Service plans

[Deano1972]

my car is due a service and was wondering if you people have a monthly payment plan with Mercedes and is it worth the money or go to a good local garage and get it done cheaper

 

[DoberMan]

Do a search, there's a ton of posts on this subject.

 

[markjay]

It is worth the money when:

- The service covered is a B Service

- There are 'additional items' included in the next service.

It is very good value when it covers year 4 and year 5 services.

See also:

Service Care Selection tool

What model year is your car? Mileage? Diesel or Petrol? Automatic or Manual?

 

[Colesy]

Also depends on the age of the car and whether it already has a full service history with Mercedes. Mine is a 2004 car with gaps in the service history so I go to an independent as it's a lot cheaper for me and I don't need the Mercedes service history to keep the value of the car up.

 

[Yex]

I bought a 3 year service plan when I bought my car. It is a C63 AMG 507 Edition Coupe and needs servicing in B, A and B order next so is well worth the £1,500ish I paid for the pack from my local MB dealer. As mentioned above it can also cover a few "other things" on the service schedule and also gives me access to the Mobilo service if I need it once the first service is completed, later this month. I want the car to have as full a MB history as possible as the last service was done outside the MB network.

For me it was a good value purchase but for others it may not be.

 

[littleowl]

I decided against the service plan, as although it may be 'good value' compared to normal dealer service costs, it's still way over what I'm happy to pay for the work being done. My car is 4 years old with a previous dealer service history, but my next B service will be done at a Mercedes specialist who has all the up to date diagnostic equipment and will use recognised parts. At £275 vs £723 it's a no brainer ...

 

[ferg f]

I took out the 4 year service plan for my car..... £31 per month to service a C43 was a no brainer to me, I personally thought it was a bargain.

Wife also has a 4 year plan on her GLE, it was about the same price, can't remember her exact cost.

Her old car was a Shogun and Mitsubishi were robbing £68 per month for her servicing! So I am happy having two cars serviced for less than her last car on its own!

 

[chrisk2010]

It is worth the money when:

- The service covered is a B Service

- There are 'additional items' included in the next service.

It is very good value when it covers year 4 and year 5 services.

See also:

Service Care Selection tool

What model year is your car? Mileage? Diesel or Petrol? Automatic or Manual?

to carry on from the above it's definitely worth it if you are due a B service with the transmission also so you'll go B,A,B service.

I took mine out at 40,000miles when the transmission was due and the car was due a B service around £700/£800 worth of servicing I would assume.

The car is now due an A service a supposedly small service but as it has gone over 40,000 miles and some things were skipped thank to the last owner everything apart from the transmission is due fuel, oil, air filters, brake fluid and spark plugs which it's going in for next week so there is over £300/£400 worth of servicing there.

The last service will be a B service so out of the plan I will more than have my moneys worth for the £35. a month. I may go to an indy for the next A service when it's done then go back on the plan for another B,A,B.

 

[Gadgetmaster]

I took out a 3-year dealer plan when I first had my W211, that was more economical and more comprehensive than the standard Mercedes offering. When it came time to renew though, the car had tripped over 7 years of age, so my local dealer refused to offer one of their plans. The official Mercedes UK plan was more than double the price, and covered less, so on principle I refused to ever go back to that dealer. I have been very happy with independents for all of my Mercedes ever since. Loss of the full Mercedes service history was a shame, but I tend to keep my cars for over 10 years, so not a great loss of value involved.

 

[markjay]

I decided against the service plan, as although it may be 'good value' compared to normal dealer service costs, it's still way over what I'm happy to pay for the work being done. My car is 4 years old with a previous dealer service history, but my next B service will be done at a Mercedes specialist who has all the up to date diagnostic equipment and will use recognised parts. At £275 vs £723 it's a no brainer ...

1. With my previous car (W203), I had the first three services carried-out by MB dealer, then subsequent services by two of the forums trusted specialists (Olly at PCS and Terry at WG).

And yes, the Mobilo roadside assistance and anti-rust warranty are not worth the price difference.

My W204 is currently still on MB Service Care Plan, I will need to consider how I proceed once the plan expires.


2. Said that.... £275 vs £723 does sound odd. I would expect a Service B to cost £400 from a dealer or £250-£300 from a specialist. By the sound of it, the dealer service quote included additional items that the Specialist may not have included in his quote?

Assuming the car's annual mileage is not above average, then this is the service schedule I would expect to see:

2015 - Service A
2016 - Service B, Pollen Filter, Brake Fluid Change
2017 - Service A
2018 - Service B, Pollen Filter, Brake Fluid Change, Air Filter Change, Fuel Filter Change
2019 - Service A, ATF and Filter change (if automatic)
2020 - Service B, Pollen Filter, Brake Fluid Change

Which one is your next service - the 2018 or the 2019 service?

The 2018 service should cost around £650 from a main dealer or £350-£400 from a specialist. The 2019 service - around £820 and £500-£550 respectively.

My point is that regardless of cost, I suggest that you ensure that all that needs to be done is actually included in the specilait's quote?


3. As for MB Service Care Plan, the next service would cost you around £420 flat fee regardless of what additional items need doing.

So you can see that it really depends on what services you manage to 'catch' with the plan - the Year 5 service is much cheaper under MB Service Care Plan than either dealer service or specialist, while the Year 3 service will be massively overpriced under MB Service Care Plan.


(PS - I did not include Pano rood lubrication as I am not sure if your car actually has one)

 

[Deano1972]

My car is a 2013 c220 diesel auto,service b has come up on the dash which I didn’t know if it was a big service or a normal one,I have got my heart set on a nice c63 at some point maybe in the next year or so but form a selling point of view I didn’t know if it really did matter to some one if my present car had mb service history and affect the selling on price much ,

 

[markjay]

Your dash most likely says Service B7?

Of so, then that's a Service B plus ATF - the most expensive one of all... around £800 from a dealer.

Best done under Service Care Plan (£420) or at a specialist (~£550).

 

[markjay]

...form a selling point of view I didn’t know if it really did matter to some one if my present car had mb service history and affect the selling on price much ,

Full dealer service history will make you car more desirable to future buyer, but in terms of actual money you won't get more for it than you would with 3 dealer services and the rest by a specialist.

 

[ash59fifty-uk]

When I look at cars I’d rather a full MB service history, although I’d be more than happy if it just read the likes of PCS, MSL, WG etc etc

What it boils down to on resale is what else is on sale at the same time, Dealer servicing always grabs my attention when looking as opposed to ‘my school friend with his own garage has looked after the cars servicing’ or ‘local trustworthy independent serviced’ with no mention on who that garage even is

 

[PGW124]

Op depends on your cars age and depreciation rates, it will depreciate slightly more with full Indy history than full mb history. But you may save more on the lower service costs. Point to note, you will have no chance on those grey area goodwill claims should you need them in the future if you go Indy.

 

[littleowl]

1.
Which one is your next service - the 2018 or the 2019 service?

The 2018 service should cost around £650 from a main dealer or £350-£400 from a specialist. The 2019 service - around £820 and £500-£550 respectively.

The alert on my dash keeps changing from A to B then back to A! But when I rang the dealer he said it would be B (main service) so I assume 2018. He said auto transmission would be next year. He quoted me £723. I will double check what the Indie will be doing before booking it in.

 

[littleowl]

Op depends on your cars age and depreciation rates, it will depreciate slightly more with full Indy history than full mb history. But you may save more on the lower service costs. Point to note, you will have no chance on those grey area goodwill claims should you need them in the future if you go Indy.

It's a 2014 reg, I don't suppose I'd get any 'goodwill' claims at that age anyway - and going by other cars I've traded in I've only ever been asked if they have full service history, not specifically main dealer. I'll take a chance!

 

[markjay]

The alert on my dash keeps changing from A to B then back to A! But when I rang the dealer he said it would be B (main service) so I assume 2018. He said auto transmission would be next year. He quoted me £723. I will double check what the Indie will be doing before booking it in.

£723 from a dealer for B service and ATF is actually a good price (for main dealer).

As I said above it should cost around £550 from a specialist.

But £275 for a B service and ATF change on s 7G+ box doesn't sound right. 8L of MB ATF and the filter are probably around £120 just in parts. The engine oil and filter are another £30, the Pollen filter £20, so it's around £170 in parts. The B service and ATF are around 3h, so £100 for labour is very cheap indeed. I would check veey carefully what the specialist is offering.

And that's before considering if Brake Fluid change is due - if it wasn't done in the last service, then it should be done now (around £100 from a dealer, or £70 from a specialist).

 

[littleowl]

£723 from a dealer for B service and ATF is actually a good price (for main dealer).

As I said above it should cost around £550 from a specialist.

But £275 for a B service and ATF change on s 7G+ box doesn't sound right. 8L of MB ATF and the filter are probably around £120 just in parts. The engine oil and filter are another £30, the Pollen filter £20, so it's around £170 in parts. The B service and ATF are around 3h, so £100 for labour is very cheap indeed. I would check veey carefully what the specialist is offering.

And that's before considering if Brake Fluid change is due - if it wasn't done in the last service, then it should be done now (around £100 from a dealer, or £70 from a specialist).

It doesn't include the ATF, he said that would be next year. But I will check on exactly what the Indie will be doing. I know their labour charges are way cheaper than Mercedes, but will ask how many hours it will be (without ATF).

 

[ash59fifty-uk]

It doesn't include the ATF, he said that would be next year. But I will check on exactly what the Indie will be doing. I know their labour charges are way cheaper than Mercedes, but will ask how many hours it will be (without ATF).

I’m guessing Mercedes knows more about the car than the specialist, if the specialist thinks it’s not till next year when really it’s due now?

Personally I’d get done exactly what it says on the Mercedes website as per your reg, wherever you go to have it done