Bisco

So I just called around to get some price quotes for an E Service. One of the dealerships I talked with told me the base price for an E service is about $400 and then the spark plugs may need to be changed since it's been about 5 years. Then he gave me the price of $800-900 on top of the base price to change out the plugs. Does this seem pretty ridiculous?

dacls63amg

Um ya that's a rip off. I'd recommend going to an independent shop or doing the work yourself. 800 dollars haha these dealerships are starving for money. Lol

Bisco

How much labor is involved in changing the plugs on these things? The plugs don't cost much more than $100 so where the hell is $700 coming from?

Crescendo

It's coming from their ***.

dacls63amg

Hahaha

James@ACG

Book labor time for the plugs is 3.5 hours 2 $140+/hr and your at $490 just for labor! Add that you need 16 plugs at the dealer price of about $20ea and it sounds about right. Go to an indy shop and you'll end up paying half if not even less.

MB_Forever

Or you can buy one step colder plugs (NGK NGK Iridium LFR7AIX) for under $100

http://ngksparkplugs.ecrater.com/pro...hp?pid=7751083

citylightva

I paid $450 at my indy shop. 1/2 the plugs, but you have to pull the entire intake tract. It was about 3-4 hours of labor.

bigben320e

They sure are, and ready to eat your cake if front of your face.

Yep, and meanwhile they are dumping shiat all over you.

+1, Indy shop job.

Bisco

Thanks for all the info guys

Worth the wait

My indy charges $522 with labor (3hrs) and oem plugs.
And yes I **** a brick when I found out...lol.

motorkas

same indy; same price; same reaction...I thought they were kidding when they said 16 plugs.

Forrest Gump 9

The E63 also have 16 plugs???

I only bring my car to the dealer when I absolutely have to. Changing the spark plugs and oil change is really easy. Do it yourselves and save some money for making it faster.

jikjak

does anyone happen to have the part numbers for the oem plugs?

i want to have mine changed as well since i am at around 91,000 kms (56,000 miles) and the car will be 5 years old in late july.

should i also change the sparkplug wires as well?

Tech-Tune

3.5 hours to change plugs!?!....How many coffee breaks does that include?
Anyone with the right tools can gap and install all 16 in an hour, let alone a certified tech who does it all day long.

Stealers are a unique breed.

Worth the wait

I think it is a very good idea to not wait longer than four years.
Besides the performance issues, time can play a factor on the ease of removal.
Several of mine required brute force to remove (just over four years). The longer you wait the greater the chance of stripping the threads. You think the plugs are expensive, try stripping the cylinder head....no thanks.
Also I think it's a good idea to throw a bit of anti-seize on the new ones to insure no future problems.

shardul

iTrader: (1)

it took me 2 hours to change mine

cahiil55k

My indy tech will let me bring in my own plugs and charges 300 for labor.

Benz-O-Rama

Guys, it's definitely a pain in the **** to change these. I did all 16 plugs on my E, and it took the better part of an afternoon. It sounds funny, but just getting the plug boot off and on, takes a good while to master. MB sells a special tool to remove the boots, but you can use an open ended wrench and pry them off. I'm not joking, I had the busted knuckles to prove it.

Buy the OEM Bosch plugs at autohausaz.com and do it yourself if you want to save cashola.

shardul

iTrader: (1)

Benz-O-rama i have 3 busted knuckles as of this weekend.
You can pry the plug wires off with a 17mm open end wrench. Key here is pry the wires off when the car is kinda hot so there is a less chance of breaking them.

TVT_DESIGN

We've done quite a few of these and if anyone can get it done in under an hour, you are quite the skilled mechanic. If everything goes completely smoothly and nothing gets stuck or is difficult, you can probably knock it out in 2.5 hrs, and that's even tough.

jtc55

u've got PM.

Air Marshall Eldritch

I can vouch for that. TVT took 84 hours to replace mine. I grew 2 inches.

skratch77

I dont see this taking over an hour either,from taking my 82mm tb off some many times I think I can do the plugs in like 45 min to an hour tops.

the whole intake can come off in about 30 seconds and you have the coil packs right there.

then say about 8 min per cyl is right around an hour,its not rocket science guys there right there in the open.

guysandiego

thats how it looks for me but i have yet to tackle this project -- i took a peek at the easiest accessible ones and they looked great -- so, maybe next year -- or when i have $100 burning a hole in my pocket.