Had a morning filled with unpleasant surprises

I've decided you guys that are based in the US have a great deal when it comes to reasonably priced parts etc for our cars (and choice)

My 04 - E55's warrent of fitness was due - in NZ this is a 6 monthly check done by authorised service companies/dealers etc to check that your vehicle is fit to be on the road and covers a myriad of checks around drivetrain, tyres, brakes, exhaust, body condition(no rust) etc

It had just had new front tyres put on yesterday, so this week had already been moderately expensive, the SA then advised me that it had failed due to the two rear shocks leaking - only minor leaks but sufficient for them to fail it - along with the front lower outer ball joints (both sides) had too much play and also failed on this - was a little surprising as it has only 45,000kms on it and was serviced by the same place 8 weeks ago

I then got handed a $6200 bill to remedy this before they could pass the warrent of fitness check - essentially meaning it's off the road till then.

The rear shocks -2 @ 2113266800x $1967 +tax (15%)
Ball joints 2113300435 @ $208 +tax (15%)
plus 9 hours labour plus some other bits and pieces

(had a look locally and another city parts place has the shocks @ $1500 plus tax - so will try and use that to bargain them down a bit)

I have had a good search and it doesn't appear that there are any after market shocks for the rear just the OEM Bilsteins (with airmatic 489) - if anyone has any recent advice other than that would be glad to hear it or a pointer to anyone that does international shiiping to NZ that they have heard good things about - I did a pretty good search through the forum and have had a look at parts.com and autohauz, peach etc etc - but international shipping to NZ basically negates most of the difference

Limited for choice on service dealers that can fix this so will be trying to get them down a bit on price

So apologies, minor gripe over, I know these cars cost money to maintain - I've already done SBC, secondary airpump and a host of other little things - wish I lived in the US sometimes

 

Jesus, what a scam. So glad we don't have inspections in Washington state.

 

That's nuts......you are taking it well.

 

Not too much choice - been 'negotiating' with them for the last few hours on the shocks per part price - found an online parts place in NZ that did it for $1319 incl tax - MB dealer has called me back and said they would match it - just like that down basically $2k - now at about $4400

might need a few beers to ease the pain later......

 

CRAP! No wonder you folks talk funny, someone always sticking something up your.......
Sorry to read, balljoints also available for less on Ebay. $6200! WOW

 

Have to have a sense of humour or it could start to look a bit bleak

nothing like going to your local MB dealer and bending over, get a good grip on those ankles...mate its a tough life....owning a merc

Seriously though I don't think they know that you can use the internet to search for stuff, they act amazed that you find a better deal on parts from someone else within an hour or so of advising a rather large sum to get your pride and joy mobile and legal.....

Still at the end of the day, its the smile on your face when you plant the right foot......

 

I wonder how much cheaper they are here? Perhaps somebody could buy them here and ship them to you..?

 

Thanks for the thought - online parts searching seems to have each shock at approx $420 USD - then there is packaging/insurance and shipping etc plus exchange rate conversion (add approx 20% - exchange rate) - seems to end up at about $700 US per unit (thats about $875 NZD) so still a difference of about $500 NZD each

I'm a bit happier that I have the dealer down from $2240 to $1320 with just a couple of internet searches and discussion which seemed a bit more reasonable to me, as to be fair NZ is a smaller market than the US.

 

If you have a part number I can call my connection and see what he can do. Still may be worth it. Let me know!

 

do you have the same airmatic as the sl55? arnott inc. has replacement shocks for about 600$ or so

 

SL uses ABC and not Airmatic.

 

Cbay- I know what you are going through. I lived in NZ for a few years on the North Island, Auckland and down in Rotorua, and Lake Taupo area.
I have to say, that New Zealand is the most beautiful country in the world.
Plus the people are fantastic especially the Maori people.
I never have seen a people drink as much beer as you guys though. Pump the beer into the pubs from a tanker outside like we do our petrol stations here in the U.S.
Plus you have the All Blacks team !!!
Prices in NZ are crazy, from cars to electronics to petrol. I can't imagine how much petrol goes for now.
Good Luck on getting your beast fixed up. I would say you probably have one of the fastest cars around .
Take care.

 

That pricey over there!! rear shock list at $530.00 each and Ball Joints $95.00 each.. Is the currency that much different?

 

$4400 NZD = $3688 USD

 

I wish they'd impose this onto vehicles in the US. There are so many gdamn hoopties breaking down, polluting the environment; driving a POS car isn't a right.