Bad things do come in 3s

That does suck! Out of curiosity, what kind of Bimmer did your dad sadly lose? I am a big Bimmer fan, and my experience with overheating on my 5-series had to do with a faulty thermostat...which hid the real issue...a dead auxillary fan on the radiator...fixed...still have and LOVE the car...the one Mercedes-Benz I owned...died a sad death. At the 135k mile mark, the double timing chain snapped...

Anyhow...good call on taking your Benz to a Benz Service center...anytime you have a car like that, its always best to take them "home"