Main Stealer Does it again!

[whitenemesis]

My one experience of Mobilo was on a par with my experiences with the AA. But I felt more comfortable that the tech knew the car far better than perhaps the AA tech would.

 

[television]

Correct but on my 10 year old c43 the above is a lot of piece of mind all of which would be lost if serviced with a indie i only get basic work done at dealers to stamp book anything additional i use my local indie

With my next service coming up shortly and I change my own plugs, brakes and filters, plus I do 95% of my own repairs I must be over £1400 better off at least by the prices shown on this thread

 

[Retired]

My one experience of Mobilo was on a par with my experiences with the AA. But I felt more comfortable that the tech knew the car far better than perhaps the AA tech would.

I've used Mobilo once. Flat battery, my own fault. Came quickly, got the car started ( hardly difficult) and then plugged Star in to check for any issues.

AA/RAC could do the first bit, they wouldn't have Star kit.

OK maybe the check wasn't required, but in other circumstances it could be so for me Mobilo is a better choice.

 

[jberks]

If a car costs £90k should one reasonably expect the service costs to be much greater than a car that costs £9k?

Instinctively yes - but thinking on, why?
The real justification if you think about it is that the owner can afford to pay more and that isn't really a good enough reason.
It will cost more because the £90k car will, by deifintion, be higher performance and will use more expensive materials and more of them as a result. So filters, oils etc will cost more.
The car will probably have more complex technology in it so maybe more expensive specialist diagnostic kit will be required too, as well as greater training to cover the more complex aspects of the car. Brake materials as another example will always be more expensive. After all, they will have more weight to stop from a potentially higher speed.

But overall I don't think this justifies the extra costs for say a simple oil change.
Those are more to do with all the nice extra touches. The leather couches, nice carpeting, office facilites, B&O TV and free filter coffee, croixants and orange juice that, on my last visit anyway, weren't available at Renault and Ford garages. Also I guess if they're going to lend you a £25,000 loan car rather than an £7,000 one, the cost has to be recovered somewhere. Plus, clearl Mobilo in't free either.

 

[television]

There is another side to it as well, with mobilo if say my CPS failed I would end up with a bill for getting on for £400, if the RAC took me to an indie, in most cases I would end up paying £125 max, so that leaves a lot of money over for a hire car or hotel room for the nigh if needed

 

[Matt32AMG]

This is exactly the point at which I entered the Forum Matt. Your 32, as a 2002 car, is on a 2 years/15,500 servicing cycle whereas the newer car is on an annual one (or 15,500).

You are absolutely correct to rail against the economic and ecological folly of annual servicing for the low mileage car. The argument about business users requiring an annual cycle is twaddle. They too could be guided by ASSYST (and if they are high mileage motorists they will be seen every 6 months, unless they ignore ASSYST). If they ignore ASSYST, who can help them?

So, like the rust issues, it is a conundrum that we have wrestled with for ages.

The only reason I can find credible is that annual servicing gives better volumes of work to the dealerships - and if you don't do it, the book will not be stamped and the warranty will be void (as will any prospect of good will).

Absolutely agree on all fronts.

The point or argument about business users requiring an annual cycle is twaddle, may in fact be correct, but only in very few cases. That said when the company car user hands back the keys, and for whatever reason, doesn’t have an appropriately or timely stamped service book, it will effect subsequent sales on the second-hand market. But even then MB have it covered as the company who leased the car has to pay some form of fine for not complying with the T&Cs of the lease agreement with the supplier, eg excess mileage, or late servicing. In short the dealer hasn’t lost, it’s a win win situation.

The real scandalous part though is the annual servicing strategy. Regardless of usage as you say, if you don't do it, the book will not be stamped and the warranty will be void, (as will any prospect of good will). If like me you work away and don’t use the car, in effect you will be fined £600 (minimum) for a B service , which will be the next one on the CLK, just for keeping the car in your own garage without turning a wheel, that to my mind is nothing less than daylight robbery.

 

[Rory]

The real scandalous part though is the annual servicing strategy.

BMW have the answer for you - buy a 6cyl 5 Series and 5yrs/60K miles servicing is £350.

 

[whitenemesis]

BMW have the answer for you - buy a 6cyl 5 Series and 5yrs/60K miles servicing is £350.

And there, I suppose, we have the answer. We all have the choice ...

 

[Alex M Grieve]

On the other hand

my one experience of Mobilo Life was 100% failure.

A 2 year old 211, FMBSH in 2005. Driver's door window broken by a vandal. Alarm system flattened the battery. I wanted a jump start and fault codes cleared.

Phoned Mobilo - "We don't do that sir" Well,, they do now and it is explicit in their literature.

But they did not do it then. They advised "If you are a member of the AA, use them, Click".

So, I did. Within the hour autoglass had replaced the window, AA had started the car and vacuumed out the broken glass.

We now that Mobilo must be good - many of their ex-staff are now forming a burgeoning industry of Indies and justifiably have an excellent reputation on the Forum.

But getting to Mobilo (or getting them to me) was my problem, and it did not happen. (one Forum member suggested that I should have called my insurers and made an insurance claim! Pay the excess, enhanced premium for years thereafter - on which planet does that make sense?)

 

[Blobcat]

The real scandalous part though is the annual servicing strategy. Regardless of usage as you say, if you don't do it, the book will not be stamped and the warranty will be void, (as will any prospect of good will). If like me you work away and don’t use the car, in effect you will be fined £600 (minimum) for a B service , which will be the next one on the CLK, just for keeping the car in your own garage without turning a wheel, that to my mind is nothing less than daylight robbery.

Is it? a previous neighbour of mine covered ~1K miles per year before 3 years his exhaust had rusted to the point of collapse and his brake discs were so pitted as to be dangerous. Just because a car or bike isn't being used doesn't miraculously stop it from wearing out or corroding. A well used car getting up to temperature regularly is infinitely better than one sat in a garage (IMHO). My bikes aren't getting a great deal of use, the CBR is 17 years old and has 10K miles on the clock, regardless of the mileage the plugs have to be changed every 2 years because every 2 years 1 or more fails, this is time related and not at all mileage related. Brake fluid absorbs water weather it is being used or not, I don't believe it needs changing quite as often as the dealers say however they recommend 2 years as they want to prevent problems. I service the CBR every year and check everything over as I want to be sure that everything is correct before I trust it with my wife's or my life.

Regarding mobilo, I've used it 3 times and have been impressed every time, first I was on route to Heathrow when all the warning lights came on and it wouldn't restart, within an hour I was back on the road in a hire car with apologies that I wasn't in a Mercedes. The second time the gearbox locked into 3rd, within an hour it was on a flat bed truck and as I was at home they delivered a car to me first thing the next morning. The last time the turbo was not working they diagnosed the fault and would have trailered it to the dealer but I took it in and they had a hire car waiting for me.

 

[Blobcat]

BMW have the answer for you - buy a 6cyl 5 Series and 5yrs/60K miles servicing is £350.

And you can wait in France for 3 days waiting for a tyre and when they cannot get one wait another 2.5 weeks before it is shipped home on a flat bed whilst your hire car went back after 4 days because that is all BM would pay for...

 

[television]

And you can wait in France for 3 days waiting for a tyre and when they cannot get one wait another 2.5 weeks before it is shipped home on a flat bed whilst your hire car went back after 4 days because that is all BM would pay for...

They do use the same size tyres over there as we use here

 

[Blobcat]

They do use the same size tyres over there as we use here

Agreed, try getting a run flat for a BM in France, a gallic shrug and a "il est impossible" was the answer.

 

[Matt32AMG]

BMW have the answer for you - buy a 6cyl 5 Series and 5yrs/60K miles servicing is £350.

But the problem is I don't want a BMW, been there and done that, however a compelling argument it is. I think the issue here is all about value and bang for buck. To qualify that, I mean I don't mind paying for a service or whatever, if it is justified.

However to cover 3000 miles say between an A service and a B service is simply not justified given today’s modern engines and synthetic lubricants.

 

[Dosco]

Oh wo is me

Enjoyed following this post except now I am scared silly to go out in my motor and even more scared to leave it on the drive Is there another world out there not contaminated by such problems where life is simple and nothing ever goes wrong if so and it is not run by leftist liberal minded labour supporting batting for the other side humanists then let me know I want to go there

 

[Dosco]

But the problem is I don't want a BMW, been there and done that, however a compelling argument it is. I think the issue here is all about value and bang for buck. To qualify that, I mean I don't mind paying for a service or whatever, if it is justified.

However to cover 3000 miles say between an A service and a B service is simply not justified given today’s modern engines and synthetic lubricants.

...and neither is changing discs because they are 50% worn when replacing pads on account it will save you taking your motor back in-between services

 

[television]

Agreed, try getting a run flat for a BM in France, a gallic shrug and a "il est impossible" was the answer.

With a range of 150km that person could drive at 80kmh to a port,or another garage thats the idea of them

 

[television]

...and neither is changing discs because they are 50% worn when replacing pads on account it will save you taking your motor back in-between services

One ⅓ worn they will tell you that must keep things accurate

 

[admiral]

well thank you all for your comments. I have certainly learnt a lot about mercedes benz servicing in the past 24 hours and that is despite always taking two cars to the main dealer for servicing!

Having resigned myself to a £600 bill, i decided to smile sweetly, grit my teeth, pay the bill and walk away, never to return.

I went in and collected the car last night and was presented with a bill for £593, which apparently included a discounted labour rate, although the overall bill was still slightly more than I was expecting. For instance, I was charged over £200 for the A service, which was more that I had been quoted when I originally booked the car in. I am afraid that I just couldn't be bothered to argue the bill anymore. They did apologise for not telling me all of the work that was required at the outset, both when I booked the car and when i dropped it off.

This is ultimately the complaint, that twice Mercedes Benz or Bristol failed to tell me that extra work was due, despite me asking the price of a service A and stating that I didnt want any extra work doing as I was selling the car.

I really do love the cars, just I have had a poor experience at Mercedes of Bristol again and it was the final straw.

Thank you for the recommendations of the local garages, I will look them up for my other cars. One of them is a w210 e320 with only 11,000 miles on the clock so no doubt there is a load of age related stuff that needs changing but at leats there is no rust! (yet)

 

[Matt32AMG]

And there, I suppose, we have the answer. We all have the choice ...

Errm yes except that this annual servicing strategy wasn't made clear or highlighted at point of sale at the dealership. When asked about servicing, all they said was it would be "on a par with my 32" to maintain, depending on mileage and use. Naturally I made assumptions based on what I was being told, which as it turns out I think was at best missleading, but more like teetering on the deceptive side simply by withholding that piece of information, ("annual service or mileage what ever comes first") in what was meant by, “on a par with my 32”, which it certainly isn't.

With the best will in the world, is it fair to the customer to not volenteer or overlook information that may influence a decision process at point of purchase? To my mind this is as fundimental piece ofinformation as say it has a 3.5 litre engine, four wheels, and Sat Nav. Should a customer have to adopt detective methods to extract all relevant information from a main dealer, or is that purely the sign of the times we live in and one has to except it on the chin?