Main Dealer Labour Rates ....

[crockers]

Looking at my invoice from MB garage in France (Bourges) - would you like to guess the labour rate charged ... we are always complaining about dealers rates so thought this might be of interest..

All guesses in euros - before VAT at 19.98%

 

[The Boss]

um it sounds like it would be higher there, perhaps €200?

 

[Charles Morgan]

€100 per hour?

 

[crockers]

Nope - there are two rates charged - one for diagnosis per hour and one for the work... make sure you are sitting down when revealed...

 

[neilrr]

About £45 per hour for work?

Do they inhabit steel & glass buildings that look like Vegas casinos there?

 

[The Boss]

Nope - there are two rates charged - one for diagnosis per hour and one for the work... make sure you are sitting down when revealed...

on second thoughts i agree with the last post.. nearer 45/hour including both rates lol

 

[crockers]

The building is just like a UK MB dealership - all glass etc...

In fact you would be hard to tell the difference except that they have all adverts in French . Oh and a GLK in the showroom.

OK - rates are as follows

For diagnostic work €69 + vat
For Labour €59 + vat

France has high social security costs so am rather baffled why the UK rates are over double these.....

Wonder if I take my car to France for a Service if that still counts as a full MBSH for Mobilio ??

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

France has high social security costs so am rather baffled why the UK rates are over double these.....

Because we're daft enough to pay it!!

 

[davidjpowell]

I know of people with Renault's who combine a major service with a French shopping trip... Apparently the dealers near the ports see it a lot.

 

[kwakdonut]

Wonder if I take my car to France for a Service if that still counts as a full MBSH for Mobilio ??

Why shouldn't it? MB garage servicing an MB to MB requirements. Makes no difference that the bill will be in French (will probably print it in English if you ask nicely!!)

 

[b11ocx]

Wonder if I take my car to France for a Service if that still counts as a full MBSH for Mobilio ??

Do they include a list of Authorised European dealers in the handbook package

If so then they cannot say no (nor should they under EU Regs)

 

[Rory]

For diagnostic work €69 + vat
For Labour €59 + vat

France has high social security costs so am rather baffled why the UK rates are over double these.....

We employee people in France and the cost is immense. The only obvious cost difference for business is land / rent is generally much cheaper than here.

Our guys (and I've certainly experienced this myself) are always complaining how expensive everything is. Even commonly available things like DIY stuff and things on the French version of Amazon are way more expensive than the UK.

 

[wemorgan]

In general I found that the cost of living was lower in France than in the UK. So in part the lower labour rates could be due to that.

 

[markjay]

UK has very strong consumer protection laws. I wonder how the French compare? I know for fact that here it increases the Retail price as businesses have to factor-in loses from taking back goods or crediting for services. Incidentally, this is why in my business we only do B2B - our prices are very low and would not cover the additional costs of customer returns etc.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

If you want cheaper labour rates, take it to the commercial vehicle side of mercedes. It means you still have FMBSH and there is no difference whatsoever, except the price!

 

[markjay]

If you want cheaper labour rates, take it to the commercial vehicle side of mercedes. It means you still have FMBSH and there is no difference whatsoever, except the price!

Interesting... how do you do that?

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Interesting... how do you do that?

In my little town, the commercial and car side are different franchises. So, they are in competition. You take your car in to Mercedes Commercial and tell them that your next service is due/ you need a problem fixing etc and they procede to do it! It is still being done by Mercedes, so your warranty isn't affected.
Also, you tend to get better customer service on the commercial side in my experience. If you want anymore information, I will speak with my friend who is a mechanic (technician) at Mercedes commercial and report back.

 

[bpsorrel]

My Ford dealer client does the same. Their dedicated commercial service centres will happily service Ford cars at a much lower hourly rate. Although they're part of the same group as the car side, they run as separate businesses and compete for work.

 

[hawk20]

Wonder if the charges are the same in larger cities where the cost of land and buildings is nearer ours? Anyone know what you pay for labour at an MB dealer in Paris?

Business rates?

 

[jpwilliams]

The building is just like a UK MB dealership - all glass etc...

In fact you would be hard to tell the difference except that they have all adverts in French . Oh and a GLK in the showroom.

OK - rates are as follows

For diagnostic work €69 + vat
For Labour €59 + vat

France has high social security costs so am rather baffled why the UK rates are over double these.....

Wonder if I take my car to France for a Service if that still counts as a full MBSH for Mobilio ??

Mine has been serviced in Spain for the last 5 years and MB has confirmed that it still qualifies for Mobilo.
You need to give details to MB Europe and obtain their confirmation.....then keep it with you at all times.
Regards
John