{"id":32041,"date":"2026-06-07T19:20:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T19:20:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/32041\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T19:20:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T19:20:20","slug":"piston-slap-on-a-long-enough-timeline-unobtainium-is-obtainium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/32041\/","title":{"rendered":"Piston Slap: On a Long Enough Timeline, Unobtainium Is Obtainium"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\tStay up to speed with stories written by drivers, for drivers.<\/p>\n

Get automotive news, DIY tips, market trends, in-depth car profiles, and more right in your email inbox.<\/p>\n

John writes: <\/p>\n

Sajeev,<\/p>\n

My daily driver is a 2013 Mercedes SLK 55 AMG. I adore this car and want to keep it as long as possible. I am approaching 100K miles and have only had to do routine maintenance; I probably overmaintain the car, but I perform the labor myself, and with lifetime parts replacement from companies like FCP Euro and ECS tuning, it is affordable.<\/p>\n

Being proactive as I near 100K miles, I was looking into a replacement thermostat and water pump in the event these fail in the near future. The thermostat, which is sold with its integrated housing, is no longer manufactured by Mercedes. FCP Euro and ECS websites say they\u2019re unavailable. None listed on eBay or Rock Auto. Some overseas websites list it for a very low price, but I believe those are scams.<\/p>\n

What are my options? MB Classic Center? Is there a company that can replace or modify the thermostat in my housing when it fails?<\/p>\n

Sajeev answers:<\/p>\n

While I don\u2019t necessarily recommend revisiting something you\u2019ve moved away from, a place like eBay is the E-commerce equivalent of a high-turnover automotive scrapyard. Just because you looked for a part in the past doesn\u2019t mean a new opportunity has been added to its \u201cinventory\u201d on the ground.<\/p>\n

More to the point, after plugging in the thermostat housing part number from FCP Euro into eBay, I found two of the reproductions for sale in the United Kingdom. It\u2019s likely a decent quality aftermarket part (Made in Germany!) and it\u2019s significantly cheaper than the OEM bit from FCP Euro<\/a>, tariffs notwithstanding.<\/p>\n

Perhaps you were only looking for an OEM, genuine Mercedes-Benz part. I can dig it, but perhaps that is no longer a luxury available to this 13-year-old car. Aftermarket parts are hit or miss these days, no matter their country of origin, but there are times when a new hunk of plastic is better than a used or reconditioned one. I wager a plastic bit that holds hot engine coolant is one such occasion when new beats old. But maybe one day an OEM part will surface, and odds are it will be either on eBay or Rearcounter.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"unobtainiumSajeev Mehta<\/p>\n

So do yourself a favor and turn that part number into an eBay saved search. This is something I\u2019ve discussed in the past<\/a>, and I practice what I preach. Because, on a long enough timeline, there\u2019s a good chance someone will list the part you need on the reselling juggernaut that is eBay.com. Now please accept my apology in advance, as your buddy Sajeev wants to tell a relevant story about something that happened last week. <\/p>\n

Last year, I bought my dream 1974 Mercury Montego<\/a>, and made a list of things I either need or want for this vehicle after it arrived in my garage. That dream turned into eBay saved searches, in the form of actual words or technical part numbers. I want a handful of cosmetic restoration parts and necessary functional bits in the interest of safety. Patience is key, as one item I needed surfaced over a year later.<\/p>\n

\"unobtainiumeBay<\/p>\n

Because my \u201cdream\u201d Montego is a top-level MX Brougham with Custom Trim, I wanted the top-level floor mats available in the Ford accessories catalog for that year. Since I am a huge Ford dork, I know the mid-size Montego\u2019s floor mats aren\u2019t unique. Their floor pans are similar to full-size Fords\/Lincolns, to the point they all use the same color-matched rubber mats with cheesy wreath graphics and carpeted inserts. Ah, the Malaise Era! <\/p>\n

Fast forward to last Friday, when an email notification from eBay landed in my inbox around 3 am. I saw it by 10 am, and quickly remembered my theory that all \u201clarger than Maverick\u201d Fords used the same upgraded mat. I cross-checked interior colors for a 1975 Lincoln and a 1974 Mercury, and decided this purchase was worth the gamble. We shall see what arrives at my doorstep at the end of this week.<\/p>\n

Back to John\u2019s question: Being patient on eBay (via saved searches) is paramount. Having a box of spare parts you find online, in junkyards, on forum posts, etc., is a great idea. Time isn\u2019t necessarily of the essence because you are collecting stuff to keep a cherished AMG on the road. I have purchased items from eBay, Rock Auto (when they do clearance pricing), and people in the car community who dismantle cars for profit for the sole purpose of collecting spares for a rainy day.<\/p>\n

This is why I recommend making a list of \u201cwants and needs\u201d for long-term ownership of this SLK. As I did with the Montego, include other vehicles that use the same bits in your searches. (Like the E55 AMG, for starters.) For items that are hard to find on places like FCP Euro\/eBay, share that list with the MB Classic Center for their feedback. I would also ask people on Mercedes-Benz forums (as that motor was used in other AMG products) for leads on these parts.<\/p>\n

Between the feedback from forums\/MB Classic Center, and online places like eBay and their saved searches, you will find just about anything you need for a Mercedes-Benz product of the 2010s. It won\u2019t happen in a matter of days or weeks, but on a long enough timeline unobtainium is actually obtainium.<\/p>\n

Have a question you\u2019d like answered on Piston Slap? Send your queries to\u00a0pistonslap@hagerty.com<\/a>\u2014give us as much detail as possible so we can help! Keep in mind this is a weekly column, so if you need an expedited answer, please tell me in your email.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Stay up to speed with stories written by drivers, for drivers. Get automotive news, DIY tips, market trends,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":32042,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20951],"tags":[30506,3622,30507],"class_list":["post-32041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mercedes-benz","tag-column","tag-mercedes-benz","tag-piston-slap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}