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Subject Topic: mercedes Tow Bar Post Reply Post New Topic
Personjaggerdon
14/4/2014 at 10:49pm
 Location: lymington
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I have been quoted £1600 to have a tow bar fitted onto our 2012 new model B Class. has anyone else had issues with Mercedes fitting tow bars? has anyone used Witter to fit a tow bar successfully? I think it might damage any warranty we have left. I have heard that you can have it fitted and then get mercedes to fine tune the electronics etc. 6 hours of labour pushing the price up. seems particularly excessive :( Would like to know if anyone else has had similar issues!


PersonLightFantastic
14/4/2014 at 11:19pm
 Location: East Sussex
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How much?!! That's eye wateringly expensive, not to mention outrageous.

Have one fitted by a specialist towbar company for at least a third of that price. If the car does need to be programmed due to vehicle specific electronics then it may require a trip to the dealers, but many of the specialist companies have programmers to do the same job.

As for warranty, having one fitted by someone other than Mercedes will not automatically affect any warranty. If a third party did do anything to affect the electronics then Mercedes would only be able to refuse any warranty claim on that specific problem, they can't by law void the whole warranty on the car, if that's what you're worried about?


Personjaggerdon
14/4/2014 at 11:29pm
 Location: lymington
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I know it's outrageous, I would like to know WHY!! I think theres a good place locally that fits Witter tow bars they seem like a good make and they are dealer that sells trailers etc and they are registered Witter tow bar fitters. I just wondered if there was something special about new b classes that made it more complicated. Thanks for your advice re Warranty v.helpful!


PersonLightFantastic
14/4/2014 at 11:40pm
 Location: East Sussex
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I'm no expert on B classes, but I can't imagine they're any more complicated than any of the other cars out there with CanBus systems etc.

I'd definitely go to the local Witter place you've seen and get a quote and check that there aren't any peculiarities with your specific car that would require it to only be done by a Mercedes dealer.

As for the reason why Mercedes' price is so high, I can only assume it's because its Mercedes! Six hours labour seems excessive, how many tea, and lunch!, breaks are they taking?! I fitted my own towbar, with a vehicle specific module, both 12N and 12S wiring and it took about three hours all in including all the stripping out of the load area trim/panels to get to the body to then drill the holes for brackets etc., so I can't see why it's taking them six hours!


Personmichell8
15/4/2014 at 8:55am
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Generally speaking fixed price dealer fit towbars allow excessive fitting time which bump prices up, this is same for other dealer fixed price jobs like new discs/pads or cambelt change, they pretend they are doing you a favour by making pricing clear.

It is same with parts prices. Dealer supplied parts are far more expensive than OE parts bought from motor factors which are made by same maker that supplies car maker. So Merc supplied towbar, branded Merc will be probably made by large towbar maker like Bosal or Westfalia who can supply same towbar from towbar supplier at half the the price. Same for wiring loom.

Only problem with using outside towbar fitting company is that you must be certain they have the competence to do fitting & wiring which should be dedicated loom for this type of car.

I would not necessarily take cheapest quote. Question towbar fitter at length about parts they will be using & if all features will be working. Not all towbar fitting companies will fit towbars to very sophisticated cars because of the work involved & the possible problems that could arise.


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Persontedthebear
15/4/2014 at 10:43am
 Location: Plymouth Devon
 Outfit: Swift Escape Motorhome View tedthebear's Profile View Profile   Reply to tedthebear Reply   Quote tedthebear Quote  
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pfjones.co.uk    can supply and arrange fitting throughout the country at home or depot near to you . Might be worth a phone call


PersonLightFantastic
15/4/2014 at 11:12am
 Location: East Sussex
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Quote: Originally posted by michell8 on 15/4/2014Question towbar fitter at length about parts they will be using & if all features will be working. Not all towbar fitting companies will fit towbars to very sophisticated cars because of the work involved & the possible problems that could arise.

Exactly, I implied that in my reply but should have specifically reinforced it. For example on cars with factory fit parking sensors the make specific tow electrics/module will disable the rear sensors when it detects that you've connected up a caravan etc. Also things like when rear fogs are turned on the ones on car won't turn on but on the caravan/trailer they will - so that you don't have a huge red distracting glow in your rear view from them reflecting off the front of the caravan.
Some cars will also adjust things like the stability control when hitched up so it's definitely worth making sure that all those things will work.

Towbar manufacturers such as Witter and Westfalia, and others probably, have vehicle specific electrics for a wide range of cars, just obviously need to check that they do for yours, or the fitter needs to check.


PersonMikeyBe
16/4/2014 at 5:52pm
 Location: Hartlepool
 Outfit: Merc ML270 + Bailey Ranger 520.4 View MikeyBe's Profile View Profile   Reply to MikeyBe Reply   Quote MikeyBe Quote  
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The first time we had the SLK services, we took it to the main dealers. They quoted £160 for a new wiper blade. That was the last time we ever put any more money in Mercedes direction...

I'd get some more quotes ;)


PersonLightFantastic
16/4/2014 at 7:00pm
 Location: East Sussex
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A blade or wiper arm?


PersonMikeyBe
16/4/2014 at 8:41pm
 Location: Hartlepool
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Quote: Originally posted by LightFantastic on 16/4/2014
A blade or wiper arm?


Just the blade (Rubber bit at the end) - I ended up paying £3 from the local motor factors...


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PersonMITIE1
17/4/2014 at 8:15pm
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hi i had a witter tow bar and elecs it took them 3 hours and they charge me £300 on a merc e 320 diesal so if they charge £1600 there taking the pea ive had it on the car a year now no probs shop around you will get there cheers .tom



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