Mercedes Dealer Service or Approved Mercedes Independent?

[PPow]

Service B due on my 72 plate A200 Petrol this month and was quite surprised at the £500+ cost attached... Car has 8000 miles on (whilst I know it's age/miles related for the service still think it's a huge cost - In November too!)

Has anyone gone down the independent route and what are the pros Vs cons of doing this.. (any other than price that is!) I hate Sytner in Cheltenham - their sales team were always great but their customer service and after sales team are rude, unhelpful and leave you hanging around for ever waiting for your keys! (despite this being my second A Class through them, thinking about a change next time for sure!)

If you have, any in Cheltenham, Gloucester, Worcester that people would recommend?

TIA!

 

[Riva811]

Having used the following dealerships to service my car and noticed things not being completed, if you want car longevity I would go for approved indie.
Mb Chelsea : broke spark plug base, didn't change combination filter
Mb Brentford : didn't change combination filter, didn't programme on board service record,
Mb brooklands : no combination filter, some paintwork damage when their partner changed my tyres. Engine filter wasn't changed.
Overall trust in dealerships is low. If you want a great dealership record then go for it

 

[markjay]

Welcome.

You can either look at a Mercedes Benz Service Care Plan, or opt for a good indie, but in this case make sure that the Indie uses genuine MB parts and has access to the MB Digital Service Book (DSB) and can update the Digital Service Record (DSR) after each service, to preserve the remains of the new car warranty.

 

[MSG2004]

You will have to add breakdown cover if you go indy
Mobilo is very good IMO, so you wont have that - this service is voa RAC
but if you tell them send Mobilo if you feel its a fault RAC may not easily pick up or have a part.
Last year my fuel filler flap was stuck shut, it had been playing up for a couple of years - thankfully
I never wait until the fuel warning light - so I rang Mobilo, initially they said to take it to MB - I'd already
tried that and they had a 4 week waiting list. So Mobiklo came
out had the part at 42 quid and fixed - less than a year later same problem gave them a call and they came out and fixed

As Riva88 posted, I would not trust any dealer these days as they've forgotten to do stuff on my car - so
either keep an eye on your car and that is not easily possible or mark the old stuff, which is not easily possible either.
When a service was due on my car I sent the key that needed the battery changed on the B service - the thing is the
key will still open and close doors and boot but not the global closing/opening of windows. Some MB techs are quick to tick boxes - the batteries we not changed and the woman on the phone assured me they were - they were not and the other evidence was they bring back the second batter, the new one as its two in a pack - (I have the car collected and delivered) Another time they bashed the car into our garage door, thankfully no damage to the car, the door had slight damage with I did not note at the time so I just let that slip.

Re breakdown cover, I strongly recommend an alternative as RAC/AA etc ie companies with their vans and technicians that will car a lot more than most of the contractors, ie a battery booster pack and want to tow your car (Our son's Ausi Q7 he is not with RAC/AA - the breakdown people sent a guy over that had no fault reader - son sent him packing and eventually his breakdown people sent out someone that could at least look at the car.

 

[KennyN]

FWIW , personally i would keep the car within the dealer network until the warranty expires which gives them no get out clause should something major happen , you may save £100 (ish) but is the potential grief / hassle worth the saving.

£500 is not excessive at the main dealers now-a-days , its about 90 mins labour plus a few parts.

K

 

[Skd884]

Service B due on my 72 plate A200 Petrol this month and was quite surprised at the £500+ cost attached... Car has 8000 miles on (whilst I know it's age/miles related for the service still think it's a huge cost - In November too!)

Has anyone gone down the independent route and what are the pros Vs cons of doing this.. (any other than price that is!) I hate Sytner in Cheltenham - their sales team were always great but their customer service and after sales team are rude, unhelpful and leave you hanging around for ever waiting for your keys! (despite this being my second A Class through them, thinking about a change next time for sure!)

If you have, any in Cheltenham, Gloucester, Worcester that people would recommend?

TIA!

Get a quote from southend, is it better value than cheltenham?

Lakeside will match it if that helps.

Online appointment booking | Mercedes-Benz

Book appointments for a main inspection or another service at a workshop near you – conveniently and online with Mercedes-Benz appointment booking. Find a date that suits you right now!

www.mercedes-benz.co.uk

 

[fabes]

A B service for £500 isn't actually that bad.

But if for £25 of petrol you can go to another a Dealer someone recommends, it's probably worth keeping FSH within MB, unless it's a long term keeper imho.

 

[esscee]

As others have said, might be worthwhile to stay with dealer until warranty is up, 3yrs?
If you want/need an indy in Cheltenham, I use MB&B at 9 Colletts Drive very close to Tesco off Tewkesbury Rd.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Service B due on my 72 plate A200 Petrol this month and was quite surprised at the £500+ cost attached... Car has 8000 miles on (whilst I know it's age/miles related for the service still think it's a huge cost - In November too!)

Has anyone gone down the independent route and what are the pros Vs cons of doing this.. (any other than price that is!) I hate Sytner in Cheltenham - their sales team were always great but their customer service and after sales team are rude, unhelpful and leave you hanging around for ever waiting for your keys! (despite this being my second A Class through them, thinking about a change next time for sure!)

If you have, any in Cheltenham, Gloucester, Worcester that people would recommend?

TIA!

Get a price of the online service quote tool on the Mercedes website, and select Sheffield Europa as the Mercedes workshop. That will tell you how much it will cost as a minimum, because they are the least expensive I have ever found by some margin.

Make a note of the additional age and mileage items (eg brake fluid, cabin filter, etc) - these are all included in the price on screen, and not on top. The individual prices for additional items are shown for transparency reasons only.

Make sure that any quotes from other main dealers, independent Mercedes specialists or general garages include the same additional items - they’re often not included and hence the price can be less, but it’s not like for like.

 

[Fastcar155]

As others have said £500 is not unreasonable for main dealer servicing and some independent specialist come close to those prices.

A service plan I found was the most competitive way to to have a car serviced.I do understand that MB have increased service plan prices over the 12 months.

I always found MB Cheltenham easy to deal with or speak to Simon who is the service manager. I tried Listers in Worcester once !