Service Rip Off or not

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Wilesy

New Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2005
Messages
25
Location
Essex UK
All,

Just had my SLK 230 (2001 model) in for a Service B to and have just found out that it's going to cost me £950 (£450 service) as they have to fit new brake pads and replace brake fluid etc.. I know nothing about these type of things. Does that seem right for a car that's only done 46,000 miles

They have also told me that something called the drag link related to the steering needs to be done? Whatever that means? They have said it will cost £541? Does that seem right?

Are they taking me to the cleaners?

Can anyone let me know their thoughts?

For reference it was Mercedes Garage in Romford, Essex

Thanks if anyone can help :(
 
Wilesy said:
All,

Just had my SLK 230 (2001 model) in for a Service B to and have just found out that it's going to cost me £950 (£450 service) as they have to fit new brake pads and replace brake fluid etc.. I know nothing about these type of things. Does that seem right for a car that's only done 46,000 miles

They have also told me that something called the drag link related to the steering needs to be done? Whatever that means? They have said it will cost £541? Does that seem right?

Are they taking me to the cleaners?

Can anyone let me know their thoughts?

For reference it was Mercedes Garage in Romford, Essex

Thanks if anyone can help :(
GOOD GOD......that seems very rich to me but then I'm tight.
For the drag link why not PM Ian Walker onn here, I'm sure he could do that for you at a better price than that
 
Am I right to say that the Service B was the thorough service?! I hope so for £950! (I guess that does include the new brake pads and fluid) However they have said that the BAS ESP light has come one!....surprise surprise that was not on when I brought the car in!
 
That light will probably be the break switch which costs around £15 and takes minutes to fit or the best part of £100 from a dealer.

I think its a lot but the B service always hits you and anything with the steering will cost ££.

I would get a second opinion on the steering fault.
 
Wilesy said:
Am I right to say that the Service B was the thorough service?! I hope so for £950! (I guess that does include the new brake pads and fluid) However they have said that the BAS ESP light has come one!....surprise surprise that was not on when I brought the car in!
I had a B service with practically every fluid in the car changed (except auto box) and front discs/pads changed, that came to just over a grand so it's not inconceivable. That was a 1998 W202 C230k (so mechanically very similar to the slk 230) with about 110k on the clock. Sometimes the various mileage/years roll around to create a big service.
 
This has given me a bit of confidence knowing that I'm not getting totally ripped off. I think they were replacing a light as well. I was just a bit shocked to hear that it would cost over a grand when the car is only worth about £13k.

Never thought it would cost that much, but i guess it's good that it's had the B service.

I think I'll just have to get stung by the dealer as I can't even change a light bulb at home let alone one on a car!
 
Don't want to worry you, but there's a C Service too! My R129 had one last year, but 40% discount on labour and 10% on parts (for being over 6 years old) helps :)
 
BTB 500 said:
Don't want to worry you, but there's a C Service too! My R129 had one last year, but 40% discount on labour and 10% on parts (for being over 6 years old) helps :)
I don't think there is! A or B for the R170 AFAIK :)
 
Shude said:
I don't think there is! A or B for the R170 AFAIK :)

Fair enough, the R129 must be "special" then!
 
Wilesy said:
All,

Just had my SLK 230 (2001 model) in for a Service B to and have just found out that it's going to cost me £950 (£450 service) as they have to fit new brake pads and replace brake fluid etc.. I know nothing about these type of things. Does that seem right for a car that's only done 46,000 miles

They have also told me that something called the drag link related to the steering needs to be done? Whatever that means? They have said it will cost £541? Does that seem right?

Are they taking me to the cleaners?

Can anyone let me know their thoughts?

For reference it was Mercedes Garage in Romford, Essex

Thanks if anyone can help :(

Brake disks and pads are wear items and the fluid should be changed every two years and isn't in the service schedule.
Although the prices do appear a bit steep the work sounds genuine, assuming the pads and disks were worn.
 
Wilesy said:
Can anyone let me know their thoughts?

Thanks if anyone can help :(

£500 sounds very steep too me just for brake pads and fluid change unless it also includes a complete set of new disks as well..On a car that is only 5 years old it might not be too bad if its the first set of disks its ever had.Does it really need a brake fluid change?As stated by Dieselman its usually done every 2 years,on a 2001 car wont it be due in 2007?Is the £541 quoted just to repair the drag link I would have thought that something like a bush would just need replacing maybe? costing a fraction of that.
 
The Inside Story.

At the risk of repeating myself--------The topic of Mercedes labour rates occurred in another thread in last couple of days. This may not be obvious from the thread title. I would particularly refer you to DC_insiders posts in which he/she ? casts a lot of light on why Mercedes charge so much for their servicing. The phrase that explains it all evidently is " Aftersales Absorption Ratio of 100% "see http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=26620&page=2
 
Look on the bright side, my wifes Renault Scenic had a £1000 service at 60K new timing belt and other bits:mad: I sold it after that, bought a Honda FRV for her.

£950 on an SLK is better than the same on a Renault:D
 
servicing and parts are expencive.

youve got an older car , when you buy an older car you expect to have to shell out money on parts every so often. This is the offset between buying new and second hand.

Nothing lasts forever and your car is just at the age when stuff is gonna start to need attention.
 
That's why I don't use garages unless it's a specialised job I can't do myself.

When I bought the 190 last year I replaced the discs , pads & handbrake shoes myself , sourcing genuine ATE parts from Eurocarparts - the cost all in was £150. 201 brakes aren't going to be all that different to a 202 .

I've previously repalced drag links on my 123 series at a cost of about £20 ; easy to replace taking care to keep as close as possible to the original length , then drive to your nearest garage/fast fit centre for a proper alignment .

Fluid changes are not at all hard to do either . You can buy a Haynes manual if you aren't sure how to do it as , sadly , this sort of information is no longer included in the owners' handbooks .
 
R2D2 said:
Seconded, unless you like spending money!

Thirded.

The service book will have the relevant stamp and EVERYONE appears to speak very highly of Steve.

The post about costs of Renault servicing seems to also answer my question about dealership service costs although someone claimed their Vuaxhall dealership charging was half the price on their Omega, compared to the E-class?

Regards,
John
 
i always have my car serviced at the dealers - for the benefit of mobilo.
I always tell them to do just the service, an additional things I ask them to report and i get it done elsewhere.
Its always worth knowing a good honest mecanic on the side for these type of jobs.
You may even find they are pulling your leg on some items just to make a few pounds. to change the breaks disks is not a big a job, but once you add thier labour charges on then its a killer
 
sign up for a night school class on car maintenance and get your hands dirty,, :D ,, save you a lot of money in the long run and you get the satisfaction of saying, i did it myself,,
 

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