Top Hydraulics Customer Testimonials

Posted by W.D., FL, on BenzWorld.org:

Top Hydraulics, Inc. - First Class Service

I am new to the R129 world - a recently converted Corvette enthusiast. As a retired engineer I fell in love with 2000 SL500. My thoughts were "how hard could it be to fix a inoperable soft top. The previous owner told me it was being sold as a "hard top" owner because he got an estimate of $12k from the MB dealer.
After perusing the R129 chat sites I found out about Top Hydraulics. I took a look at his site and found his repair documents. They were thorough and gave helpful hints! So with his docs on my iPad I tackled the job. In approximately 4 - 6 hours I had all 11 cylinders removed and the next day sent off to Klaus. Klaus rebuilt and reshipped the cylinders in less than 48 hours!.
Once I got them back I immediately started the re-install. Of course as a retired engineer I KNEW I could ignore the helpful hints and cut corners. WRONG! I almost immediately lost a hydraulic line clip into the frame as well as not taping the socket to the bottom bolt to the socket on the main cylinder thus dropping it into the frame. (both cautioned in Klaus' docs) With all the cylinders back in place and all hooked up I was ready to try it out. Tonneau cover up - and that's it!
Now back to my main point - Klaus @ Top Hydraulics. My first reaction was Damn - I need to rebuild my controller! Luckily for me I remembered Klaus telling me "Give me a call if you run into any problems." After having been "burned" over the years by various auto parts supplies I thought that maybe this was just another hollow statement. But - I gave it a try. Klaus couldn't have been more professional.
Over the course of the next few days Klaus - 3200 miles away - was able to systematically walk me through, step by step, the repair. Turns out I had a few problems left over from the previous "mechanic" looking into the problems (most likely the MB dealership).
Klaus convinced me immediately that although it might be the controller I should first check out other issues. The bottom-line is that Klaus saved me a few hundred dollars on a controller that didn't need rebuilding.

I hesitate to tell you the personal service that Klaus provided only because it shouldn't be expected from anyone. When I sent him an email on a Saturday night explaining what I'd done, what the car is doing and asked for any suggestions I was totally amazed when, in less that 3 minutes after hitting send on the email, my phone rang. It was Klaus telling me what he thought was the next issue. In every case he was spot on.
Top Hydraulics is by the most professional, knowledgable and customer service oriented company I've ever dealt with in my 40 some years of working on exotic cars!
Klaus - you are ultimate professional!!!!

Posted by W. C, Tacoma WA:


Couldn't ask for a better (company) to deal with in every respect. (...) My brother is a hydraulics expert, but he even said he'd rather not deal with it for that price.

Posted by HFD:


just had hydraulics redone on my sl.top,top hydraulics is the place to go.not only did they rebuild cylinders,but they gave step by step directions on how to remove and replace.a 6500 dollar job was turned into a 550 job. (Top Hydraulics) offered assistence on any problem i had and i had a few,didn't have to chase him down like a lot of people after they are paid, (Top Hydraulics) even called me to check on progress (...) TOP HYDRAULICS is the place to go when u have leaky cylinders.

Posted by U. L., Naples Florida:


I can testify to every word that Klaus wrote (on BenzWorld.org) ,again and again I can only tell you how amazed I was from all the support through (Top Hydraulics) by that dilemma.
(Top Hydraulics) talked to me several times and also a lot to my mechanic ,he really spend a lot of time to explain and to help.
My cylinder were done by (competition) shortly before I bought the car ,the fact that they were done was one of the reason I bought it,as more I was disappointed when they failed and all together I ended up with a $1300.00 bill. Thank you (Top Hydraulics) for all you did!

Posted by Al, Atlanta, GA:


I have a 1996 R129 SL320 and began experiencing leaking hydraulic cylinders.  The dealer wanted over $5,000 to replace all 12 cylinders (parts and labor).  I chose to replace my cylinders myself and chose Top Hydraulics for 3 reasons – word of mouth recommendations from fellow BenzWorld.org members; ability to have a complete set of rebuilt cylinders shipped to me in advance so I could hot-swap them with my failing cylinders and the clear instructions posted on the Top Hydraulics website.  I do most of the maintenance on my Mercedes cars and was able to replace all my cylinders with minimal issues using the instructions Klaus provided.  The entire process was very rewarding (replacing the cylinders myself) and substantially less costly than having the dealer or independent shop do the work (less than $1,000 total).  My core charge was refunded promptly upon receipt of my worn out cylinders.  Cylinder seal failure is guaranteed to happen in R129 cars!  Don’t suffer from leaking cylinders that can cause damage to your car interior, soft top or hydraulic pump.  Klaus is very responsive and runs a good business!