MOT #1 Passed

[whitenemesis]

Yup! My car's first MOT taken and passed, "As you might expect" the MB technician said!

Two advisories, front pads and discs will require replacing "soon". Well, the second "A" service is due in 1200mls (at 48k mls) so it looks like I'll get my money's worth out of Service-Plus next month

Does 48k seem reasonable life for front pads and cross-drilled discs? (I'm not complaining)

Also put in a warranty claim for the front alloys. Both have one or two small (~3mm) bubbles on the edges of the "spokes". Technician took photos and will submit and let me know...

 

[Rory]

Two advisories, front pads and discs will require replacing "soon". Well, the second "A" service is due in 1200mls (at 48k mls) so it looks like I'll get my money's worth out of Service-Plus next month

Hmm...Are they really advisory on MOT - I don't think checking pad and disk thickness is part of the MOT?

They did note at my cars MOT that the disks were corroded and would need changing soon - 3mths later at B service they were "fine".

I got an advisory on wear on edge of NSF tyre - at the B service it wasn't mentioned and all the tyre measurements were 1-2mm less worn than 3mths previous!!

 

[whitenemesis]

MOT was at my MB dealership, so advisory is probably just an extra "service" for their customers

 

[television]

As Rory,, if the car brakes are OK on the rolling road then that is fine for the MOT unless the are visible cracks etc

The condition of the pads and disc can be an advisory note

 

[dava]

Your technician is correct. If the discs are heavily corroded or cracked he is entitled to fail the car for this, also if the pads are 1.6mm or below he should also fail it for this. By putting an advisory he is covering his bum, ie, they are not bad enough to fail the car and in his opion they are safe enough to go to the next service. VOSA always state, if in doubt pass and advise.

 

[Rory]

MOT was at my MB dealership, so advisory is probably just an extra "service" for their customers

I'm being cynical here, after my recent experience, but I would guess that the guy doing the MOT probably didn't know the car was on ServicePlus.

I find it remarkable that before I had ServicePlus my car needed all sorts of things doing "soon" - now it has S+, it hardly needs touching, and they flat refused to do some things.

I'm wondering if a very economical way of running a Merc would be to tell them you had S+ but then settle the bill yourself!!

 

[television]

I find it remarkable that before I had ServicePlus my car needed all sorts of things doing "soon" - now it has S+, it hardly needs touching, and they flat refused to do some things.

I'm wondering if a very economical way of running a Merc would be to tell them you had S+ but then settle the bill yourself!!

What a lovely post from Rory

 

[Rory]

What a lovely post from Rory

Thanks!

I must add that trying to get them to do the wheel alignment became almost farcical, with the service advisor telling me it wouldn't be covered by S+ because it isn't wear and tear. I said, OK, what do you tell people who ask for it to be done under warranty - she said we say it's not covered as it's wear an tear!!

I left the car with them and told them to just do it - when I picked the car up they said they'd decided it didn't need doing! Can you imagine that if you'd been paying the bill yourself?

 

[David Nock]

Yup! My car's first MOT taken and passed, "As you might expect" the MB technician said!

Two advisories, front pads and discs will require replacing "soon". Well, the second "A" service is due in 1200mls (at 48k mls) so it looks like I'll get my money's worth out of Service-Plus next month

Does 48k seem reasonable life for front pads and cross-drilled discs? (I'm not complaining)

Also put in a warranty claim for the front alloys. Both have one or two small (~3mm) bubbles on the edges of the "spokes". Technician took photos and will submit and let me know...

It has to pass the MOT with Service Plus enabled! Otherwise you can just say "Fix It under the Contract". Also the MOT is done FOC for good measure.

 

[paul c]

They advised me my pads and discs were well worn on the MOT i had on my c203 then when i asked the service guy he had a look and said they were fine and said the MOT people are always over the top with there assment this is at a MB dealer who farm there MOTs out to quote get a fair assment of any problems,car has covered 52,000mls:???:

 

[whitenemesis]

The technician was aware of the Service-Plus status before the car went in. It was he who suggested they do the brakes during the next service.

As I understand it the garage gets paid for work done under Service-Plus, so why wouldn't they do it? Even if it's not as much as they may get from a private bill payer, it's better than nothing!

 

[Rory]

The technician was aware of the Service-Plus status before the car went in. It was he who suggested they do the brakes during the next service.

As I understand it the garage gets paid for work done under Service-Plus, so why wouldn't they do it? Even if it's not as much as they may get from a private bill payer, it's better than nothing!

ServicePlus will operate just like the maintenance department of the company fleet lease specialists (because that's what they are). Those people are mean beyond belief.
Normally the dealership will buffer you from this, but anyone who has ever tried to get tyres changed on a lease car will likely have experienced issues with the Maintenance Controller.

They keep all the stats for wear and tear and will refuse to pay for things that are worn out before their time, or they will refer back to previous services and compare wear then with wear now. They also pay very low rates, and there's none of this paying for random add-on charges that private motorists get stitched up with.

I know when I took my car in they were all sweetness and light, and "yes sir, we'll change the coolant and the ATF fluid blah blah"....then they asked how I would be paying and when I said "ServicePlus" the Service Advisors shoulders visibly slumped.
There's also a story on here from someone who got the "we've got the wheels off, shall we do the pads and disks?" call - he said "sure, go ahead!". When he picked the car up and told them it was on ServicePlus the colour drained out of their faces!

 

[zsadiq1]

My dealer advised me to take service plus out rather than a normal warranty. Since I have had it (nearly 2 years) the dealer has been changing parts willy nilly. They seem very happy to change parts and then charge mercedes for the work. It doesn't appear that they get any benefit from not doing the work. No work-no pay. I still have one year left and if I could extend it I would. It's the best thing mercedes have brought out for their customers.

 

[whitenemesis]

My dealer advised me to take service plus out rather than a normal warranty. Since I have had it (nearly 2 years) the dealer has been changing parts willy nilly. They seem very happy to change parts and then charge mercedes for the work. It doesn't appear that they get any benefit from not doing the work. No work-no pay. I still have one year left and if I could extend it I would. It's the best thing mercedes have brought out for their customers.

My impression exactly! My dealer has shown no reluctance whatsoever and I always advise them on arrival that I will not be paying as it's covered by Service-Plus. "No problem sir!"

 

[Rory]

I know when I took my car in they were all sweetness and light, and "yes sir, we'll change the coolant and the ATF fluid blah blah"....then they asked how I would be paying and when I said "ServicePlus" the Service Advisors shoulders visibly slumped.

Sorry to reply to my own post, but I didn't make the point that they didn't do the work mentioned above - what had previously been necessary work, suddenly didn't need doing under ServicePlus.

I don't really mind - I'd rather they didn't touch the car at all - it's just that if less work is done then ServicePlus isn't quite the value I expected. Although I imagine that if I didn't have it then lots more work would be necessary which I'd be paying out for myself.