Service plan on almost year old E400D

[Waitforme]

Hi
I’ll probably be buying a 69 plate E400D within the next few weeks. There are a few about in MB dealerships with sub 5k miles.
Given that the car will need to be serviced before I get it as it will be almost 1 year old, should I be taking out a service plan starting from 2nd service for 3 years ?
Im not sure how the service requirements go, is it small service , big service, small service, big service .... ad infinitum.
I tend to hang onto my cars for many years.

thanks.
Kenny.

 

[Skd884]

Service cover -

 

[W1ghty]

It’s A (small) , B (large) with time related extras , like brake fluid every 2 years , air filters , gearbox atf .
ideally you want B,A,B rather than A,B,A ...but try and find out when the gearbox is due

 

[st13phil]

Two tips:

1. The Service Plan is cheaper if you take it out before the car is 12 months old
2. There's currently a 20% discount available if you pre-pay the Service Plan rather than paying monthly

 

[Deleted member 149005]

If it nearly 12 months from its registration date, ask for the first service to be included in the sale

Then take out a service plan for a B A B service, and renew for the expensive 5 year service

 

[markjay]

You should be able to take out the service plan before the car is one year old (assuming there's a benefit in doing so), then present it for the first service under the plan in year 2 (year 1 service will be done by the dealer). The upfront payment discount is something for you to consider. But check this with the dealer.

 

[Waitforme]

Thanks guys.
I plan on getting the dealer to do the first service as part of the deal. I think maybe they have to if it is due within 3 months of the sale ?
So I will sign up for the B A B service , or does it make any difference if I sign up for 4 years ? Am I better to do 3 years then re sign when that expires ?

 

[markjay]

Thanks guys.
I plan on getting the dealer to do the first service as part of the deal. I think maybe they have to if it is due within 3 months of the sale ?
So I will sign up for the B A B service , or does it make any difference if I sign up for 4 years ? Am I better to do 3 years then re sign when that expires ?

MB Approved Used will have the service included if it falls within 3 months of the sale.

The price per service for an MB Service Care Plan does not change if you take a 2, 3, or 4 services plan etc.

The reasons why you might want to take out a plan covering more services are:

(a) To secure the price - the Service Care Plan prices have been slowly increasing over the years.

(b) To maximise the benefit of the current 20% discount for upfront payment.

(c) To avoid having to pay for an expensive service outright. For example, in your situation, say you intend to keep the car for 3 years. So if you take-out a plan that covers 2 services, i.e. year 2 and year 3, then at the end of the current plan you will end-up with year 4 service looming, which is an expensive one, and you won't be able to take-out a new Service Care Plan for just the one service (unless you take it and then cancel it after the first service...)

But, again, the price per service remains the same regardless of how many services the plan covers.

 

[Will]

Yes the first service will be covered if the car is due a service within 3 months.

I would then look at the service plan offer (SC20 for 20% off) and work out which plan (2, 3 or 4 services) meets your needs best.

A four year plan may work out the best value as you’ll cap it at today’s rate, get 20% off and the 5th service (A) usually requires an automatic transmission service which can be more expensive than the A-service itself

Best of luck in finding your car

 

[st13phil]

There are so many of these threads (does a Service Plan include this or that, what are the advantages / disadvantages of taking one out when I'm due an A or a B service next, etc.) that I can't help thinking it would be worthwhile to have the answers as a sticky FAQ post.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

There are so many of these threads (does a Service Plan include this or that, what are the advantages / disadvantages of taking one out when I'm due an A or a B service next, etc.) that I can't help thinking it would be worthwhile to have the answers as a sticky FAQ post.

With so many permutations of benefits and costs depending on specific car, age, mileage and intended period to keep car, I don’t think there’s ever a standard response. OK for a few pointers regarding savings on annual price increases and convenience v lower indie charges, but not much more than that.

 

[st13phil]

With so many permutations of benefits and costs depending on specific car, age, mileage and intended period to keep car, I don’t think there’s ever a standard response. OK for a few pointers regarding savings on annual price increases and convenience v lower indie charges, but not much more than that.

People need to do their own cost / benefit analysis for their own particular use case, but I'm sure with a bit of thought one (or more) of us could put together a guide so that they can do that.

I may draft something out for review and comment...

 

[JamesE400D]

Hi
I’ll probably be buying a 69 plate E400D within the next few weeks. There are a few about in MB dealerships with sub 5k miles.
Given that the car will need to be serviced before I get it as it will be almost 1 year old, should I be taking out a service plan starting from 2nd service for 3 years ?
Im not sure how the service requirements go, is it small service , big service, small service, big service .... ad infinitum.
I tend to hang onto my cars for many years.

thanks.
Kenny.

Which way did you go in the end Kenny?

I took out the 4 year plan this week to take full advantage of the 20% discount.

My E400D had its first service prior to collection so I'm covered till the 5th service which I understand is a biggie!

 

[normanh]

Hi
I’ll probably be buying a 69 plate E400D within the next few weeks. There are a few about in MB dealerships with sub 5k miles.
Given that the car will need to be serviced before I get it as it will be almost 1 year old, should I be taking out a service plan starting from 2nd service for 3 years ?
Im not sure how the service requirements go, is it small service , big service, small service, big service .... ad infinitum.
I tend to hang onto my cars for many years.

thanks.
Kenny.

Rem Fully serviced you also get aa breakdown cover for 30yrs

 

[Deleted member 126251]

Two tips:

1. The Service Plan is cheaper if you take it out before the car is 12 months old
2. There's currently a 20% discount available if you pre-pay the Service Plan rather than paying monthly

Re 1 above. Maybe it differs for cars......

I've just taken a new 3 year plan (I had a plan for 1,2 & 3) on my 3 year old car (services 4,5 6) and both were about the same price before discount. I'm getting more bang for my buck this time round as I paid about £1200 for this lot and my service manager tells me 4 is about £1000 & 5 is also expensive.

 

[st13phil]

Re 1 above. Maybe it differs for cars......

I've just taken a new 3 year plan (I had a plan for 1,2 & 3) on my 3 year old car (services 4,5 6) and both were about the same price before discount. I'm getting more bang for my buck this time round as I paid about £1200 for this lot and my service manager tells me 4 is about £1000 & 5 is also expensive.

MBUK are currently offering discounts and other promo's on ServiceCare plans, especially if fully paid up front. My guess is the discounts are an indication of their need for cash after the business hiatus caused by COVID-19.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

MBUK are currently offering discounts and other promo's on ServiceCare plans, especially if fully paid up front. My guess is the discounts are an indication of their need for cash after the business hiatus caused by COVID-19.

Have you seen a discount in pay monthly now too?

 

[tonysmb]

Have they changed things recently? Prior to the end of Sept the website showed a reduced upfront payment if you entered the discount code (SC20?) and were paying online. There wasn't any reduction on monthly payments.

When I looked yesterday the code was invalid and there was no cost difference between upfront and monthly payments; I understood that they'd extended the 20% offer so have they now applied a 20% discount across the board, is the website not working correctly, or have they changed the code?

I can't recall what the quoted figures were originally so I can't answer my own question about whether the reduction has already been applied .

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Have they changed things recently? Prior to the end of Sept the website showed a reduced upfront payment if you entered the discount code (SC20?) and were paying online. There wasn't any reduction on monthly payments.

When I looked yesterday the code was invalid and there was no cost difference between upfront and monthly payments; I understood that they'd extended the 20% offer so have they now applied a 20% discount across the board, is the website not working correctly, or have they changed the code?

I can't recall what the quoted figures were originally so I can't answer my own question about whether the reduction has already been applied .

I’m sure someone with the same model will remember the monthly cost and from that you can calculate the up front discounted price. Which model and year are you thinking of?

 

[Deleted member 126251]

MBUK are currently offering discounts and other promo's on ServiceCare plans, especially if fully paid up front. My guess is the discounts are an indication of their need for cash after the business hiatus caused by COVID-19.

I understood what you said and was disputing your point 1. I got the discount for service plane and also have an offer for a discounted warranty plan (-30% iirc).