Mercedes Servicing and Exclusions

[Ron240]

Having just picked up my new car I received an e-mail from my dealer inviting me to take their "Service Care" plan at £30 per month for 2 years(2 services) or 3 years(3 services).
I asked when picking up my car how much the A service would be and he reckoned around £250.
Now to my mind a service plan is only worth taking if it saves a decent amount of money compared with paying individually at the relevant time.....so unless the B service is truly extortionate I will be passing on the service plan.

Reading the details that were sent to me regarding the service plan I found this......

"Service care covers the cost of additional recommended service items such as brake fluid, air/fuel filters and screen wash which are paid extra over and above the cost of your service price if paying annually for your service. A brake fluid as an example is recommended to be changed every 2 years"

I fully appreciate that brake fluid is always an optional item at additional cost with all manufacturer service schedules, although a 2 year change from new will definitely not be required so I will be declining that.
What has caught my attention is that air filter and screen wash are not included in the cost of a routine service and must be paid for additionally.
Seriously......Mercedes will not top up your screen wash during a service unless you pay extra??
This is my first Mercedes, but any previous car I have owned from Ford Honda and Audi have included fluid top ups as part of the service, and an air filter is included in the service price at the scheduled interval.
I am struggling to believe that considering the cost of a service something as simple as screenwash is not included, particularly when a litre of the genuine stuff can be bought for as little as a tenner.
Or have I got this all wrong....?

 

[bertb1]

Hello
Welcome to the world of Mercedes
If you think that’s expensive wait until something goes wrong
Hopefully you will have a good car
What car and how many miles ?


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[Ron240]

If you think that’s expensive wait until something goes wrong
Hopefully you will have a good car
What car and how many miles ?

I shouldn't have anything going wrong...or if it does I wont be paying for it.
I have a brand new CLA 250
https://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/index.php?threads/new-cla-owner.182742/

I believe new cars have 3 years roadside assistance, but is this provided by AA or RAC.....or is it an exclusive to Mercedes service?

 

[bertb1]

Well your good to go


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[bertb1]

Very nice car
You should have lots of pleasure driving a car like that


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[Blobcat]

Brake fluid is hydroscopic and 2 years is a good recommendation to get it changed be it from new or any other time.
You can get a tester for £5 from eBay that will let you know the condition of the brake fluid if you want to make it last longer.
I get mine done pretty much at 2 years whether I’m using that particular vehicle or not.

 

[Ron240]

Regarding brake fluid, of course everybody is entitled to their opinion and by all means have it changed every 2 years if you feel safer doing so.....but in most cases it will not have degraded remotely close enough to actually require changing at only 2 years. I only drive around 4000 miles per year.
Of course if you cover a high annual mileage and/or take your car on track days then yes there is every chance it will require changing at this interval(or even before).
Brake fluid is hygroscopic which means it absorbs moisture from the air over time which will reduce its effectiveness by lowering the boiling point. It also has built in corrosion inhibitors which degrade over time.
Audi recomend a change at 3 years from new then every 2 subsequently, Ford recommend it every 2 years just like Mercedes.
It is a controversial subject.

 

[Blobcat]

Regarding brake fluid, of course everybody is entitled to their opinion and by all means have it changed every 2 years if you feel safer doing so.....but in most cases it will not have degraded remotely close enough to actually require changing at only 2 years. I only drive around 4000 miles per year.
Of course if you do a very high annual mileage and/or take your car on track days then yes there is every chance it will require changing at this short interval(or even before).
Brake fluid is hygroscopic which means it absorbs moisture from the air over time which will reduce its effectiveness by lowering the boiling point. It also has built in corrosion inhibitors which degrade over time.
Audi recomend a change at 3 years from new then every 2 subsequently, Ford recommend it every 2 years just like Mercedes.
It is a controversial subject.

Don’t think it’s controversial, if you want to extend get a tester for a £5.

Brake fluid replacement is relatively cheap in the scheme of things

 

[Ron240]

Don’t think it’s controversial
if you want to extend get a tester for a £5.
Brake fluid replacement is relatively cheap in the scheme of things

I meant it is controversial as to when manufacturers recommend a change.
I have used a tester many times in the past and my fluid has tested fine even when years old. I don't tend to keep cars that long now though.
I agree the fluid itself is cheap, but some dealers price to change certainly is not.
I don't want to get bogged down on brake fluid here.

Is it true that Mercedes dealers charge to top up the screen wash over and above the cost of a routine service?
I'll do it myself....but it just seems incredibly mean of them.

 

[Chrishazle]

MB basic services (A and B) do not include time/mileage dependant items like brake fluid (2 years) fuel and air filters (4 year) and automatic transmission ATF/filter change which is model/gearbox dependant. You really need to investigate the servicing requirements for your car on the MB Electronic Service Schedule (ESS, http://lite.servicemercedes.co.uk/) to see what is included in a standard A and B service and what is not - but would be included in a service plan. Also with MB service you not only maintain your warranty (including bodywork) with no possibility of MB wriggling out of a warranty claim, you also maintain MB Mobilo Europe wide breakdown and recovery service. Only you can decide, after investigation, what is right for you. IMHO on a brand new car I'd opt for MB Main Agent servicing for the duration of the warranty so they've got no wriggle room if something goes wrong - and those tight fisted sods will and do wriggle, as I know to my cost. However, once MB warranty is no longer a concern, I'd look for a local MB indie for further servicing.

 

[sonic]

MB basic services (A and B) do not include time/mileage dependant items like brake fluid (2 years) fuel and air filters (4 year) and automatic transmission ATF/filter change which is model/gearbox dependant. You really need to investigate the servicing requirements for your car on the MB Electronic Service Schedule (ESS, http://lite.servicemercedes.co.uk/) to see what is included in a standard A and B service and what is not - but would be included in a service plan. Also with MB service you not only maintain your warranty (including bodywork) with no possibility of MB wriggling out of a warranty claim, you also maintain MB Mobilo Europe wide breakdown and recovery service. Only you can decide, after investigation, what is right for you. IMHO on a brand new car I'd opt for MB Main Agent servicing for the duration of the warranty so they've got no wriggle room if something goes wrong - and those tight fisted sods will and do wriggle, as I know to my cost. However, once MB warranty is no longer a concern, I'd look for a local MB indie for further servicing.

Nicely summed up.

 

[Chrishazle]

Thanks Sonic, I do speak from experience. With my first MB, the S203 C270 with full MB service history when I bought it, I noticed paint bubbling on the bottom of both OS doors soon after I bought it, took it to MB Ashford for investigation (at about 7 years old), end result was MB offered 10% of the £800 cost of having it repaired at their approved bodyshop. I declined, and not long after - and TBH unexpectedly - PX'd it with MB Ashford for our S204. Then with my S204 I suffered lacquer peeling on the bonnet and roof, MB Ashford supplied from new, I bought it as second owner 4 1/2 years old and had them service it 11 1/2 months later before warranty ran out, but a few years (about 18 months ago) when the lacquer peeling becoame obvious, I again tried for a claim under the paintwork warranty - not a cat in hells chance, cost me £600 to get it sorted and MB would not contribute a penny. Posted a thread on here and MBClub about this in much detail. You only have to read on here and MBClub forum to find example after example of MB wriggling out of any form of warranty claim.

 

[Rory]

Is it true that Mercedes dealers charge to top up the screen wash over and above the cost of a routine service?

No. Not in my experience. Of any marque.

Where people go wrong, and apparently this is common, is they don't agree a price for the service before booking the car in. So you see the charge itemised out on the invoice, and get annoyed about it. As long as the service cost the same or less than what I've agreed then I don't worry about it.

It's one thing where I think dealers shoot themselves in the foot - if the service costs £250 then they'd be better just saying that on the invoice and not pricing everything separately.


You're taking a (small) chance declining the BF change on a car under warranty.

 

[Ron240]

No. Not in my experience. Of any marque.
Where people go wrong, and apparently this is common, is they don't agree a price for the service before booking the car in.

Not in my experience either, this is why I was surprised when reading the quoted section in my original post.
Apparently though...and thanks to the link that Chrishazle posted, the following is part of a "Plus Package" for my A service which I assume means additional expense.
Windscreen washer system: Check/correct fluid level – (When using cleaning compounds for summer/winter and depending on the ambient temperature, observe the mixing ratio. - use Mercedes-Benz approved concentrate

I completely agree about knowing the price for a service beforehand, and every car I've ever had dealer serviced they could tell me exactly how much it was going to cost before they done it. For example the second annual service on my Audi S3 at only 8300 miles would have cost £389.....but I traded it to Mercedes instead.

Just for the record I fully intend to have my car dealer serviced.

 

[ajlsl600]

Don’t think it’s controversial, if you want to extend get a tester for a £5.

Brake fluid replacement is relatively cheap in the scheme of things

I will change brake fluid bases on testing, not time as I don't believe the hype on this subject. The only time I have ever changed brake fluid in 43 yr is when I have been careless enough to let most of it run out during a related repair.

 

[John Laidlaw]

Back on point- I had the service plan on my 63, and although I never checked the terms specifically, I was never charged additional items, including brake fluid or windscreen wash top ups. I think it's dealer dependant personally. I knew wear parts would be charged so I changed brake pads myself.

 

[Srdl]

In answer to OP's question about breakdown cover, here is details of Mercedes Mobilo. It was in-house but is now delivered by RAC but who they send usually depends on the problem. So, for something simple like a flat tyre they might send a bog-standard tech but a more complicated problem might result in someone with full Star diagnostics board turning up. Don't forget, if you make the call from the car, they will be able to download the fault codes there and then and they will have some idea of the problem before they even dispatch assistance.

My personal preference on brake fluid is to follow the manufacturer's recommendation (which happens to be three years on my wife's Mini). Not only am I worried about warranty issues but I wouldn't be surprised if an insurance company used the lack of fluid change to wriggle out of a claim. Take a hypothetical case where some bozo pulls out in front of you, you hit the brakes but still hit him. An insurance assessor will check whether the car has been serviced in accordance with manufacturer's specifications and they could use the lack of a brake fluid change to refuse the payout.

Mercedes are not cheap cars nor are they cheap to maintain. PCP and such tries to make them look cheaper by quoting a headline monthly payment but the ongoing maintenance costs are still there. The quoted price for an A service sounds cheap and, in my experience, a B service is a lot more.

 

[Bogus]

I change my brake fluid every 2 years regardless, but thats because I once got “stung” by a failure to even think about it. In the early 90s I had a BMW 325 on which I lost braking completely on one front wheel. it was diagnosed as a fault with the ABS unit with eyewatering costs to replace. I luckily found a technician who was prepared to strip it and attempt repair. He did so and found light corrosion on one of the shuttle valves causing it to stick. He repaired it sucessfully, and told me it was down to my failure to replace the fluid regularly. It still was not a cheap repair, but thankfully considerably less than BMW offering. Lesson learned for me, not taking that chance again.

 

[Wighty]

If you take the service plan route , maybe pay for the first A service and then take out a plan so it covers 2 xB services , which will get more for your money or at least less waste of your money ?
The ideal would be to cover B A B rather than A B A

 

[Ron240]

which will get more for your money or at least less waste of your money

A very apt way of looking at it where dealer servicing is concerned.....and I completely agree.