Advice needed

[Shakey60]

My C63 had it's third birthday in October and it's 3 year service. I asked my local dealership prior to this if I could have a print out of what was to be carried out seeing it was over £1k and on there it listed oil and filter, air panel filters, diff oil, transmission oil etc, etc. Three weeks later I went to the winter PL meet at Speedhunters and had them fit some aftermarket air filters, the existing filters were dirty, had bits of straw in them and most definitely were not new (or 200 miles old which is all the car had done since the service). I have rang the dealerships service manager who has told me that the filters weren't on the service schedule and they only change what the computer tells them, I obviously argued that according to the schedule that had been provided to me it stated that the filters were to be changed. Now my question is, is the manager telling me right that a high performance car doesn't have it's filters changed yearly? Is he covering his tracks as they should of been changed but weren't?

 

[Steve84N]

They aren't changed as regularly as yearly. To be honest they cost so little and it's so easy I change them anyway.

 

[Lewis 2.3 16]

It’s usually every 4 years or 60k from memory

 

[Shakey60]

They aren't changed as regularly as yearly. To be honest they cost so little and it's so easy I change them anyway.

It’s usually every 4 years or 60k from memory

Thanks for the replies, I've changed them now to an aftermarket filter so all good.

 

[Steve84N]

Fair enough. I don't like aftermarket filters personally as they're a bugger to clean, need oiling afterwards, are expensive and don't provide more than a few horsepower at best, often at the expense of a few torque.

OEM paper filters are easy to keep fresh through regular replacement.

 

[Deletedmember130310]

Were you charged for new filters by MB in october?

 

[Shakey60]

Fair enough. I don't like aftermarket filters personally as they're a bugger to clean, need oiling afterwards, are expensive and don't provide more than a few horsepower at best, often at the expense of a few torque.

OEM paper filters are easy to keep fresh through regular replacement.

But they only change them every 4 years, so they're not very clean!

Were you charged for new filters by MB in october?

I'm on a service plan, I haven't actually seen what was charged for.

 

[markjay]

1. If the car was on Service Care Plan at the time of the service, then I don't understand your comment '...seeing it was over £1k...'?


2. My car is on Service Care Plan, and the service advisor at the dealer tells me in advance what service items are due, and then hands me a printed copy of the Digital Service Report at the end. Did this not happen in your case?


3. Also, on the Digital Service Report there's a security code (SecCode), that allows you access online to the Digital Service Booklet, which will show what exactly has been done to the car.


4. If you go to:

Mercedes-Benz UK | Electronic Service Sheet

And enter the details of the car with the first registration date shifted forward by a couple of months (i.e. so that the car would seem to be just before the next service due), and the mileage at the time of the service, this will tell you exactly what was supposed to have been done during the service.


5. Before the service was due, did you get a message on the dash saying 'Next service Ax' where x is a number, e.g. 7 or 3 etc? If so post it here, it will say what exactly the car thought was due at the time.


But either way... it's all down to academic curiosity... i.e., now that you have replaced the air filters with after-market ones anyway, and given that you haven't actually been charged for the air filters as the car was on Service Care Plan.

However, I would be careful when taking the car to the dealer for servicing next year... make sure they do NOT replace your after-market air filters.

 

[Steve84N]

But they only change them every 4 years, so they're not very clean!

I change it myself every time, it's less than £20 and 10mins of work if that.

 

[Shakey60]

1. If the car was on Service Care Plan at the time of the service, then I don't understand your comment '...seeing it was over £1k...'?

I took out the service plan at the point of servicing as it was going to be over£1k

2. My car is on Service Care Plan, and the service advisor at the dealer tells me in advance what service items are due, and then hands me a printed copy of the Digital Service Report at the end. Did this not happen in your case?

Yes I did, as I pointed out in the initial post, it said the filters would be changed


3. Also, on the Digital Service Report there's a security code (SecCode), that allows you access online to the Digital Service Booklet, which will show what exactly has been done to the car.


4. If you go to:

Mercedes-Benz UK | Electronic Service Sheet

And enter the details of the car with the first registration date shifted forward by a couple of months (i.e. so that the car would seem to be just before the next service due), and the mileage at the time of the service, this will tell you exactly what was supposed to have been done during the service.


5. Before the service was due, did you get a message on the dash saying 'Next service Ax' where x is a number, e.g. 7 or 3 etc? If so post it here, it will say what exactly the car thought was due at the time.

I can't remember


But either way... it's all down to academic curiosity... i.e., now that you have replaced the air filters with after-market ones anyway, and given that you haven't actually been charged for the air filters as the car was on Service Care Plan.

If I'm paying a sum each month to cover the service costs, which are calculated by the cost of the next 2 services, surely I am paying for everything the service includes?

However, I would be careful when taking the car to the dealer for servicing next year... make sure they do NOT replace your after-market air filters.