I've always had good experiences customer service-wise at AutoZone. I've also found them to be completely useless for Mercedes parts beyond oil, glow plugs, and windshield wipers.
One thing that always bugs me about such parts places is the need for "year, make, and model" before anything can be done; it always seemed to me that a professional should be able to pull a part off the shelf if given the part number. Last winter I was in a less than ideal mood when I lost a glow plug in my 300D. I went to the local A-Z and asked for a Bosch glow plug, part #80006. "Year, make, and model?" "Um, it is a Ford 9N tractor with a Kubota diesel in it, but I know this is the part I need and I've bought them here before." She stared at the computer screen with a deer-in-the-headlights look for a minute until her eyes lit up and she said "Hey, I know where those are!" She went and got the plug and seemed very pleased with herself for having found it all by herself. Last weekend I was in Evansville, IN for family fun time when the bulb-out light lit up in the S320. I went to the local A-Z, turned on all the lights and concluded that it must be a brake light. I went inside and asked if someone could check the brake lights while I pressed the pedal. It took the guy about 90 seconds of "Okay, push the pedal again... ummm... again?" before he could figure out that one of the brake lights wasn't working. We go inside, "'95 Mercedes S320" "Uh, um, uh, it says E320, is that it?" "No, scroll down." Eventually he figured out how to scroll down and found my bulb. I bought it and left. It didn't fit, the little nubs on the side of the bulb were oriented differently from the proper bulb on which they're 180 degrees apart. I went back found the correct bulb myself, and the dude couldn't believe that I would want a bulb other that what the computer said I needed, nor could he see the difference between the two bulbs. For real comedy, you should see what the computer thinks is an air filter for a 450SL. They're always friendly, but sometimes a little dumb. This is why I'm so fond of Rusty and the local dealer - I tell them what I need and I get the right part right away, and never the AC Delco equivalent to the Bosch part. Tom, wow, that was long _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
