C300h first service

[fab1975]

Hi guys,
the time has almost come for my C300h to have its first service done. Given its relatively low mileage (below 10k), all is needed is an A-service, which as far as I can understand is just a bit more than an oil change. Since this is my first MB, I have a few "newbie" questions:
1) Is £295 really the best price I can expect for getting my car serviced by a main dealer?
2) Do I really have to pay £30 for a courtesy car on the top of the above £295. For about 10 years Audi have been courteous enough to either lend me a courtesy car or take me to and pick me up from work.
3) I hope that an upgrade of the car software or firmware to the latest version is also included. Is is actually the case or do I have to ask specifically for it? And how can I check what version is currently installed?
4) Would you recommend any particular dealership in the Manchester - Liverpool - Chester area?
5) Is there anything in particular that I should get checked or replaced based on your experience of similar vehicles?
Many thanks in advance for all your answers!
Fab

 

[geraldrobins]

Look at my service online which will give comparative quotes for dealers in the area. and you can always ring around.
It sounds expensive to me but I don't know if being a hybrid more is involved.
I usually pay £220 for an A service at my local MB, without a courtesy car.

 

[whitenemesis]

My local dealership will either provide a taxi, or collect and return your vehicle, or provide a courtesy car all "FOC".

 

[Piff]

Hi guys,
the time has almost come for my C300h to have its first service done. Given its relatively low mileage (below 10k), all is needed is an A-service, which as far as I can understand is just a bit more than an oil change. Since this is my first MB, I have a few "newbie" questions:
1) Is £295 really the best price I can expect for getting my car serviced by a main dealer?
2) Do I really have to pay £30 for a courtesy car on the top of the above £295. For about 10 years Audi have been courteous enough to either lend me a courtesy car or take me to and pick me up from work.
3) I hope that an upgrade of the car software or firmware to the latest version is also included. Is is actually the case or do I have to ask specifically for it? And how can I check what version is currently installed?
4) Would you recommend any particular dealership in the Manchester - Liverpool - Chester area?
5) Is there anything in particular that I should get checked or replaced based on your experience of similar vehicles?
Many thanks in advance for all your answers!
Fab

1) A lot are now quoting from the MB approved pricelist - my 2 local dealers (independantly of each other) both quoted identical prices
2) A lot but not all charge for courtesy car. Mine offer free collect & return service
3) I think you have to specifically request software/firmware updates - is it for maps? If so it should be free for the first 3 years which is why they are reluctant to do it. You can check for current maps in Comand menu's

 

[S205-FTW]

2) Do I really have to pay £30 for a courtesy car on the top of the above £295. For about 10 years Audi have been courteous enough to either lend me a courtesy car or take me to and pick me up from work.
3) I hope that an upgrade of the car software or firmware to the latest version is also included. Is is actually the case or do I have to ask specifically for it? And how can I check what version is currently installed?

Just had my first A service earlier this month.

2) I was offered free courtesy car or collection/return from home but I think that's because I have a service agreement.
3) As mentioned above, you have to specifically ask for updates, unless they are recall/safety related. I tried asking for all applicable updates, but they said they take ages to apply and would only apply them if I was having specific issues.
As you have Premium+, I'm pretty sure you'll be due a telematics update. I also asked for my maps to be updated to version 6 (you can check your current version on the menu.
Annoying the map update *still* hasn't got rid of the 'turn left' at large roundabouts.

 

[fab1975]

Thanks for all your answers guys, much appreciated!

Actually the price of £ 295 had been retrieved from the MB UK website (https://www.mymercedesservice.co.uk/home?pid=lhteaser_servicecare_220415), but I was wondering if there was some room for flexibility. For example, when I got a similar quote for my then new A4 based on "Audis are expensive, sir" I managed to get £100 knocked off their original asking price by just mentioning that my local VW main dealer would have charged me £ 166 for carrying out exactly the same type of service.
Of course, if £ 295 really is the bottom line, then I just have to pay and shut up, but in case there is some room for manoeuvre I would not mind to save some money for what I perceive as not much more than a stamp on the (virtual) service book.

As for the updates, I also got the same impression that the dealers will only update specific "modules" if I either request it or at least complain about something in particular. I already know how to check the map version (currently, v4.2 2014 Europe), but I do not know how to check the overall car software version, if there is such a thing, of course. Can I find the SW version anywhere in the menu?

 

[Rory]

You can try and negotiate the price but many dealers use call-centres now and getting hold of someone with pricing authority is increasingly difficult. I also think MB has leaned on dealers to stick to the MyService pricing (but note that the price can vary by dealer) so as to encourage people to take MB's ServiceCare scheme.

I use MB Chester (Inchcape group, same as Warrington and Liverpool) and have never paid for a courtesy car, even when they've just been MOTing the car. They used to charge £15 to waive the £1000 insurance excess, but my own insurance covers me. Last vist (last month) they tried to charge me £30 but as soon as I objected they waived the charge. They also don't have a big excess now so I left the car on their insurance.

 

[JohnBell]

Supplying your own oil saves a substantial sum.

 

[Deleted member 11979]

I think the service Mercedes offer their non service contract private owners is pretty poor , and my local garage who basically comprises a tin shed by the side of a field run by two blokes offer much better service

Begrudgingly we went down the service plan route and then you get a 'free' courtesy car, and they'll even let you sit on their chairs in the dealership too, it also works out cheaper

If it wasn't for the fact that I don't trust our car not to self destruct into a pile or worthless parts because if the failure of one small widget, or rust into oblivion it would be in the shed in the edge of the field

All our previous mercs have suffered really expensive problems and I'm keeping up the fmbsh in case this happens to this one and I need some good will contribution in the future , but I guess if they make me pay to sit in their chairs they won't be too keen to rectify rust when it appears

 

[Lotiman]

For my cars first 2 services I had a real battle to get the dealership I was using at the time to update the map software. The first time I rather naively simply assumed they automatically do it as part of the service, having been told that would be the case by the salesman during the purchase. Upon checking after the service, I discovered it hadn't been done so called the dealers who wriggled and moaned like crazy with excuses such as "it takes over 6 hours to update and there isn't time during the service."

They continued finding all manner of excuses why it couldn't be done but I wasn't giving up, so eventually after speaking with the dealer principle, had it booked in to do the following week. Out of interest, I had a small dashcam secreted away in the car to record exactly how long it took to update which turned out to be 3 hours 15 minutes. Still a long time but certainly not "more than 6 hours."

The following year at the same dealers, the same battle again. I had purposely booked the car in several weeks before and specifically told them I wanted the maps updating, so they couldn't say they hadn't had enough time. The car was dropped off at 8am and again I reminded them I wanted the update and would collect the car at 5.30.

I couldn't believe it when collecting the car later they tried to use precisely the same excuse that the update hadn't been done because there wasn't enough time! This time I exploded and again out of interest, had switched on the dashcam to see how long it all took. Imagine my surprise to discover the car had sat in their car park from when I'd dropped it off until 2.30 in the afternoon when they started the service. I naturally 'discussed' this, shall we say, with the dealer principle and at much inconvenience to myself, have never darkened the door of Mercedes Benz World in Brooklands again.

So be insistent about upgrades to which you are entitled and don't accept any nonsense about it being impossible to do in the same day as the service.

 

[Bonecho]

You get three years of free updates.

If you have the Garmin Call pilot you can do it yourself at Garmin® MAP PILOT - Mercedes-Benz Apps

Takes about half an hour with a fast broadband connection. May be twice that time is you choice the option to back up the card to the PC first.

 

[Headhurts]

My service last year (first service on E300 Hybrid) was slightly less than recommended as I was given a discretionary deduction.
I always get a free loan car or I will wait whilst work is carried out, nice area to sit in have a tea or coffee plus complimentary biscuits and cold drinks.
I have to say the service thus far from Robinsons in Norwich has been excellent.
They prefer to have the car booked in separately for software due to some of the large (maps) downloads which can take quite some time.
I don't think the charge for a first service is too bad, these dealerships do have to turn a profit and what with the comfortable seating areas, complimentary drinks etc.

 

[TheFoX]

The last time I had my C Class serviced by a Main Dealer, I informed them that the steering was pulling slightly to the left, which they said they would sort. After getting a call telling me that the brake fluid reservoir bottle was leaking, and that the injector seals had also blown, and stumping up over £300 for these extras, I was gob smacked when I finally drove out of the dealer and discovered the vehicle was still steering to the left.

One quick U-Turn and I was back at the dealers, demanding to know why they had failed to check the steering. After all, this is covered by my service contract and the extra I had paid for the additional work that should have been covered by the warranty.

They took the car back in, then said they couldn't find anything wrong with the steering, and that I may need to take the car to a steering specialist, but it was ironic that when I set off for the second time, my steering was perfect.

(I hate being lied to).

I did have an argument with the service manager over the injector seals though, as the car was barely three years old and had only covered 27,000 miles when I bought it, and it was being serviced at 40,000 miles with blown seals, something I suspected was there when I bought the car.

I also had an argument over the brake fluid reservoir bottle, as they stated the bottle had been gnawed by a rat or similar. Since I use the vehicle on a daily basis, I find this hard to believe, but it turns out that the original owner of the C Class had purchased it on Agility, and had docked it up for the month previous to the end of the agreement to keep the mileage down, allowing rodents to nest in his engine compartment.

This all came to light when I checked the Service Report, which revealed that the 27,000 mile service was done by an independent dealer, rather than the main dealer.

(When you spend £19,000 on a low mileage C Class with a supposed Full MB Service history, only to find out later that it didn't, and had issues at purchase, you feel cheated).

I now own a 4 year old CLS, bought from an independent dealer, and it is maintained by a local garage owned by my neighbour, who has been in the business for donkey's years and is highly recommended by anyone who knows him, for a fraction of the cost of the Main Dealer.

My advice is that when buying new, service the vehicle at a Main Dealer by all means, as this will help with the residuals, but when a vehicle reaches a certain age, shop around for a reliable independent dealer. After all, my own CLS is now only worth around £15,000 part exchange, which is a tiny part of the original £54,000 it would cost new, and a good independent will service the car to MB requirements just as well as the Main Dealer can.

Alternatively, you could invest in a Service Plan that will cover the main costs, but always remember that Main Dealers are motivated to make as much money as possible, and they will try adding to the bill whenever possible.

My own trust in Main Dealers is somewhat coloured by my experiences. I now only use them for specialist reasons, leaving standard maintenance to independents.

 

[derektrotter]

The last time I had my C Class serviced by a Main Dealer, I informed them that the steering was pulling slightly to the left, which they said they would sort. After getting a call telling me that the brake fluid reservoir bottle was leaking, and that the injector seals had also blown, and stumping up over £300 for these extras, I was gob smacked when I finally drove out of the dealer and discovered the vehicle was still steering to the left.

One quick U-Turn and I was back at the dealers, demanding to know why they had failed to check the steering. After all, this is covered by my service contract and the extra I had paid for the additional work that should have been covered by the warranty.

They took the car back in, then said they couldn't find anything wrong with the steering, and that I may need to take the car to a steering specialist, but it was ironic that when I set off for the second time, my steering was perfect.

(I hate being lied to).

I did have an argument with the service manager over the injector seals though, as the car was barely three years old and had only covered 27,000 miles when I bought it, and it was being serviced at 40,000 miles with blown seals, something I suspected was there when I bought the car.

I also had an argument over the brake fluid reservoir bottle, as they stated the bottle had been gnawed by a rat or similar. Since I use the vehicle on a daily basis, I find this hard to believe, but it turns out that the original owner of the C Class had purchased it on Agility, and had docked it up for the month previous to the end of the agreement to keep the mileage down, allowing rodents to nest in his engine compartment.

This all came to light when I checked the Service Report, which revealed that the 27,000 mile service was done by an independent dealer, rather than the main dealer.

(When you spend £19,000 on a low mileage C Class with a supposed Full MB Service history, only to find out later that it didn't, and had issues at purchase, you feel cheated).

I now own a 4 year old CLS, bought from an independent dealer, and it is maintained by a local garage owned by my neighbour, who has been in the business for donkey's years and is highly recommended by anyone who knows him, for a fraction of the cost of the Main Dealer.

My advice is that when buying new, service the vehicle at a Main Dealer by all means, as this will help with the residuals, but when a vehicle reaches a certain age, shop around for a reliable independent dealer. After all, my own CLS is now only worth around £15,000 part exchange, which is a tiny part of the original £54,000 it would cost new, and a good independent will service the car to MB requirements just as well as the Main Dealer can.

Alternatively, you could invest in a Service Plan that will cover the main costs, but always remember that Main Dealers are motivated to make as much money as possible, and they will try adding to the bill whenever possible.

My own trust in Main Dealers is somewhat coloured by my experiences. I now only use them for specialist reasons, leaving standard maintenance to independents.

My car is about 4 years old, trying to work out when it's worth switching to indy without it affecting residuals.. Im thinking around the 5 year mark.

 

[Rory]

Out of interest, I had a small dashcam secreted away in the car to record exactly how long it took to update which turned out to be 3 hours 15 minutes. Still a long time but certainly not "more than 6 hours."

I've no idea why these things take so long but it seems a bonkers amount of time, and it muts be a pain for the garage if it ties up a bay and maybe has to be hooked up to StarDiagnose for the whole time. Mine needed the AGW (audio gateway) updating early in its life and they told me that took several hours.


I think many believe that all of the car's software, engine, gearbox etc is updated every visit. But that's simply not correct - it's generally only done if you raise a specific issue and the noted fix for that issue is to update the software.

 

[S205-FTW]

have never darkened the door of Mercedes Benz World in Brooklands again.

So be insistent about upgrades to which you are entitled and don't accept any nonsense about it being impossible to do in the same day as the service.

Sounds a really bad experience.

Just to add some balance. I just had my A service done by MB Brooklands, and they were excellent. They told me the car was due a telematics update and I also told them I wanted the maps updated.

Can't fault them. Comms from them were really good throughout. Got one of those walkaround videos emailed to me once they'd finished the service, even though there was nothing to report (it's only done 8k miles and was an A service)

Car collected at 07:30 from home and returned by 2:30PM, washed and hoovered. Even left me the half bottle of remaining washer fluid. Maps were updated as requested.

Even though they're not my closest workshop, I've always used them to sort out issues since taking delivery (Live Traffic, wind noise issue).

As these cars get continually more complex, there will be even more software which needs updating. It's annoying that the punter can't see what needs updating the same you can with your PC. I'm sure there are quite a few ECU upgrades which could be applied which would increase things like fuel economy or performance.

 

[Lotiman]

Sounds a really bad experience.

Just to add some balance. I just had my A service done by MB Brooklands, and they were excellent. They told me the car was due a telematics update and I also told them I wanted the maps updated.

Can't fault them. Comms from them were really good throughout. Got one of those walkaround videos emailed to me once they'd finished the service, even though there was nothing to report (it's only done 8k miles and was an A service)

Car collected at 07:30 from home and returned by 2:30PM, washed and hoovered. Even left me the half bottle of remaining washer fluid. Maps were updated as requested.

Even though they're not my closest workshop, I've always used them to sort out issues since taking delivery (Live Traffic, wind noise issue).

As these cars get continually more complex, there will be even more software which needs updating. It's annoying that the punter can't see what needs updating the same you can with your PC. I'm sure there are quite a few ECU upgrades which could be applied which would increase things like fuel economy or performance.

Maybe they have improved. The last time I used them was 2 years ago and I have used MB Guildford since then. The difference between the 2 dealers in my experience is like night and day. As others have said, I hate being lied to and this is exactly what MB World at Brooklands did to me - many times.

There were actually other issues on the last service that only became apparent because I left the dashcam switched on, but I haven't expanded on those in this thread as it wasn't really relevant to the original question.

 

[TheFoX]

My car is about 4 years old, trying to work out when it's worth switching to indy without it affecting residuals.. Im thinking around the 5 year mark.

Go to WeBuyAnyCar dot Com and enter your registration to see what your car would be worth as a trade in. If it is a quarter of the original purchase price, then that would be a good benchmark.

I think a sensible formula would be something along the lines of...

'If the trade in value is greater than X, service it at a Main Dealer, but if the trade in value is less than X, the cost of servicing at a Main Dealer outweighs the value of the vehicle'.

Simply put, if you buy a brand new CLS63 costing £80,000, you don't mind paying £1200 for a B service, but if you buy a 10 year old CLS63 for £12,000, would you still be willing to pay £1200 for a B service.

At the start of the vehicle's life, the percentage cost of a service is small compared to the value of the vehicle, but as the residual drops, the percentage becomes a greater cost.