Is service B a scam?

[hasbulla18]

I have an A class, so service A is £250 and service B is £400. On the website it says the main difference is that service B includes whatever A has + more checks and air filter, no other difference. I spoke to 2 official mercedes benz dealers about it and they both assured me that amount of checks they do is the same. Service B doesnt have more checks than A. I also had my service done today and spoke to mechanic and he also said that they literally dont even look whether it's A or B, admins put it on, they only see what is outstanding and do that work, i.e oil + filter every service, then check for Air filter, transmission/brake fluid etc.. And said that they do the same level/amount of checks on every service, no difference A or B.


So for example if I was to do A + air filter, it would've been £334 today, they quoted £250 for A service and £84 for air filter. But if I was to pay for B for exact same work it would be £400 and everything would've been the same lol? So my question is, what's the point of B then?

 

[Teego]

If they had done B and air filter it would have cost £484.

 

[hasbulla18]

If they had done B and air filter it would have cost £484.

But air filter is included in B service? From what I gathered B service is literally A + air filter? (motor oil + filter + air filter?)

 

[Spider10]

Everything on an MB is extra only oil and filter is included also brake fluid change on a B service included all filters are done on mileage or time depending on what comes 1st

 

[OneForTheRoad]

Is the brake fluid not done on a B or is that additional work.

All additional work is included with a mb service plan.

 

[markjay]

As far as I know, on some models Service B includes pollen (aka cabin aka dust) filter change, but I've never heard of an air filter change included in Service B.

 

[markjay]

I have an A class, so service A is £250 and service B is £400. On the website it says the main difference is that service B includes whatever A has + more checks and air filter, no other difference. I spoke to 2 official mercedes benz dealers about it and they both assured me that amount of checks they do is the same. Service B doesnt have more checks than A. I also had my service done today and spoke to mechanic and he also said that they literally dont even look whether it's A or B, admins put it on, they only see what is outstanding and do that work, i.e oil + filter every service, then check for Air filter, transmission/brake fluid etc.. And said that they do the same level/amount of checks on every service, no difference A or B.


So for example if I was to do A + air filter, it would've been £334 today, they quoted £250 for A service and £84 for air filter. But if I was to pay for B for exact same work it would be £400 and everything would've been the same lol? So my question is, what's the point of B then?

Is the glass half full or half empty?

I think you have been given additional free checks when booking the car for a Service A, that's all.

I.e, you booked the car for a Service A, the dealer carried-out a Service B, yet only charged for a Service A.

And yet you are complaining? I wonder what you tell the waiter in a restaurant when they bring to the table complimentary bread and butter...

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Is the brake fluid not done on a B or is that additional work.

All additional work is included with a mb service plan.

Brake fluid change coincides with a B service on cars which are service annually, as both are due every two years. However cars which are serviced more than annually due to high mileage become out of synch.

 

[tonysmb]

As far as I know, on some models Service B includes pollen (aka cabin aka dust) filter change, but I've never heard of an air filter change included in Service B.

Nor me. As far as mine are concerned, and for more years than I care to remember, a B service has always been an A plus pollen filter. Air and fuel filters, spark plugs, ATF etc. have always been 'extras' at specified mileages/time periods, normally coinciding with a B service.

 

[markjay]

It has been mentioned before that (some) dealers only ever carry out a Service B in terms of checks, regardless of whether the customer paid for a Service A or Service B.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Hello Hasbulla and welcome . What year is your car , how many miles on it and how long do you intend to keep it ?

The reason I ask is that (with respect) an A180 is pretty low down on the pecking order in the world of MB cars. You might , depending on age and mileage of course, just step away from MB dealership service and go to an independent mechanic. Such a service history will probably have little impact on resale value going forward.

 

[hasbulla18]

Is the glass half full or half empty?

I think you have been given additional free checks when booking the car for a Service A, that's all.

I.e, you booked the car for a Service A, the dealer carried-out a Service B, yet only charged for a Service A.

And yet you are complaining? I wonder what you tell the waiter in a restaurant when they bring to the table complimentary bread and butter...

No I'm not complaining, it's just two dealers told me that they do exact same check on A and B and there is no difference at all, engineer told me the same. They said only difference is B service would have more work done, which is also done at an extra cost? So I was wondering what's the difference then lol? Or the dealers were just chatting bs? As all official MB websites do say that service B has a lot more check than A, but they assured me it doesnt matter, apparently they do same checks on every service.

It has been mentioned before that (some) dealers only ever carry out a Service B in terms of checks, regardless of whether the customer paid for a Service A or Service B.

Yeah that's what 2 different dealers and mechanic told me, they all said that they dont even look whether it's A or B, they just do same amount/number of checks on every service and then look at what's needed and then decide whether it's A or B. Apparently air

Hello Hasbulla and welcome . What year is your car , how many miles on it and how long do you intend to keep it ?

The reason I ask is that (with respect) an A180 is pretty low down on the pecking order in the world of MB cars. You might , depending on age and mileage of course, just step away from MB dealership service and go to an independent mechanic. Such a service history will probably have little impact on resale value going forward.

Hi Petrol, Thank you

Mine is 2018 13,000 miles, I know that A class is pretty much lowest class in MB, I don't really plan selling it, my intentions are to keep it for at least next 5 years, but in 5 years it will lose so much value that there might be no point selling it I guess, might as well leave it as family car later on. Reason I went with MB service is that original dealers gave me 4 year warranty as long as I service at MB dealership, however I now started thinking that with so low milleage in 4 years probably nothing will break lol

 

[Petrol Pete]

Has , I do not want to paint a bleak picture but many MB's (and other makes) might develop some kind of 'fault' within 4 years of being built , even at the expensive end of the food chain , in fact if you search this very forum you will find some horror stories on fairly new MB's right near the top of the range.

The decision regarding doing your bit (££) to keep the MB warranty is yours entirely. It's a 5 year old car with very low mileage , what engine does it have ? Petrol ? Gearbox , automatic ?

 

[hasbulla18]

Has , I do not want to paint a bleak picture but many MB's (and other makes) might develop some kind of 'fault' within 4 years of being built , even at the expensive end of the food chain , in fact if you search this very forum you will find some horror stories on fairly new MB's right near the top of the range.

The decision regarding doing your bit (££) to keep the MB warranty is yours entirely. It's a 5 year old car with very low mileage , what engine does it have ? Petrol ? Gearbox , automatic ?

Yeah I heard some stories, in fact couple months ago, one work colleague had an engine fault and timing belt failure on his 2 year old bmw, it is x6 xdrive m sport, completely out of nowhere, good it was still under warranty as repairing that would have been very expensive. I heard similar stories fro mfriends, so I decided to go with servicing as 4 year "peace of mind" is kind of worth it, as it covers everything excluding wear and tear.

Mine is 1.6 petrol auto, any things worth knowing? As it's my first car (except leasing/hiring various random cars in the past) and first MB. So far it's good, good grip on the road, noise isolation is not too bad, suspension is not great but still better than other hatchbacks like ford fiesta/focus, lexus ct200h, I drove bmw 1 series and A class also seems to be better, more enjoyable ride, doing mainly motorway