Repair or replace a 1998 A160 sunroof??

[jvallet]

Please, advice and/or help needed.

My fantastic 1998 A160 W168 had been offering me an excellent service till some days ago...

I drive my car in Spain and, supposedly, due to the intense sun, the sunroof works in a more agressive environment than in other "colder" countries...

Well, as a result of that, sunroof broke down when trying to close it (I had to close it with the emergency mechanism).
The engine of the sunroof is in good condition and the problem is located in the guides of the sunroof.
I have been told that the problem is due to the bad maintenance habits of Spanish Mercedes Benz dealers, ignoring the maintenace of sunroof, something which is specially important in sunny countries.

In whatever case, the fact is that I have been asked to pay a total amount of 2000 € to repair it (in fact, to exchange the current sunroof by a completely new one) and I cannot believe that..., specially considering that this car is a supposedly cheap Mercedes Benz which should be easy and aconomical to run (I also have a 1994 S500Coupe and never had paid such an expensive work for that car).

Well, the complete sunroof has a retail price of 1.300 € in all Spanish Mercedes dealers and don't know if it is possible to buy it at a better price elsewhere.

Comments and suggestions will be significantly appreciated...

Jordi Vallet
Barcelona (Spain)