Now that Mercedes seem to own all the dealerships they all seem to charge the same amount for servicing - and that's a very large amount. A "B" service on an SLK (and most other models except the A-class) is now £535!!! This is an absolutely ludicrous amount for what's on the service schedule. I don't quite understand how this dealer monopoly is legal. I thought there were laws against cartels and such like. Does anybody know if there are non-Mercedes dealers who are now, under the new EU legislation, approved to do servicing without invalidating the various warranties?
Mercedes-owned dealers
- Thread starter MainMan
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Big_Stick
Member
An 'A' service for a C200K is £278 inc VAT at my local stealership. Plus £10 for the courtesy car.
'A' service takes 90 minutes; dealer hourly rate is around £60 an hour. You can do the maths. Someone has to pay for the franchise licence.
By the way, if you ask the stealer to perform the 'A' service schedule and offer to pay for only 90 minutes work i.e. £90 they refuse to stamp the service book!
Now work that one out.
'A' service takes 90 minutes; dealer hourly rate is around £60 an hour. You can do the maths. Someone has to pay for the franchise licence.
By the way, if you ask the stealer to perform the 'A' service schedule and offer to pay for only 90 minutes work i.e. £90 they refuse to stamp the service book!
Now work that one out.
Yep, I just found this out too. Just had an A-Service: £240 (no extra work). My last one (18 months ago) was half that. Couldn't get a proper reason why. Given the age of my car I'm now wondering whether that FMBSH is really worth it. Mind you, they have got me for the next 11 months till my warranty runs out.
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Simon,
just for your info, you do not need a dealer service history for your warrenty to be valid!, Ive heard this from my mate who works for MB, can anyone confirm?
just for your info, you do not need a dealer service history for your warrenty to be valid!, Ive heard this from my mate who works for MB, can anyone confirm?
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Alps said:
My understanding is that as long as the vehicle has been serviced in line with the manufacturers guidelines then the warranty stands. This is the law.
The only time when things could get difficult is when you service the vehicle yourself and so find it difficult to prove it has been seviced appropriately. Even then though you could force the warranty company (manufacturer) to prove that the service work or lack of has contributed to the failure. At that piont they will back down and honour the warranty.
Always use genuine parts and keep all receipts as proof. Also ensure any oil used is approved.
Ive just ( last month) had an A service on my W203 C180k
drummmmmmmm
Total cost , inc my supplied oil from costco £110 :bannana: :bannana: :bannana:
The oil cost £21 and i made sure my screenwash was completely full to the brim , as the service shedule says " top up screenwash if needed " I would personally make them justify where the extra money was coming from. Ask for a breakdown of their bill. IN fact , catch them out . Ask first what their labour rate is and then ask them to justify the service
However , we also had a B service on our W210 which cost £340
. There was additional works on that one , including filling it up with 1.5L too much oil AGAIN 
. Give a monkey a spanner and youve got yourself an MB trained mechanic 
. 6.5 must be too difficult a number for the mechanics to remember. Three times in two dealerships out 220CDI has been filled up with WAY too much oil . WIthout even as much as a sorry. IF the dealer wasnt soo cheap for the servicing , we wouldnt be back as in the end . we only keep our cars a few years and in the end a service stamp is a service stamp and keeps the warranty going .
drummmmmmmm
Total cost , inc my supplied oil from costco £110 :bannana: :bannana: :bannana:
The oil cost £21 and i made sure my screenwash was completely full to the brim , as the service shedule says " top up screenwash if needed " I would personally make them justify where the extra money was coming from. Ask for a breakdown of their bill. IN fact , catch them out . Ask first what their labour rate is and then ask them to justify the service
However , we also had a B service on our W210 which cost £340
. There was additional works on that one , including filling it up with 1.5L too much oil AGAIN . Give a monkey a spanner and youve got yourself an MB trained mechanic . 6.5 must be too difficult a number for the mechanics to remember. Three times in two dealerships out 220CDI has been filled up with WAY too much oil . WIthout even as much as a sorry. IF the dealer wasnt soo cheap for the servicing , we wouldnt be back as in the end . we only keep our cars a few years and in the end a service stamp is a service stamp and keeps the warranty going .Dave Kerr
Active Member
MainMan said:
My MB C220 (W203) goes into Worcester MB on Monday. 'B' service including courtesy car is £388 all in. I didn't think that was too bad.
Is it right you can supply your own oil? Mobil 1 costs about 60 quid and a filter 8 quid so if I do that before I take it in will they reduce the bill?
The problem with the over fill I guess is there is no dipstick on the engine, so they cannot accurately estimate how much they have to put. I know this may sound difficult and very technical but I service Rolls Royce jet engines (seriously, I do) and sometimes I use a measuring JUG to top up the lube oil, so there, the secrets out and no doubt this will go round all the websites like wildfire. Tips of the trade.
Dave
There was a legal challenge a few years ago, taken by the owner of the then privately owned MB dealer a few miles from me (in N. Ireland) on his and other dealers behalf. As I recall, he won the case (ie that MB could not force its ownership on unwilling dealers). Later MB required costly improvements to premises to allow dealership to continue ( profit margin was tied to condition of premises) , forcing local dealer to sell up. A case of winning the war and losing the battle, or is it the other way round?
S500L
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B Service
Think yourselves lucky!
B service on my S500 last month with NO extra work was over £800.
Oh! well. That's the S class surcharge for you.
Think yourselves lucky!
B service on my S500 last month with NO extra work was over £800.
Oh! well. That's the S class surcharge for you.
Dave Kerr said:
They deduct whatever their usual charge for oil is, and that's usually about £5/litre. Since you can now buy Mobil 1 for £26 for 4 litres at Costco, it means that you get a decent oil in your engine for not much more money. The only thing that sometimes concerns me is that they might not put it in. I used to have an MR2 which I had serviced at Jemca in Hendon. The thing about Jemca is that they have a very good coffee lounge with a gallery overlooking the service area. So you can watch your car being done, if you want. I knew they would put the Mobil 1 in because they obviously didn't know if I was watching or not.
got my e220 from brand new and ever since it shows a "b" service. it had 5-6 miles on the clock when i got it(last november) and at first i thought it would take some time till it gets enough mileage to be able to use the data and calculate but nothing has changed 4K miles later???
spoke to customer service mbuk, but why oh why did i waste my time... sir, sir, sir,yes sir, no sir, let me check sir, certainly sir, naturally sir... all that sir-ing but no substance-usual story i guess. At the end of the call i was no wiser - they couldn't explain the "phenomenon" .
now, what scenario am i going to face when my first service arrives? am i going to pay through the nose for "b" service whereas all they will do is change oil and filter ?
i mean what can they possibly invent to justify "b" service on a new car that has done only 12K? they surely can't claim brakes or disks change, or maybe they can ("but they were 27.8% worn")?
any ideas on possible actions by trustworthy loveable dealers in these kind of situations?
hate to be sceptical but such is life, AFAIC merc and bmw dealers are the worst scum on earth...
spoke to customer service mbuk, but why oh why did i waste my time... sir, sir, sir,yes sir, no sir, let me check sir, certainly sir, naturally sir... all that sir-ing but no substance-usual story i guess. At the end of the call i was no wiser - they couldn't explain the "phenomenon" .
now, what scenario am i going to face when my first service arrives? am i going to pay through the nose for "b" service whereas all they will do is change oil and filter ?
i mean what can they possibly invent to justify "b" service on a new car that has done only 12K? they surely can't claim brakes or disks change, or maybe they can ("but they were 27.8% worn")?
any ideas on possible actions by trustworthy loveable dealers in these kind of situations?
hate to be sceptical but such is life, AFAIC merc and bmw dealers are the worst scum on earth...
sym
MB Enthusiast
Sounds like a fault with ASSYST - wouldn't have thought there is any way that your first service should be a "B" service.shekky said:
Back to the dealer straight away with it, I'd say, before service time comes around !
S.
Maff
MB Enthusiast
The A and B services on the ML270 have always been done by an independant guy who is a friend of the family. He stamps the book and resets ASSYST. I am certain that as long as the book is stamped your OK.
l5foye said:
I think that's very much what has happened. As I understand it, the ending of the block exemption legislation was intended to move power away from the manufacturer by giving the dealers the option to sell any brand they want, and to allow independent garages to service cars without the imposition of penalties such as voiding the warranty. This should have given both the customer and the dealer a better deal. But what's actually happened in the case of Daimler Chrysler is that they have responded by buying up very nearly all of the dealerships in London and the home counties and imposing standard punitive charges.
And what's happened to the requirement to allow idependents to service cars. Well apparently the garages need to get Daimler Chrysler "approval" before this can happen. Have any been given approval - who knows, but the local dealer certainly doesn't know of any.
The Times recently phoned up 5 of the 20 "Mercedes Benz Retail" outlets in London to get a price on a C230K coupe, and found that they all quoted exactly the same price, and when pressed then all quoted exactly the same discount and conditions.
So what was intended to curtail restrictive practices and lower prices by giving the consumer more choice seems to have had the opposite effect. Despite the fact that there are several dealers within a few miles of where I live, I can't use any of them because of their prices and will now have to travel about 50 miles to get a fair price.
Brian WH
MB Enthusiast
shekky said:
Mine says "B Service" for first one too @ approx 16500 miles. Could be a Diesel thing?
Dave Kerr
Active Member
Brian WH said:Mine says "B Service" for first one too @ approx 16500 miles. Could be a Diesel thing?
My C220 CDI said 'A' service all the way through ( I have just done 20,000 miles) until last week when it mysteriously changed to 'B' service.
I have 300 miles left on the Assyst, it goes in on Monday.
If the next service is in 20,000 miles that cannot be too bad. Now if they say the car requires new discs, pads etc and I tell them not to do it but do it myself, will I still get the book stamped or will it void the warranty. Anyone any idea.
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