Glowing report

I own a Mercedes C220CDI and at the last service I was advised that 3 glowplugs need replacing. A price was quoted but I was advised that if the plugs were difficult to remove or broke in the process the head may have to be removed. This suggests a large bill. However I was told that it was rare for this to happen. As an OAP I can ill afford high cost. Can the vehicle run without this work? What would be the effect of not progressing. Mileage is 80,000 and the work is booked in for June 10th. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Asked on 31 July 2010 by DR, Cheltenham

Answered by Honest John
If the glowplugs won't glow, it won't start. But you could keep going until this starts to happen. There is a special tool for drilling out injectors in these engines that may also do the job for glowplugs. Check out www.tonypurslow.mercedes-benz.co.uk
Similar questions
I contacted you a while back about great customer service I received at Toyota when replacing my engine and cat after developing a fault after 5 years and 90,000 miles. Well, here's one from the other...
The engine in my un-thrashed 2004 2.7 Boxster, 23k miles, FSH (Porsche main dealer), has just suffered a catastrophic "bag of spanners” breakdown, whilst doing nothing more exotic than driving to the shops....
I have a 2003 diesel Renault Clio 1.9. The engine turns over, but there is no ignition. There is a strange whirring noise coming from the engine bay. So far I've discovered that it isn't the battery, there...