German cars- why it’s a $1,000 minimum for every time in the shop

You obviously never owned a vintage Beetle

Could fix most issues with duct tape, baling wire, and a ball peen hammer (for banging on it till the problem got fixed)

Learn to do things yourself.

If a high school drop out or ex convict can learn how to, there is no reason you can’t.

I mean, I guess if you consider metric tools "special", then, yes.

Hey, quality always costs extra.

My wife’s jeep grand Cherokee has the battery under the seat like that


It’s fricking stupid

I post this a few times in these threads, I can change the headlight on my 97 4Runner in 4 minutes with a single flat head screw driver and an $8 bulb.

my wife’s Infiniti suv needed one headlight changed, the shop wanted $350…looked at them like they were crazy. Went to autozone, the damn bulb is $130 by itself, and the process to change the bulb on one side requires completely removing the batteries and several other pieces…on other side you have to remove the washer fluid tanks etc. Both require engine bay gymnastics to reach down in under the hood and change the bulb without being able to see it at all. There’s no need for things that are simple maintenance on wear and tear items to be that much of a pain in the arse and require so many steps.

I now have more sympathy/underdtand there’s a reason so many people can’t even work on their own cars or houses or appliances, etc. anymore.

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Had a beetle with same

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Had a VW Thing. Yes the battery was under the back seat but all you had to do was lift the cushion and there it was. Not even comparable.

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all you had to do was lift the cushion

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Same with old Buick and old Cadillac sedans.



Did you like the Thing (was the junior staff car for the Germans in WW II)

Several years ago, a friend changed the battery in his Mercedes and found 3 ea 10MM sockets under it. The problem with modern Mercedes is that the drive train requires microchip matched parts. $10k for his transmission to be changed due a small hole in it from road debris.

FTR, he had to have one towed in Baton Rouge after going through high water during rain storm. Cheapest and best service he ever had was here in Baton Rouge. He lives in Houston.