Mercedes main dealer service advice

[Peterstu1]

Is there any benefit of using MB Brooklands for servicing, do they offer any club discount? Has anyone ever tried to knock a main dealer down on service price and succeeded?

 

[stumpy1]

No, there is no reason to use Brooklands over any other dealer. Yes, some dealers will price match within reason.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Has anyone ever tried to knock a main dealer down on service price and succeeded?

Yes. Shop around. Play dealers off against each other - even those within the same dealer group. Then ask for a discount. Then when you've got it as cheap as you dare, supply your own oil.

For the final penny-pinching discount, do the additional items yourself, eg air filter change, and show them the receipt to make sure you get your service book stamped.

Try searching the forum for the word "service" in posts made by me. I love trying to get discounts!!

 

[Peterstu1]

Thanks BD, sounds like a good plan. So if they say this service requires air filter, active charcoal filter and dust filter, they have to be replaced before they will stamp the service book, even if they do everything else on the service??

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Thanks BD, sounds like a good plan. So if they say this service requires air filter, active charcoal filter and dust filter, they have to be replaced before they will stamp the service book, even if they do everything else on the service??

No problems.

It will only work out cheaper on item that are what's known as "additional items", which are either age or mileage dependent.

Many dealers will not stamp the book unless they've performed the additional items themselves or are satisfied the work has been performed - which is fair enough if a stamped service book is to actually mean something.

When you call and ask for a quote ask them to list which additional items they believe are due and ask that they provide a price for each item.

You can then check to see if those items have already been replaced - if they have then just tell the dealer (and ideally show them a receipt in case they get awkward) - and if not then you can do them yourself.

That's what I did last time around on the ML and these were the results:

My usual (franchised MB main dealer) quoted: £315
A-Service: £200.99
Air filter: £53.20
Coolant: £76.27
Negotiated a further discount: £15.46

And this is what I ended up paying - invoiced: £189.81
A-Service: £113.54 (including screenwash & oil filter but excluding oil)
Air filter: N/A - fitted myself, see below
Coolant: £76.27 (including coolant)

Additional costs incurred: £61.26
Air filter: £15.26 (fitted myself, purchased from dealer parts counter) - SAVED £38
8 litres Mobil 1: £46.00 (supply only, purchased from Costco) - SAVED £41

Total cost of service £251.07

Read more here: http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/engine/79887-b-service-3.html

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

PS I noticed you're near Crawley. Be prepared for very uncompetitive prices from any of the MB London outlets (owned by MB Retail, as are MB Birmingham and MB Manchester outlets, and all calls routed to the same service centre).

MB Birmingham are massively more expensive than nearby franchise dealers. Especially on AMG models.

 

[mbenz76]

I don't fully understand the MB services.

When my E350 is due it's A service at age 1, the dealer will charge an amount (£200 or whatever it might be) for that service.

What will that include? Because I see so many times on here people talking about extras, but I would have thought anything the service schedule required to be done at that service would be included in the cost of the service.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Some items are only due at a given age or mileage. For example, brake fluid, you don't need to replace every service, nor air filters, spark plugs, etc. Those items are the additional items, and are in addition to the standard service schedule.

The standard service schedule - by that I mean A or B - is simply a fixed programme of checks or maintenance tasks, A being shorter, and B being more comprehensive.

Have a look in your service book - it will tell you what's due and when.

When booking in, the service department should ask for the vehicle age and mileage, along with which service the car is asking for (eg A or B, one-spanner or two-spanner, or on some models A-E (or even more).

From that they should know there and then what's required, without even plugging the car into the computer, as there's a logic to all additional items.

So depending upon the way you look at it, the additional items are included in the cost of the service, but not part of the A service your car is asking for.

 

[hawk20]

Is there any benefit of using MB Brooklands for servicing, do they offer any club discount? Has anyone ever tried to knock a main dealer down on service price and succeeded?

You can often knock a main dealer down on price.
MB Brooklands offer some pretty competive rates last time I asked.
At least in the first four years of ownership on MB cars I have never found servicing costs me more than about 2.5 pence per mile. I always use MB dealers (my local one happens to be excellent) and I do about 13,500 miles per annum.

Annual servicing means it costs more for low mileage drivers and less for those who do more.

 

[scumbag]

Annual servicing means it costs more for low mileage drivers and less for those who do more.

That's one of them quotes again.

how does £500* be any cheaper to someone who does more mileage?

£500=£500.

add in the cost of fuel, plus more wear and tear on the consumables like brakes and tyres for the higher mileage drivers and all of sudden £500 doesn't =£500?

what?


* for that read any price of service but they seem to average around the £500 area.

 

[C43AMG]

I have taken the C43 to Tony Purslow at Guilford just down the road from Brooklands. 40% off Labour and 10% off Parts for cars over Six years old and very good service BTB500 has taken his 500 there for a few years now, also free MOT's.

eg: Just out of curiosity i asked Guilford MB and Brooklands MB for a price on fitting Disc's and Pads all round on a CL55AMG Guilford was £1,300 and Brooklands was £ 1,560 !

 

[BTB 500]

Yup Tony Purslow at Guildford (now simply called Mercedes Benz of Guildford) are excellent, I continue to take my SL over there even though I'm now in Bracknell with another dealer a mile and a half away

They have never pushed to have additional work done - in fact on several occasions they have suggested that I leave certain items another year as the car doesn't do a lot of miles.

Discounts are 20% labour + 10% parts at 3 years old, then 40% labour + 10% parts + free MOTs at 6 years. Free MOTs are completely free ... mine don't coincide with a service and literally cost nothing. They usually clean the car too!

http://www.mercedes-benzofguildford.co.uk/

Then click on 'Platinum Programme'.

Their other branches (M-B Basingstoke, M-B Hindhead) give the same discounts too. No haggling required

 

[jeremytaylor]

I think most dealers will discount services on older cars these days.

 

[Will]

Whilst I welcome the idea of a discount in servicing costs for older vehicles, aside from the 'trying to stop people straying to non-MB garages' argument, I've never quite understood the logic.

Surely it's unfair to drivers of new MBs, who are effectively paying a ~ 40% premium on labour and 10% extra on parts, for what should be a like-for-like service?

It doesn't cost less to service/repair old cars, surely if anything new cars are less troublesome and easier to work with?

Not that it bothers me with an 8 year old MB, but if I was buying new I'd be slightly miffed to know that I'm paying more for a technician's time than someone who drives a slightly older car, regardless of model.

Will

 

[C43AMG]

Or do they do 40% less work.

 

[hawk20]

That's one of them quotes again.

how does £500* be any cheaper to someone who does more mileage?

£500=£500.

.

Pretty obvious really as I was giving the cost per mile of servicing on my car. The cost per mile is higher for low mileage people as the annual cost is spread over a smaller mileage. Economies of scale.

 

[scumbag]

Pretty obvious really as I was giving the cost per mile of servicing on my car.

It is a very sharp bit of word play. Clearly the only way servicing would be "cheaper" is when you get a discount that someone else does not.

You are suggesting that taking the whole of ownship costs away, and just basing your cost against the number of miles you have driven.

Which, however obvious to you, still means £500 is £500. Your version of "cheaper" actually means "relative to" which also means it must include ownership costs.

Please correct my example below so That I can understand your statement

Annual servicing means it costs more for low mileage drivers and less for those who do more.

2 blokes, live next door to each other. (use any fiqures as long as they are same for both Mr Jones and his jealous neighbour)

Mr Jones buys Merc at £50k
Mr Tight buys Merc at £50k

(Assume Mercs are identical, insurance costs £500 per year, assume 25mpg @£1pltr, tyres last 10k at £50 each, brakes last 20k all round and cost £1000 to replace, assume road tax at £100 for ease. Assume annual service or at 15,000mls = £500.)

Mr Jones does 15k miles a year
Mr Tight does 2500miles a year.

Both keep car 10 years.

Mr Jones costs = £50,000. Plus £5000 insurance, service £5000. £1000 road tax.£3000 = tyres £7000 = brakes £27000= fuel...
total costs £98000 or £9,800 per year.£816 pmnth. £188.46 prwk. £1.12phr. (cost per mile. £0.65p)

Mr Tight costs = £50,000. Plus £5000 insurance, service £5000. £1000 road tax.£500 = tyres £1000 = brakes £4500 = fuel...
£67,000total costs Or £6,700 per year.£558.33pmnth. £128.85pwk. £0.77phr. (cost per mile = £2.68)

At what point is it cheaper for the higher miler?

Annual servicing means it costs more for low mileage drivers and less for those who do more.

I have also not included, GFV, depreciation, loss of interest, fold flat seats and lack legroom.

that is all.

 

[w124coupe]

Whilst I welcome the idea of a discount in servicing costs for older vehicles, aside from the 'trying to stop people straying to non-MB garages' argument, I've never quite understood the logic.

Surely it's unfair to drivers of new MBs, who are effectively paying a ~ 40% premium on labour and 10% extra on parts, for what should be a like-for-like service?

It doesn't cost less to service/repair old cars, surely if anything new cars are less troublesome and easier to work with?

Not that it bothers me with an 8 year old MB, but if I was buying new I'd be slightly miffed to know that I'm paying more for a technician's time than someone who drives a slightly older car, regardless of model.

Will

All true. MB assume new car = bloodletting tap in back pocket.

The average new Merc buyer assumes Merc is the (only) place to go for in-warranty service and doesn't query the cost (although you can be certain lease companies don't pay >£100 per hour labour!

I think its called capitalism - letting market pressure set the price for an item or service in the market!

(as an aside, my local Merc dealer happily works as described on this thread re "extras" BUT now "values" the oil at £5.50 per litre if you want to supply your own - making it pointless).

 

[davidjpowell]

The last service I had on the BMW before I sold it was an Oil Change and Inspection. One of my local dealers (Pengragon Group I think) quoted £320.

The dealer I went to discounted this to £200, which was within £40 of one of the indies near me. I think I was lucky in that it's a small dealership and I was speaking to the service manager but it can be done.

Having said that I do think that BMW's are marginally cheaper to service than MB. When I had the C class I went straight for Service Plus, having never experienced a bill in the W210 for less than £500 no matter which service.

 

[cheffy]

Ah - the joys of servicing and costs ! almost a year ago I called around for a B service, MB of Edinburgh was £100 more than MB of Glasgow & Perth, brake fluid change was £5 more (if I remember correctly) after calling Edinburgh back to queery this, I was quoted £50 less than Perth or Glasgow - deal was £350 for B service and brake fluid change, so I booked the car in for the following week, when I went to collect it, I was greeted very nicely, and then told, thats B service and brake fluid all done, that will be £550 please !!! I explained what I had been quoted, and luckily I had had this confirmed by email and printed it off, when I mentioned this and produced said email, I now had a quite irrate (not to mention rude) service person (not sure of his title) he said in a raised voice why didnt I mention that when I brought the car in ? I said I did and was told by the service manager that if thats what I have been quoted thats what I'd pay ! (Does that mean certain things would not have been done - "IF" they had remembered or communicated with each other)?
As my car has a full MB s/h, I was told "on booking" it did NOT need an airfilter, but on the original invoice there was a charge for 30-odd £'s for airfilter, also £10-odds for windscreen washer top-up, but I did that only the w/e before and it was full - but as I was paying the £350 originally quoted, I did not queery these charges + some of the other "extra" charges !!
So it pays to find out right from the start, exactly what is being charged, and what all the extras are, eg, if you, like me, are told that you do NOT need an air filter, but upon collection, discover you are being charged 30-odd quid for one, then you want to know why + same with windscreen wash, I do not believe that mine would have been changed, but yet there was a charge for £10 - odds !
So - phone around - check what you are paying for.