ordering parts a HUGE affair when you want to try and save a buck over the inflated Canadian dealer price (almost twice what MBUSA dealers are selling for). We also have no access to the MBUSA webtools without a heavy subscription price. Searching out parts online with factory numbers is mostly a useless affair too.
My biggest concern owning this vehicle as a DIY is keeping maintenace costs reasonable and avoiding costly mistakes/repairs, so information is critical to preventative maintenace and learning from others experiences/mistakes/modifications. I own stuff forever, our daily driver VW is over 300k miles and runs better/smoother/cleaner/more powerful and much more reliable then it was in stock form thanks to research and upgrades. You would not recognize the car back to back with what it was when new, so much better to drive now vs 13 years ago. I want the same for the R, to make it better as things wear out, improve upon designs of stuff (for ex the egr/crankcase vent) to keep the intake clean and avoid the plagued oil leaks on top of the engine.
I made a poor tire choice on the R class this summer the Yokohama Avid Envigor was a great tire, excellent road handling/feedback but terrible design the treads when choppy the moment the wheels started going round, of course nobody has an explaination!
DIY things to do if you have a CDI, remove and clean glow plugs every couple years (ream or bore brush the bores to clean carbon), reseal turbo intake seal and crankcase vent seal every year or solve the issue, install screens on air intake pipes to keep debris from entering air filters, wipe air bags down each time wheels are off to get the dust and small grit off them before settling down again (raise if airmatic), clean the windshield cowl area-remove drain tubes and clean if blocked, clean out the HVAC air intake when replacing cabin filters, keep the bulkhead area/firewall clear of debris, pano roof vehicles keep the roof clean and blow out along the sides of the roof and sunroof chanels (many things can collect up there if you park under trees), for detailing paint wheel bolt heads, paint brake calipers and carriers, etc

 

While the R500 is pretty sophisticated, its not rediculous to work on. We have an 06 R500. After the warranty ran out (100K/5yr extended) I started doing my own work. By that time the transmission control module, front struts/air, tailgate lock and driveaxle were replaced.

What I find is everything just takes longer and parts are expensive; very over engineered. Mechanically it's still a basic vehicle. The airmatic compressor is simple to replace. Replace the relay and it may last a very long time (2nd GREEN relay from the left in the main fuse box - there are only 2 green relays in the box). The rear air bags are simple. Takes a little longer than raising the vehicle and taking off the wheel. Brakes are easy; just replace the rotors when you do the pads. I went with Ceramic pads and the brake dust is minimal and the wear is fabulous. Change fluids like its a religion. Brake fluid needs to be replaced - check the manual. It's easy enough, just inconvenient. Engine oil can be sucked out or you can remove the under cover and drain it - your choice. By the filter tool to do that - lots of DIY around to help with that. You can get lots of help on this and other sites to get info for basics. When you start having electrical issues you will have to deal with a shop or lots of diagnostic.

Lastly, this is an expensive car and it uses expensive parts. the parts wear out just liek they do with lower cost vehciles. If you can afford it, replace things. Example, O2 sensors degrade and go bad over time. If 1 upstream O2 sensor goes out, replace both of them. Think of it as saving labor cost so you can fix it right. When you take it to the shop they fix what is broken at the time; this keeps you coming into the shop and paying labor over and over.