Smart Fortwo DCT Mechanical Problem

Here's what it looks like when the front under tray is connected to the rear under tray...

KR6fUsd.jpg

You can see how they both fit together on the underside of the car.
 
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If you ever need any work at home done, please let me know. I rarely do jobs any more but you really are a wet dream for people seeling you stuff or services.
 
Diddums said:
If you ever need any work at home done, please let me know. I rarely do jobs any more but you really are a wet dream for people seeling you stuff or services.
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Thanks for the offer but I live in Jersey and I’d still need new front and rear under trays from the main dealer which amount to £198.50 plus the screws I supposedly need which would be another £4.87 if bought from China on eBay.

I would also save the £86 labour charge, so in total I’d stand to save £168.33 if you fitted them for free and I got the cheap screws. Alas I’m in Jersey so it’s never going to happen.
 
might have missed this so apologies if have, but in light of the price of the new screws, what happened to the old ones?
they must have taken some off surely.
if they were ripped out when the shield was damaged then more likely the new ones wont fit?.
just wondering.
 
gc123 said:
if they were ripped out when the shield was damaged then more likely the new ones wont fit?.
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Very good question, I’d imagine the original screws were made of steel strong enough to withstand the damage. It’s only the technician thats said I need new fixings, maybe they are supplying me with something I don’t even need.

The price of them while ludicrous is correct, everywhere I check online they’re about £7 each. So it’s not a pricing error. That’s genuine Mercedes parts for you. Might as well have a Mercedes AMG GT Black Series Coupe.
 
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I know screws are screws but the cheap ones from China are going to be the lowest quality, whereas the expensive Mercedes ones are going to be top quality. Still doesn't justify the price I know but maybe something to ponder.
 
Bro, forget about it. You obviously love your car and want it to be perfect, just let Merc do it and ignore these penny pinchers. A bill extra for minimal effort and piece of mind is chillin.
 
I would have thought they'd have their own suppliers who've agreed to produce them to Mercedes tolerances/specs, or at least had their production quality verified, no? They wouldn't just get a random manufacturers screws...

Either way, China doesn't just have one production line for each product :cry: who's kidding who loool
 
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nlel1975 said:
Would you trust your under tray fixings with the cheapest screws available from China?
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You're making the mistake of thinking that £7.85 per screw isn't an absolute rip off and that you're somehow buying some sort of superior screws which Mercedes highest trained engineers worked tirelessly to produce to the right spec to go on the under tray of a Smart car.

Sorry, but these simply are screws that likely cost Mercedes less than 1p each to buy from China. Mercedes are a *proper* rip off on some parts - I bought a tiny piece of specific shaped vacuum hose (5cm worth, shaped like a catapult) and they charged me £6 for it.

And for a single Viton seal for a PCV valve - £7.50 each. I bought the same spec Viton seal for £1.30 on eBay (Inc 65p for delivery), and it's likely the seller buys them for around 3p each

And another PCV to camshaft seal - Mercedes charge £40 for. It's a Corteco part - the same Corteco part you can buy from Amazon for £8 Inc next day delivery...
 
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nlel1975 said:
Would you trust your under tray fixings with the cheapest screws available from China?
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Take it from someone who's been in engineering for his entire career and comes from a family where 90% of the men are engineers - a couple of stainless steel screws in that undertray will cost you a few quid at most and even when the car is rotting in to the earth in a hundred years, those screws will still be in good nick.

Ultimately it's up to you how you spend your money, but you need to be aware of the rip off you're being subjected to.

Just think to yourself what else you could do with that £200 extra you're spending.
 
Diddums said:
Just think to yourself what else you could do with that £200 extra you're spending.
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10x Mercedes official screws cost £75.50, 20x cheap equivalent screws from China cost £4.87. So I’m not spending £200 extra, it’s only £70.63 extra on the Mercedes screws.
 
I'm not sure why you're still arguing this, if you're happy fine the only reason people keep questioning it is you keep bumping the thread every now and again. People have spent £380 on much worse.
 
nlel1975 said:
Well it’s my money and my choice how I spend it, I dont care if it’s a rip off I’m not a ”penny pincher”. I just want it repaired and am happy with the quote that the main dealer has given me.

Besides these screws aren’t Smart car screws they fit a range of expensive Mercedes vehicles.

https://www.onlineparts24.com/mercedes-ersatzteile/A4159905400_Sechskantschraube.html?language=en
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Yeh I never said anything about how you spend your money - like you said, that's your lookout. I was simply addressing the part where you were trying justify to yourself that £7.50 Mercedes screws were somehow much better than Chinese specials and that's why they cost so much more.
 
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