£1800 for b service!

[MrGreedy]

And you’d lose free coffee, a pretty receptionist and fast WiFi…

In leafy, leafy South West London, the difference in cost and quality of service is immense.

This is where the money goes in Leeds!
View attachment 164870

Just picked up a power steering fluid reservoir for the E350. No receptionists. No pastries or snacks. A tiny, half full under-counter fridge of cold drinks and some pod coffee machine. You had to press thr bell on the front desk for the relevant thing you needed (the grubby, oily parts bell button (that I needed) was alongside the other, clean bell buttons for whoever else you needed to summon).

I don't get a service at MB any more, but I hope with that stripped down service they are price competitive!

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

This is where the money goes in Leeds!
View attachment 164870

That’s effectively a revenue stream though isn’t it, beyond drinks you need to buy the food and fancy stuff. My usual Mercedes dealer doesn’t have anything like this but my Smart dealer does. I thought it was a great idea for the large dealerships which have enough waiting customers to justify it.

 

[TC350]

I think partly due to geography.

Most Indies are significantly better value than main dealers, but if you’re in certain parts of the country the Indie costs are not that far below main dealer prices and you lose Mobilo.

Precisely this. My car is coming up to its 13th birthday but I still get it serviced by MB. The dealer is close (about a 30 minute walk if I’m feeling that way inclined.) I’ve had it on a service plan from new, which has protected prices from inflation for 3 or 4 years at a time. The reassurance of Mobilo is worth it and a nice loan car is always available. My nearest indie is many miles away and doesn’t offer a loan car, so I’d need to take 2 busses in each direction.

The financial advantages of a service plan can vary depending on which specific car you have within a model range. My C-class is the top of the non-AMG W204s and fully loaded, but the service plan costs the same as a basic C180. So I’m getting more plugs changed and the pano roof greased for no extra cost.

 

[Skd884]

I stayed with MB for year 7, year 8 is due soon but this time I'm definitely not using MB, the price is close to 1000


I stayed because of their breakdown service, Mobilo.
Years 4/5/6 I bought a service plan for a B - A - B service and this included year 5's ATF change on the A service (plan bought via Black Friday sale IIRC it was approc 1250, certainly over 1200 and below 1300)

(my car gle, got new, done 23k miles, about 2k miles since last service 250d amg line NOT AMG) B service, the extras

• 
  
  Replace brake fluid -
  £136.06
  incl. VAT
• 
  Replace air filter element -
  £119.16
  incl. VAT
• 
  Replace fuel filter -
  £168.24
  incl. VAT

My local MB has been 975
another across the river Thames that was close to 200 pounds cheaper is now matching/raising their prices
to my local dealer that used to be owned by MB ie 975. I'd been across the thames once, last year and the service was 180 cheaper but
they are the same price now

If you take away the "extras" at approx 424 pounds you are still left with a massive 551 pounds for what is really not
more than an oil and filter change. Daylight robbery IMO

Get a quote from southend.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

I stayed with MB for year 7, year 8 is due soon but this time I'm definitely not using MB, the price is close to 1000


I stayed because of their breakdown service, Mobilo.
Years 4/5/6 I bought a service plan for a B - A - B service and this included year 5's ATF change on the A service (plan bought via Black Friday sale IIRC it was approc 1250, certainly over 1200 and below 1300)

(my car gle, got new, done 23k miles, about 2k miles since last service 250d amg line NOT AMG) B service, the extras

• 
  
  Replace brake fluid -
  £136.06
  incl. VAT
• 
  Replace air filter element -
  £119.16
  incl. VAT
• 
  Replace fuel filter -
  £168.24
  incl. VAT

My local MB has been 975
another across the river Thames that was close to 200 pounds cheaper is now matching/raising their prices
to my local dealer that used to be owned by MB ie 975. I'd been across the thames once, last year and the service was 180 cheaper but
they are the same price now

If you take away the "extras" at approx 424 pounds you are still left with a massive 551 pounds for what is really not
more than an oil and filter change. Daylight robbery IMO

I get it for the first owner, who’s usually putting it through a company.

But for such routine servicing, a Specialist will do just as good a job AND be pragmatic about what really needs doing.

BUT don’t confuse a Specialist with the Generalist who has a light industrial unit

 

[Mickyh7]

That’s effectively a revenue stream though isn’t it, beyond drinks you need to buy the food and fancy stuff. My usual Mercedes dealer doesn’t have anything like this but my Smart dealer does. I thought it was a great idea for the large dealerships which have enough waiting customers to justify it.

The food and drinks are complimentary.
Unless I've been told the wrong thing?

 

[ChrisPDuck]

BUT don’t confuse a Specialist with the Generalist who has a light industrial unit

I'm not one to argue, but I'm curious about this, essentially because I take all my cars to a local generalist garage, and have done for years. For routine servicing (oil, filters, plugs, brake fluid, even transmission service etc), what can a specialist offer that a good 'all makes' garage can't?

 

[MSG2004]

I get it for the first owner, who’s usually putting it through a company.

But for such routine servicing, a Specialist will do just as good a job AND be pragmatic about what really needs doing.

BUT don’t confuse a Specialist with the Generalist who has a light industrial unit

I bought my car and I knew I'd keep for 6 years at least otherwise big loss of money
one of the main reasons keeping it with MB, IMO, its a relatively complex car compared to other cars inc 2 MB's before this
mobilio was a big point and I was prepared to pay the higher rates to MB when compared to other places

I would have changed my car last year and certainly this year but I have stuff going on. The car IMO has been over serviced
esially re filters etc but I do not mean the oil/filter.

MB staff did not make me aware you could have the car serviced at 15 months and retain breakdown cover/warranty etc as long as over 1k was not
cover between 12 months and 15.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Free

The food and drinks are complimentary.
Unless I've been told the wrong thing?

Dealer groups may have different policies, so perhaps food and drinks are free in Stratstone dealers with a cafe. I may need to drive up the M1 for future services!

The one in the Smart/Mercedes dealer I mentioned is impressive but isn’t as impressive as the photo you posted. That’s even more impressive than the facilities at Mercedes-Benz World at Brooklands!

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Ultimately it’s best to choose a workshop who offers you the best blend of trust, cost and convenience, and that blend will be unique to all.

I personally use the main dealer for all servicing and the vast majority of repairs. They are happy to price match and sometimes will do a deal.

I’ve just booked two cars for servicing this month and with the 30% cyber discount it reduces the cost so that it’s very reasonable.

I’ll be paying £212 for an A-service with no additional items on a car with M156, and £312 for a B-service and brake fluid on a car with M113.

Factoring in the roadside assistance which is included in the cost of the service it’s fairly reasonably priced even before the discount.

The dealer is fairly local, they’ve looked after my cars for a while now, and I’m there fairly often, and I always receive service with a smile.

If I was fortunate enough to live close to PCS, ACE Engineering or Mercland, Ace or a local garage I could trust then the balance might be different.

 

[markjay]

The food and drinks are complimentary at the point of delivery.
Unless I've been told the wrong thing?

FTFY

 

[markjay]

I'm not one to argue, but I'm curious about this, essentially because I take all my cars to a local generalist garage, and have done for years. For routine servicing (oil, filters, plugs, brake fluid, even transmission service etc), what can a specialist offer that a good 'all makes' garage can't?

Does your generalist have STAR, and does he update the DSR on the MB DSB?

It may not be important to everyone, but it's definitely something that has value.

 

[ChrisPDuck]

Does your generalist have STAR, and does he update the DSR on the MB DSB?

It may not be important to everyone, but it's definitely something that has value.

Good point - I think they have XENTRY (or is it STAR?) for diagnosis purposes, but the service record is only via printouts from their own computer system. That's not been an issue for me, as my cars are always old enough that the service record itself is more important than where it's stored/been done, but I agree that's an important consideration.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

I'm not one to argue, but I'm curious about this, essentially because I take all my cars to a local generalist garage, and have done for years. For routine servicing (oil, filters, plugs, brake fluid, even transmission service etc), what can a specialist offer that a good 'all makes' garage can't?

I’m not challenging your choice, I’m generalising

I’d argue that the advantage of a Mercedes trained engineer is that they know the issues, know the easiest way to research a one off, have established routes to the hardware / OEM/ refurbished parts and have STAR and related MB tech.

A relationship worth building through servicing, ad hoc queries to the repairs and bodywork / refurbishment issues.

That said, I use an MB specialist to also maintain my BMWs and Mazdas. Because he’s great

 

[ChrisPDuck]

I’m not challenging your choice, I’m generalising

I’d argue that the advantage of a Mercedes trained engineer is that they know the issues, know the easiest way to research a one off, have established routes to the hardware / OEM/ refurbished parts and have STAR and related MB tech.

A relationship worth building through servicing, ad hoc queries to the repairs and bodywork / refurbishment issues.

That said, I use an MB specialist to also maintain my BMWs and Mazdas. Because he’s great

I completely agree when it comes to repairs, but for routine servicing a Mercedes is not so different from other marques when it comes to changing oil, plugs or brake fluid. A decent generalist will have access to step-by-step resources for job costing purposes, and they probably will have done the same jobs on similar models many times.

I guess it's down to personal preference, and choosing somewhere that gives you confidence that the job will be done right. I've always maintained that finding a good local garage is one of those important things in life, and as you say, building a relationship, and I was lucky enough to find one several decades ago.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

I completely agree when it comes to repairs, but for routine servicing a Mercedes is not so different from other marques when it comes to changing oil, plugs or brake fluid. A decent generalist will have access to step-by-step resources for job costing purposes, and they probably will have done the same jobs on similar models many times.

I guess it's down to personal preference, and choosing somewhere that gives you confidence that the job will be done right. I've always maintained that finding a good local garage is one of those important things in life, and as you say, building a relationship, and I was lucky enough to find one several decades ago.

We're on the same page.

I'm just giving my guy bread and butter to ease the long term relationship.

Worth adding that any electronics, paint, wheel refurb, or tyres / wheel alignment should go to your favourite specialist.

 

[pioneercollector]

I use an independent MB specialist, but was the head mechanic for 20 years at MB Bath. I was quoted ...wait for it ...£2400 for a full 'B' service which din NOT include the gearbox service! My independent charged me £980 and even dropped out the prop to do the (always) neglected rear fuel filter because it is too much hassle and MB ignore it ( It was a filthy mess ) ....

My Independent is the only person now to touch my SL500 for the last 3 years

 

[Gene]

So the main dealer where car was serviced last year (A service for £500 ish) emails me inviting to book for a B service.

I start the online process. Quote was £1800! I fell over.

Once resuscitated I looked more closely. It was 1k and 4 things had been added on which could be de-selected. Brake fluid £150/sunroof lube £50/air filer £125/plugs £470.

Odd thing is plugs were changed at previous B. Didn’t realise they are done that frequently. It’s only done 8k miles.

So; questions
1. Is this now standard B servicing costs?
2. If TTP (taking the p*ss) would you shop around?
3. Is main dealer servicing an unnecessary luxury on a 2019 C63s?
4. Would declining all extras still maintain FMBSH?

Cheers

I had all that and a few bits more done in October under my 2 yr service plan @ £70pm

 

[Spider10]

My C63s goes to the main dealer for servicing as i supply all my own OEM part's as the local specialist doesn't allow me to (ive been doimg it that way for year's and works out way cheaper)

 

[OneForTheRoad]

My C63s goes to the main dealer for servicing as i supply all my own OEM part's as the local specialist doesn't allow me to (ive been doimg it that way for year's and works out way cheaper)

I think cars like yours need to tbh.