Hi is this a Rip or what

[simon22]

I can now better (but not in a good way) that a bit. Service F on my car was quoted at a smidgin under £1K (inc VAT so that's around £870 +) and that excluded the ATF change that the service sheet says is due because I had that done four months ago. If they were doing the ATF change that would probably take it to a almost £1200 inc.

No sign of willingness to deal this time around. Though with that starting point we didn't push very hard.

By comparison last year's B was discounted to a bit under £300 (inc VAT).

What is a service F ,my book only say's A and B or am i missing something from my Service book ..Regards Simon22

 

[Phil Thomas]

I don't know if it helps, but MB Blackburn, owned by Pendragon, charge £98 plus VAT on older cars, about £115 per hour. MB Direct in Manchester, owned by MB UK, charge about £93 per hour, £109 including VAT. MB Blackburn attributed that to the competition in Central Manchester, where dealerships are MB owned! They quoted £550 to replace the fan on the E300td, whereas MB Direct quoted £375, apparently because you can change the fan without taking the radiator out.

I wish I could find a good MB indie in the South/ Central Manchester area.

 

[DSLiverpool]

I wish I could find a good MB indie in the South/ Central Manchester area.

One of the best is in Warrington - easy trip and you get Ikea meatballs

 

[Benzowner]

As seen in many large multinationals, as the business grows inefficiency becomes rife. Dealers who charge customers £195/hr, but yet pay the mechanics £10-15/hr (?) have lost focus of their customer's needs.

From my own engineering consultancy experience, we need to cover overheads such as, office, admin & IT staff, IT equipment, IT software, travel, sales support & the engineers salaries which are greater than mechanics (I hope), but yet we charge customers less than half the £195/hr quoted.

Thats fine, and I understand your point, but must also ask do you have the same size office/warehouse unit and an MB dealer with the additional car parking and resultant increase in business rates etc etc. I am not trying to defend the dealers, but we must compare apples with apples.

I am associated with the building trade where we are only allowed to base prices on materials plus labour plus overhead and profit, The last bit, overhead and profit, is normally in the range 18 to 23% and labour is in the range you mention, but as said, I aint got a half acre plot with huge showroom. I would not like to think what they pay rent for that.

 

[Dryce]

What is a service F ,my book only say's A and B or am i missing something from my Service book ..Regards Simon22

W211 Assyst+ does A to H.

The F in this case according to the service sheet is a B plus SBC brake fluid change, spark plugs, combination filter, and some extra checks.

So the MB price is 1K for starters (and that excludes ATF). That still leaves the door open to the phone call for extras depending on extras related to the checks.

 

[et0609]

My last B service at John R Weir Inverness was inclusive of new engine oil, new fuel filter and a free valet...all for a very reasonable £699.00!!

 

[lil.smartie]

Our local Commercial Mercedes-Benz Dealership went into liquadation but after about four weeks it has re-opened under a different name.

Commercials now also owned by City like the passenger car dealerships here in SW.

Kate