S320 - B Service - Mega Rip Off?

[Steve@Avantgarde]

Is that using genuine merc bits or ecp (cheaper version) ones Steve

Genuine MB parts and Mobil lubricants, dont use anything else.

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

I always use genuine parts for servicing except maybe where a petrol fuel filter is concerned. The genuine ones are £80 and the exact same bosch or Hengst filter from ECP is £30. So I will recommend this to the customer and let him decide.

I also use lots of OE and OEM parts for brakes/suspension componants, again I will price up the cost of using MB and OE parts and let the customer decide. I will always draw the line at the cheap chinese copy stuff. A customer brought in some suspension arms for his C Class that he wanted me to fit last week, I refused to as they were awful in quality.

The idea of Indies is to pass on any discounts from MB to the customer or find a good cheaper alternative that the dealers cant entertain fitting, even though sometimes the cheaper alternative supply MB originally!!!

 

[nathan2000]

I rang the dealer whom I bought it off, they gave a price of £598.40, did does not include the Automatic transmission oil and filter change as per the previous garages quote (£936), since this is the dealer I bought car off I assume they have better records of car and say its not needed.

Then rang local indie SPR in Stockport, he quoted me £230+VAT, I asked some questions and he seemed to know what he is talking about, also recommended on these forums so I've booked it in with SPR, never know till you try,

Really tired of being ripped by MB garages, I know they are good and I don't mind paying for quality, but each time I've used them I felt kind of cheated and ripped off, get the feeling each of the service people are on commission.

 

[television]

Many MB dealers still live in the dark age when it comes to changing the box fluid

 

[cleverdicky]

Ive replaced a few parts on mine that were NOT oem but same as oem would have supplied.
But generaly its worth checking and compareing with motor factor parts. Because when i needed a new strut / shock, I found the part they supplied was the same part as oem MB. And knowing that i was able to find and order the same part that MB would supply from eurocarparts who were just marginally cheaper than GSF.
Def worth doing some research and checking those various part no's.
Especially as factors do also sell crap.

 

[Mounis]

I often buy air/oil/diesel filters from German, Swedish and French parts - they are as good as Merc ones or often come from same supplier - They have also recently started doing Brembo brakes at a really good price - my oil is from Costco....

Generally parts costs for 5 filters, engine oil and atf normally comes in at around the £200 mark

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

I often buy air/oil/diesel filters from German, Swedish and French parts - they are as good as Merc ones or often come from same supplier - They have also recently started doing Brembo brakes at a really good price - my oil is from Costco....

Generally parts costs for 5 filters, engine oil and atf normally comes in at around the £200 mark

GSF are really good for OEM at the moment. I too fit their OEM Brembo and Jurid brakes, no problems with them at all, no squeeks or issues fitting. Which is more than I can say about the Pagid brakes from ECP, nothing but squeels from those supposed OEM brakes.

 

[WG M-B]

As above. I am very sceptical about the quality of some so called oem brake pads and discs

 

[television]

GSF are really good for OEM at the moment. I too fit their OEM Brembo and Jurid brakes, no problems with them at all, no squeeks or issues fitting. Which is more than I can say about the Pagid brakes from ECP, nothing but squeels from those supposed OEM brakes.

Jurid and Pagid are all made by the same firm TMD friction, funny I have fitted all their pads for many years and if fitted correctly I have never had a problem.

 

[TWINSCREW]

MB Truro, Cornwall, are offering fixed price servicing for all models (individually priced) including all fluids/filters etc. payable monthly,
my CLK comes in at £36-00 per month for 24 months including 2 mot's.
the S Class is priced at £47-50 pm. so for the price, you get an A & B service and 2 MOT's, worth £50-00 each. Worth looking at I would say for main dealer satisfaction and Mobilo continuity.

 

[Silver_Star]

I am currently running Mintex Discs and Pads up front and they have been squealing for the last 25k miles. I cannot wait for the pads to run out of meat so I can change them. I didn't have this issue with my previous set of Padgid pads.

Since fitting them I have stripped them down twice and cleaned everything again, even the face of the hub, sanded the pads and discs and re assembled with copper slip to no avail.

 

[range rover]

B Service Mega rip off ?

I am just off the phone to the main Merc dealer after getting a reminder that they would prepare my car and take it to the MOT centre for £99, probably plus Vat, I didn't ask. I asked how long this would take, wait for it .... 2days !! A courtesy car will be supplied, I then asked how much to flush the transmission and replace, to which he replied that they don't do a flush unless the gearbox has been giving trouble, the cost for this oil change is
£170 on top of the £99. He is going to call me back as I questioned the courtesy car as of late it wasn't available if the car wasn't purchased there, as it wasn't .
I forgot to mention a slight hunting which I think might be cured by the flush, although some others might not agree on that having read their threads
However this MOT preparation will not go ahead if I don't get the courtesy car, I think I made myself clear to the guy on the other end of the phone.
I will keep you posted on the outcome.

 

[Mcobinad]

My S320 (2006) is due for a B Service in 400 miles, I rang my local garage and they quoted me a whopping £936!

God have mercy! Sign of the last days is here :roll:

 

[Steve@Avantgarde]

Jurid and Pagid are all made by the same firm TMD friction, funny I have fitted all their pads for many years and if fitted correctly I have never had a problem.

Thats funny as both me and my mate at BG Griffiths in Bristol have both stopped using Pagid because of the squeeking problem. Never had a problem with Jurid or ATE brakes though....they are fitted exactly the same way...explain that one away!!

 

[star]

The same old story "all pads are the same". From mine and others experience, their not. don't ask me why just experience tells me so.

 

[nathan2000]

SPR Auto's completed the service B on my car, I am happy with it.

An interesting point was that car as part of its warranty was in the MB garage a few days prior and in their print out they stated the front brakes were 80% gone, however as part of my service yesterday SPR Auto's stated the front brakes had gone 50%....suprised at the difference in opinion.

 

[television]

SPR Auto's completed the service B on my car, I am happy with it.

An interesting point was that car as part of its warranty was in the MB garage a few days prior and in their print out they stated the front brakes were 80% gone, however as part of my service yesterday SPR Auto's stated the front brakes had gone 50%....suprised at the difference in opinion.

This is a standard lousy practice to tell people that their pads are worn out when only 1/3rd of the way through their useful life, this is written in WIS and fact, the same with the disc

 

[Mic]

SPR Auto's completed the service B on my car, I am happy with it.

An interesting point was that car as part of its warranty was in the MB garage a few days prior and in their print out they stated the front brakes were 80% gone, however as part of my service yesterday SPR Auto's stated the front brakes had gone 50%....suprised at the difference in opinion.

It is only an opinion; but judging from feedback on this Forum main dealers tend to ''err'' towards the ''glass half empty'' posture on both pads and discs......certainly so far as front pads are concerned you could wait until the car ''calls for them'' quite safely....... so long as you do not mind those extra visits to your Indy......relationship building?

Mic

 

[television]

The point is anyone can get 1k miles once the lamp comes on or much more if a light braker, by MB's token and service you will get 3 new sets when you only ever needed one, and this is big money at their prices

 

[MERCSPORT]

An interesting point was that car as part of its warranty was in the MB garage a few days prior and in their print out they stated the front brakes were 80% gone, however as part of my service yesterday SPR Auto's stated the front brakes had gone 50%....suprised at the difference in opinion.

I noticed at a Mercedes-Benz Main Dealer that everytime a vehicle comes in for a check, or a service etc. Only sometimes do they actually take the wheels off to have a look at the brakes, they sort of guess how worn out they are, make a percentage from what they can see (usually with the wheels and everything on), I am not 100% if this is standard practise everywhere else, but this is what saw these guys doing...