Manager Forum

I have a customer with a 1999 E430 that his son dropped the only key in a parking lot and it got ran over. Long story short he refuses to go to dealer. My question is: I have found a used key,switch,EME module, and collum lock as a package deal, all from same car, all programed to each other. Will I be able to install these componets and the car function without any additional coding or programing?

Thanks for any help on this one.

Im not an expert here but id say yes I do not see why not.

I went on and ordered the set from a vendor and got them today; used: PCM, Electronic Ignition Switch, key, and the steering column lock module. All from same car. All I had to do was just install them and all worked like supposed to. This might be good to know information for someone else in the future. Got all the parts for 200.00 off ebay compared to spending almost a grand at the dealer for just a key and programming it. Customer very happy!
Thanks for the reply....

LIKE BUTTON...click.

My question is in a case like that, how much did the customer actually save by doing it this way? I mean, so, ok, the cost of the parts to you was $200. And how much labor to do the job?

I am liking the idea of a possibility like what you did. I had wondered in the past already if it could be done. You just proved it can. Great!

I agree that saving a customer money while still using quality parts is a nice thing to do but I still need to make a bit for me. The labor would remain about the same but the profit on the parts would be far less. If I were doing this I would charge somewhere around 450 for the parts plus my time on the computer adding appropriate time. This is something I would consider diagnostic time and charge accordingly. If I were to spend two hours on a computer tracking something down and investigating the pro's and con's I would charge three hours. Three hours I would charge four and a half etc. I always consider the failed part syndrome when purchasing on line even though the customer has been informed I want to cover myself as close to 100% as I can. Always remember when opening the on line door with a customer the chance of closing it is extremely low.