mercedes dealers & brake pads/discs

[clive burt]

I recently went to my Mercedes Dealer and informed him that my brakes were sqeaking and that I thought my front pads now needed replacing as this was pointed out at a 38000 miles service in mid January.The car has now covered 39000 miles.
I was rung and informed that the sqeaking noise was in fact a faulty SBC Unit which had caused the discs /pads to overheat and wear.
As the car was just outside warranty(mid Feb), he said that Germany would,as a gesture of goodwill pay for the new SBC unit and fitting but that I would need new pads and discs all round.
My argument was that if the SBC Unit had partly? caused the wear Germany should pay for that as well.
At my service in January.the Service Sheet showed all discs had 50% left,front pads 30% left,rear pads 70% left.
He informed me that my discs now had 25% left on the front and 40% left on rear(from covering a further 1000 miles)
However in view of the fact that I also contributed to the wear,instead of being charged £666 they would make a goodwill contribution of £133.
Do you feel I have been fairly treated?Passed Mot in Feb no mention then.

 

[Blobcat]

Hi Clive,

39,000 from a set of front pads is pretty good going. I would expect as per your service sheet the disc's to last twice as long as the pads. They do wear a lot faster since asbestos was removed from the pad material.
Rear pads I would expect to last > 60K miles and the rear disc's depending upon rust build up >80K. Mine were changed in error by MB at 80K miles (they should have changed the front due to vibration but changed the back instead). I generally get 30-35K from front pads and 60-70K for front discs.
Since your car is so close to being in warranty I would sit down with the service manager and show him the service sheet and give him some options. I would not ask for, or expect 100% for new discs but as the wear has gone up so much in 1,000 miles 50 % may be a starting point.
I had the discs for half price and 50% off the next service from my dealer.

 

[clive burt]

Sorry,I didn't mention that this is the second set of brake pads for my E320 CDI(2/2003).First set on at 25,000 miles (front and back) in Nov 2004.Discs were not replaced though.
Surely the Warranty doesn't cover wear and tear items? such as pads /discs.
The cost of Parts totalled £308 so the £133 contribution is a 43%discount.Labour was £279.Add in vat and total was £533

 

[Blobcat]

You are correct in that the warranty doesn't cover wear and tear. However you could argue that the SBC fault caused premature wear to the disc's & pads therefore you would like some goodwill.
Have you had all 4 discs and pads changed?

 

[jberks]

I would be expecting a substantial contribution, though agree that you should contribute something. 50% sounds right to me.
However, technically they don't have to pay for any of it as it's out of warranty. Worth a good go though.
If MB refuse to contribute to the pads/discs I would tell them to fix the SBC and then take it elsewhere for the rest. A specialist should be around £200 cheaper for the exact same parts fitted in the same way.