Am I foolish to stick with Mercedes Benz?

[4n0y-merc]

I don't mean the car, but the services, my ride is a 2003 Clk it has 43k on the clock and it has always been to a Mercedes dealership for it's service(s)

I often read here that members use the independent network and I am sure there are some excellent garages with Mercedes trained mechanics but at what point WOULD YOU leave the dealer network?

After the warranty has expired?
When you get above a certain mileage?
Or when you start to question the high costs?

As a final thought will a Full MB service history add value to the car when I eventually get around to upgrading it?

 

[steve333]

I don't mean the car, but the services, my ride is a 2003 Clk it has 43k on the clock and it has always been to a Mercedes dealership for it's service(s)

I often read here that members use the independent network and I am sure there are some excellent garages with Mercedes trained mechanics but at what point WOULD YOU leave the dealer network?

After the warranty has expired?
When you get above a certain mileage?
Or when you start to question the high costs?

As a final thought will a Full MB service history add value to the car when I eventually get around to upgrading it?

I f you have a trusted mb specialist/independant garage local i would be inclined to use them from now,a full mb service history will add some value when the time comes to sell but will be out weighed by the saving you make using an indi over an mb dealer

 

[BlackC55]

On a car that's 8 years old it will make little difference to the resale value if it has been serviced by a specialist. Independents tend to take more care as they want to see repeat business from you. A tech in a main dealer generally will never meet you.

Of course I am biased a little!!

 

[ringway]

If you can find a good indy you can use them for pretty much everything and just use the main dealer at the obligatory times to maintain the history.

I'd argue that some indepandent garages are better at their job than some main dealers.

Where are you located?

 

[WDB124066]

I get the regular servicing done through the MB network, all other work is done by an Indy who used to be the Forman at the largest Dealer in the country. Book has MB stamps and I don't need to suffer the p1ss poor work from the Dealerships too often. Thing is there has been more than one occasion where the work done by the Dealership gets corrected at the Indy. Brake bleeding is one area the Dealerships just can't get right on the ASR 124's.

 

[AJA]

I've only stayed with the dealer network until the warranty runs out. Then go indie/specialist.

 

[4n0y-merc]

Northampton - good suggestion, I thought about only going to Mb for the stamp and passing other work to independent.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I'm going to go against the grain here and say that one area where your trusted indy will always struggle is when it comes to new software or certain 'new' training on certain cars etc etc.

It's always going to be in Mercedes interest to let as little info out as possible, so that the 'specialists' are always playing catch-up.

A recent example is a good friend of mine who actually works for Mercedes and has done for 15 years had to try and get the original timing marks for his C36 from AMG head office. It took about two month and repeated requests from the head of Northside to get them, which he did in the end. Now tell me, if he had to go through all of that, how would your local indie get that info?

Saying that, I take my vans & cars to my local German specialist who are absolutely brilliant, both price-wise and their knowledge.

 

[ringway]

Northampton - good suggestion, I thought about only going to Mb for the stamp and passing other work to independent.

If I lived in Northants I'd use Blackc55 (PCS). A bit of a trek, but I know a some members travel a lot further than that to see Olly and Jack.
There's even one member who travels from Liverpool to Horndean to use their services.

 

[4n0y-merc]

Hey AJA thanks for advice, I saw your Clk in the pictures you photoshoped of the wheels I was looking for, it's a beauty.

By the way advice was wheels wouldn't fit.

 

[BlackC55]

If I lived in Northants I'd use Blackc55 (PCS). A bit of a trek, but I know a some members travel a lot further than that to see Olly and Jack.
There's even one member who travels from Liverpool to Horndean to use their services.

We have one customer that lives near.







La Rochelle, France. He drives all that way for hs service. Bloody amazing!!

 

[corned]

Now that's just showing off.

 

[andy27168]

Hi,
Be aware that you might get the car serviced by MB, but if you don,t get the additional "extras" done like plugs, air filter, brake fluid change etc MB will/can refuse to stamp your book, because by refusing the extras you are failling to maintain the vehicle to their recommendations. They refused to stamp mine, because of that mine will not see the inside of a main dealer again. Despite being put on the MD's preferential customer list with 50% labour discount.

 

[PXW]

On a car that's 8 years old it will make little difference to the resale value if it has been serviced by a specialist. Independents tend to take more care as they want to see repeat business from you. A tech in a main dealer generally will never meet you.

Of course I am biased a little!!

I'm not biased! But I entirely agree with this. At 8 years your car is worth no different with or without FMBSH, as long as it has FSH. However, to me going outside the main dealer network still means using a specialist indy, not your local under-the-arches spanner. I'm now getting the car looked after by Olly - it's 6 years old and 86k on the clock. All I was getting for the main dealer rates was:

• Leather sofa to wait on and posh coffee
• Mobilolife recovery - duplicate of the service I already get from my bank
• theoretically, some goodwill if anything goes wrong. But that is pretty theoretical on a car this age
• Expense. I've had main dealer services well into 4 figures, and I have friends who change their car for less than that. There's also the really big ticket expense that potentially comes from hanging around an MB main dealer showroom...

At 8 years old, I wouldn't hesitate.

 

[BlackC55]

I'm going to go against the grain here and say that one area where your trusted indy will always struggle is when it comes to new software or certain 'new' training on certain cars etc etc.

It's always going to be in Mercedes interest to let as little info out as possible, so that the 'specialists' are always playing catch-up.

A recent example is a good friend of mine who actually works for Mercedes and has done for 15 years had to try and get the original timing marks for his C36 from AMG head office. It took about two month and repeated requests from the head of Northside to get them, which he did in the end. Now tell me, if he had to go through all of that, how would your local indie get that info?

Saying that, I take my vans & cars to my local German specialist who are

absolutely brilliant, both price-wise and their knowledge.

Because we have ways. I am sure I have that C36 info written down
somewhere.

I have a few friends that are mb techs too and we can go on the MB courses aswell even if we don't work at a dealer.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Because we have ways. I am sure I have that C36 info written down
somewhere.

I have a few friends that are mb techs too.

He's got the full document now from AMG, thanks. It's completely different to the C280.

 

[nick mercedes]

Northampton - good suggestion, I thought about only going to Mb for the stamp and passing other work to independent.

These guys are local and will look after you:

Auto Class - Independent Mercedes Specialists

 

[GP801]

We have one customer that lives near.







La Rochelle, France. He drives all that way for hs service. Bloody amazing!!

Ours comes back from Tuscany. Its still UK registered so has to come back once a year. Olly and Jack did great work on it last time and now I would not take it anywhere else.

 

[BlackC55]

Ours comes back from Tuscany. Its still UK registered so has to come back once a year. Olly and Jack did great work on it last time and now I would not take it anywhere else.

Well that's officially the furthest.

Well done. You win a banana!! :bannana:

 

[removed]

If I lived in Northants I'd use Blackc55 (PCS). A bit of a trek, but I know a some members travel a lot further than that to see Olly and Jack.
There's even one member who travels from Liverpool to Horndean to use their services.

Hear-hear I'm in Northampton too and am going to take the car to Olly again soon, first time was for a check-up just after I arrived from Nassau and bought my A160