B Service.....

[fionanallan]

We've had a C220 CDI for about a year now. Its a 2001 model. The message has just come up on the cluster informing us that the 'B' Service is due now. So before I head for the garage...how much is this likely to cost? Ball park figure of course! Is this a big or a small service? Just want to be aware before I get conned!

 

[djb]

b service

mine cost £455 in june for a c2oo cdi at dealers

you get new wiper blades an all filters for that & a car returned valleted to for sale standard

 

[fionanallan]

mine cost £455 in june for a c2oo cdi at dealers

you get new wiper blades an all filters for that & a car returned valleted to for sale standard

Thanks for the reply. We take it that this is a fairly major service then and that this was a MB Dealer? We had'nt considered a MB Dealer, just our local independent garage.

 

[jberks]

The B is the biggie - at around twice the cost of the A. Then there are 'extras' that come around on a time basis. At 4 years you may be looking at coolant and brake fliud changes too.
Indies are around 1/2 for the equivalent service. My E240 B service was done for £260 against around £450 - £500 from the dealer.
Do make sure its a proper Merc specialist and not just an independent garage though. The specialists will do the service exactly as the dealer would, only cheaper. A normal indie may, in all good faith, just change the oil and give it a check over, fitting non MB parts in the process - cheaper but not what you want.

 

[ddentrec]

mine cost £455 in june for a c2oo cdi at dealers

you get new wiper blades an all filters for that & a car returned valleted to for sale standard

Isn't life odd: they build 'advanced' cars with 'intelligent' servicing, using 'quality' parts, including synthetic oils. But they s**w your for the servicing.

Although the B-service uses more consumables than an A-service, the B-service actually takes 90 minutes. The consumables will cost around £110: the £350 labour is for the 90 minutes work. You do the maths.

Do not kid yourself that the official stealer goes through the B-service checklist either: not all of them do. When faced with having to get through 30 cars in a day they will all cut corners: I have the service refunds to prove it.

 

[rallen]

It is all a big scam. Prices are extortionate on the basis that a merc "engineer" will be better trained and paid more than your average car mechanic. Four times as much actually.

In a garage, with all tools ready to hand, it'd take about 10 mins to replace oil and filters (change air and cabin filters while oil is draining/pumped out). At home it'd take me about 15-20 mins to change oils.

I have vowed that my car will not see a merc dealer's garage unless it cannot be fixed by me or by the local garage.

 

[fionanallan]

B Service...update!

Our thanks to all who took the time to reply. After reading your replies to our post, we dumped the idea of the local garage and set about finding an independent MB specialist. Lo and behold...we found a one man business, just newly opened up and the guy seems to know what he's talking about! He claims to have worked at MB in Glasgow for 10 years, and now he's started up himself as an independent MB specialist. His hourly rate is 35 quid plus vat...but MB is 75 quid plus vat! Anyway, he's quoted £210 for the B Service, including changing all filters and fluids, so we're going to run with it. Time will tell...........!
Anyway, a big thanks to all who replied. Much appreciated.

 

[robbo]

I guess it depends if you want to keep the Mobilife corrosion warranty. Unfortunately, there is a fair chance you will need it, so I'd be wary of going the indy route.

 

[rallen]

What is that warranty? Never heard of it (new to the world of mercs)

 

[robbo]

Its a 30 year corrosion warranty, only valid if you keep full MB service history. Unfortunately MB cars tend to have problems with rust especially the W210 E class, so its worth keeping it up IMO.

 

[Ruca]

What is that warranty? Never heard of it (new to the world of mercs)

Hello all. I have a 1997 C220D estate, that has 30 years corrosion warranty, at least that's what in car manual and Mercedes sites.

I don't now if it has any interest for you because i live in Portugal, but any way...
last week i went to a Mercedes garage and they made a B Service, plus

- General inspection (because i bought the recently)
- Gear box inspection (Reverse speed in two different positions)

And i paid £310 (?460,0)

only B service cost's around £235 (?350)

 

[jberks]

Robbo has a good point, and if you'd said E class (like mine) I would have mentioned it. However, I am not aware of any major problems on the 01 C classes.

Basically, if you keep a full dealer history on the car, any corrosion (rust around the wheelarches etc) will be repaired for free until the car is 8 years old (though at MB's discretion). After that it gets a bit less useful, but until 30 years, they will cover any perforation if it started from the inside. The E class does suffer from corrosion so its worth keeping up (though I've now let mine lapse having had most of the common weak points repaired). However, they only cover each area once and the savings from two services will pay for a lot of repairs so it depends how you look at it. Perhaps have a good look at the bodywork and if it all looks clean, you probably won't need it. In any case, if you only have partial dealer history, they normally ask for a 30% contribution so you need a £600+ repair bill each year before you are out of pocket.

The other aspect is the Mobilio breakdown cover which you lose. I've always considered this a double edged sword. True, they will come and recover the car in the event of a breakdown FOC, but they will also take the car to a local dealer to repair. Chances are, you will then pay the dealer a fortune to fix something your specialist could have done for a lot less. So its not really a bargain once the manufacturers warranty runs out. On the one occasion mine almost broke down, I managed to limp it past the dealer's front door and on for another 5 miles to the specialists.

When I was doing 8k per year, I figured that as the car was only serviced every 18 months or so, I would stand the dealers charges (you may feel the same). Now, doing 25k per year and needing 2 services per year, I save at least £300 per year so its worth the effort / risk.

 

[ddentrec]

Its a 30 year corrosion warranty, only valid if you keep full MB service history. Unfortunately MB cars tend to have problems with rust especially the W210 E class, so its worth keeping it up IMO.

Mobilo Life is a scam.

DaimlerChrysler know that over 60% of their cars will never see a franchised dealer beyond the car's 5th birthday, and even fewer after that (according to Autocar I think). And the more owners a car has the more likely is that a service does not comply with the MobiloLife criteria.

MB owner with warranty claims for rust know this to their cost: it is a way for DaimlerChrysler to wriggle out of meeting the full repair cost.

And the franchised dealers know this: mercs built after 1996, especially the W210 E-Class, are a liability. And the service costs for a 5 year old example are eye-watering so you will avoid the franchised dealers. That is the way DaimlerChrysler want it--saves them ££££ in the long run of not needing to meet full cost of rust claims.