Snapped Suspension Arm - Merc

MrRipley

Hoping for some car related help please!

Car in question is a 1999 Mercedes C180 Manual Saloon.

For the past week or so the car has been increasingly difficult to control when cornering at speeds, like when coming out at a roundabout or driving round tight corners in the rain.

The worst event was coming down a slip road doing around 75mph, I started to brake, then the back end started swaying from side to side making it very difficult to keep the car straight, luckily it was late at night so the road was empty. I've been driving it very carefully the last few days.

I just put this down to the rear tyres being close to the legal minimum and it being a rear wheel drive car. Less tread, less grip or so I thought.

So I headed to Kwik Fit this morning, I know they get a bad rep but I had the day off and needed 2 new tyres urgently. Anyway they do the usual inspection, then asked me to come and have a look at what they found!

On the rear left side of the car, underneath and behind the wheel, the suspension arm has snapped right off. The rear right side is intact.

They quoted me for the following:

Both arms, bolts and nuts, front and rear alignment - Grand total of just over £410!!! To fix just the rear left arms?

I got the 2 new tyres fitted and said I'd be back later in the week to get the suspension sorted.

I can't help but feel that the quote is through the roof! What would this realistically cost to fix?

Here is a link to the picture of the damage on the rear left side http://imgur.com/a/r4kQy
And a link to the picture of the rear right side http://imgur.com/a/hwQQA

Thanks!

Strider590

Mate of mine had a similar issue on a C320 coupe same sort of age, Mercedes wanted £3000 to fix it and also to replace a faulty ignition coil pack.

The fault was noticed at an independent tyre shop, he'd gone there for tyres and suspension alignment (as it was feeling strange when driving), the guy doing the alignment said he'd seen it before where it had been caused by the driver oversteering it into a kerb.

gilbert_and_sullivan

New Lemforder (decent aftermarket) complete suspension arm £31, free delivery from ECP, no reason why you couldn't do this yourself in a couple of hours tops.
Alternatively any decent mechanic can do this and i see no reason for the car to need alignment unless the through bolts prove to be eccentric in which case maybe aligning could be necessary.

You should not drive the car anywhere with that suspension arm broken, but you know that.

angrycrow

I hope you are not still driving the car with that damage. If you have an accident you could find yourself in extremely hot water with the police for driving a clearly un road worthy vehicle.

You may also want to amend the speed in your opening post to a legal speed as well.

I don't know about the c class but the a class of that time was notorious for ruining rear trailing arms and the e class had chronic rust issues including suspension components.

Ganga

As other have said cheaper to purchase non genuine parts and fit yourself,only problem i can see is the bolts look well rusted and might need the " hot spanner " to remove them,that is oxy/acetaline torch to heat thm up to break rust.
Might be best to get price from local garage,not dealer.

AdrianC

Yep, that's snapped.

You'll want to double-check, but I think this is the arm in question.
http://www.mister-auto.co.uk/en/anti-roll-bar/mercedes-benz-c-class-w202-c-180-122hp_v966_g3229.html

Should be a quick and easy fit, as has been said.

No advisory on the last MOT? How long ago?

docj

£410 to fix that isn't bad. Try a non-franchise MB specialist if you don't want to use Kwikfit. Yes, I'd probably do it myself but then again I've got a vehicle lift, cutting gear and wheel alignment kit at home. Without those you'll have a nightmare doing it in the rain, on your drive with a car jack and the average toolbox.

Brooker_Dave

MrRipley wrote: »

I can't help but feel that the quote is through the roof! What would this realistically cost to fix?

A genuine arm and socket set and spanners would cost less than £50.

Replace the one broken arm in about 10 minutes, but check for play in the rest of the arms, put the wheel back on and try to move it around.

Brooker_Dave

docj wrote: »

£410 to fix that isn't bad. Try a non-franchise MB specialist if you don't want to use Kwikfit. Yes, I'd probably do it myself but then again I've got a vehicle lift, cutting gear and wheel alignment kit at home. Without those you'll have a nightmare doing it in the rain, on your drive with a car jack and the average toolbox.

It only unbolts, no need for cutting gear.

£410 is pants down territory, would be less at Mercedes.

Brooker_Dave

Looks like the arms been hit, W202 subframes are prone to bending, you might need to have a proper look at that too.

MrRipley

Thanks for all the replies!

It was MOT'd last August a few weeks before I bought it, passed first time with no advisories. Also passed the previous 4 MOT's first time too.

I've done around 8000 miles in just under 6 months, the tyres being the first thing I've had to replace/fix. The roads are very bad where I live, the shared drive between all the houses is a dirt track with too many potholes to count!

I might give it a go trying to fix it myself although ideally I'd rather a trustworthy mechanic fix it, but not if it's going to cost a small fortune.

With the parts costing £30, what quotes including labour should I be looking at?