£1800 for b service!

[UKGTC]

I bought my 2018 AMG GTC 1 month ago and although the service wasn't due until June I decided to do it early. The mileage is only 4200 and although it all checks out to be legit I wanted the peace of mind all is good.

I just had it serviced by a Merc only independent specialist. This was a B service with the additions of the oil flush, fuel treatment, MOT and DCT transmission service. the cost I thought was a very reasonable £963.42 including the dreaded VAT.

Reading the replied above I personally look for service history but you can find the odd gem. My son has a 2017 VW Polo GTi with 50k miles. He has lost his service book and over the 7 years of ownership he had it serviced at different independent garages every time due to being in the forces and being moved constantly. I also have a 1972 Land Rover Lightweight that I rebuilt 6 years ago that has a box file full of receipts but no official service records.

 

[190]

A good way to see is a used car has been looked after is if it contains th emain dealer/indy service history ito establish if services were on time - also look around the car inside and outside gives an indication - another good indicator is the quality/brand of tyres and how these tyres look along with the wheels.

When I was looking to replace my car recently I short listed three VW approved Golfs in the chosen colour. Two had only one VW service and that service was done during the preparation for sale. To me that immediately marked them down as fleet cars of some sort that had just come into the VW approved network for the first time. The remaining car was 1 owner with a full VW history including things like MOT's brake fluid and aircon services all done by VW. The tyres were a matching set of Premium Dunlops on what looked like unmarked alloys. The choice of which of the three to buy was obvious and the decision was almost made before even seeing the car in the flesh.

 

[MSG2004]

One other point I will add to my previous post.

I'm not sure if the practice of saying "one owner" is still going on these days often to relatively new car cars ie sub 5 years old or " 2 previous owners," etc.
Always try to ensure the "one previous owner.." etc is not a rental/hire/etc company.

 

[190]

One other point I will add to my previous post.

I'm not sure if the practice of saying "one owner" is still going on these days often to relatively new car cars ie sub 5 years old or " 2 previous owners," etc.
Always try to ensure the "one previous owner.." etc is not a rental/hire/etc company.

Yes with only 38.8% of new cars are sold to private owners, the chance of finding a private one owner cars isn't that high. Even if a used car hasn't suffered from being from a fleet, they are unlikely to have a franchised dealer service history. This might not have mattered in the old days when ex fleet cars were sold cheaply, but now an approved used car is more likely than not to be ex fleet of one sort or another.

I do believe the car I've just bought is a proverbial 1 lady owner, I won't comment whether that's good or bad but the forensics give it away.

A hair grip lodged unseen in the drivers door bin, a small lipstick stain which thankfully came out, a stiletto heel wear mark on the drivers floor mat and the passenger air bag switched off presumably to accommodate a baby seat.

 

[ALFAitalia]

A hair grip lodged unseen in the drivers door bin, a small lipstick stain which thankfully came out, a stiletto heel wear mark on the drivers floor mat and the passenger air bag switched off presumably to accommodate a baby seat.

....and that's all happened SINCE you bought it!

 

[tylerdurden]

I agree that regular servicing is a sign of an owner that has maintained an interest in the vehicle.

However, in the case of something as tightly tuned as a C63S regular servicing is essential. . I have never been a snob about main dealer servicing. The service package from MB works out cheaper than most independents currently. I will use an independent for all non service stuff and eventually it will go to an independent when its a sub 20k car - at that point I'm not sure anyone is that bothered

 

[MSG2004]

Some people used to prefer "one lady driver only.." but this was years ago and I'm not sure if the phrase is still relevant as people are now much more aware of how all people drive. However, if you do prefer a "one owner, lady driver car.." - then be aware of how far the seat is back from the steering as that can often give the game away along what is in the side pockets and centre console etc

 

[Mark9999]

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

I do the same for my Jag and the wife’s Fabia