which oil?

[Tilly]

Okay guys I'm probably being lazy here and it may be in the handbook but that means digging it out

My car is due a B service in about 800/900 miles and merc can (sorry to put it so bluntly) but erm... get ****** if they think im paying their prices for oil the robbing buggers. Nearly had a heart attack when I saw the breakdown invoice on the A service and sooooooooooo, my questions are... What grade oil do I need and how many litres?

The car is a '55 plate C180k Sport edition auto, ta very much

 

[BlackC55]

10-40 semi or a fully 0-40. I can recomend mobil S or Mobil 1.

 

[Tilly]

thanks for the quick reply any particular preference between the semi or fully synthetic oils?

 

[BlackC55]

Fully. The car may go longer between service too due to the oil quality sensor the engine is fitted with.

 

[Tilly]

ta very much that should save me a few quid come service time in the next couple of weeks

 

[Steveatki]

I am shocked at this comment on oil, why pay ££££ for a car and then complain when service oil is £30 or £40 pounds more than you can get it for.
Who in their right mind would service a vehicle using fluids supplied by the customer and run the risk of the customer coming back with a warranty claim??

Perhaps you would consider asking an airline to let you help fly the aircraft, as you are cheaper than the regular pilot.

Why not simply buy a car you can afford to run!!!

 

[pammy]

I am shocked at this comment on oil, why pay ££££ for a car and then complain when service oil is £30 or £40 pounds more than you can get it for.
Who in their right mind would service a vehicle using fluids supplied by the customer and run the risk of the customer coming back with a warranty claim??

Perhaps you would consider asking an airline to let you help fly the aircraft, as you are cheaper than the regular pilot.

Why not simply buy a car you can afford to run!!!

A tad harsh! Why not supply your own oil if it does knock £30 - £40 of the bill? And why would it cause any prob's with a warranty claim as long as it was the correct type of oil. Before I had my service contract I always supplied my own oil and always took the best quality oil just not paying MB prices. It would be different if one was looking to use an inferior oil - then I would agree 100% but as it is - there is nothing wrong with supplying your own consumables if they are at least as good as what MB would fit for a higher price.

And just for info - my dealership never had any problem with me providing the oil either. Similalry - they never minded when I told them not to fill the screen wash bottle either - perfectly capable of doing that myself thank you and for a fraction of the cost

 

[Dieselman]

I am shocked at this comment on oil, why pay ££££ for a car and then complain when service oil is £30 or £40 pounds more than you can get it for.
Who in their right mind would service a vehicle using fluids supplied by the customer and run the risk of the customer coming back with a warranty claim??

Perhaps you would consider asking an airline to let you help fly the aircraft, as you are cheaper than the regular pilot.

Why not simply buy a car you can afford to run!!!

Not unreasonable point, but it has to be said if one can supply the same or better oil for much less, then why not?
The dealer will make note you supplied the oil and what brand and rating it was. If there was to be a warranty claim (and there wouldn't be) then MB would have to prove the oil was at fault.



I remember an air crash at EMA where the pilot shut down the good engine instead of the bad one, even after being told by both the instruments and flight crew which was the bad engine. Maybe an amateur would have done a better job.??

The last thing the pilot said over the cockpit intercom was 'Get your cheque-books out were going to the bank.'

Only joking......

 

[Dieselman]

Similalry - they never minded when I told them not to fill the screen wash bottle either - perfectly capable of doing that myself thank you and for a fraction of the cost

This isn't the joke section Pammy...

 

[fredfloggle]

I am shocked at this comment on oil, why pay ££££ for a car and then complain when service oil is £30 or £40 pounds more than you can get it for.
Who in their right mind would service a vehicle using fluids supplied by the customer and run the risk of the customer coming back with a warranty claim??

Perhaps you would consider asking an airline to let you help fly the aircraft, as you are cheaper than the regular pilot.

Why not simply buy a car you can afford to run!!!

I would tend to agree with some of the comment -
I don't think any MB dealer should accept fluids provided by any other source , as you mention , a bit of mischief would ensure a warranty claim , and as you say , I don't understand anyone going to a main dealer and paying the labour price for an oil change , and worrying about a few quid for the cost of the oil - this would be my last concern !

My car is worth around £14000 and I service it myself , every now and again it will go to and independant dealer to get a stamp in the book . I figure that changing the oil at half what assyst thinks is OK can't be a bad thing ...

 

[Steveatki]

I apologise if I sound irritated but...over the last 3 years, since new,I would estimate that my car has lost approx 50% of its purchase price of 30K which over 42000 miles is approx 35p per mile. It has had 2 A services and 1 B at a cost of appx £950 is 2.25p per mile. Included within the services was an oil cost appx of £200 which is 0.5p per mile assuming the saving was 50% of this we are talking 0.25p per mile.

Perhaps a reliant robin would be more appropriate than a mercedes if these sums are significant.

My view is let the garage professionals get on with their work, I wouldn't be too happy if a customer turned up at my work place tomorrow and asked if he could supply my chair and desk for the day to reduce his costs.

 

[fredfloggle]

I apologise if I sound irritated but...over the last 3 years, since new,I would estimate that my car has lost approx 50% of its purchase price of 30K which over 42000 miles is approx 35p per mile. It has had 2 A services and 1 B at a cost of appx £950 is 2.25p per mile. Included within the services was an oil cost appx of £200 which is 0.5p per mile assuming the saving was 50% of this we are talking 0.25p per mile.

Perhaps a reliant robin would be more appropriate than a mercedes if these sums are significant.

My view is let the garage professionals get on with their work, I wouldn't be too happy if a customer turned up at my work place tomorrow and asked if he could supply my chair and desk for the day to reduce his costs.

Agree , but since the are rooking the 4rse out of labour costs for simple servicing , do they care ?

 

[SSBB]

Before my current occupation I was a motorcycle dealer. I bought top quality oil (full synthetic 100% ester) for around £3.50 per litre and the retail price was £10.50 per litre. This may seem a rip off, however, it cost us £3000 a month just to be in the premises, this money has to come from somewhere. Its the price we all pay for the convenience of having somewhere/someone to do our dirty work for us and feed our ego's at the same time ('oh I only use megabucks oil' etc).
For the lucky few who can source the same parts at trade or less..good luck,we used to provide the same level of service to everyone. Look after the customer and they will come back. P**s them off and they'll tell everyone they know.

 

[Kompressor_Dude]

In my opinion, if you can save money without a drop in quality why wouldnt you?

Surely the fact that you own a nice mercedes is testament to the fact that you're pretty savvy with you money, not that you are so rich you just throw it at problems!

Meh, everyone's different though! While we're on the subject of oil, i have 15-50W fully synthetic waiting to go into the C230k (W202) this weekend. Is this acceptable? The viscosity seems a bit higher than the one recommended to Tilly....... for what is essentially a similar engine ?

 

[Dieselman]

I wouldn't use 15w/50 as the viscosity might be too high for the hydraulic tappets.
Use 10w/40

 

[gina2201]

It may be equivalent to a few pence per mile but do you actually put these pennies in a jar and save? Not me. I tend to find I need to find a large stash of money quickly, hence a credit card for emergency use! We may have these nice cars but doesn't mean we're all flush. Plus, if Tilly or anyone can save £30 or £40 on some oil then why not? That's a nice bit of money in my opinion.
Mine's having a service this month, and if I could save a few quid then I would! Makes sense to me!

 

[Kompressor_Dude]

Thanks Dieselman.......... want some 15-50w fully synthethic oil for your troubles?!

 

[Dieselman]

Thanks Dieselman.......... want some 15-50w fully synthethic oil for your troubles?!

No thanks, mine gets 5W/40 full synth..

 

[Dieselman]

It may be equivalent to a few pence per mile but do you actually put these pennies in a jar and save? Not me. I tend to find I need to find a large stash of money quickly, hence a credit card for emergency use! We may have these nice cars but doesn't mean we're all flush. Plus, if Tilly or anyone can save £30 or £40 on some oil then why not? That's a nice bit of money in my opinion.
Mine's having a service this month, and if I could save a few quid then I would! Makes sense to me!

A reasonable point for anyone not running a car under a service contract or not suffering horrendous depreciation. It's about half a tank of fuel for free.

 

[porker1972]

A few points....

Firstly, want to know how much (even your friendly independent) makes on oil? Well, my neice runs an independent SMART dealership. Fully synthetic oil, the type you will pay £12-15 a litre for in the shops (or £20-25 a litre at the garage), costs just over £1.00 when bought in bulk (200 litres). Do a quick google search and you can buy it yourself in small quantities for £3 a litre. There are only 3 oil companies in the UK making it (ESSO, Castrol and Mobi), everything else will be from one of these with a different label.

Secondly, don't think for one second that your "A" service (nothing more than a simple oil and filter change and tyre pressure check) will be done by some wise old sage of a mechanic who expertly earns his £125-plus an hour the garage charges you. Think more along the lines of the apprentice on £90 a week, so why the hell should you fell compelled to spend £300+ on it?

Thirdly, if your garage is willing to accept your parts and won't charge you, why look at others with such disdain? The arrogance of some of you looking down your noses because someone else might want to save money..... you could be BMW drivers.