Indie A type service

[Jensen]

Thought I would share this with you.

Just had an A service at my local indie. Cost excl VAT £73.00 to include fuel/oil and new whiper blade.

I'm happy with that, that seems fair.

Shame I needed new brake pads to all 4 wheels cost excl VAT £80.00

 

[Shambolic]

Thought I would share this with you.

Just had an A service at my local indie. Cost excl VAT £73.00 to include fuel/oil and new whiper blade.

I'm happy with that, that seems fair.

Shame I needed new brake pads to all 4 wheels cost excl VAT £80.00

As i said on other thread i thought Mobil 1 oil cost about 80 quid alone never mind labour and filters etc!!!!

 

[Blobcat]

Thought I would share this with you.

Just had an A service at my local indie. Cost excl VAT £73.00 to include fuel/oil and new whiper blade.

I'm happy with that, that seems fair.

Shame I needed new brake pads to all 4 wheels cost excl VAT £80.00

What engine oil did your garage use, or did you supply your own?

 

[mioba]

What engine oi did your garage use, or did you supply your own?

must have been vegetable oil

 

[Rory]

You can get an oil change (with Mobil1) for about £40 at Kwik Fit, and that's about all about an A service consists of.

 

[Blobcat]

You can get an oil change (with Mobil1) for about £40 at Kwik Fit, and that's about all about an A service consists of.

That makes Mobil 1 around £20 for 4 ltrs, if like quite a few MB's the sump holds 7-8ltrs. It would be cheaper buying the oil of Kwik Fit than buying it at Costco.

 

[Rory]

That makes Mobil 1 around £20 for 4 ltrs, if like quite a few MB's the sump holds 7-8ltrs. It would be cheaper buying the oil of Kwik Fit than buying it at Costco.

Yep, I've seen that comment before. I think until quite recently it was just one price, regardless of qty. I don't think they're allowed to sell it to take away.

 

[Ian B Walker]

On pre 1996 cars I use Millers XSS (10 / 40) and have been very happy with it. I would value any comments.

 

[jberks]

Thought I would share this with you.

Just had an A service at my local indie. Cost excl VAT £73.00 to include fuel/oil and new whiper blade.

I'm happy with that, that seems fair.

Shame I needed new brake pads to all 4 wheels cost excl VAT £80.00

Does seem a lot too cheap. The service cost doesn't cover the cost of the oil and filter (asuming fully synth used - may be right if they use cheap muck) and the front pads on mine were more than £70 for the parts alone.
What model is it?

 

[Jensen]

Exact details of my "A" type service were Cost £65.00 exc VAT

Renew Engine Oil & Filter. Oil used Castrol 10w4B viscosity 5892
Renew wiper blade

Cost £8.90 exc VAT

Renew Front & Rear brake pads Cost £80.00 exc VAT

Total £153.90 £180.83 incl VAT

How does that compare and seem?

 

[mioba]

does that mechanic work for free?

seems like a real indy, is he a merc specialist or just a normal garage.

How much oil does the A class take, is the castrol semi syn.

are these genuine parts? filter, brakes

if youve been using synth before this is not good.

 

[hawk20]

Exact details of my "A" type service were Cost £65.00 exc VAT

Renew Engine Oil & Filter. Oil used Castrol 10w4B viscosity 5892
Renew wiper blade

Cost £8.90 exc VAT

Renew Front & Rear brake pads Cost £80.00 exc VAT

Total £153.90 £180.83 incl VAT

How does that compare and seem?

Depends how much you value longevity and using the proper oil recommended by the manufacturer.

Depends too on how much you value the 30 year rust guarantee you get when you service with MB dealers.

And finally depends how you value the free Mercedes breakdown service which in my case covers me and my wife in the UK (that would cost £150 from AA/RAC) and covers us on trips abroad which would cost another £100 or so. That makes one service a year at a Merc dealer -for the average 12,000 a year guy- a real bargain.

And you get more for the car when you sell it with Full MBSH.

 

[jberks]

And you get more for the car when you sell it with Full MBSH.

A common misconception I'm afraid. I learned that lesson the hard way. C class, low mileage, fmbsh and 6 months signature extended warranty and they still would only pay me trade value. The value difference (if any) is dwarfed by the cost saving over 3 years if you do migher mileage. However, if servicing is a once every 18 months affair like it was on my E240, then I'd probably stick with the dealer.

 

[television]

A common misconception I'm afraid. I learned that lesson the hard way. C class, low mileage, fmbsh and 6 months signature extended warranty and they still would only pay me trade value. The value difference (if any) is dwarfed by the cost saving over 3 years if you do migher mileage. However, if servicing is a once every 18 months affair like it was on my E240, then I'd probably stick with the dealer.

With me swapping around recentely, I have to agree JB Mt Volvo V70R has only ever had the first service and at 75k miles I have been offered well over book,not PX as an outright buy from a dealer. They guy who bought my 129 only bought that for the condition it was in. He could not care less about the service, and is using an indie that I recomended. There comes a point with age that the service history no matter who did it becomes worth less, when the average car is 4-5 old.

Malcolm

 

[Jensen]

My Indie is a Merc specialist. Over 18 yrs Merc experience and has an excellent reputation. I've spoken to many customers at the garage, the Mercs pull up with customers all the time. A fair few are taxi drivers so that I think is also a good guide.

My car is C250 TD Sport Auto reg 01/04/98.

As reg 01/04/98 I don't think I have the 30 year warranty.

 

[bustabloodklaart]

Best place for oil change is kwikfit £39.99 for a sumpful(no matter how big)
of Mobil One./just make sure they don't get the WTS kid to do it.

 

[johnmc]

Hi Folks,
As another comparison, I got a quote for a full service, 50,000miles on my 2000 E200 from a few places:

1. Merc: £450 inc VAT standard price, not with fuel filter, or brake fluid changes that I want done now.
2. Independent in Edinburgh (Deutschmarque): £180+VAT, again no fuel filter or brake fluid. Quite good service though, free pick up and drop off or curteousy car.
3. Local garage that has maintained our other cars for some time: £90 for the lot including the brake fluid and Fuel filter. The garage has all the right kit including diagnostic software. Parts are genuine Merc. Oil is the same old gunk Merc always put in it, not Mobil 1, can't be bothered finding the service book tonight to look the type up. They are way more honest and hard working than the Merc guys too.

Couldn't give a monkey's about Merc's breakdown cover, got AA policy that covers the other cars too. Only regret on moving away from Merc could be the rust warranty, but the car is looking not three bad now, and the big repairs are all done, including my re-spray. Can't let a Merc service get in the way of a large screen telly buy can we now? At 6 years old it's time to wave bye bye to Merc service.

Bye!
John