New owner

[Sally Louise Wallis]

Hi

New owner since July of black grand edition cls350....love car driving amazing but find discrepancies between recent health checks at dealers and specialists and no idea which to trust....the dealership cost £196 and said brakepads and 2 tyres but free health check at specialists and it was A4 of problems by time I finish paying for all the little things plus big things plus labour I might be looking at 4 grand yet they tell me safe to drive but MOT due in February so I guess any work will be a fail if not done by then.

My question is who can I trust to tell me truth about work that is required i spoke to dealership they apologised once I sent invoice from specialists to compare to theirs but want another payment to check although said specialists may just be trying to make money.

My usual normal garage did inspection before any dealership or specialist and could not find anything except tyres and brakepads and the 3rd brakelight problem which I was already aware of.

Do any of you take to a normal garage rather than a specific mercedes one?

 

[Blobcat]

Hello and welcome

Where are you based? We’ve a good network of Mercedes Independents.

It would be interesting to post up the list of required items. The garage you’ve been to might be being cautious and giving you the worst case of everything that’s not perfect

 

[SmartAmg]

Welcome, Sally.

 

[Sally Louise Wallis]

Hello and welcome

Where are you based? We’ve a good network of Mercedes Independents.

It would be interesting to post up the list of required items. The garage you’ve been to might be being cautious and giving you the worst case of everything that’s not perfect

Hi

I'm in Southampton ......I did consider going back to dealership or another MB specialist just to compare lists.

 

[Srdl]

Hi Sally and welcome. The general view is that a reputable Mercedes Indie will usually give a much more honest opinion than a Mercedes dealer. I suppose it all depends on who you have used and whether they come with any strong recommendation from others.

 

[Sally Louise Wallis]

Welcome, Sally.

Thank you

 

[umblecumbuz]

Sadly, it is also MB Dealership policy to condemn brake pads and discs long before they have finished their safe, useful life. This is a very handy source of revenue for them.
Without wishing to denigrate your visited dealer, who you haven't named. a visit to a recognized Indie will soon give you the true picture.
If you want a recommendation for a trusted Indie who specializes in Mercedes' in your area, just ask here and you will get a number of suggestions based on personal knowledge.

 

[Sally Louise Wallis]

Hi Sally and welcome. The general view is that a reputable Mercedes Indie will usually give a much more honest opinion than a Mercedes dealer. I suppose it all depends on who you have used and whether they come with any strong recommendation from others.

Hi

No didn't have recommendations just read any reviews but decided I needed car checked for safety dealership said brake pads and 2 tyres so decided to take to specialist due to it being cheaper but of course they said they required to do health check rather than the specified work dealership said required done and came up with about 4 grand work by time I get done

 

[Sally Louise Wallis]

Sadly, it is also MB Dealership policy to condemn brake pads and discs long before they have finished their safe, useful life. This is a very handy source of revenue for them.
Without wishing to denigrate your visited dealer, who you haven't named. a visit to a recognized Indie will soon give you the true picture.
If you want a recommendation for a trusted Indie in your area, just ask here and you will get a number of suggestions based on personal knowledge.

Hi

Yes the specialist did say tyres and pads still OK for a while yet.

Suggestions would be appreciated....might be the specialist I have already seen.

I understand the car is 10yr old but when bought just had service and on Gov site never failed MOT. It is a good example of the car for age I was expecting some work so thought let off lightly by independent garage and dealership which both said same thing. I thought for genuine parts I would take to specialist I was not expecting the long list.

I have recently had serpentine belt done 3 times but kept shredding hence recovered to dealership who determined wrong pulleys and parts......all fine now although warranty paid for it and they checked car because I wanted to ensure safe after several shredded belts it made me nervous luckily for me I was quite local when steering went

 

[Blobcat]

Hi

I'm in Southampton ......I did consider going back to dealership or another MB specialist just to compare lists.

MBS Southampton is a forum sponsor and a well respected indie (I use them for serving...)

 

[A.J.]

Hi Sally and welcome to the forum

 

[RhodieBill]

Hi

I'm in Southampton ......I did consider going back to dealership or another MB specialist just to compare lists.

Hello Sally, and welcome.....

The only one I can personally recommend is https://www.prestigecarservice.co.uk/
The owner's name is Ollie - really good guy and what he doesn't know, (about Mercs) isn't worth knowing!

They are in Horndean - about 10 minutes up the A3.

Good luck!

 

[davemercedes]

Hello and welcome, Sally. I'm sure the recommendations you have above will get you to a good independent. Most of them are real MB enthusiasts and we have a few who are members on this forum - they frequently give advice and guidance to members on postings.
- An MB dealer would book it and charge you for "investigation"!

Enjoy your car!

 

[Srdl]

Hi

I'm in Southampton ......I did consider going back to dealership or another MB specialist just to compare lists.

Sorry, I missed your earlier post. Yes, I have also used MBS with my previous car and I can recommend them.

 

[Sally Louise Wallis]

Hello and welcome

Where are you based? We’ve a good network of Mercedes Independents.

It would be interesting to post up the list of required items. The garage you’ve been to might be being cautious and giving you the worst case of everything that’s not perfect

Hello and welcome, Sally. I'm sure the recommendations you have above will get you to a good independent. Most of them are real MB enthusiasts and we have a few who are members on this forum - they frequently give advice and guidance to members on postings.
- An MB dealer would book it and charge you for "investigation"!

Enjoy your car!

Thank you I may get another MBS to give health check and compare

 

[AndySlade]

MBS Southampton is a forum sponsor and a well respected indie (I use them for serving...)

MBS Southampton gets my vote, been using them for past 7 years.

 

[Sally Louise Wallis]

Hello Sally, and welcome.....

The only one I can personally recommend is https://www.prestigecarservice.co.uk/
The owner's name is Ollie - really good guy and what he doesn't know, (about Mercs) isn't worth knowing!

They are in Horndean - about 10 minutes up the A3.

Good luck!

 

[Sally Louise Wallis]

Thank you

 

[Sally Louise Wallis]

MBS Southampton gets my vote, been using them for past 7 years.

Which specialist did you use?

 

[Srdl]

Which specialist did you use?

MBS is the specialist - here is their website https://www.mbssouthampton.co.uk/