update on blown engine in spain (1 Viewer)

[jacken]

Well----went to the Merc garage yesterday p.m and engine all stripped down. Mechanic showed me a big hole in no. 5 piston. How it happened, they are not sure. But--I fell on the floor when they showed me the quote for new engine--11,000 euros. Our breakdown insurance people rang around and confirmed that this was the usual price. Merc don't do recon engines, they will only fit new ones, with a 2 year warranty. The garage contacted Merc H.Q to see if they would bear some of the cost but to no avail. The van has done 50,000 miles and you would'nt expect to be replacing an engine at that mileage. The van is on a 53 plate and is the 5 cylinder 2.7 litre.

The only good news is that they can get a new engine from Madrid by to-day (Friday) and they will have it back on the road by next Tuesday.

So there it is, not good news from me in Spain.

ken

 

[Braunston]

Hi,

I can understand Mercedes point of view at only installing new replacement engines, but they aren't the ones paying, I know its Spain and it may be difficult but is it possible to ask if someone perhaps in the workshop, if they can, or if they know, someone who could perhaps re-build your own one or if they know of a company that could perhaps supply a refurbished unit, as 11K is a lot of money.

I am really sorry to here of your problems

Braunston

 

[Geo]

I know your stuck between a rock and a hard place at the moment, and there is not an awful lot you can do oh:
I would be looking at having the engine repaired, there are engine re manufactures in Spain
Failing that I would be looking at a second hand unit
have you considered getting it repatriated and fixed at home:Sad:
I doubt very much that the insurance will cover return costs as a fix is available there The joys of Main Agent labour costs and genuine replacement parts,
God Bless Mercedes:Angry:
For the Fiat knockers out there, that represents about 3 Fiat engine swop's inc new gearbox and clutch Bring on the judder:thumb:
Geo

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[camper69]

Sorry to hear of your problem

I can only seond what Brauston has said and try to get the engine rebuilt or a recon one put in.

£11k is a lot of dosh.

Derek

Edit -Sorry I ment Euros but I suppose they are nearly the same

 

[Road Runner]

I really feel for you 11K would be way beyond me now.

Hope you can sort it.

 

[olley]

Hi this maybe a stupid question; why can't they just fit a new piston?

Olley

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[andyman]

Hi this maybe a stupid question; why can't they just fit a new piston?

Olley

I guess the reason they cannot fit a new piston is they are not mechanics only servicemen.

 

[ruffingitsmoothly]

Well----went to the Merc garage yesterday p.m and engine all stripped down. Mechanic showed me a big hole in no. 5 piston. How it happened, they are not sure. But--I fell on the floor when they showed me the quote for new engine--11,000 euros. Our breakdown insurance people rang around and confirmed that this was the usual price. Merc don't do recon engines, they will only fit new ones, with a 2 year warranty. The garage contacted Merc H.Q to see if they would bear some of the cost but to no avail. The van has done 50,000 miles and you would'nt expect to be replacing an engine at that mileage. The van is on a 53 plate and is the 5 cylinder 2.7 litre.

The only good news is that they can get a new engine from Madrid by to-day (Friday) and they will have it back on the road by next Tuesday.

So there it is, not good news from me in Spain.

ken

So if they only fit new it won't be an exchange unit then! So why not bring the engine home if you can and sell it for spares/repairs.

I'm with Olley on this why can't they just put a piston in? If they don't know what's caused it obviously it's not dropped a valve so head should be ok. I have done that many a time in Europe in services/car parks or on side of the road to my Scania trucks even changed a liner aswell as the piston had picked up on it and seized the rings in their grooves!!!

Not me but two of my trucks and a driver doing running repairs in France enroute home early 80's

Regards Pat

 

[olley]

I guess the reason they cannot fit a new piston is they are not mechanics only servicemen.

If that was the case they would have stripped the engine? And anyway how hard is it to fit a new one?? It only gets a bit more difficult if you can't get the rod either up the bore or past the crank.

Scania's; easy engine to work on pat, wet liners just tap in and out. Can't say I would fancy do it in a car park though.

Olley

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[hilldweller]

Merc don't do recon engines, they will only fit new ones, with a 2 year warranty. ken

Ridiculous - is this how to save the planet ?????

 

[camper69]

Ridiculous - is this how to save the planet ?????

Where did that come into it?

We just need to save the OP money.

Derek

 

[Geo]

Ridiculous - is this how to save the planet ?????

Dont worry about the planet
The money Merc is making they will buy us a new one:thumb:

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[vwalan]

anybody with a camper or vehicle cant really care about the planet. when all the humans have left this world it may be a better place. till then i,m sure a new piston could be fitted so long as the bore is ok. lifes not good to most of us most of the time!

 

[johng]

wow
11K Euro's

really sorry for you..

I destroyed a motorbike once in France, had all parts shipped over and rebuilt it in a 35C carpark

drove it back home that night ...


there must be another way.. paying 3-2K for it to be fixed seems amazing compared to a new engine, besides, the rest of the motor is hardly run in!

good luck
John

 

[hilldweller]

Where did that come into it? Derek

Well the Germans are prime movers in EU regulation so one of their biggest companies taking the line that their engines are not repairable is unacceptable.

BUT, the original post was saying Mercedes don't do exchange engines, it didn't say they don't supply spare parts, maybe someone would prefer a €11K+ sale than a new piston.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[stagman]

Well----went to the Merc garage yesterday p.m and engine all stripped down. Mechanic showed me a big hole in no. 5 piston. How it happened, they are not sure. But--I fell on the floor when they showed me the quote for new engine--11,000 euros. Our breakdown insurance people rang around and confirmed that this was the usual price. Merc don't do recon engines, they will only fit new ones, with a 2 year warranty. The garage contacted Merc H.Q to see if they would bear some of the cost but to no avail. The van has done 50,000 miles and you would'nt expect to be replacing an engine at that mileage. The van is on a 53 plate and is the 5 cylinder 2.7 litre.

The only good news is that they can get a new engine from Madrid by to-day (Friday) and they will have it back on the road by next Tuesday.

So there it is, not good news from me in Spain.

ken

Could you not get it brought home for repair .Suerly you would get a lot of change from 11k and source you own engine or parts .:thumb:

 

[nahnotme]

similar thing happened to me, got towed to burscough commercials, they re bored it new piston etc, cost a grand and half !!
pm me if you want details

 

[Road Runner]

Dont worry about the planet
The money Merc is making they will buy us a new one:thumb:

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[jacken]

Thanks for your kind replies. Just to update you. Went to garage to-day, luckily the only person to speak a little english was there. The engine is now out completey and I had a good look at it. All the parts look pristine, except no. 5 piston, with the hole in it and-- the bore is scored to hell, result of the piston metal doing it's worst. I put to to the garage about just repairing, i:e new piston etc. but they would'nt play ball. The main problem is that we are in a bad position. We would have to pay to have the van taken to another garage, we would have to pay for the work carried out already and god knows what another garage would do.

To be honest this Merc dealership seem to be a genuine lot and I don't think we are being had. We saw the new engine to-day which was shipped from Madrid overnight and it is a complete new engine. New Turbo, air con unit the whole shooting match. After speaking to a UK Merc dealer on the phone, they said to put it all in writing and you may!! get a contribution of up to 40% of the cost but will have to fight for it.

Ken

 

[Road Runner]

I am saving the planet by sponsoring Indian call centres

£11K would destroy me now.

Is there anyway of recovering it to the UK?

 

[olley]

Hi Jacken glad you got sorted, your money, your call.

Olley

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[ronald4874]

Mercedes Problems

Mercedes engines are excellent and normally last a life time, unfortunately when they do breakdown you need a mortgage to fix.
Last year a friend of mind going down to Spain in his Merc motorhome experienced engine problems near Beziers. On inspection the electronic engine management system had given up the ghost. He and his wife were stuck in a hired flat for 3 weeks while the Mercedes agents sourced another unit from Germany, total cost £5500. His motorhome is up for sale now.

Ron W

 

[dazzer]

Mercedes engines are excellent and normally last a life time, unfortunately when they do breakdown you need a mortgage to fix.
Last year a friend of mind going down to Spain in his Merc motorhome experienced engine problems near Beziers. On inspection the electronic engine management system had given up the ghost. He and his wife were stuck in a hired flat for 3 weeks while the Mercedes agents sourced another unit from Germany, total cost £5500. His motorhome is up for sale now.

Ron W

This sound familiaroh: We had 2 new Sprinters for work nothing but trouble from day 1 kept them for 2 years and had a party when we finaly got shut of the bloody things fortunatley repairs done under warranty but we would have ended spending over £18k on repairs for both vans in 24 months, NEVER EVER again, Iveco replacements never looked back :thumb:

 

[Bulletguy]

Thanks for your kind replies. Just to update you. Went to garage to-day, luckily the only person to speak a little english was there.

To be honest this Merc dealership seem to be a genuine lot and I don't think we are being had. We saw the new engine to-day which was shipped from Madrid overnight and it is a complete new engine. New Turbo, air con unit the whole shooting match. After speaking to a UK Merc dealer on the phone, they said to put it all in writing and you may!! get a contribution of up to 40% of the cost but will have to fight for it.

Must admit this sad tale of affairs would be enough to put me off Mercs for life! One holed piston requiring an entire new engine? Plus....worse still, after a measly 50,000 miles.
Sorry but i find that totally unacceptable unless something catastrophic had contributed to it failing.

I'm with others on this one. That engine can be rebuilt.

If you are having to fork out for a complete engine, then that original engine is still yours and i would bring it back here to the UK but not to a Merc dealer. You need a skilled auto engineering place. There used to be an excellent one in my locality who manufactured parts for Rolls Royce (though RR customers never knew that). They even stripped and rebuilt a complete Merlin engine out of a Spitfire once. Thats the kind of engineering establishment you need!

I think they have moved premises but i've just googled it and this is the address....and the phone numbers rings out (i just tried it). For engineers capable of rebuilding a Spitfire engine.....working on a little Merc engine out of a motorhome will be a 'walk in the park' for these guys.

Brunts Of Silverdale > Engineering Contractors in Newcastle Under Lyme area
Tel: 01782 625225 - Stonewall Industrial Estate, Stonewall Place, Newcastle, Staffordshire, ST5 6NR

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[jacken]

Thanks again for your input. I tend to agree with you all. But my wife is the worrying type and feels happier with a complete new engine for peace of mind. Like others have said, I have now lost faith in Mercedes. Okay, I know things happen and sod's law comes into play. My mechanic friend in the uk did ring round for me but could'nt come up with a suitable engine at a better price given the time constraints. Bare in mind that the price of 11,000 euros includes the VAT out here and all the work they have done trying to find the problem. If I can get some money back from Merc H.Q then it will soften the blow somewhat.

ken

 

[pappajohn]

just a thought Ken........no european recovery i guess.....or doesnt it include repatriation?

 

[jacken]

Hi Pappajohn,

Yes, we do have breakdown insurance with 'Comfort insurance' and they have been wonderful. The RAC Europe ring us 3 or 4 times a day. We are in a hotel at present, paid for by the insurance. But the insurance states that if the vehicle cannot be fixed then they will get you and vehicle back to the UK. It also states that you can go to any garage of your choice but we are in Spain and know nothing so you tend to play safe and go with their reccomendation.

kn

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Bulletguy]

Ken, whilst i appreciate your wifes worries etc it is still well worth while bringing the engine back into the UK and sourcing a competent reliable auto engineer (believe me we do still have a few left!). At least it would help you recoup some of the 11k.

Personally i doubt Merc will be interested once you have your new engine re-fitted.

 

[olley]

How the hell is he supposed to get a 1/2 ton engine back to the UK in a motorhome?

Olley

 

[gazznsam]

i've heard similar incidents happening in spain, was talking to the owners of the iveco scrap yard in doncaster a few years ago,

an iveco based motorhome in spain had it's gearbox fail, towed to the local garage (didnt say if it was an iveco one or not), box removed and stripped down, few bearings seized due to running dry, didnt hear why it had run dry, bloke was told only option was a new gearbox at 4 to 5 grand,

he said he couldent afford that, phoned up the iveco scrappers and was aranging to have a second hand box shipped out to him for about 500 quid, mechanics told him they wouldent fit the box he got shipped over, it had to be a new un, pay up or you dont get your motorhome back,

He tried arguing with them, but they wouldent budge, he either paid 5 grand and drove his van out, or he never got to use it again!! no option to have the box repaired, or to pay for the work already done and the van moved somewhere else for him to sort out fitting the box he could get for 500 quid,

he had to borrow the money, and asked for the old box back as he wanted to get it repaired in england and sell it on, but they wouldent let him have it back,

there was none of this 'eu rules state it's toxic waste' or rubbish you'd get over here, it was a 'your not having it back, so what are you going to do about it, mate'

of course he didnt speak much spanish either, so dunno if it's have been different for a fluent spanish speaker.


totally different to when i had the vacuum pump begin to fail in austria, found an iveco dealer, they diagnosed the problem, seals leaking letting engine oil fill up the cavities, reducing space for the vacuum,
offered to let me source another pump and fit it my self/find another garage to fit it (it's only 3 bolts and a pipe), no charge for the diagnostics, which was amazing considering they had the van for almost an hour over the pit, on the brake rollers, and faffing about with the vacuum testers at the servo to eliminate the servo being the problem.

or for them to fit new seals, or fit a new pump, new one was half the price of one in england, and having new seals fitted was half the price of the new pump... which amazed me, as labour to strip the pump and replace seals must be more than labour to replace it... we're only talking about 150 euros here for the new pump with fitting.

so i opted for the new pump.

they let us stay in their carpark overnight (like most iveco garages, they are open 24 hours, so we werent locked in)
pump arrived at 5am, they let us sleep till we got up at about 10, then they fitted it, spotted an oil leak whilst doing it and replaced the seal for the power steering pump whilst they were in there,

and gave me a bill cheaper than what i had origionaly been quoted, along with the old pump, and to my amazment the vacuum resovoir, all in a heat sealed thick plastic bag to take home with me, or offered to dispose of it if i didnt want it.

they had ordered a new vacuum resovoir just incase that was part of the problem, it wasnt but they fitted the new un anyway, and didnt even charge me for it, as i haddent asked for it,

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}