I have a '95 C280 which (when purchased) had a timing cover gasket oil leak. It was repaired under warranty, but I have now noticed an additional leak which apparently is coming from the timing chain tensioner. There is an aluminum washer there that was tightened (again under warranty), but is still leaking oil. The leaking is very minor (a couple of drops each time I drive) and has no effect on the engine oil level (over the last 1k miles). I only have about 1.5 weeks left on the warranty and need some advice. Do I: 1) take it back to the dealer and ask him to tighten it up a bit more hoping that it will finally stop the leak, 2) bring it to my own mechanic (because the dealer where I bought it hasn't fixed it yet and the owner is jerk) and pay to have someone competent fix it or, 3) because it is so minor, forget about it and have someone competent fix it down the road when other work is done? I've discussed this in other posts, and the problem continues.

 

Those small, unstoppable oil leaks get really annoying over the time.
I sold my perfectly running 83 tdt mainly because of them.
If you take the car to independent mechanic, you'll lose the warranty coverage.
Do you have another MB dealer in the area?
If not, give the first one another chance. Since they worked on it before, the fix shouldn't be covered by car warranty, but by the dealer quality warranty, but good luck on telling them that.

 

Kajtek1 is the drip.

 

I got the car from a dealer that specializes in Mercedes, not a Mercedes dealer per se. They're a one of a kind independently owned shop. The owner of the shop where I purchased the car and where I have the warranty was a real jerk (after the check cleared). He did have a mechanic try to fix the leak, I'll give him that, but it certainly pained him to do it. I could be a real pain and bring it back to them to work on it some more, but it's inconvenient and like I said, they're not the easiest dealership to work with. There's just something that ticks me off that when you buy a Mercedes (even if it is 10 years old), that it shouldn't leak even a drop of oil. I expected excellent customer service where these guys would bend over backwards to 'get it right'. What a dream that was. At some level, I feel ripped off or scammed. Maybe I should just forget about it. It is really minor (but still annoying). I'm at the cross road of being a pain and bringing it back one more time, or telling them to go to he** and I'll never come there again. I could put the problem to rest by spending a few bucks and have my competent mechanic take care of it. However if I do that, my pride and wallet will both suffer. Input please.

 

The only time pride looks good in real life is, when you can hang it on the bathroom wall.
From your description of the SITUATION I would spend few buck at another shop and get over it, saving time and aggravation of dealing with the other guys. Since they repaired it and screwed it, legally you could bill them for the second repair, but how much do you value your time and nerves?