E350 servicing, PAYG or Plan?

[RhysC63?]

PAYG or Service Plan?

I've been quoted £30 pcm for a service plan for my 2015 E350. Over 24 months this would be £720 so I'm wondering if it's worth it considering I just need 2 services.

When I purchased my C63 I was quoted £45 (£1080) I thought that was too high so didn't take the offer up. I can't remember my A service cost - it was about £200 I think and my B service was £492. So I did the right thing, saving myself over £300!

Does anyone have any recent numbers for the A and B on an E350? The quote sounds more sensible this time, but I still don't want to be conned!

 

[Deleted member 65149]

I wouldn't think it's particularly worth it for just 2 services. The benefits of a plan really kick in when it covers 4 services because of all the "additions" that have to be paid for over the extended period (ATF oil ~£250, spark plugs ~£175, etc). Over the longer period you also get the benefit of not having to pay the inevitable price rises.

 

[SquabzZz]

Not worth it buddy I was in the same boat with my smart and now with my c220 coupe

Best thing to do is play mercedes servicing off with other mercedes you'll be amazed how they all compete

 

[rifiki]

Put your money in a savings account with overdraft facility.

 

[Crazyfool]

I went with the 4 year plan. I'm sure I pay about £40

 

[KennyN]

As mentioned previously : if you have to arrange your own breakdown cover it will cost you around £10 pm (for the same level that Mobilio offer) maybe more, so factor that into your £30pm payments and your actual servicing is costing you £20pm which is a bit more reasonable.

That was one of the ways I justified my £42 (£32)pm for my service plan.

Kenny

 

[Dryce]

As mentioned previously : if you have to arrange your own breakdown cover it will cost you around £10 pm (for the same level that Mobilio offer) maybe more,

It depends. If you don't have any need for European cover then you can get reasonable cover for a lot less than £10/month.

Mobilo ties you in to the dealers.

When we did the calculations in the past going with Green Flag on both our cars was a lot cheaper than the gap between indie and dealer servicing - and I reckoned the indie was better as well. And the cover can optionally be sorted so it's personal rather than vehicle based if that works better.
OTOH.

With two cars it was about £5/month per car. With one car about £6/month.

If you take your car abroad then Mobilo probably starts to look a much better deal.

My view is the MB service plans are expensive.

 

[KennyN]

My view is the MB service plans are expensive.

Depending on the price from the Indy for the same service schedule.

I approached my local recommended indy with my present and projected mileage over the coming 48 months and there was ,on average, £125 pa difference in the costs which is just down to the labour rates being less at the indy as they both would be using genuine MB parts.

I did the sums , i am Scottish, and for the benefits that Mobilio offer in the event of a breakdown it was worth that little extra , plus my car remains on the dealer network radar and the complete servicing / Mobilio price is fixed over the 48 months unlike the indy`s which will go up anually closing the financial gap further.

Kenny

 

[Dryce]

I did the sums , i am Scottish, and for the benefits that Mobilio offer in the event of a breakdown it was worth that little extra , plus my car remains on the dealer network radar and the complete servicing / Mobilio price is fixed over the 48 months unlike the indy`s which will go up anually closing the financial gap further.

Inflation is low. MB sell this idea about protecting you from *their* price increases. Also bear in in mind that with the service plan you are effectively paying for the service in advance. In order to make the service plan look cheap it gives the dealers have every incentive to artificially inflate their prices.

And then you have the little issue of 'extras'. Not so likely to hit a car in its first couple of years - but if/when they do hit the extras will of course be at dealer margins and rates.

At £42/month for 48 months your servicing is just over £2000 for four years.

Outrageous.

 

[KennyN]

At £42/month for 48 months your servicing is just over £2000 for four years.

The indy was £1500 over the same term carrying out the same work so they are expensive cars to work on, the dealer is only £12 pm more expensive which IMHO isnt too bad when you consider :

Courtesy car when being serviced.
Breakdown cover included in the monthly payments.
Car remains on the radar.
Dealer will be there for the foreseeable future , indy may not be.
Fixed prices , indy`s may go up over the next few years.

The MB price is includes everything required for their servicing , any "extra consumables " will be discussed prior to ANY work being undertaken so that is not even a consideration in my book.

Yes i think £500 / £400pa is a bit excessive for a 3.0L diesel compared to some of the other manufacturers but i knew that when i bought the car.

Kenny

 

[Dryce]

Courtesy car when being serviced.

IME they don't have enough cars - so only if you book well ahead.

Breakdown cover included in the monthly payments.

But beware that if you need the car to be recovered for a repair it will go to a dealer and the resulting repair will be at dealer rates.

Car remains on the radar.

Mythical value of the FMBSH on older cars.

Dealer will be there for the foreseeable future , indy may not be.

Total rubbish. And this is a major reason I left using the dealer network.

Why? Good independents will have been around for years. The dealer staff and ownership will likely turnover a lot quicker.

With an independent you generally see and get spoken to by the person working on your car.

And don't kid yourself that the dealers known any more about the cars either.

Fixed prices , indy`s may go up over the next few years.

False justification: MB fear sell - not reality.

 

[KennyN]

IME they don't have enough cars - any time i have needed one it has been available without issue.

But beware that if you need the car to be recovered for a repair it will go to a dealer and the resulting repair will be at dealer rates. - and only getting done on MY say so as i only have a service contract with them.

Mythical value of the FMBSH on older cars - nothing at all to do with the value of a FSH and everything to do with the fact that if there is major issue with the car and it has only ever been serviced by MB then the chance of a financial contribution towards the repair is greater.

Total rubbish. And this is a major reason I left using the dealer network. - Being new to MB i asked on various forums for a local recommended indy and there is a limited choice around here so i went to the one that was mentioned most and having used them i have absolutely no complaints but who knows where they will be next month or next year.I wasnt prepared to trust just anyone to service my car hence the reason for asking for opinions.

With an independent you generally see and get spoken to by the person working on your car.- What difference does that make to an annual service ?

And don't kid yourself that the dealers known any more about the cars either - I am under no illusions as to to this fact having worked in engineering for 30 years and have found on numerous occasions that the manufacturers are not always the experts , but we are talking about servicing here - nothing else.

False justification: MB fear sell - not reality - I dont know many service industries that do not increase their pricing annually as their overheads will have increased over the same timescale having a knock-on effect to the customer.

Prior to taking out my service plan i spoke at length to my recommended indy and also my main dealer and there wasn`t enough of a cost saving to go with the indy and there were many plus points of staying with MB ,for me anyway,which have been listed prevously.


Kenny

 

[Handydave]

As mentioned previously : if you have to arrange your own breakdown cover it will cost you around £10 pm (for the same level that Mobilio offer) maybe more, so factor that into your £30pm payments and your actual servicing is costing you £20pm which is a bit more reasonable. That was one of the ways I justified my £42 (£32)pm for my service plan. Kenny

But don't you get Mobilo with PAYG at Mercedes dealers?

 

[KennyN]

But don't you get Mobilo with PAYG at Mercedes dealers?

I dont know as i never considered PAYG as paying it monthly makes it a bit easier to stomach.

According to the text below it doesnt mention the need for a monthly service plan so with PAYG servicing it looks as though you will qualify for the cover , providing the car is serviced at the correct intervals by the dealers.

Your technical breakdown cover can be retained from the fifth year, for up to a maximum of 30 years, on completion of each Recommended Service^ carried out at one of our Retailers.


Kenny

 

[Dryce]

But don't you get Mobilo with PAYG at Mercedes dealers?

As long as it's not the strange 'value servicing' that they offer.

The one with the asterisk and associated footnote that says that they don't follow their own recommended servicing service schedule and has the double asterisk and associated footnote which says they will use their own genuine parts at their discretion.

 

[Rory]

Inflation is low. MB sell this idea about protecting you from *their* price increases.

Certainly my local dealer (Chester) seems to have whacked up the prices over the years and when the Service Manager changed a couple of years ago they became much more reluctant to negotiate on price. It was always difficult anyway, and generally took a couple of days of back and forth of "someone will call you back" to negotiate at all.

I can't really play them off against other dealers as there isn't another one that wouldn't be a pain to get to - and they're all owned by the same group anyway, Inchcape.

OTOH, while there's a number of indie's nearby, there's no obvious "stand-out" one, such as the esteemed regular contributors on here.

 

[RhysC63?]

I also use Chester for servicing, they do have a bit of a captive audience there. Mind you, I'm surprised they manage to sell a single car given their reluctance to do any deals, they have consistently been thousands of pounds off the mark - even compared to other dealers in the same franchise. After several attempts over the years to get a competetive quote from MB Chester, I don't even bother asking anymore.

 

[Rory]

I also use Chester for servicing, they do have a bit of a captive audience there. Mind you, I'm surprised they manage to sell a single car given their reluctance to do any deals, they have consistently been thousands of pounds off the mark - even compared to other dealers in the same franchise. After several attempts over the years to get a competetive quote from MB Chester, I don't even bother asking anymore.

In 10 years, the only time a salesperson there has spoken to me was to tell me I'd parked in the wrong place (and you'll know how tight their parking can be).

I find it staggering that I can wander around the little showroom while waiting and no-one attempts to engage with me.