Water pump and thermostat replacement- is this a good price?

[aerosly]

My '85 280SE has been leaking coolant when it is cold (eg- parked overnight). I took it in to the shop and found out that the water pump is leaking and the thermostat is sticking.

The shop quoted me $631.90 to replace the water pump and thermostat. Does this price sound fair or should I shop around?

[Eric]

Sounds high to me. I was quoted $320 and I still thought that was high too, but gosh... $600+ wow. I guess I was lucky [:)]

[GreenGiant]

I don't know how hard it is to change on the 280, but I changed the puump on my 560 a few months ago. I forget how much it cost, but it was less than $200, and it was easy to change. I think most repair shops look at the hood ornament and proceed to give you the shaft. I find the cars very easy to repair. I'd check around if I were you.

[Anders E]

I dont know how the waterpump is mounted on the 280, but I`ve changed waterpump on my 300D in less than 20 minutes. If it´s the same type of pump where you don´t change the housing but just remove 4 screws and pull out the bearing part and the impeller from the housing it`s no problem for an average to fix it with just common tools.

Anders

[Anders E]

I dont know how the waterpump is mounted on the 280, but I`ve changed waterpump on my 300D in less than 20 minutes. If it´s the same type of pump where you don´t change the housing but just remove 4 screws and pull out the bearing part and the impeller from the housing it`s no problem for an average to fix it with just common tools.

Anders

[GermanStar]

I think that price seems ridiculously high. Is this a shop that specializes in Mercedes? I can tell you that the pump and thermostat are both inexpensive parts.

Ron
http://germanstar.net

[vwbuge]

That should be a really easy DIY job.
Jump over to www.mercedesshop.com and do a search.
You may luck out and find some pictures.