Stealership Parts Price ripoff

[nick mercedes]

Sorry I don't have a 50 year old Merc, mine is 4 years old, and I really don't see why I should have to subsidise this level of service for classic car owners .

It's like royal mail, people in london/birmingham/manchester sponsor those living out in the sticks.

And think of all the really obscure parts for your car that they keep in stock.

Good on you for sticking up for your employers, and I'm sure they have a lot of good points with their parts strategies, but I still maintain £40 for a Bosch horn (plastic, made in Spain) is ludicrous. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree, but my view, as a customer, should be of more concern to MB.

I don't work for MB, I just happen to sell MB parts, but I think MB parts provide a really good service, and yes there parts will be more expensive than third party sources, but they sell the parts nobody else does.

 

[R2e]

It's like royal mail, people in london/birmingham/manchester sponsor those living out in the sticks.

And think of all the really obscure parts for your car that they keep in stock.



I don't work for MB, I just happen to sell MB parts, but I think MB parts provide a really good service, and yes there parts will be more expensive than third party sources, but they sell the parts nobody else does.

Like I say, we'll have to agree to disagree. You are officially granted the last word on this subject (but don't cut me up now I have my new £8 horn )

 

[Ian B Walker]

I have never had a problem with the parts dept in Preston. Ok some parts take a couple of days, max. But you can't expect them to stock everything for every car. Price wise I get a good deal. I genuinely think that most parts dept's get unnecessary stick for things out of their control.

 

[BlackC55]

Think of the logistics involved in the MB parts operation, and how many other makers will still sell parts for 50 year old cars like MB do?

In general MB parts are cheap.

Generally yes they are.

 

[kth286]

Ron

Does your 270 CDI have adaptive cruise control by any chance ???????????

 

[television]

Malcolm, were it so simple.........! Like me you're remembering the old days when you could dismantle a horn. And not just a horn, nearly everything used to be repairable. The plastic sealed units you get nowadays are not worth the effort to be honest, not at £8 for a new one.

Fair point at that price, I am from the old school, what a waste

Thanks

 

[R2e]

Ron

Does your 270 CDI have adaptive cruise control by any chance ???????????

No, but I do

 

[R2e]

Fair point at that price, I am from the old school, what a waste

Thanks

Something we have to get used to in this 'throw away' age I'm afraid Malcolm. I'm used to fixing things, not replacing them, as you clearly are.

 

[comports]

Even if we think MB are a rip off on the parts prices I know they are not the only ones. Being a RR owner as well I get the same story there...!

 

[pammy]

I don't understand this at all - maybe it's just me - but if you're buying a prestige car why do you think the parts and support should be cheap?

If you want cheap stuff buy a cheap car. (and I don't mean an older prestige that's depreciated - because it is still a prestige car)

What stuff costs to produce etc is irrelevant, but you know if you buy a RR, Bently, Merc etc etc that parts won't be cheap. How many times do we hear of people actually getting a pleasant surprise with parts not costing as much as they thought?

It's like going to Waitrose expecting Asda prices

 

[Gollom]

It's like going to Waitrose expecting Asda prices

That include cheese?

 

[pammy]

That include cheese?

lol - private joke - but yes

 

[comports]

Hi Pammy,

Whislt I agree with this in principle I think this falls down in certain areas. Agreed - When we talk about new seats for example. I would not expect a new electrically heated and motored leather seat for my clk to cost the same as a fabric one for an old fiesta but it's not the quality parts that we refer to.

It's when we talk about general "off the shelf" generic common parts the issue comes in. eg a light bulb NOT made by the the car manufacturer would cost £3.00 (R2e) from the dealer when it's perhaps made by lucas and readily available from most outlets like Halfwits for 60p. I guess we could all go to Halfwits and buy them but the price gap is too big and I guess there is an assumption that "If you can afford to buy one of these cars then you can afford to pay our aftersales prices".

On a similar line - why does the service cost vary so much by vehicle. Off topic for a sec but more of an eg...

My RR small service was quoted as £480.00 for oil/filters etc and labour and my friend's freelander (same garage and not that much difference in oil/filter costs) £225. This again seems very much like "You own an expensive car so wont mind paying an elevated cost for the service." I would hazard that the labour costs would be very similar to service the RR vs the Freelander so why the large gap..?

2 peneth worth anyhow..

 

[fuzzer]

Ron

Does your 270 CDI have adaptive cruise control by any chance ???????????

C class never came with adaptive cruise control . It was however retrofitted by sunman in the USA to his pre facelift car that he had installed MOST bus into and to date is the most heavilly modified OEM car ive seen!

But , the chances of his car having adaptive cruise are nil.

 

[R2e]

I don't understand this at all - maybe it's just me - but if you're buying a prestige car why do you think the parts and support should be cheap?

If you want cheap stuff buy a cheap car. (and I don't mean an older prestige that's depreciated - because it is still a prestige car)

What stuff costs to produce etc is irrelevant, but you know if you buy a RR, Bently, Merc etc etc that parts won't be cheap. How many times do we hear of people actually getting a pleasant surprise with parts not costing as much as they thought?

It's like going to Waitrose expecting Asda prices

Not quite, it's like going to Waitrose and buying, say, McVities Digestive biscuits at £5 when they are £1 in ASDA. Generally in Waitrose I would expect to pay a few pence more for like items, and receive better quality for things like meat, fish, vegetables to justify the higher prices.

I agree it works both ways and sometimes parts are cheaper than expected. It was not that the horn was more expensive from the Stealership, or that I'm expecting cheap parts and service from Mercedes, it was the level of more expensive I was unhappy with. As I said, I would have paid £20 ish and walked away thinking it was a bit more but that's the price for buying at a stealership, but double that for a non Mercedes part (ie a generic part fitted to many cars, not one made by or made specially for Merc) was, I felt, over the top. Would you buy a tyre for your car from the stealership and pay a lot extra (as you would) than go to Kwikfit or whatever?

 

[kth286]

fuzzer

One of the horns listed under C270 CDI (203 model) is for adaptive cruise control, so it must be an option in some world markets for this model.

Price for that particular horn is £29.41p + Vat (excluding an discounts one may get)

 

[television]

One of the hardest qustions is quality, MB drop links for the anti roll bar cost £8 and need replacement say every 30-40k, My V70R drop links cost £70 but they do not wear out, a pair of V70R rear flexi hose pipes are £65 and MB £28,
V70R key remote £200, MB £145.

 

[television]

fuzzer

One of the horns listed under C270 CDI (203 model) is for adaptive cruise control, so it must be an option in some world markets for this model.

Price for that particular horn is £29.41p + Vat (excluding an discounts one may get)

Shame the horn days have gone, my Alfa 2600 sprint had 3 horn settings, a town one, country air horns and all of them for emergency

 

[R2e]

fuzzer

One of the horns listed under C270 CDI (203 model) is for adaptive cruise control, so it must be an option in some world markets for this model.

Price for that particular horn is £29.41p + Vat (excluding an discounts one may get)

That's probably got the built in function to hoot automatically if a BMW cuts you up when the ACC is on .

 

[pammy]

Not quite, it's like going to Waitrose and buying, say, McVities Digestive biscuits at £5 when they are £1 in ASDA. Generally in Waitrose I would expect to pay a few pence more for like items, and receive better quality for things like meat, fish, vegetables to justify the higher prices.

And that's exactly the point - just because you are paying more doesn't mean you are getting any better quality. Morrisons for example is reknowned for having the best quality fish in a supermarket. You'll pay a lot more at Waitrose, but it won't be any better. Also how many times do we buy branded goods, such as biscuits, ignoring an own brand when they are actually the same thing re-packaged But we don't grumble about paying more because it's our choice as to what we buy. The supermarket won't tell you that you can get the same for cheaper elsewhere. It's exactly the same in the motoring retail world.

I agree it works both ways and sometimes parts are cheaper than expected. It was not that the horn was more expensive from the Stealership, or that I'm expecting cheap parts and service from Mercedes, it was the level of more expensive I was unhappy with. As I said, I would have paid £20 ish and walked away thinking it was a bit more but that's the price for buying at a stealership, but double that for a non Mercedes part (ie a generic part fitted to many cars, not one made by or made specially for Merc) was, I felt, over the top. Would you buy a tyre for your car from the stealership and pay a lot extra (as you would) than go to Kwikfit or whatever?

I would shop around and find the price I liked but not moan because it was dearer somewhere else - just be glad I'd found a better deal because it is swings and roundabouts And you have the choice about where you buy generic parts from and how much you pay for them.

So how about, rather than "Stealership rip off" howabout "I found a bargain"

We knock MB far too much and I wonder why so many of us actually have the cars as they seem to be nothing but objects for us to moan about