A KwaZulu-Natal car owner recently drove his Mercedes-Benz two and a half hours to the nearest Mercedes dealership, which was situated in Shelly Beach. The gearbox had been giving him trouble and he wanted a professional mechanic to look into the problem.
At the dealership, which trades as Garden City Motors Shelly Beach, his car was hooked up to the diagnostics machine and he got the news that the valve gear control unit had to be replaced. The total quote was R46 096; the car owner was in shock. Luckily, he decided to get a second opinion. With that obtained, the car was repaired within a few days for R3 500. So why did Garden City Motors quote R46 096?