MrPB,
sorry to hear that as well, and thank you for sharing that bad experience. My car is from there as well, i have mixed feelings so far. Member Kamo30 wrote a short report about the local alternative:
www.classic-line.org They are in Kirchheim am Neckar, same area for me. They took over two very experienced guys from Merz and Papst.
Keep us informed about the development.
Regards
