Parts

[merrill]

hello
i have been comparing prices for 230 sl parts and it appears SLS is very competitive even with shipping.

it seems many of the stateside parts suppliers are 50 - 100% more expensive.

have other members had the same experience? 

Maybe i should be looking at other sources besides  buds, classic center, pelican parts and arizona autohaus. 
I wont even look at sl tech anymore

matt

[StevenF]

IMO--it depends on which parts you need...

[scoot]

It really does depend on what you want.  If you know the part numbers, search on various internet Mercedes dealer websites.  Google "trademotion mercedes" and you will find some on-line dealers, usually not revealing the name of the dealership.  MB of South Atlanta, etc.   Often their on-line prices are 30% less than MSRP.    For those of us in California, not paying the sales tax by buying out of state more than offsets the cost of shipping.  Autohaus AZ is good for some things, but I also went through two bad fuel pumps (for W114) with them before buying the same thing from MB and having it not be bad.  SLS was always better on prices than a lot of state-side places.

[Pawel66]

When I was buying parts for 280SL and 190SL I did a quite comprehensive comparison of the 3 sources: Mercedes, SLS and Niemoeller. In the Excel spreadsheet. I had a couple of hundred raws with parts and columns with prices (with rebates, VAT, etc.). Then I went for choosing the least expensive option of the three. Each time I did that, the combination option (least expensive of the three) was 20-30% less expensive than If I chose just one supplier. Maybe even higher percentage if I chose just Mercedes, but in Mercedes thay also had parts that were less expensive than the other two and I have some discount there.

Of course this kind of comparison is done after availability filter.

In any case it was an exercise worth the effort.

[waltklatt]

Also there is the issue that MB has cracked down on aftermarket makers of the parts as part of their copyright infringement.
Hence the OEM and MB approval stamp creating higher prices.
The lower prices are not around anymore.
On the other end are the VW parts for the original Beetle and Bus, parts are made by aftermarket and the prices can be much lower.

The higher costs are high as the cars and parts are now 50 years old.

All part of classic car ownership.

[Benz Dr.]

It kind of depends on how much you want to drink from the same well. However, taking a sip here and there may be enough to quench your thirst.

I've had people send me long lists of all sorts of parts they wanted and I used to spend a lot of time pricing that stuff only to find they only bought a couple of  pieces that I found at substantial discounts. After creaming off the best prices, they moved on to the next lowest priced place until they filled their order. If it was something they couldn't find and I had it priced on the original order, I'd hear back from them a couple of months later asking if I still had the same part. I'd tell them yes, but since the part ( used ) was no longer part of a package price, it was going to be more. Annoyed, they'd hang up only to call back a week later still trying to beat me over the head about my price. This was typical 20 years ago - I haven't seen this in a long time. And no, these people were NOT from America......... You see, there's more to the price than just the price.

 Internet sellers can easily handle large volumes of shoppers because they have web sites where you click on to what you want and put it in your shopping cart. And, I'm sure this works well for buyer and seller of new parts with pictures. After all, 90% of this stuff is all the same parts from the same sources. This is a smaller market than you might imagine. For MB, it is without question, their most lucrative division.

As long as you know your car and how it works shopping on line can work for you. If you're not that sure about things then I would advise talking to a real voice. When I first started selling parts over 30 years ago everyone called for what they wanted and you could cultivate a sort of friendship with people. Now we have the internet.   

[merrill]

hi all,
good feedback.

thanks!

[doitwright]

The last order I placed for OEM parts, Tom Hanson at the Classic Center matched the best price I found online from a trusted source. Shipping costs were more than reasonable but they did charge tax.

[Chris_ATL]

Like some above, i have found that for generic parts, that are used across multiple makes and models, it's pretty easy to search online and find multiple sources... This mostly applies to consumables, like filters, pads, screws, gaskets etc... Quality can vary and you sometimes get lucky, some times you don't.

For specific parts, the MB classic center I have found to be best. Jon Siggson has been very helpful and their pricing is very competitive. To clarify that comment, the parts are not cheap but for the OEM part I can rarely find it cheaper than they offer.

As a warning, which i am sure everyone knows, but parts frequently turn up on Ebay for prices well above what MB Classic can get them.

[Pawel66]

I have the impression that the colleagues in the US are lucky with their MB Classic Center. It sometimes feels like swimming through a marshmallow with the Clasic Center here... At least for me.

[waltklatt]

Best to go straight through to Tom for the quick response.

[Pawel66]

I actually did contact him once even though I am here in Europe - about rebuilding of the TTS and indeed I got quick, precise and positive response immediately. While here...

[TheEngineer]

In repairing my Mercedes I found Tom Hanson most helpful and even obscure parts, like little clips and the plastic strip under the horns on the bumpers were available. Even the correct, tinted glass for my hardtop. Furthermore, Tom knows these cars. I ordered the donuts for the exhaust suspension and he educated me what size was required and where the big ones go. My German parts book was not so clear about that one.

[merrill]

hi
yes,  I have found that on some items Tom can match pricing.

guess it pays to shop around

matt

[Cees Klumper]

I've become accustomed to being able to order most parts for my cars and motorcycles on-line, easily from comprehensive catalogs. For the Pagoda, vendors like SLS have those catalogs, but MB has monopolized many parts and, on their side, MB has made finding, ordering and paying for those parts just about as difficult as possible, at least outside the United States. One year I even signed up and paid a fee (!!) for the proprietary website but found it too difficult to use. Frustrating.

[doitwright]

I agree that the MB EPC is a pain to use. After paying the $75 annual fee I searched and found a few sites that also have the complete catalog with diagrams and part numbers. What is nice is that I can easily copy/paste a part number into a parts suppliers site and get a price.

[scoot]

EPC isn't designed for us, it's designed for the guys behind the counter who have been using it for years.  Having said that, it's by far the best parts database available for any car IMHO.

[johnk]

Thanks for the reference to SLS. I never tried them before. I have been looking for a place to buy the rubber gromets/seals for my front suspension without having to buy the entire expensive rebuild kit, and SLS has them available separately. Everyone else I checked with requires that you buy the whole kit when all I need are the rubber parts.

John