Anything against DIY servicing?

[stereophoney]

Looking to buy a Merc, most likely between a R129 500SL or a W208 CLK55. I currently own an MGF which i do the majority of servicing on myself. I'm looking at what servicing would cost on a Merc and can't say i'm suprised at the prices, but wonder if it is necessary to have it carried out by a garage when a lot of it should be straight forward.


Did a price check on an A service for a CLK55 with £125k on the clock. Total cost £1058. That's a lot of money for not too much parts or labour. This is what i'd get for it:


Oil & filter change - The one thing i always get someone else to do, though could get this done with 8L fully synthetic for £100 at most garages.


Service indicator reset - Is this a big deal?


Replace fuel filter - Not normally a big job. £35 from Eurocarparts.


Replace air filter - Unless there's lots of bolts to undo 5 mins would be generous. x2 £44 from Eurocarparts.


Replace brake fluid - Is there anything special about the process on these cars? 1l of brake fluid £5 from Eurocarparts.


Replace spark plugs - Again, is there anything special about doing this on these? 16x £86 from Eurocarparts.


Everything else is just checks, so in parts it comes to £270 including £100 for someone to do an oil change, but £788 saving minus an afternoon of my time.


Also looking at prices for consumables such as discs and pads, a quick search brings up a full set of discs and pads, front and rear for £300-350.

All the things above i've carried out on my MGF without issue, and have all the tools and a garage. Am i being too simplistic thinking that these service items would be fairly straight forward to change and not require any model specific tools or knowledge?


At the price i'm looking to buy (£4k) i'm not worried about maintaining a full history.

 

[joecash]

you're quite right stereo - normal servicing at a garage nowadays is costly enough - but as soon as the big boys are involved you're paying big bucks for a job that is not exactly rocket science or any where remotely close. Just make sure all the parts and consumables meet merc specs. The world has gone mad

 

[m2287]

I service my cl55 myself, there are guides on the Internet on how to do everything, all you need are the tools and time! Go for it I'd say.

 

[flango]

It's all fairly easy for the services and well within the reach of a capable DIY'er If you have been doing your MGF you wont have any issues with a 129 they are archaic old school dinosaurs and dead easy to work on. The W208 bit more complex as is the AMG version you are looking at but easily done by a capable DIY'er. For the more complex stuff or when it goes badly wrong there's enough Indies on here to help you out of a sticky situation

 

[Will]

Looking to buy a Merc, most likely between a R129 500SL or a W208 CLK55. I currently own an MGF which i do the majority of servicing on myself. I'm looking at what servicing would cost on a Merc and can't say i'm suprised at the prices, but wonder if it is necessary to have it carried out by a garage when a lot of it should be straight forward.


Did a price check on an A service for a CLK55 with £125k on the clock. Total cost £1058. That's a lot of money for not too much parts or labour. This is what i'd get for it:


Oil & filter change - The one thing i always get someone else to do, though could get this done with 8L fully synthetic for £100 at most garages.


Service indicator reset - Is this a big deal?


Replace fuel filter - Not normally a big job. £35 from Eurocarparts.


Replace air filter - Unless there's lots of bolts to undo 5 mins would be generous. x2 £44 from Eurocarparts.


Replace brake fluid - Is there anything special about the process on these cars? 1l of brake fluid £5 from Eurocarparts.


Replace spark plugs - Again, is there anything special about doing this on these? 16x £86 from Eurocarparts.


Everything else is just checks, so in parts it comes to £270 including £100 for someone to do an oil change, but £788 saving minus an afternoon of my time.


Also looking at prices for consumables such as discs and pads, a quick search brings up a full set of discs and pads, front and rear for £300-350.

All the things above i've carried out on my MGF without issue, and have all the tools and a garage. Am i being too simplistic thinking that these service items would be fairly straight forward to change and not require any model specific tools or knowledge?


At the price i'm looking to buy (£4k) i'm not worried about maintaining a full history.

I guess that was a main dealer quote (?)

You're pretty much there with the most of the bits and pieces you mention. I would suggest you'd be best off getting it up on a ramp though and check it over underneath or get someone familiar with MBs (and AMGs etc) to give it the once over.

Not sure where the prices for the brakes come from but 208 CLK55 discs and pads are circa £500 for the fronts alone (discs around £200 each and pads circa £100 IIRC) so I wouldn't have thought you'd get a full set of front and rears for £350.

I would recommend an ATF and filter change if it hasn't been done recently - £150-200 at a specialist.

The service indicator can be reset yourself - it's covered in the owner's manual

Just check the usual stuff when looking at the car before buying - accident damage/rust, do all the electrics work (electric seats, LCD screens in the instrument cluster, spare keys?), aircon blowing cold?, check the crank pulley is running straight (harmonic balancer) - etc. If it's had discs/pads recently and/or a plug change that's a bonus - as are decent tyres - all adds up quickly to ££££ if not.

These are not really any more complex than other modern MBs, just that with 16 plugs, expensive tyres and brakes etc and some of the AMG-specific bits they can cost a little more to run. And any old cars cost money when they go wrong/stuff needs doing

 

[m2287]

Not sure where the prices for the brakes come from but 208 CLK55 discs and pads are circa £500 for the fronts alone (discs around £200 each and pads circa £100 IIRC) so I wouldn't have thought you'd get a full set of front and rears for £350.

Sounds about right to me... Mine were less than £400 for front and rear disks and pads from ecp. Mine is a Cl though not a clk, would have thought they would be more expensive for the bigger Cl though!

 

[Will]

Sounds about right to me... Mine were less than £400 for front and rear disks and pads from ecp.

But you don't have a 208 CLK55...

 

[m2287]

Did edit... Mine is a w215 55

 

[Will]

Nope, the W202/W208/W210 V8 AMG brakes are pricey - I think W211 E55 discs are really cheap by comparison IIRC!

 

[m2287]

Quick look on ecp brings up a full set of disks and pads for just over £300 with forum discount.

 

[stereophoney]

Thanks for the replies. Didn't make it clear, but the prices i quoted were for the 55.


The brake prices i mentioned were just from a quick search on ebay:

Front discs £180 EBC Front Brake Discs (Rotors) for Mercedes-Benz CLK (C208) CLK55 AMG, 98- 2002 | eBay

Front Pads £28 MERCEDES-BENZ CLK55 CLK55 AMG (208.374) - Mintex Front Brake Pads Set | eBay

Rear discs £80 REAR BRAKE DISCS Mercedes CLK Class CLK55 AMG 5.4 CLK55 342BHP Coupe C208 | eBay

Rear pads £20 MINTEX REAR BRAKE PADS MERCEDES BENZ CLK CLASS CLK55 5.4 05/1999- 12/2002 MDB162 | eBay

£304 excluding p&p. If that's an indication of price, i don't think it's too bad.

Thanks for the comments, makes me feel better about taking it on myself!

 

[Will]

Quick look on ecp brings up a full set of disks and pads for just over £300 with forum discount.

Do a search on the forum. I'm sure there's been an issue with ECP listing them but not being able to supply! They don't stock them IIRC.

Hence a few threads where people have tried to arrange discounts/group buys/looked at alternatives

 

[m2287]

Do a search on the forum. I'm sure there's been an issue with ECP listing them but not being able to supply! They don't stock them IIRC.

Hence a few threads where people have tried to arrange discounts/group buys/looked at alternatives

Yea some of them do say out of stock, and to email! eBay does have several advertised at a bit over £100 for a pair of fronts!! Seems a bit too cheap to me!

Just seen the pics of your car... Stunning!!!!!

 

[m2287]

Sorry that's the wrong year... W208 fronts are £180 for a pair of fronts.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Based on your first post I think the only item worth going to a specialist for is the automatic transmission fluid (ATF) change - that's based in you taking your cars to a garage for engine oil change.

That said the cars you mention probably have a sealed-for-life transmission, and so the service book won't state it, but good practice suggests 37,500 miles or 4 years is the right frequency.

The only service job which is awkward on the smaller cars with V8 engines is changing spark plugs as access is restricted, by not impossible.

Remember members of MBClub get a 25% discount at ECP by quoting mbclub25

Finally, do shop around if you use dealers or specialists. Most main dealers will dramatically undercut £1,000 for the work you describe, and specialists will probably do so by an even greater margin! Where was the quote from?

 

[StevenN]

If you have any warranty cover on the vehicle you usually have to have the vehicle serviced by a garage.
You don't have to use MB just as long as you get a headed invoice.

I have just cancelled my AA repair cover for the same reason. The fact you can prove what was required and provide an invoice for materials used was not good enough for them.
Shame really as I would expect to have claimed for something this year.

 

[Dieselman]

Based on your first post I think the only item worth going to a specialist for is the automatic transmission fluid (ATF) change - that's based in you taking your cars to a garage for engine oil change.

That said the cars you mention probably have a sealed-for-life transmission, and so the service book won't state it, but good practice suggests 37,500 miles or 4 years is the right frequency.

These cars will have 722.6 gearboxes, so are DIY friendly, unlike 722.9 ones.

 

[stereophoney]

Based on your first post I think the only item worth going to a specialist for is the automatic transmission fluid (ATF) change - that's based in you taking your cars to a garage for engine oil change.

That said the cars you mention probably have a sealed-for-life transmission, and so the service book won't state it, but good practice suggests 37,500 miles or 4 years is the right frequency.

The only service job which is awkward on the smaller cars with V8 engines is changing spark plugs as access is restricted, by not impossible.

Remember members of MBClub get a 25% discount at ECP by quoting mbclub25

Finally, do shop around if you use dealers or specialists. Most main dealers will dramatically undercut £1,000 for the work you describe, and specialists will probably do so by an even greater margin! Where was the quote from?

I take it in for oil changes just because the mess isn't worth the saving! For my MGF it's only £20 more than the cost of the oil and filter to have someone else do it! What would be an average price for an ATF change?

Edit: Forgot to put on where the quote was from: https://www.mymercedesservice.co.uk/fcgi/home

 

[StevenN]

I use a suction pump for my oil changes.
No drips

 

[stereophoney]

If you have any warranty cover on the vehicle you usually have to have the vehicle serviced by a garage.
You don't have to use MB just as long as you get a headed invoice.

I have just cancelled my AA repair cover for the same reason. The fact you can prove what was required and provide an invoice for materials used was not good enough for them.
Shame really as I would expect to have claimed for something this year.

I found that out to my cost too. Had the cover and got it serviced by a mobile specialist who knows them as well as anyone, but that wasn't enough for the AA so cancelled it and started servicing myself.