I used to work as an MB tech in the Netherlands in the 90ties and had my own classic restoration shop 15 years after that. Loved working on the cars, not just new cars back then as there were plenty of w116,w123 and w126's driven by original owners or families which still went to dealer for service. Ever since then I appreciated the engineering quality of the brand. It can be laborious if you want to do it right, but it also rewards you after the job, and long after. Long time or life time cost-effectiveness is not sexy anymore in our consumer reality, but quality never goes out of style. But yes, you have to be passionate about those qualities to make it work as a business, and you need clients to understand the difference as well, which can be challenging.
Most garages just want the plug and play modern cars through their workshops. Where I live in the UK there are not many mechanics still working that can work on a Zenith carburettor. Luckily, I do all the work on my W108, and just find info and advice when necessary, Pierre has contributed in the past with advice etc. Thanks for that!
Very true! Shops today are all about turnaround and not wanting your classic Mercedes. I've always been ok with that knowing I'll have to do all the work on them. 😁
I love working on my 190E. Even though I often get frustrated and curse a lot, occasionally throwing a wrench across the garage, it ends up being therapeutic. I'll only ask my mechanic for help if it's something really specific.
I appreciate your videos and your insights. I've owned several classic Mercedes and would love to have one again, but the reality is I live a long way from Florida and 1) don't know where or how to find a knowledgable and honest repair shop locally (Phoenix) and 2) I used to be able to do a lot of the work myself, but I'm now 68 with a bad shoulder, arthritis everywhere and I just can't crawl around under and inside vehicles like I once could. It seems young people aren't for the most part interested in cars over 5 yrs old and don't have a clue about working on them themselves. When I grew up you simply had to work on cars yourself because you had to buy old beaters and you either learned to work on them or you walked. (Now dealers ill arrange for loans for anyone.) Once engine compartments got crowded with emissions crap and electronic everything, it nearly became impossible to work on them on the street at home. Cars are in general safer and more reliable now, but they are also disposable. Sad state of affairs. Too bad you can't clone himself and distribute the clones to every state!
To be honest, I’ve given up outsourcing work as even Mercedes specialist and dealer here in the UK run away or look confused when I state the model code C123. But what it has done has educated me through learning to self help and become a therapeutic exercise in its own right. Keep it up Pierre, such men as myself need your inspiration and affirmation to keep the cars going when we don’t have the privilege of an expert close to home!
Great video. I can't say why many ships don't like to work on classic Mercedes, but cars of that era. I think it has to do with the lack of knowledge and actually going through the trouble of diagnosing a car without the use of a scan tool.
You have to diagnose the older ones use a multimeters.grew up on vws then bmws then benzs worked on all german cars sense 1960s still wrench as of now remember it's always something simple don't think to much into it electrical is improper grounds and corrosion
I hear you Pierre. My local MBZ mechanic did not like to work on my 280se 4.5. He would always reference me to another repair shop, but that was 30 minutes away, rather than 7 minutes away. Yes, it is tougher and tougher to find some parts that are MBZ and not Chinese URO parts. But I always said, just charge me more for the extra time and effort, and I am happy to pay. Thank goodnes, I have replaced just about everything that needed replacement, and the car runs like it is out the factory.
Another issue is the lack of experience on our esoteric systems in these marvelous cars. Regarding owner interface, i adhere to some advice appearing in Autoweek magazine 30+ years ago: if you find a competent and honest tech, for Heaven’s sake do not try to chisel them on rates.
Interesting and Fascinating Pierre-----Thank Goodness for your shop. Another reason is that some shops do not have the talent or knowledge to make the necessary repairs as required.
One of my friends took his Mercedes 380 to a mechanic here. They mucked up the fuel mixture so much, the engine would not start. Yours truly was called. I sorted out the fuel mixture issue, & told the owner the fuel in the car before he added fresh stuff was stale. Fuel drained, fuel system flushed, & fresh fuel added, & car running well, until the trans threw in the towel. I've not had the chance to pull the box & look at it to see what is wrong. I suspect it has a valve issue.
The answers are not complicated. Technicians are not mechanics. These cars are not plug and play. Servicing is very different than repair. Most repair shops are paid to do and not to think. Most of the folks in the repair shop were not even born when your car was made.
I disagree to a point. It’s very true that the tech has changed a lot and the new technicians are not familiar with it. However, most owners that own these also own newer cars and are preconditioned to certain expectations in terms of turn around. They also do not realize that the newest 123 is almost 40y old and things fall apart when touched. That puts the shop in a bad spot because not only they’re expected to eat the cost but also find the part that broke. For 95% it is simply a loose loose situation. I’ve been a dealer mb tech for the last 15y and own a couple of vintage benzes. I enjoy working on them very much but in most cases a simple job turns into something more involved. It doesn’t phase me in anyway and I’m always prepared for it. However, I refuse to work on other people’s old cars since I’ve always lost my rear on every single one. The dealer started charging 1.5xbook time for anything 25y and older considering it not a repair but restoration in stead. Still it wasn’t enough to even brake even most of the time so they stopped taking such appointments all together. You can prep the owner all you want before even creating the repair order but in most cases one of the parties will not be satisfied and happy.
It is indeed sad to see the options, and the quality of MB repair decline. The new crop of mechanics seem to lack experience to work on non-OBD2 and older cars. The Mercedes dealership, after 30 years of servicing/repairing my cars has now told me to go elsewhere. Upstate, my sister in law has told me the dealership in her area will not work on cars over 10 years old. Will I buy my next car from Mercedes? The answer to that is up for serious discussion. Makes me think of the time I bought a new vehicle from a top Detroit manufacturer. One week later, had problems the dealer couldn't fix. After 40000 miles of monthly failures, I dumped the car and never looked back. In 2009 that manufacturer went through Chapter 11. I prefer the Mercedes for safety, reliability, and pride. I'm quite willing to pay the freight to push 4000 lbs steel down the highway at 85 mph and not feel like being wrapped in tin-foil.
Pierre - Thank you, always quality content. A technical comment on todays video; the audio was not good, it sounded like you were talking in a tin room, lots of reverberation.
I'm going to try somewhere out in Brisbane Australia soon. The car is great, but leaks from engine, steering and transmission. Was dry when sat around not being used, but as soon as I bought it and started using it... the leaks came. Going to get the specialist to do a full check of everything on the car and give me a big list of everything that wrong from small to major. I will offer to pay for this diagnostic in the hope that I get something meaningful out of it... I can relate to what you say about customer expectations, they generally expect a mechanic to spend time diagnosing without charge, which isn't right and can lead to a half-hearted diagnostic especially once the mechanic deduces that the customer probably wants to spend peanuts, and there is no hope of actually carrying out the necessary repairs. Once I have this list of all observed defects, I'll ask if we can prioritize them all from most urgent to least urgent, and slowly work through them all over a number of visits, maybe taking several years. I will utilise my own labour here and there for what issues I can tackle myself, group tasks together for efficiency, and maybe turn elements over to specialists as required... example, transmission or bodywork specialists. Eventually I should be able to keep on top of the remaining defects as and when the appear. I hope the garage of my choice will be happy to run along with this plan.....and if they do, they are likely to get the follow-up easy and profitable jobs (oil and filters) as they will have gained a loyal customer, and I will continue the previous owners tradition of fully stamped and documented servicing since new.
I felt the same thing about my trade and business and I knew I was only going to make a living. It was a very laborious trade and I couldn’t charge for every hour. It really sucks at the end of the day and you gave away 2-3 hours. Oh and you have to go home and do the books. Ha! I’m glad I’m retired. Now I get to putter with my cars. Silver linings
I work on classic Mercedes, we have been since 1986, and here is the biggest problem. The rent for the shop is massive, and these cars simply take too much time and its no longer economically viable for the price consumers are willing to pay. We, the classic techs, make half what the modern techs make. This needs to change, but it won't and shops will continue to go away. We keep the doors open with the modern cars which give us a faster turn around but even that is becoming not enough to keep up with these rents.
Cause they don't want to learn. They can't do diagnostic outside of ODB2. They don't work on diesel. They only have identifix. They don't go to training.
Last week I bought 560SEL 91 belong to Saddam Hussein armour I payed 11500 $ I changed the brake fluid after that the brak light show up on dashboard I don't know how to turn it of if you guys just advise me wat to do thanks 🙏
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I wish that there was a shop like Pierre's here in Medellin, Colombia!!
I used to work as an MB tech in the Netherlands in the 90ties and had my own classic restoration shop 15 years after that. Loved working on the cars, not just new cars back then as there were plenty of w116,w123 and w126's driven by original owners or families which still went to dealer for service. Ever since then I appreciated the engineering quality of the brand. It can be laborious if you want to do it right, but it also rewards you after the job, and long after. Long time or life time cost-effectiveness is not sexy anymore in our consumer reality, but quality never goes out of style. But yes, you have to be passionate about those qualities to make it work as a business, and you need clients to understand the difference as well, which can be challenging.
Most garages just want the plug and play modern cars through their workshops. Where I live in the UK there are not many mechanics still working that can work on a Zenith carburettor. Luckily, I do all the work on my W108, and just find info and advice when necessary, Pierre has contributed in the past with advice etc. Thanks for that!
Very true! Shops today are all about turnaround and not wanting your classic Mercedes. I've always been ok with that knowing I'll have to do all the work on them. 😁
You are so true its when People lack the expertise and knowledge glad we have you!!!!!
And let me add, good shops that really know classic MB,s are very hard to find.
I love working on my 190E.
Even though I often get frustrated and curse a lot, occasionally throwing a wrench across the garage, it ends up being therapeutic.
I'll only ask my mechanic for help if it's something really specific.
I appreciate your videos and your insights. I've owned several classic Mercedes and would love to have one again, but the reality is I live a long way from Florida and 1) don't know where or how to find a knowledgable and honest repair shop locally (Phoenix) and 2) I used to be able to do a lot of the work myself, but I'm now 68 with a bad shoulder, arthritis everywhere and I just can't crawl around under and inside vehicles like I once could.
It seems young people aren't for the most part interested in cars over 5 yrs old and don't have a clue about working on them themselves. When I grew up you simply had to work on cars yourself because you had to buy old beaters and you either learned to work on them or you walked. (Now dealers ill arrange for loans for anyone.) Once engine compartments got crowded with emissions crap and electronic everything, it nearly became impossible to work on them on the street at home.
Cars are in general safer and more reliable now, but they are also disposable. Sad state of affairs. Too bad you can't clone himself and distribute the clones to every state!
The Bloomfield Hills, Mi MB dealership will not work on my 1983 300SD.
They say the old timers all retired,so there went the knowledge
To be honest, I’ve given up outsourcing work as even Mercedes specialist and dealer here in the UK run away or look confused when I state the model code C123. But what it has done has educated me through learning to self help and become a therapeutic exercise in its own right.
Keep it up Pierre, such men as myself need your inspiration and affirmation to keep the cars going when we don’t have the privilege of an expert close to home!
Great video.
I can't say why many ships don't like to work on classic Mercedes, but cars of that era. I think it has to do with the lack of knowledge and actually going through the trouble of diagnosing a car without the use of a scan tool.
When anything does not have a computer they don't know what they are doing!!
You have to diagnose the older ones use a multimeters.grew up on vws then bmws then benzs worked on all german cars sense 1960s still wrench as of now remember it's always something simple don't think to much into it electrical is improper grounds and corrosion
I hear you Pierre. My local MBZ mechanic did not like to work on my 280se 4.5. He would always reference me to another repair shop, but that was 30 minutes away, rather than 7 minutes away.
Yes, it is tougher and tougher to find some parts that are MBZ and not Chinese URO parts.
But I always said, just charge me more for the extra time and effort, and I am happy to pay.
Thank goodnes, I have replaced just about everything that needed replacement, and the car runs like it is out the factory.
Excellent topic Pierre, Thank you!
Another issue is the lack of experience on our esoteric systems in these marvelous cars. Regarding owner interface, i adhere to some advice appearing in Autoweek magazine 30+ years ago: if you find a competent and honest tech, for Heaven’s sake do not try to chisel them on rates.
Interesting and Fascinating Pierre-----Thank Goodness for your shop. Another reason is that some shops do not have the talent or knowledge to make the necessary repairs as required.
Love your down to earth attitude 😉
One of my friends took his Mercedes 380 to a mechanic here. They mucked up the fuel mixture so much, the engine would not start. Yours truly was called. I sorted out the fuel mixture issue, & told the owner the fuel in the car before he added fresh stuff was stale. Fuel drained, fuel system flushed, & fresh fuel added, & car running well, until the trans threw in the towel. I've not had the chance to pull the box & look at it to see what is wrong. I suspect it has a valve issue.
The answers are not complicated. Technicians are not mechanics. These cars are not plug and play. Servicing is very different than repair. Most repair shops are paid to do and not to think. Most of the folks in the repair shop were not even born when your car was made.
I disagree to a point. It’s very true that the tech has changed a lot and the new technicians are not familiar with it. However, most owners that own these also own newer cars and are preconditioned to certain expectations in terms of turn around. They also do not realize that the newest 123 is almost 40y old and things fall apart when touched. That puts the shop in a bad spot because not only they’re expected to eat the cost but also find the part that broke. For 95% it is simply a loose loose situation. I’ve been a dealer mb tech for the last 15y and own a couple of vintage benzes. I enjoy working on them very much but in most cases a simple job turns into something more involved. It doesn’t phase me in anyway and I’m always prepared for it. However, I refuse to work on other people’s old cars since I’ve always lost my rear on every single one. The dealer started charging 1.5xbook time for anything 25y and older considering it not a repair but restoration in stead. Still it wasn’t enough to even brake even most of the time so they stopped taking such appointments all together. You can prep the owner all you want before even creating the repair order but in most cases one of the parties will not be satisfied and happy.
Please take a 10/10 for this upload.
It is indeed sad to see the options, and the quality of MB repair decline. The new crop of mechanics seem to lack experience to work on non-OBD2 and older cars. The Mercedes dealership, after 30 years of servicing/repairing my cars has now told me to go elsewhere. Upstate, my sister in law has told me the dealership in her area will not work on cars over 10 years old.
Will I buy my next car from Mercedes? The answer to that is up for serious discussion. Makes me think of the time I bought a new vehicle from a top Detroit manufacturer. One week later, had problems the dealer couldn't fix. After 40000 miles of monthly failures, I dumped the car and never looked back. In 2009 that manufacturer went through Chapter 11.
I prefer the Mercedes for safety, reliability, and pride. I'm quite willing to pay the freight to push 4000 lbs steel down the highway at 85 mph and not feel like being wrapped in tin-foil.
you are the best, hands down!
Man, love the topic, but the audio distortion made me tune out after 10 seconds
Pierre - Thank you, always quality content. A technical comment on todays video; the audio was not good, it sounded like you were talking in a tin room, lots of reverberation.
Thanks buddy what do you think about that 124 compared to the 123 thanks
Great video 🙂crappy audio 😑
Most places around me won't even do an alignment.
I'm going to try somewhere out in Brisbane Australia soon. The car is great, but leaks from engine, steering and transmission. Was dry when sat around not being used, but as soon as I bought it and started using it... the leaks came. Going to get the specialist to do a full check of everything on the car and give me a big list of everything that wrong from small to major. I will offer to pay for this diagnostic in the hope that I get something meaningful out of it... I can relate to what you say about customer expectations, they generally expect a mechanic to spend time diagnosing without charge, which isn't right and can lead to a half-hearted diagnostic especially once the mechanic deduces that the customer probably wants to spend peanuts, and there is no hope of actually carrying out the necessary repairs. Once I have this list of all observed defects, I'll ask if we can prioritize them all from most urgent to least urgent, and slowly work through them all over a number of visits, maybe taking several years. I will utilise my own labour here and there for what issues I can tackle myself, group tasks together for efficiency, and maybe turn elements over to specialists as required... example, transmission or bodywork specialists. Eventually I should be able to keep on top of the remaining defects as and when the appear. I hope the garage of my choice will be happy to run along with this plan.....and if they do, they are likely to get the follow-up easy and profitable jobs (oil and filters) as they will have gained a loyal customer, and I will continue the previous owners tradition of fully stamped and documented servicing since new.
I felt the same thing about my trade and business and I knew I was only going to make a living. It was a very laborious trade and I couldn’t charge for every hour. It really sucks at the end of the day and you gave away 2-3 hours. Oh and you have to go home and do the books. Ha! I’m glad I’m retired. Now I get to putter with my cars. Silver linings
I work on classic Mercedes, we have been since 1986, and here is the biggest problem. The rent for the shop is massive, and these cars simply take too much time and its no longer economically viable for the price consumers are willing to pay. We, the classic techs, make half what the modern techs make. This needs to change, but it won't and shops will continue to go away. We keep the doors open with the modern cars which give us a faster turn around but even that is becoming not enough to keep up with these rents.
Hi where is Jamies' shop in New Jersey ?
I’m restoring a W110 thinking to trade it for W114 what does everyone think?
Does anyone have the full name and location of the shop in NJ that Pierre mentioned? Thanks!
Classic Workshop NJ in Hackettstown
No Brasil é mais difícil ainda . por fim eu que arrumo o meu
People buy these benzs but in the end can't afford to fix the classic world is defiantly a world apart from the usual repairs its cost VS worth
Cause they don't want to learn. They can't do diagnostic outside of ODB2. They don't work on diesel. They only have identifix. They don't go to training.
Why don't some youtubers spellcheck?
I wouldn’t let any mechanic touch my W124… except perhaps you. They are reckless and dodgy
want instead of won't???????
You really shouldn't offer discounts
Last week I bought 560SEL 91 belong to Saddam Hussein armour I payed 11500 $ I changed the brake fluid after that the brak light show up on dashboard I don't know how to turn it of if you guys just advise me wat to do thanks 🙏
The brake fluid level sensor in the brake fluid reservoir is faulty. The fluid level could also be low.
Parts are no longer available for a lot of models at a reasonable price. Better work on newer cars.
Bruhh I thought this was adam sandler at first😅
The REAL REASON is JEALOUS! They want your car! 😞
mechanics are aging out