Dealer Stamped Service History vs. Indy/DIY

GTE

Hello all,

A friends 2004 Merc E270 CDI has developed an issue where the engine won't switch off. Clamping the fuel line and disconnecting the battery is the only way to shut the car down (engine and fans). The AA have said it looks like the fuel pump stop solenoid and said that it would be an expensive job.

The friend (old fella) is stuck in his old ways of constantly using a Merc main dealer for the car for resale value. That is fine when taking cost to one side, but the dealer have made absolute messes of jobs in the past with the car and they are the only convenient Merc dealer in the area. Now, lets factor the costs in which can be a bit mad.

So, with the car at the age it is how much "damage" would it do to resale to switch to a good independent mechanic?

Secondly, how much more damage would it do if some DIY work was done where possible? Being unfamiliar with the engine, if the solenoid was the culprit I would wonder if it was an easy fix.

It is an old car which seems to be of an unreliable vintage and would have high tax so I wonder if it even has a resale value worth preserving.

There is an amount of trust in what the AA says being independent (hopefully that is well placed trust) but I know they wouldn't be experts in every car and I am interested in what the garage are going to say.

Thanks for the read

Scortho

You can generally gauge from a seller if they know there stuff or not if they've done it themselves.
If you do go down this route, keep every receipt.

To be honest if stop servicing with a main dealer once the warranty was up.
I'd be more inclined to buy a car if it was serviced by a specialist than main dealer, tells me that the owner is an enthusiast.

R.O.R

How sure are they that it's the fuel pump stop solenoid?

I had a phone call a couple of years ago from a customer, at 20.00 in the evening. He'd just got home from the office, in the 2006 E280Cdi that he was driving. He'd turned the ignition off and taken the key out, but the car was still running.

Only time I'd heard of similar things happening was when a diesel starts running on engine oil, and they don't last too long after that. Got the driver to disconnect the battery (carefully) which killed the fuel pump, and thankfully the engine.

Turned out just to be a faulty igintion switch. Car wasn't recognising the key turn or removal. No idea what the cost was to get it fixed, as it's not listed on the system, but with it being more or less the same car, and the same issue, I'd be starting with that.

I'd also take it to an indy rather than main dealer, as the difference in cost is going to be down to the difference in hourly labour rates.

visual

Main dealers often charge outrageous prices and very often only do the minimal amout of work. But many people believe as its main dealer they go the extra mile so they have a more reliable and better car. Sadly this isn't the case. Good indy will be much cheaper and do the same work.
I like to DIY my own vehicles as I know its done right. But you have to know your limitations and use a garage when needed.

Buyimg a car sure its great to see full dealer service stamps up to date. But it wouldn't bother me to see indy garage stamp.

DIY would worry me a little as I have no way to gauge the owners ability. Unless he was a true enthusis and these are few and far between I be a little iffy

But I wouldn't pay over the odds for full dealer stamp history.

squrm

sorry to de-rail the thread but i've a 2006 peugeot 407 due a service. Among other things theres a couple of electrical/computer issues (ESP warning light but hopefully a faulty sensor, tyre pressue warnings but again faulty sensor as I keep the tyres topped up regularly).

Would an indie be able to sort/find these ones or do I need a main dealer to plug it into the 'peugeot computer'?

Services up to now have been standard enough and have gone to indepedents but this is the first time its anything beyond mechanical, hence the question

GTE

Thanks for the replies.

We are not 100% sure it is any solenoid. I have a feeling it is a relay or indeed the ignition switch as was mentioned here since the cooling fan will switch on after a while. Fuel pump wouldn't do much towards the fan I would have thought.

I am all for DIY and indies. It is what I do with my car, though I had a bad experience even with a specialist who overfilled the engine with oil.

We will see what happens with this one. If the costs are mad I will have a good chat and see if he would move to a specialist. I don't know if a new (used) car would be worth his while as it would be an 08+ which is all to go for so he may as well get the car well cared for by an indy. Speculation at the moment anyway.

visual

I know in the diesel Jeeps with Mercedes 2.7 engine there is a stop solenoid.
The fuel pump is mechanically driven directly by engine.

The fan im not so sure on but it may be temperature driven so designed to run after engine is turned off untill the engine temperature drops below a certain point.

Not always but usually if the ignition is faulty and won't turn off other devices like radio and instruments stay on too.

If you can get a wiring diagram it shouldn't be too difficult to track down with a meter.
Relay or stop solenoid would be likely candidates.