A Service @ £900 !!

[television]

Its an AMG and the service interval is set.

Are you sure that the AMG's are on fixed service, my service book covers tha AMG and there is no mention of that in my book for the AMG

 

[whitenemesis]

Are you sure that the AMG's are on fixed service, my service book covers tha AMG and there is no mention of that in my book for the AMG

I believe so Malcolm

 

[hawk20]

Or annually @ 6,000 per year by a low mileage driver (w.i.t.s.)
Basic A service £200 inc vat at 6,000 in the year (=3.33p per mile)
Basic B service £320 inc vat at 12,000 in 2 years (=2.66p per mile).

For the poor old "w.i.t.s." £520 for 12,000 miles driver, these costs per mile give a "worst case scenario" of 4.33 p per mile, compared to 1.66p per mile on a 15,5000 or 2 yearly regime (which would encompass his usual 12,000 miles) - more than double. And that is without considering the waste of synthetic oil with plenty life left in it.

Politicians and "global bankers" have made us all very wary of statistics.

"Lies, damned lies, and statistics" is part of a phrase attributed to Benjamin Disraeli and popularised in the United States by Mark Twain: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." The statement refers to the persuasive power of numbers, the use of statistics to bolster weak arguments. (Wikipedia, 2009)

I said perfectly clearly that the figures were for someone doing 15,500 miles per annum or more. And said equally clearly that we need a thread looking at several typical mileages such as 8k, 12k and 15,500k miles per annum.

It is not statistics we need to be sceptical of, but those who choose to misquote.

 

[hawk20]

Are you sure that the AMG's are on fixed service, my service book covers tha AMG and there is no mention of that in my book for the AMG

Depends on the year. The new (from 2006) fixed service intervals of 15,500 miles or annually w.i.t.s. applies to virtually all models but not AMG. They have own rules.

 

[Alex M Grieve]

Hi Alex, my service costs for my R129 is very low as I do not take it to a MB main dealer, go to my local garage, I decided not to take it to a MB dealership due to the age of the R129 (1991) and costs

Hi Brabus, thank you for that - very helpful. I too have my 129 maintained by an Indy and have found him to be excellent and inexpensive. In just over 4 years I have covered only 12,000 miles and required an O/S lower ball joint, a MAF and a distributor cap for the right hand cylinder bank.

The great beauty, as you say, is the fact you can speak to a knowlegable person who will nail the diagnosis before bombarding the car with new parts on the basis of "trial and error".

Costs less, but the important factor is the confidence you get from knowing that things are being done effectively.

 

[hawk20]

Hi Brabus, thank you for that - very helpful. I too have my 129 maintained by an Indy and have found him to be excellent and inexpensive. In just over 4 years I have covered only 12,000 miles and required an O/S lower ball joint, a MAF and a distributor cap for the right hand cylinder bank.

The great beauty, as you say, is the fact you can speak to a knowlegable person who will nail the diagnosis before bombarding the car with new parts on the basis of "trial and error".

Costs less, but the important factor is the confidence you get from knowing that things are being done effectively.

Equally you hear plenty of tales of people who go to 'indies' where the lack of factory training, up to date equipment and all the info on updates from MB, means repairs are done badly, or done when not needed.

The update on the 7 speed auto box was just one example where some indies were offering major repairs when all that was needed was the latest software update provided free at any MB dealer when being serviced.

And my dealer has a £100,000 machine you can put your car in with you and an engineer, and rock and roll it to your hearts content to find the cause of any squeaks or rattles. How many indies can afford that?

 

[television]

And my dealer has a £100,000 machine you can put your car in with you and an engineer, and rock and roll it to your hearts content to find the cause of any squeaks or rattles. How many indies can afford that?

Your dealer is telling you porkies Hawk, no one owns them they are all on hire. If they were sold like may other brands then you are looking at just under £2750

Every indie that I know has one, and they make make my car dance too it I wanted it to

 

[whitenemesis]

Your dealer is telling you porkies Hawk, no one owns them they are all on hire. If they were sold like may other brands then you are looking at just under £2750

Every indie that I know has one, and they make make my car dance too it I wanted it to

I don't think hawk is talking about STAR Malcolm. I think it's a suspension vibration rig that can vibrate each wheel indepedantly or together to simulate driving on different types of road surface.

Quicker and more controllable than driving down the road, not to mention safer, as everyone is searching for the source of rattles not watching the traffic!!

 

[television]

I don't think hawk is talking about STAR Malcolm. I think it's a suspension vibration rig that can vibrate each wheel indepedantly or together to simulate driving on different types of road surface.

Quicker and more controllable than driving down the road, not to mention safer, as everyone is searching for the source of rattles not watching the traffic!!

Thank you peter,, well in that case they are not that expensive, they are standard in all the State MOT center in Sweden, where each station has at least 10. They use them by lifting the wheel off the ground , they then grab the wheel and shake it, the condition of the shocks can be tested and all ball joints.

 

[hawk20]

Thank you peter,, well in that case they are not that expensive, they are standard in all the State MOT center in Sweden, where each station has at least 10. They use them by lifting the wheel off the ground , they then grab the wheel and shake it, the condition of the shocks can be tested and all ball joints.

It's not that Malcolm. Come and see it next time you are over this way.

 

[BRABUS R230]

I'm glad you're pleased - perhaps that's good by London standards but it looks at least £100 too expensive to me. Most dealers have a pretty standard £250/£260 charge for an A service and will generally discount to £199.

Hi Rory, I had checked around several MB dealers even as far as Southampton and there was not much difference, I was thinking that it was a standard charge for servicing each model costs no matter which MB dealer you went to, but I thought the difference would be between which dealership would try to stitch you up for extra work that was not needed!!
I had previously experienced this from my nearer MB dealer in Stratford, it was a horrific experience!!

 

[mercglas]

First, let me say thank you for taking the time to share your views.

My question to you, is should the above have been included in the standard service? And if not, did they need doing? At least, these are the questions on my mind.

Thanks again for your support, hopefully this will help other E Class owners and avoid a surprise.

This is a no brainer, simply write into Mercedes HQ at Milton Keynes and ask them to check the bill and comment on the cost.

 

[mercglas]

Trouble is from years of reading these threads, you rarely get the truth up front. People say 'my service cost £x -how awful'. But after enough probing you find it wasn't just a service at all. Brakes, or exhaust, or plugs or ATF or whatever are often the items done. These are consumables and occur on all cars. Take the total miles since last done and most of these jobs have a trivial cost per mile.

Plugs at £3-400 after, say, 50k miles may sound a lot, but it is actually under a penny per mile. Most can do at least 30k before needing new pads and 50k before needing discs. It is the cost per mile that matters. Not how big the bill was on one particular day when all the jobs were done.

Have a look at the Mercedes web site, go to OWNERSHIP AND SERVICING then SERVICE INTERVALS then scroll to the bottom and open -

To find out the next service due on your Mercedes-Benz please click here to enter the Electronic Service Sheet.

Open the Electronic Service Sheet.

This shows what is required

 

[Mr Teddy Bear]

This is a no brainer, simply write into Mercedes HQ at Milton Keynes and ask them to check the bill and comment on the cost.

I think a truthful answer might be..................
" gosh that's a lot, lovely money, Now how can we overcharge everybody else by that amount!"

Even by Main Dealer prices the brake fluid replacement is a complete rip off. It's £10. of product
and purged by machine while the fitter does something else. The Aircon evidently didn't need touching.