Servicing Problems: Important.

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television

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If you think about it,, cars that have covered the 500,000 miles have done so on the old system using Mobil 229.1 oil the 229.3 that we have now is much better, so to bring the cars in earlier in nonsense.

I do not know if this was done for the fleet buyers, but couple in their policy of changing the disc and pads when under ½ worn and the rest "what a nice little earner"

The result is many unhappy customers,,when they did it to me,,the guy just laughed it of and said "just stick a liter of new oil in" So that ended my servicing with them.
On a practical note,,3 years ago the service parking was always full..these days I have the choice of many parking bays.

This whole thing also started at the same time as the R2R campaign started stopping the dealers from having the monopoly over motorist on where he gets his servicing done. The sale of dipsticks and the like came in at the same time,, its almost as though MB have stuck their two fingers up to any current legislation
 

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Raised my issue with my dealer....they asked me when i wanted to book it in to change it to the correct figure !
What they failed to do is apologise or mention anything more.....here is what the rely said !............see original post 401

"I have spoken to the workshop controller and he has told me that we can change the instrument cluster to correct countdown. when would you like to book the vehicle in for our workshop to change this for you"
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Mic

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A change of policy as far reaching as this must surely have been endorsed by the main board whose members should be expected to make such decisions based upon factually reseached presentations and not simply commercial profiteering. That ought to be the sole preserve of the banking sector.

Mic
 

littlebrooklyn

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Am I right in thinking that the yearly service intervals don't apply to the A and B Class?

I just read this on the 'What Car' site and wasn't sure if this was true or not :confused:

However, from October Mercedes will revert back to fixed intervals on every model, apart from the A- and B-Class, and high-performance AMG variants.
 
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A change of policy as far reaching as this must surely have been endorsed by the main board whose members should be expected to make such decisions based upon factually reseached presentations and not simply commercial profiteering. That ought to be the sole preserve of the banking sector.

Mic

Don't let the cynics put you off. Honda, Toyota and VW cars also use annual servicing as do many others. Many like the simpler and more predictable current system though low mileage users would probably prefer 15,500 miles or every two years whichever is sooner. However, there are many who feel that having the car checked over once a year is long enough for many owners. Police tests in my area showed 25% of cars with at least one tyre below the legal minimum and many owners hardly ever check the oil level or anything else.

I remember when cars were serviced every 3,000 miles, then later every 6,000 miles so the present longer intervals seem fine to me.

Friend of mine does low miles and grumbles about annual servicing and just went in for the two year one. A small oil leak was found in the engine and put right under guarantee. Longer intervals could mean the second service falling outside the guarantee period, which may not be advantageous.

Lyn A and B class are also on annual servicing.
 

television

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Don't let the cynics put you off. Honda, Toyota and VW cars also use annual servicing as do many others. Many like the simpler and more predictable current system though low mileage users would probably prefer 15,500 miles or every two years whichever is sooner. However, there are many who feel that having the car checked over once a year is long enough for many owners. Police tests in my area showed 25% of cars with at least one tyre below the legal minimum and many owners hardly ever check the oil level or anything else.

I remember when cars were serviced every 3,000 miles, then later every 6,000 miles so the present longer intervals seem fine to me.

Friend of mine does low miles and grumbles about annual servicing and just went in for the two year one. A small oil leak was found in the engine and put right under guarantee. Longer intervals could mean the second service falling outside the guarantee period, which may not be advantageous.

Lyn A and B class are also on annual servicing.

But you just love giving money to MB for the sake of it, most here do not,, the MOT would also pick up an oil leak
 
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hawk20

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But you just love giving money to MB for the sake of it, most here do not,, the MOT would also pick up an oil leak

I certainly do not. I like the very good value I get and having my car properly updated which indies are not paid to do. I also like the free breakdown service which covers me in the UK and abroad and the labour cost on an A service happens to be less than the cost of AA membership for me and my wife who are both covered by Mobilo. I also value keeping full MBSH since I would not buy a car without it and I value the goodwill cover in the fourth year (which IIRC you found of value on the car you bought). I also get more from my dealer if the car has full MBSH when I come to sell it.

Oh and I forgot to mention on my last service I had a very nice update done. New gas filled struts for the tailgate which are more powerful and much better. No indie would have done those free.
 

television

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I certainly do not. I like the very good value I get and having my car properly updated which indies are not paid to do. I also like the free breakdown service which covers me in the UK and abroad and the labour cost on an A service happens to be less than the cost of AA membership for me and my wife who are both covered by Mobilo. I also value keeping full MBSH since I would not buy a car without it and I value the goodwill cover in the fourth year (which IIRC you found of value on the car you bought). I also get more from my dealer if the car has full MBSH when I come to sell it.

The good will that I received was pathetic, 2 more struts have failed now at 40k miles. I have sourced one new strut from a MB dealer for £300 less than list,,using a very good indie I can get the new one fitted some £400 cheaper than what MB charged me with their goodwill, and the is 2½ year down the line
 
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hawk20

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The good will that I received was pathetic, 2 more struts have failed now at 40k miles. I have sourced one new strut from a MB dealer for £300 less than list,,using a very good indie I can get the new one fitted some £400 cheaper than what MB charged me with their goodwill, and the is 2½ year down the line

Fine. I fully accept that savings can be made using indies for repairs and that they can make sense for some on older cars.

But on newer cars especially those up to four years old, a powerful case for using dealer servicing can be made. Freedom of choice say I. Some like dealers. Some like indies. Some like both.
 
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hawk20

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But don't tell me I love giving money to MB for the sake of it, because I don't. Just because I make a different choice from you does not mean it is not sensible. You do not have the monopoly on making sensible choices.
 

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Fine. I fully accept that savings can be made using indies for repairs and that they can make sense for some on older cars.

But on newer cars especially those up to four years old, a powerful case for using dealer servicing can be made. Freedom of choice say I. Some like dealers. Some like indies. Some like both.

Once again you have used my post in a quote, but ignore the content, so why use the quote button ?

Many of the so called goodwill gestures made by MB are hardly goodwill for instance, a guy was offered to have his bonnet resprayed if he paid £800 towards the £1600 cost, when if act any body shop would have done the job for less the the so called goodwill price the the owner had to put towards it.

Take 1 of my struts,,it is faulty because the firm that made it did not solder a wire very well. The lemon law covers this in the USA, but not in the UK. I have been waiting some 3 weeks now for an answer from MB, but can wait no longer.

As I have said before Hawk,,you should venture out into the real world,,and by that I mean "answer some post for upset owners that have had a raw deal" rather than just staying within the goalpost of you own thread.
 

Alex M Grieve

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Police tests in my area showed 25% of cars with at least one tyre below the legal minimum and many owners hardly ever check the oil level or anything else.

Good morning. I am sorry to say I was not around at 2 o'clock this morning, but I see that "normal service has been resumed" in this debate.

I fully accept that there are motorists who do not check the simple "driver responsibilities" regularly (water, oil, fuel, tyres, battery), and some who would not even know how to open the bonnet.

I guess they have been switched off by the fact that each of these items varies so little from week to week, that periodical checking rarely finds a need to do anything. Nevertheless there are those of us who do take an interest in our cars (and our safety) and an annual check would really not address the problems of those who do not.

Those of us who do understand are therefore dismayed by an obligatory system which now requires annual checks, on newer cars, when the model replaced managed fine on biennial checks. This is compounded when "books won't be stamped" and "warranties will be invalidated" unless we comply.

On the one occasion I called Mobilo Life for help (flat battery) they simply refused to respond and directed me to the AA.

As one who does care, and the performance of my cars bears witness to that, I fail to be impressed by the nanny state and am happy to use Indies from day one. I have yet to be disappointed.
 

television

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But don't tell me I love giving money to MB for the sake of it, because I don't. Just because I make a different choice from you does not mean it is not sensible. You do not have the monopoly on making sensible choices.

Well that is all down to the old saying "If you have it, Flaunt it" "if you have not got it, then you have to think again"

Or take the Phase " A wise man and his money are soon parted" or is it "A fool and his money are soon parted" same thing really when it comes to MB
 
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hawk20

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As one who does care, and the performance of my cars bears witness to that, I fail to be impressed by the nanny state and am happy to use Indies from day one. I have yet to be disappointed.

I am glad you are happy with your choice; just as I am happy with mine. Pros and cons for both choices as so often in life even if some can only ever see one side.

There seem to me two quite good compromises. Jberks I think it is who alternates from dealer to indie and that way gets the updates and reinstates Mobilo. The other one is to use dealers while under guarantee and until perhaps the end of the fourth year during which time there are usually quite a lot of important updates.

During the early years R and M are pretty minor items. Servicing costs me no more than a couple of pence per mile (as I have posted in detail in other threads) over the first four years and to have the benefit of Mobilo here and in Europe (which I have found excellent, as has my brother), and 'goodwill' back up and free updates are all things I value.

A few years back I had an ML270cdi. I was leaving on holiday to get the ferry to France and it started making strange noises. I phoned Mobilo and was taken to the Kent dealer. They took the ML in and hired an S class for me to continue my hoiliday. Pretty good I thought.

My brother woke to find he had two punctures on his A class. He was due to play in a golf match. Phoned Mobilo. They hired him another car and when he came home the A was fixed.
 
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television

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My brother woke to find he had two punctures on his A class. He was due to play in a golf match. Phoned Mobilo. They hired him another car and when he came home the A was fixed.


Shame that his MB dealer did not tell him about the poor condition of his tyres then.
 
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hawk20

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Shame that his MB dealer did not tell him about the poor condition of his tyres then.

You call guilty with no evidence.

The tyres were in excellent condition. Vandals with a dart seem the most likely cause of the two simultaneous punctures.

(And BTW that A class was from March 05 and so went at least 18 months between services - on his mileage- so dealer checks would have been pretty infrequent).
 

television

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You call guilty with no evidence.

The tyres were in excellent condition. Vandals with a dart seem the most likely cause of the two simultaneous punctures.

(And BTW that A class was from March 05 and so went at least 18 months between services - on his mileage- so dealer checks would have been pretty infrequent).

Could he not ask that the pub closes the windows when a darts match is going on.
 

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Am I right in thinking that the yearly service intervals don't apply to the A and B Class?

I just read this on the 'What Car' site and wasn't sure if this was true or not :confused:

However, from October Mercedes will revert back to fixed intervals on every model, apart from the A- and B-Class, and high-performance AMG variants.

That quote has a bit missing and was to do with mileage. Everything apart from A & B and AMG moved to 15,500 mile intervals, the others to 12,500.

I think (not sure) that A & B class have since changed to 15,500 miles too.
 

Rory

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They took the ML in and hired an S class for me to continue my hoiliday.
Did the really give you the documentation legally required to take the car abroad? It's unusual for hire companies to allow cars to be taken abroad.
My brother woke to find he had two punctures on his A class. He was due to play in a golf match. Phoned Mobilo. They hired him another car and when he came home the A was fixed.

One of my issues with Mobilo is the cover for tyre incidents is very unclear. Other posters have reported being told they aren't covered. They won't come out and change the wheel if, for example, Mrs H has a puncture on the motorway and doesn't want to change the wheel.

Don't forget, Mobilo is about keeping the car in the MB network. They want you to call them if you breakdown or have an accident so that they're in control of where the car gets fixed. Sure, your brother got his tyres replaced but my dealer's tyre price's are 2x anywhere else.
 

littlebrooklyn

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That quote has a bit missing and was to do with mileage. Everything apart from A & B and AMG moved to 15,500 mile intervals, the others to 12,500.

I think (not sure) that A & B class have since changed to 15,500 miles too.

That would be annually for us then as we are unlikely to do 15,000 miles in a year :shock:
 
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