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Newbie Advice S204

Caminada

New Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2025
Messages
16
Location
Merseyside
Car
C200 2.1 cdi S204
Hi, I have just bought a S204 C Class C200 2.1 cdi it has done 83k and I am really pleased with it. Garage had it on the ramp and it requires nearside and offside front and lower arms a N/S/R caliper and rear brake pads which are being done Weds. They did show me the shocks which were rusty but not leaking and they told me no need to change. The subframe they said is all good. The service history is good all MB dealership however last service was 67k in 2019. I have no idea what servicing (if any) was done since (only covered 16k in that period from 2019 to now). The assyst states due a B5 service in 70 days. I am thinking of taking it to MB dealership and getting the B5 service done to bring it back up to where it should be. Anything else I should consider?
 
It should have had an ATF change (or 2): due around 30k or 75k according to gearbox type.
The transmission is
423 5-SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION

I’ve looked through service history and cannot see that it’s been touched. Which is odd considering its dealership if it was needed.
 
I would not recommend going to a main dealer for a car of this age and vintage and milage unless you enjoy parting with more money than needs be.

Thats a major Service and you'll nigh on halve the cost with a good MB independent or even competent garage.

You're in Merseyside?
 
MB will possible tell you the transmission is sealed for life - my S204 C220 is 2008 pre-facelift, the owners manual says ATF change after 37.5k miles but the servicing chief at the main dealer I bought from was adamant that the 5 speed pre-facelift box is sealed for life, the ATF change refers to the later (I think 7 speed) gearbox. However, I have had a full ATF and filter change done on mine (which I bought 4+ years old with 64k miles, no GB service ever done) at 90-100k miles as recommended by my indie specialist, it's now on about 132k miles and fine.

I fully agree with fabes about an indie rather than main dealer, except that I'm assuming that, like me, you bought MD Used Approved from a main dealer so have a 1 year full warranty so you may want to get the car serviced by the same main dealer you bought from just before the warranty expires so they can fix any problem they find under warranty! A GB service from an indie will probably be about £300, a B service from a main dealer will be an eye watering cost, especially as a standard B service does not include time related extras - brake fluid every 2 years, fuel and air filters every 4 years, cabin filter also.

Have you got paper invoices for all the services, or just the MB digital service record (which I find useless)?
 
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I would not recommend going to a main dealer for a car of this age and vintage and milage unless you enjoy parting with more money than needs be.

Thats a major Service and you'll nigh on halve the cost with a good MB independent or even competent garage.

You're in Merseyside?
Yes I am in South Liverpool. Although work and travel all around North West
 
MB will possible tell you the transmission is sealed for life - my S204 C220 is 2008 pre-facelift, the owners manual says ATF change after 37.5k miles but the servicing chief at the main dealer I bought from was adamant that the 5 speed pre-facelift box is sealed for life, the ATF change refers to the later (I think 7 speed) gearbox. However, I have had a full ATF and filter change done on mine (which I bought 4+ years old with 64k miles, no GB service ever done) at 90-100k miles as recommended by my indie specialist, it's now on about 132k miles and fine.

I fully agree with fabes about an indie rather than main dealer, except that I'm assuming that, like me, you bought MD Used Approved from a main dealer so have a 1 year full warranty so you may want to get the car serviced by the same main dealer you bought from just before the warranty expires so they can fix any problem they find under warranty! A GB service from an indie will probably be about £300, a B service from a main dealer will be an eye watering cost, especially as a standard B service does not include time related extras - brake fluid every 2 years, fuel and air filters every 4 years, cabin filter also.

Have you got paper invoices for all the services, or just the MB digital service record (which I find useless)?
Hi, I bought from an independent car dealer so no warranty from MB as the car is 15 years old and no dealer warranty. I have all the paper records from MB for every service I have on record up to 67k in 2019. It runs really well just the rods and brakes to sort as vibration at 70mph on motorway but wheel alignment place said to get work done first. All in all I am very happy with it but want it to be serviced right as there is a 6 year gap albeit only 16k miles where it could or could not have been serviced.
 
B service is an A service with more inspections. An A service + MoT is more thorough than a B service.
The 5 denotes that the brake fluid and pollen filter should be changed . Transmission oil change is denoted by 7 after the letter.
 
At 15 years old it's like mine pre-facelift - which was 2011 model year. As you have a lot of paper invoices you can go through them and see whether the services done by the main dealer followed the A-B-A-B services at yearly intervals, they should also show whether the time related items I mentioned above were done. The fact that Assyst is showing a B service due, that would be right for a 2010 car as the next service after 2019 would be a B service, but had it been annually serviced between 2019 and now it would be due an A service in 2025 so maybe that has not happened after 2019 - not a major problem on a low mileage car - MB changed the C class service intervals in their favour when the 204 superceded the 203 (my first MB, an S203 C270). It went from 15.5k miles/2 years (whichever came first) to 15.5k miles/1 year - which I have ignored for the currently 13 years we've had ours! I do keep up with the oil/fuel/air and cabin filters at 4 year intervals, and have the brake fluid checked every service and changed if there's any reason to, but I only get the car serviced - with OEM parts and fully synthetic MB spec oil - every 2 years, as we only do 6-7k miles pa. Mine came with a 1 year full warranty, so I had the supplying main dealer service it just before the warranty ran out, since when she's only been to indie specialists - currently £85+VAT ph compared to MB well north of £100+VAT ph!
If you have the Comand satnav system the last maps issued for NTG4 are 2018-19, there will not be any more, but at least the DVD's can be found second user on Ebay and do not need a vehicle-specific PIN, unlike the NTG4.5 in the facelift cars!
 
At 15 years old it's like mine pre-facelift - which was 2011 model year. As you have a lot of paper invoices you can go through them and see whether the services done by the main dealer followed the A-B-A-B services at yearly intervals, they should also show whether the time related items I mentioned above were done. The fact that Assyst is showing a B service due, that would be right for a 2010 car as the next service after 2019 would be a B service, but had it been annually serviced between 2019 and now it would be due an A service in 2025 so maybe that has not happened after 2019 - not a major problem on a low mileage car - MB changed the C class service intervals in their favour when the 204 superceded the 203 (my first MB, an S203 C270). It went from 15.5k miles/2 years (whichever came first) to 15.5k miles/1 year - which I have ignored for the currently 13 years we've had ours! I do keep up with the oil/fuel/air and cabin filters at 4 year intervals, and have the brake fluid checked every service and changed if there's any reason to, but I only get the car serviced - with OEM parts and fully synthetic MB spec oil - every 2 years, as we only do 6-7k miles pa. Mine came with a 1 year full warranty, so I had the supplying main dealer service it just before the warranty ran out, since when she's only been to indie specialists - currently £85+VAT ph compared to MB well north of £100+VAT ph!
If you have the Comand satnav system the last maps issued for NTG4 are 2018-19, there will not be any more, but at least the DVD's can be found second user on Ebay and do not need a vehicle-specific PIN, unlike the NTG4.5 in the facelift car
B service is an A service with more inspections. An A service + MoT is more thorough than a B service.
The 5 denotes that the brake fluid and pollen filter should be changed . Transmission oil change is denoted by 7 after the letter.

B service is an A service with more inspections. An A service + MoT is more thorough than a B service.
The 5 denotes that the brake fluid and pollen filter should be changed . Transmission oil change is denoted by 7 after the letter.
I called the dealer and they have told me 77500 miles or 5 years so it needs doing. Although from what you say if I get it done my B7 service in a couple of years will say it needs to be done again. Local garage said about £600 off the top of his head, Mercedes main dealer say £220 so I need to do my homework here. For a B5 service with transmission change MB are asking £1217.20 thats: Service B (includes all safety checks, oil, filter, cabin filter), Brake Fluid, Air Filter, Fuel Filter, coolant in main circuit, automatic transmission oil and filter.
 
At 15 years old it's like mine pre-facelift - which was 2011 model year. As you have a lot of paper invoices you can go through them and see whether the services done by the main dealer followed the A-B-A-B services at yearly intervals, they should also show whether the time related items I mentioned above were done. The fact that Assyst is showing a B service due, that would be right for a 2010 car as the next service after 2019 would be a B service, but had it been annually serviced between 2019 and now it would be due an A service in 2025 so maybe that has not happened after 2019 - not a major problem on a low mileage car - MB changed the C class service intervals in their favour when the 204 superceded the 203 (my first MB, an S203 C270). It went from 15.5k miles/2 years (whichever came first) to 15.5k miles/1 year - which I have ignored for the currently 13 years we've had ours! I do keep up with the oil/fuel/air and cabin filters at 4 year intervals, and have the brake fluid checked every service and changed if there's any reason to, but I only get the car serviced - with OEM parts and fully synthetic MB spec oil - every 2 years, as we only do 6-7k miles pa. Mine came with a 1 year full warranty, so I had the supplying main dealer service it just before the warranty ran out, since when she's only been to indie specialists - currently £85+VAT ph compared to MB well north of £100+VAT ph!
If you have the Comand satnav system the last maps issued for NTG4 are 2018-19, there will not be any more, but at least the DVD's can be found second user on Ebay and do not need a vehicle-specific PIN, unlike the NTG4.5 in the facelift cars!
Thanks it is the command without an aux port (have took the side panel out and it’s not hidden in there) so FM transmitter for Spotify! It has followed A/B servicing but the last was a B and the assyst is asking for a B5 so must have got out of sync somewhere. Done the VIN report and it is proper leather not MB tex or the other fake stuff that’s not as good as MB tex. Pleased with it thus far. Just need to find a Liverpool / North West indie I can trust and comes out cheaper than a MB main dealer
 
For the B service, do you have an F1 Autocentre near you? I have the MB ESS print-out of a B service, and their major service is exactly the same, so I had it done on my SLK, including the upgrade to fully synth MB spec oil, £260 including Crossland oil and air filters (3l petrol so no fuel filter requirement). They re-set Assyst, I have a paper invoice but they obviously cannot update the (useless) MB DSR - which my 204 does not have but the SLK does - go figure, both are main dealer supplied 2008 cars!!).
 
I’m now researching MB indies in Liverpool. Seems to be an excellent one in Stockport but website states they’re not taking on new clients.
 
If that's SPR are they are and they're not (taking on new)

You could call and get lucky / find them with a quiet week
If you do, they have a good YT channel

There will be others serving a city the size of Liverpool....
 
Take a look at the forum section on independent MB garages ,think there is a list and from memory there is one near Warrington and another in Hoylake on the Wirral
 
Forum headed Under Mercedes specialists across the Uk
 

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