Mercedes dealership has told me I have to have them install the tow hitch on a 2009 Mercedes ML 350 instead of U-Haul because otherwise the wiring can mess up the computer in the car. Is this true? Difference in price $1600
Baloney. Here are several Mercedes owners who did it themselves:
Of course, someone could do a hack job and mess up your wiring. But a reasonably competent installer shoild be able to do it no problem. And charging $1600 more? Highway robbery.
I’m not sure I’d have U-haul do it - they’re pretty notorious for not being responsive when something goes wrong with a service they provide. But there’s no reason you have to have the dealership do it.
Well, I may have opened my mouth too soon. According to the forum below, the U-Haul wiring harness can mess up Mercedes electricals. One of the posters recommend buying the Mercedes hitch kit for $850, which includes a special Mercedes-specific wiring harness that doesn’t require cutting into your wiring like the U-Haul harness will. He says the Mercedes kit is pretty straightforward to install if you don’t want to pay Mercedes $ 100+ per hour to do it.
If it were me, I’d probably buy the Mercedes kit and have a trusted competent mechanic install it (if doing it yourself is not an option).
http://mbworld.org/forums/m-class-w164/328506-trailer-hitch.html
You might check with a local RV dealer and see what they charge for the MB kit and installation. They may have an alternative that works, too. Ask to speak to satisfied MB customers if the RV dealer offers their own parts instead of the MB kit.
I would suggest buying the Mercedes hitch and installing it yourself
That way you have the “factory correct” hitch, minus the labor chargesw