If you are the owner of a Mercedes-Benz….CONGRATULATIONS!  You are the owner of a superb piece of German engineering, and a worldwide symbol of luxury.

You are also the owner of one of the heaviest passenger cars on the market.  Hey, all of that safety and stout craftsmanship is the product of using solid materials, and those solid materials are heavy.  Cheap plastic is lightweight; expensive metals are heavy.

What are we leading up to?  The heavier the vehicle, the more stress is put on the braking system, and that means you will be paying for brake maintenance more often with a Mercedes than you would with, say, a Toyota or Honda.

There are so many parts to the Mercedes braking system, including the ABS pin, brake backing plate, pads, discs, brake drum, brake pump, brake piston, brake rotor, brake shoe, brake lining, calibrated friction brake, caliper, hold-down springs, load sensing valve, master cylinder, pressure differential valve, shoe return spring, wheel stud and more.

And that means repairs, and that means money, and that means a decision has to be made by you, the car owner:  will you have a mechanic do the work, and pay through the nose, or will you do the work yourself and save big money?  The choice is yours.

Millions of Americans are opting for the second choice and learning to do it themselves.  Not only do they save $75 per hour on labor costs, but they also save by buying quality recycled auto parts from their local salvage yard.

Do the research yourself.  Call your local dealership and ask them what it costs for replacement brake pads for your Mercedes.  Make sure you are sitting down when you make that call so you won’t feint.  Most likely those pads will cost close to $100, and then the labor to have them installed will cost at least another $100.  The main problem with owning a Mercedes is the huge expense of repairing them.

But it doesn’t have to be that way.  Take the same scenario.  You need brake pads or other replacement parts.  Go to All Import Auto Parts, or your local salvage yard, and buy replacement brake pads.  Install them yourself.  Total cost of the car repair job:  under fifty bucks!

Can you really afford to ignore savings like that?

The next time you need to repair your Mercedes-Benz brakes, head on down to the salvage yard and save yourself some serious cash.  You’ll be glad you did.