W204 Minor Service £640!! Help!

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

ragazzi

New Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2013
Messages
29
Location
Manchester, UK
Car
E250 AMG Sport
Hi ,

I could do with some guidance, I have a September 2010 C220 Blue Efficiency AMG sport, I purchased as a used car direct from Mercedes Nov 2012 on a PCP.

My service light has come on requesting for a Service A, the minor service I have learned.
Basically, upon ringing the dealer that I bought it from they have said it will cost £640 due to a minor service A cost (£240) as well as Brake Fluid Change and Transmission oil change. I have only done 25K miles in it so far so I am wondering what are my options?

I could take out service care at £48 a month or pay in one lump sum, I budgeted for a service but by no means £640 for my first minor service which I was told when sold it would need next year.

Are they correct? To not fall foul of my PCP agreement they have said it must be Main Dealer Serviced as well. Have they got me by the short and curlys?

Any opinions/suggestions welcome.
 
I'd query the transmission fluid change ...
 
I did, and the lady in the service department said that it is 3 years or 39,000 miles that it needs doing.

Having read about on the internet that it is 39,000 miles but nothing about 3 years, I am only on 25k if that at the moment.
 
You don't say what the total mileage on the car is- just you have done 25k miles?

Input the data here to see what MB recommend. Mercedes-Benz ESS
It's possible that the addition service items listed are due because of the car's mileage/age. But certainly check the transmission fluid change hasn't already been done. :doh: Brake fluid is generally an age thing[ 3 years old] rather than mileage related as its hygroscopic [ absorbs water just sitting around] and quite a good idea.
Might also be worth shopping around to other MB dealers for quotes as a check as you don't need to use the one you bought the car from.
 
E.g. My comment--- check the brake fluid was not done at 2 years? otherwise its overdue. They appear to have got you on the auto-tranny fluid unless its been done already
 
Last edited:
In total mileage, it is 25k and a few hundred not 25k exactly.

I had a warranty recall on it a few months after I had the car as there was some sort of issue with the CAM shafts and MB did a lot of work on the car under warranty as the service guy at the time said "MB cut corners making the car and have issued full cam/piston shaft replacements" I cannot remember the exact work done but I hoped it may have been done with that warranty.

Also is there anywhere that I can check the history of the car with MB for servicing needs and the warranty recalls? Reason being I don't have a service book as it is digital.

Sorry for so many questions.


The MB ESS states the following :

Main Service
Service A
Service 4 - Every 2 years
Replace brake fluid
Service 20 - Once 31,000 miles/3 years
Automatic transmission: Carry out oil and filter change (with transmission 722.9 - NAG2)

I am guessing the automatic transmission is the gearbox oil?

I just need to find out how it can be checked to see if it has been done already. The brake fluid should have been done at the last service though as it is 2 year intervals.
 
The Service Care at £48 per month sounds wrong to me. It should be £31 if taken out between 1 and 7 years old. If they got that wrong who knows what else they got wrong.
 
Not sure I follow the issue.

You have bought a car under a deal that apparently forces you to have it serviced by an MB dealer.

ESS is showing the list of items required and the dealer correctly added them to the service.

At this point you have two options - the first option is to chase up the car's service history (the dealer should be able to provide a computer printout) to see if any of the items listed have already been done e.g. the brake fluid has been changed less than two years ago or the car already had an ATF change (Automatic Transmission Fluid - aka 'automatic gearbox oil'). The second is to shop around between MB dealers and find someone who will do this service for less.

With regards the warranty work carried out on the car, if it is engine-related then it is unlikely to have included neither brake fluid change nor ATF change.
 
Have they got me by the short and curlys?

Yes.

You could try getting a quote from other dealers for the work - not letting on the fact your car is on a PCP so tied to them - on the basis that you are looking for a competitive quote against an independent because you'd prefer to go to a dealer if the price is right.

My recollection is that my MB indy used to charge about £160 for a generic A service, £60 for a fluid change and about £150 for ATF. So that would give a target figure of just under £400. Dealer servicing gives you Mobilo recovery so that's worth about £60 to £90 depending on your circumstances (possibly more if you drive in Europe). So that would make a dealer quote of around £460 to £500 - if you could achieve that - not unreasonable in value terms.

It's also worth bearing in mind that you can save money by providing your own oil. Dealers will charge per half litre or litre - basically if you provide a suitable number of litres of suitable spec oil (usually the likes of Mobil 1 fully synthetic) that you have procured at a better price (eg. Costco) they will discount their oil price right off the top of the quote.
 
Your MB dealer should be able to furnish you with a full printout of its service history and any repairs done under warranty. Mercedes-Benz UK - Servicing - Digital Service Report
This should be available from any MB dealer as its stored centrally. Everytime the car is serviced or repaired they should offer you a printout of the work done. If you didn't get a printout after the last repair that's a good excuse to ask for a full service history printout. If they are less than totally co-operative take your business elsewhere. I would also be interested to hear the exact nature of that repair done under manufacturer warranty.
 
Injector change would be likely/ par for the course as virtually all diesel 4 cylinder cars of that age were done under warranty. Would not have had any effect on any other impending service issues.
I.e no fluids changed.
 
My next step is to request the digital print out of all work carried out on the vehicle and then take out MBWarranty Service care.

Next years service is a biggie which I expected it was just this service coming out of nowhere after I specifically asked when purchasing the car whether it would need a big service with additional's, of course it is one word against another.
 
My next step is to request the digital print out of all work carried out on the vehicle and then take out MBWarranty Service care.

Next years service is a biggie which I expected it was just this service coming out of nowhere after I specifically asked when purchasing the car whether it would need a big service with additional's, of course it is one word against another.

MB do keep changing the interval for ATF change - you've seen the interval is 3yrs on your car. On some it's 2yrs and others it's 4yrs. I think they've changed the very latest cars to 5yrs. So with the best will in the world, it's easy to see why a salesman might not know, and even if he did know the confusion is handy for him to hide behind.

However, ss another poster suggested, a 2yr, 2 services ServiceCare deal should be £32/mth for 24mths on your car. So the total cost isn't much more than you're being quoted for this service, so you'll get the next one, also quite big, near enough free.
 
Does service care cover ATF. Is says brake fluid but fails to mention ATF
 
Does service care cover ATF.
Yes. If in doubt ask your dealer about this and all the other service items. Wear and tear items such as brake pads and tyres aren't covered.
 
Yes.

You could try getting a quote from other dealers for the work - not letting on the fact your car is on a PCP so tied to them - on the basis that you are looking for a competitive quote against an independent because you'd prefer to go to a dealer if the price is right.

My recollection is that my MB indy used to charge about £160 for a generic A service, £60 for a fluid change and about £150 for ATF. So that would give a target figure of just under £400. Dealer servicing gives you Mobilo recovery so that's worth about £60 to £90 depending on your circumstances (possibly more if you drive in Europe). So that would make a dealer quote of around £460 to £500 - if you could achieve that - not unreasonable in value terms.

It's also worth bearing in mind that you can save money by providing your own oil. Dealers will charge per half litre or litre - basically if you provide a suitable number of litres of suitable spec oil (usually the likes of Mobil 1 fully synthetic) that you have procured at a better price (eg. Costco) they will discount their oil price right off the top of the quote.

Top advice. Phone around several dealers and ask for a discount.
 
If you bought a sept 10 car in Nov 12 then they should have done the brake fluid if bought from Mercedes, an approved used car is sold as full service history, so if it was missed they should pay for that.

Auto transmission fluid you could do next time in theory, as it is not actually 3 years old yet.
 
The MB ESS states the following :

Main Service
Service A
Service 4 - Every 2 years
Replace brake fluid
Service 20 - Once 31,000 miles/3 years
Automatic transmission: Carry out oil and filter change (with transmission 722.9 - NAG2)

I am guessing the automatic transmission is the gearbox oil?





For my c220 w204 is states "Please check to ensure that this vehicle requires this operation to be carried out and it is fitted with a 722.9 NAG2"
Mine has a 722.6. No AFT change required.
 
Where are you based?

I had a similar quote for a B3 and instead got it serviced at Wayne Gates of Harrow. Almost half the price and the customer service was superior to what I receive at Brooklands...!
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom