CLS350 B Service completed

[Paddcomp]

Big thank you to Ian Walker of Total Mercedes in Kirkham, Lancashire.
I purchased the car Approved Used in November with 43k on it at 3 years old and a dealer service history.
Booked in with Ian for a B service on Monday, all fluids and filters.
Ian showed me the air filters he'd removed, looking like a forest floor. As the ESS shows a dealer serviced the car a year ago at 42k and is currently showing 45k, it's unlikely the filters were changed.
Even better than having a newly serviced car and having an extra £250 in my pocket is how much more lively the engine feels.
Total Mercedes wins again.

Hob Nobs on the way.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

I often wonder if all the service work that's said to be carried out by dealers is actually done. Very many years ago I put a dab of lacquer onto a wheel-nut on all four wheels before my car went in for a service (I didn't have time to do it myself). When I collected the car they told me that the brakes shoe linings (I said it was a long time ago) were badly worn and needed replacing. I'd only done about 500 miles since renewing them all! When I pointed out the unbroken lacquer on all the wheels and asked how they managed to check the lining thickness there was a lot of spluttering and searching for excuses. I took the car without paying for the "service". That was the last time I had anyone else do a service on any car, until I had to to maintain the warranty.

 

[jaymanek]

I hear all sorts of stories in my line of work,... An ex MB technician showed me one drawer of his toolbox... the bottom deep draw... full of spark plugs...

Not all like that of course, most I know take great pride in their work.

 

[Rory]

Big thank you to Ian Walker of Total Mercedes in Kirkham, Lancashire.
I purchased the car Approved Used in November with 43k on it at 3 years old and a dealer service history.
Booked in with Ian for a B service on Monday, all fluids and filters.
Ian showed me the air filters he'd removed, looking like a forest floor. As the ESS shows a dealer serviced the car a year ago at 42k and is currently showing 45k, it's unlikely the filters were changed.

They're on a 4yr change cycle so the requirment to change them wouldn't have arisen.

Mind you, turned out mine had never been changed in 6yrs, but they had changed the fuel filter (or at least invoiced MB for it) on two consecutive services.

 

[Paddcomp]

They're on a 4yr change cycle so the requirment to change them wouldn't have arisen.

Mind you, turned out mine had never been changed in 6yrs, but they had changed the fuel filter (or at least invoiced MB for it) on two consecutive services.

Surely there's an on condition clause? Judging by the instant performance improvement it needed changing.

 

[st13phil]

I often wonder if all the service work that's said to be carried out by dealers is actually done. Very many years ago I put a dab of lacquer onto a wheel-nut on all four wheels before my car went in for a service (I didn't have time to do it myself).

In the 1960's when my father worked on the bench for a Ford & Morris Main Agent, they would occasionally get a car come in with paint marks on the wheel nuts, air cleaner housing, rocker cover etc. My father and most of the other fitters would take great delight in completing the service fully while taking great care to line up all the paint marks when they put the components back, and then using a touch-up pencil to cover the break line in each of the paint marks

 

[evdok]

wouldn't it be great if there was a viewing room so you can see your car worked on.

 

[Rory]

Surely there's an on condition clause? Judging by the instant performance improvement it needed changing.

They'd have to take them out to look at them - which if IIRC is not that trivial on the V6 - so once they'd done that they might as well be changed.

Oddly changing mine at 6yrs (although only about 50K miles) didn't make any noticeable difference to performance or MPG.

 

[Rory]

In the 1960's when my father worked on the bench for a Ford & Morris Main Agent, they would occasionally get a car come in with paint marks on the wheel nuts, air cleaner housing, rocker cover etc. My father and most of the other fitters would take great delight in completing the service fully while taking great care to line up all the paint marks when they put the components back, and then using a touch-up pencil to cover the break line in each of the paint marks

I heard another version of that story where the mechanics covered everything in paint makes so it looked like the car has some sort of plague!