A Class Service

[littlebrooklyn]

My son has a 2013 A Class and it's just come up with the service countdown, I think it's an A Service, although I'm not totally sure as apparently it's saying 'A5 Service' on the dash. I don't think he really wants to take it to a Mercedes Dealership as he hasn't a clue what the service history of the car is as he never got the proper book with the car or any details about the car's service history, even though I did give him all the necessary info about getting this from Mercedes.

So basically he is looking for someone local to the Watford area who will do a collect and deliver as they only have the one car and as they both work full time it's a bit difficult for them to drop the car off anywhere that is out of the area. If he just went to a local garage would they be able to reset the service thing on the dash or would he need to go somewhere that has the STAR diagnostics equipment?

 

[GlosRichCLK]

If he pops the reg no and miles into here

https://www.mymercedesservice.co.uk/#/your-vehicle

It will give him a price at the local dealer. He can then Google for local Merc specialist and compare prices.

Bonus of servicing at Mercedes he'll renew the Mobilo breakdown cover in the price.

 

[Flyinspanner]

Maybe call Terry at Wayne Gates and see if you can get it done on a Saturday morning?
(Harrow)

There is a place on the road between Watford and Rickmansworth, but they don’t seem to be liked, I went there once to ask a fairly simple question about exhaust swap, but really felt I was getting a bit of a run around, never used them due to those ‘vibes’.

Terry on the other hand is strait forward old school good service.

 

[John Laidlaw]

A5 is an A Service Lyn and the cars fifth...

 

[Wighty]

Maybe Phil at Welling Merx ? Not sure how far that is

 

[littlebrooklyn]

If he pops the reg no and miles into here

https://www.mymercedesservice.co.uk/#/your-vehicle

It will give him a price at the local dealer. He can then Google for local Merc specialist and compare prices.

Bonus of servicing at Mercedes he'll renew the Mobilo breakdown cover in the price.

I went on there and including an MOT it came to £663, what the heck is all that about??? That just seems an extortionate amount for an A Service

 

[Wighty]

I went on there and including an MOT it came to £663, what the heck is all that about??? That just seems an extortionate amount for an A Service

They have to pay for their shiny showrooms somehow

 

[Wighty]

Reading your first post , yes a local garage with the help of YouTube can reset the service countdown . I do it on both my cars .
If your son bourght a Pela pump for £35 and an oil filter he can do it himself (maybe)

 

[littlebrooklyn]

They have to pay for their shiny showrooms somehow

They are currently extending the Watford dealership, I would say they are doubling it in size at least, it's been going on for months. I think they are worried about the recently opened Jaguar/Land Rover dealership across the road from them!

 

[Chrishazle]

With a 5 year old car there's little or no benefit to having it serviced at MB rather than a good indie. As an example, a B5 service at my local main dealer would have been over £500, the local indie was below £300. Mobilo does not bother me as I have full fat breakdown cover through my insurers (LV) for £100pa.

 

[Rory]

I went on there and including an MOT it came to £663, what the heck is all that about??? That just seems an extortionate amount for an A Service

That's not the price for an A service. Is the car an auto? At 5yrs old it'll be calling for an ATF change. If it isn't an auto then there must have been several additional work items to get to that figure.

 

[littlebrooklyn]

That's not the price for an A service. Is the car an auto? At 5yrs old it'll be calling for an ATF change. If it isn't an auto then there must have been several additional work items to get to that figure.

Yes it's auto and also a diesel, hadn't thought of that. Have to keep sorting all this out with my daughter in law as my son didn't even know the Reg No of their car, never mind how many miles it's done!

 

[AMGeed]

I'd take it to Terry at Wayne Gates without a second thought.
Re the ATF, isn't that mileage dependant rather than time?

Completely different car, but mine is every 37.5k miles, irrespective of the time interval

 

[GlosRichCLK]

The ATF is at 5 years or mileage whichever occurs first.
So £663 is about right. £59 MoT, £350 for ATF & filter, and £250 for an A service and Mobilo renewal.
Seems a lot, but it they are keeping it for another few years worth it to keep the ATF good.
Independent would probably be £100 less, but what if they mess up the ATF change....

 

[EmilysDad]

.... what if they mess up the ATF change....

Why would they? I've done ATF changes myself on my drive .... hardly rocket science. And how would you know?

 

[GlosRichCLK]

Why would they? I've done ATF changes myself on my drive .... hardly rocket science. And how would you know?

Overfill, underfill, put the wrong fluid in etc there's quite a lot that could go wrong.

Just saying you're likely to have better support from a dealer if for example the gearbox was damaged then needed replacing.

I'm sure many independents are competent, but there are many who may not be, claim to be a Mercedes specialist on the back of little experience.

 

[EmilysDad]

Overfill, underfill, put the wrong fluid in etc there's quite a lot that could go wrong.

Just saying you're likely to have better support from a dealer if for example the gearbox was damaged then needed replacing.

I'm sure many independents are competent, but there are many who may not be, claim to be a Mercedes specialist on the back of little experience.

You don't need to be a Merc specialist to be competant at an ATF change.
It could also go wrong at a dealer ..... they could park your car where it gets clobbered and their CCTV is out of action .....

 

[Rory]

Dealer overfilled mine when changing the ATF, then it started leaking out of the connector bung. I wished I'd left it alone, it never felt quite as seamless as it did before they touched it.

Indie changed the connector bung and recently changed the main radiator. Both need the ATF to be topped up when done and when I checked it myself it was spot-on.

 

[AMGeed]

The ATF is at 5 years or mileage whichever occurs first.
So £663 is about right. £59 MoT, £350 for ATF & filter, and £250 for an A service and Mobilo renewal.

£350 for an ATF and filter change is almost double what a competent indy would charge.
£250 for what is not much more than an oil and filter change on an A service.

I'd rather trust my car to an indy than the dealer sorry to say. At least I know the jobs that need doing are being done.

 

[Wighty]

And main dealers are more likely to only change half the ATF if the Torque converter doesn't have a drain plug , and still charge you full price .