A Service @ £900 !!

[Yaff]

My E280 CDI is about 2.5 years old with 47K on the clock. My fist service cost about £200, which was about right for a minor service. The second service was about £400, but as this was a major service (B), again, I think it was reasonable. The third service (minor A), I expected to be similar in cost to the first, but to my surprise, they presented me with a list of additional work (filters etc) the length of my arm and a bill to match.

Why are not all parts / consumables that need changing when they reach a mileage included in the service cost? As most buyers look at the service intervals to calculate approximate running cost, and most stats are based on 3 years / 36 K miles, I think Mercedes have deliberately left out the parts form the service and set the flags for changing the components until after 36K miles.

Shame on them if this is the case. I am happy to pay for quality, but being played for fool is a different matter. Maybe I am too cynical, what do you think?

By the way, the care is fantastic and the service is always fist class . I just do not like surprises or feeling I have been mislead.

 

[bry220cdi]

I dont think you have been misled.I think you have been RIPPED OFF. £200 for an A service + £700 For additional Work I think not.Not unless you agreed to the work and certainly notfor filters etc??

 

[Alex M Grieve]

Extras

I am sorry to here that you have been ripped off. The A Service schedule is clearly defined. Extra items, such as changing brake fluid, flushing cooling system and replacing coolant, are generally extras, by agreement. I have had instances when the dealer could not reach me on the day of the service to agree these (sadly, the receptionist who booked the car did not notice that they should be done). The book was stamped as the service had been completed, but I had to book it in again for the "extras" to be done.

I am sure the SMMT code of practice requires providers to stipulate and agree what they are going to do, or agree it with the customer on the day and before conducting the work. IIRC, it also stipulated that they show/give you parts replaced or removed, as evidence that the job was done and that the condition of the parts proves that they had failed or worn out. This is all just good business practice and evidence of the "transparency" that we hear so much about these days.

Might be worth doing some homework on this and discovering whether the dealer is subscribes to that code of practice? You might not get any refund, but you will at least cause embarrassment and perhaps improve their performance for the future.

 

[television]

Yes a rip off, legislation was passed ages ago to stop this kind of thing, if they have not told you or asked about the things that they fitted, then they must remove them at their own expense

 

[jberks]

The biggest bill I've ever had from a dealer was £600. This was a B sevice with a gearbox oil change. Normal filters etc are already included in the initial price for the most part and they certainly don't add up to £400.
I have had the opportunity to get the bill to £900 but that would have required me to approve extra work such as new brake pads and disks or some new tyres. I was called about both at the last service and rejected both on the basis that the brakes aren't that urgent (by 6,000 miles) and the tyres I can get elsewhere.
They cannot put the bill to £900 without your prior approval. If they have, report them to trading standards.
What does the bill say the work was for?

 

[bigasotonuk]

As previously said the schedules for these services is clearly defined, and these are the prices quoted, the full extent of the additional work depends on mileage and the model.
Also if you decide to do the additional work yourself i.e. spark plugs, air filter, fuel filter etc. everytime there after their computer will show that they need replacing and until replaced by a MB dealership your car will always show they need replacing. They even threatened not to stamp my book as I did,nt want the additional work done preferring to do it myself.

 

[Rory]

I think the servicing costs are ridiculous - they're simply based on the idea that if you can afford a Merc then you can afford the dealer servicing prices.

I mentioned in another thread the 24K/2yr service on daughter's Mitsubishi Colt - fully synth oil and filter, air filter, pollen filter, spark plugs, brake fluid change (*included* in the schedule, not an additional job/cost) and they remove the rear drums to clean so that requires the handbrake to be adjusted. "List" price £287 and they did it for £220, plus £10 for a courtesy car. That price also inlcuded a years European recovery if the car isn't already covered as part of the warranty.

OK, it's a smaller car so uses less oil and only 3 plugs, and there's no ATF to change, but the work must be pretty similar - it might even be worse with small car packaging.

 

[Ellsy Tanners]

Can you gives a break down of the bill please

 

[rf065]

At that price I'm thinking, ATF & brake fluid change plus new front discs & pads. How else could it come to £900?

Russ

 

[hawk20]

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.

 

[Yaff]

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

Regarding the bill, I was advised before they completed the work, but if it “needs” to completed, I was not going to say no. FYI, the bill was as follows:

• Carry out Air con service @ 78.80
• Service Replace air filter filter element @39.40
• Service Replace combination filter @ 7.88
• Service Replace brake fluid @ 78.80
• Minor service Wheels remove/ install @ 31.52
• Service Replace fuel filters @ 47.28
• Service Chang automatic trans fluid 86.68
• Minor maint Perform veh with adaptive brake @ 39.40
• Service Change oil filter@ 31.52
• Filter element @ 27.60
• Combination filter @ 18.60
• Brake fluid @ 32.34
• Filter @ 29.30
• Transmission oi @ 51.00
• Gaskey @ 7.50
• Oil filter @ 14.20
• Seal ring @ 0.48
• Mobil m-synt s 5w40 @ 72.25
• Screen wash @ 3.48
• Mobile synt s 5w-40 1 @ 13.00
• Air con purge @ 10.97
• Rear break pad @ 48.30
• Sender unit @ 5.22
• Brake pad paste @ 2.06
• Brake de dust @ 3.50
• Fuel filter @ 17.80
• Loom tie @ 0.53
• Clamp @ 0.93
• Filter @ -29.30

Not being an expert and wanting to keep the car long term, I did not feel qualified to argue about what is required, just the point that if they know its required, it should be in the service.

If I looked at the total this car has cost me from new (service), its about £1,500. When you consider the next service is not due until it hits 62K miles, is that so bad?

My biggest issue was how I think the manufacture / dealers hide the true cost by talking about 36K miles and 3 years.

When I had my Jag, they had a fixed cost of £350 per service. On the positive side, they were up front about the charge, but when you consider it requires a service very 10K, the cost is higher than I have paid for the Merc. It may have been 12k intervals, but the point is its comparable.

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.

 

[foof1]

You have been ripped off big time!! This is a disgrace!...................

 

[lulu]

I have NEVER seen a bill like that before. It's outrageous.

 

[foof1]

Some of the items that got me was, 'Brake de dust' £3.50? Cable tie £0.53p? to name but a few. I'm sure some of our ' Honest professionals' will have some comments.

 

[Rory]

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.

It looks worse because they've itemised out items that you'd normally expect to be included in one overall charge - remove/replace wheels, for example.

The a/c service is completely optional - I've never had that on any car I've owned. I'm not aware that it's included in any official mileage/time based schedule from Mercedes. Also they charged extra for a/c purge??


As to what's included in the standard service then the answer is virtually nothing - A service is an oil change and a few checks, B service is an oil change and some more checks, and they also change the pollen filter. Everything else is extra.

My issue with MB servicing is it's those basic costs that are absurd - an A Service should be around £100 not £250, and a B service should be maybe £175 not £460.

 

[television]

Brake fluid £34 That must be the new type with gold nuggets
£2 worth of copper grease, that would do 10 cars and all four wheels at that.

All of it was a rip off

 

[foof1]

I would start thinking of contacting trading standards and having the vehicle exmined by a company independant of MB and any interested partys.

 

[truthfindergeneral]

Lucky they didn't charge you storage for the time it was in there service bay. Charging 0.53p for a cable tie. Thats about as low as you can get and I don't mean the price !

 

[Alex M Grieve]

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

Regarding the bill, I was advised before they completed the work, but if it “needs” to completed, I was not going to say no. FYI, the bill was as follows:

• Carry out Air con service @ 78.80
• Service Replace air filter filter element @39.40
• Service Replace combination filter @ 7.88
• Service Replace brake fluid @ 78.80
• Minor service Wheels remove/ install @ 31.52
• Service Replace fuel filters @ 47.28
• Service Chang automatic trans fluid 86.68
• Minor maint Perform veh with adaptive brake @ 39.40
• Service Change oil filter@ 31.52
• Filter element @ 27.60
• Combination filter @ 18.60
• Brake fluid @ 32.34
• Filter @ 29.30
• Transmission oi @ 51.00
• Gaskey @ 7.50
• Oil filter @ 14.20
• Seal ring @ 0.48
• Mobil m-synt s 5w40 @ 72.25
• Screen wash @ 3.48
• Mobile synt s 5w-40 1 @ 13.00
• Air con purge @ 10.97
• Rear break pad @ 48.30
• Sender unit @ 5.22
• Brake pad paste @ 2.06
• Brake de dust @ 3.50
• Fuel filter @ 17.80
• Loom tie @ 0.53
• Clamp @ 0.93
• Filter @ -29.30

Not being an expert and wanting to keep the car long term, I did not feel qualified to argue about what is required, just the point that if they know its required, it should be in the service.

If I looked at the total this car has cost me from new (service), its about £1,500. When you consider the next service is not due until it hits 62K miles, is that so bad?

My biggest issue was how I think the manufacture / dealers hide the true cost by talking about 36K miles and 3 years.

When I had my Jag, they had a fixed cost of £350 per service. On the positive side, they were up front about the charge, but when you consider it requires a service very 10K, the cost is higher than I have paid for the Merc. It may have been 12k intervals, but the point is its comparable.

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 classic case of what in the insurance industry they call "unbundling" - if you charge for each item separately, the cost always comes out higher.

For example, let us assume that "brake de dusting" was a kosher thing to do - you would have to take the wheels off to do it properly, so the process would involve "wheels off, de dust brakes, wheels back on". One procedure, 3 components - but these all charged separately will boost the bill.

The Indy I use includes all the parts and lubricants involved in the service as part of the menu price of the service, believe it or not, so what you pay is what you agreed to pay (plus VAT) - no more, no less. Sure he will advise on what may need attention sooner rather than later, and will contact you if he suggests it should be done same day. But no work is done without clarity and prior agreement. Now that is good, ethical business.

 

[Seeker_UK]

Shocking.


As far as I know, these are not part of a service:

Air con service - I see they have quoted for this twice (service and 'purge')
Change ATF - a good idea but not part of the service - according to MB these boxes are sealed for life

I also notice that there are 2 fills of Mobil listed (£72 & £13) - did they forget to fill it up when putting in the £72 worth?

And what's the difference between ATF and gearbox oil? I see there is a charge for both.