Ouch !!!! Dealers should come with a health warning sticker

[jimmymack]

Hi
first post on this forum, wish I had found it a few days ago.
I have had my 99 c200 Esprit for a little over a week, and driving to work yesterday through the snow and ice, the gizmo which seems to control traction aparently decided that it had done far to much work and went on strike bringing up the BAS and ASR warning light.
Well, I did what all virgin Merc owners must have done at one time and drove on to a local Merc dealer to get them to diagnose the problem.
A very helpfull chap from "service" came and had a look and said that if I didn't mind, he would just stick in on diagnosis to see what the faults were, it would only take a few minutes.
1/2 an hour later he came back and said that it was the brake light switch and it would need replacing, the part was about 10 quid, and would I like him to do it as it would only take a minute, well, somewhat foolishly I said yes and settled down in the "rest area".
a further 20 minutes later he returned saying all was well and started producing the bill, I had a few quid in my wallet but this was returned rather promtly when the bill transpired to be 113.00 !!! I asked him what his hourly rate was but he said that he simply pushed the buttons on his computer for the job and it gave him the price. I told him that I would have done it myself had I have been aware, but he replied that he had advised me of the price of the replacement part and I had OK'd him to go ahead.
OK, so they got me, but maybe it was more good fortune on my part, just imagine if I had gone in to get the brakes done !!!!!

 

[television]

I bet you wished you had found this site earlier, Your fault is a stock fault and effects most of the cars in the range.
As cars get newer and newer, there is not so much that we can do ourselves.
This switch that sits over the brake pedal was an easy one. It looks as though you have been charged the full 1 hours labour, could be their min charge.

Malcolm

 

[philharve]

Hi television

Minimum charge!!!! Do MB dealerships implement such a scheme? My God, they'll be charging customers for parking next!

REGARDS Phil

 

[beezer60]

"but he replied that he had advised me of the price of the replacement part and I had OK'd him to go ahead"

It's the sort of sharp practice that Trading Standards go after back-street garages for, but Mercedes dealers are really no better. You should have been told the full cost of this work at the outset. But of course they know if they do this you'll usually go elsewhere.

I had this done to me by MB Brentford . An expensive lesson to learn but you don't make the same mistake twice. I may have bought the car from them and used them for the first A and B services but I won't be going back there again.

 

[jberks]

I fell for this too. Had the wiper rubber replaced a few years ago. "Part is £5", "Sure pop it on then", "That'll be £25 please"
Once bitten etc, I always check the full price and generally only use the dealer for warranty work.

You primarily paid for the daignostic I suspect. To be fair to them (why?) you took up a mechanic, a ramp and an expensive diag machine for the best part of an hour and dealers charge £90 per hour so it does sound about right.

Lesson here, find yourself a good local indie specialist before you need one in a hurry.

I sat in the dealer recently listening to them tell the owner of a 10 year old S that the head needed to come off and he was looking at £1000+ before they get to the actual problem. He seemed to be going for it too. I wanted to grab the phone and say that an indie would be less than half that for the same job with a more highly skilled mechanic. A fool and his money....

 

[jimmymack]

thanks guys
yes, you live and learn, someone once told me that life was a great teacher but that the lessons were expensive, (though probably not as expensive as Mercedes on the whole)!
I also run a Toyota and am well aware of the prices "MR T" charges for bits and bobs but I will give Toyota one thing, they arnt' worried about not charging for "having a look and a fiddle" when you have a problem.
I will now have to look around the Peterborough area for an independant Merc specialist to do work outside servicing which I would like to keep complete with dealer stamps, at least for another year or two anyway until the return on having this history is eaten up by the cars age.

 

[Parrot of Doom]

No way would I accept this. He told you the cost of the part which is reasonable, and then said 'it would only take a minute'

Now to a layman, 'only take a minute' is completely different to 'only take an hour's labour'. The job would only take a minute, and therefore no way should you expect to be charged for a full hour - you should be charged for a discounted hour, reflecting the time he estimated it would take.

Personally, I'd expect to pay a tenner for the labour, and no more. The job was done in well under 20 minutes.

I'd complain in writing to both the dealer and Mercedes UK, and also threaten them with trading standards. Its sharp practice and totally unfair.

Also send an email to BBC Watchdog, and contact your local newspaper as well - "GARAGE CHARGES OVER £100 FOR 10 MINUTES LABOUR" - they won't like that.

 

[DAD190E1990]

I would have given him £10 and a smile, then simply driven away. If i wasn't told about the hours labour first, i would laugh at them even if it does come off a computer printer. I agree with The Parrot, go to the papers !

 

[davidC200K]

Hi
OK, so they got me, but maybe it was more good fortune on my part, just imagine if I had gone in to get the brakes done !!!!!

I can answer that one. I too was an MB virgin when I realised the front pads required replacement. Tried to source pads from motor factors but could not find the right ones so put it into the dealership.

Phone call later saying that the disks were scored and should be replaced. Total bill £280. Car had done 26k at about 30months old and I had not let the pads get down to the rivets. They say that the new brake materials are much harder and score the disks. I have only ever had to replace warped disks before.

So they got me once, never again. I will now use them for warranty work and nothing else. I have found a local German marque specialist indi for anything I can't do myself.

 

[jimmymack]

Hindsight is a wonderfull thing, and in the comfort of my living room reading these posts I guess I should have been a little more beligerant towards the dealership, but I'm afraid that I was not really aware of what to say other than "Yikes"! at the time as it was a bit of a shock, I don't think I could have got away with giving him a tenner and driving away as he only gave me my keys when he gave me the reciept after I had paid.
The paper idea is interesting and might be used though if they felt it printworthy.
Thanks to all who have given their thoughts.
Just makes me mad that they must think that all Mercedes owners send their chauffer in and pay with the "small change" in the glove compartment. (and speaking of which, it is a little on the small side isn't it unless you take it literally and just use it for gloves ?)
I bought mine for several reasons, it's alleged reliability and longetivity, the status associated with driving a merc, (yes vain I know but why not), and thre fact that they actually look pretty modern even after a few years.
I appreciated that owning a Merc would be comparitivley more expensive than other marques but that it would even out by not needing to be fixed so often (fingers crossed on this one chaps).

 

[Ian Brown]

No way would I accept this. He told you the cost of the part which is reasonable, and then said 'it would only take a minute'

Now to a layman, 'only take a minute' is completely different to 'only take an hour's labour'. The job would only take a minute, and therefore no way should you expect to be charged for a full hour - you should be charged for a discounted hour, reflecting the time he estimated it would take.

Personally, I'd expect to pay a tenner for the labour, and no more. The job was done in well under 20 minutes.

I'd complain in writing to both the dealer and Mercedes UK, and also threaten them with trading standards. Its sharp practice and totally unfair.

Also send an email to BBC Watchdog, and contact your local newspaper as well - "GARAGE CHARGES OVER £100 FOR 10 MINUTES LABOUR" - they won't like that.

There is two ways to look at this the part only costs a tenor but they may have a notice saying minimum charge one hour’s labour. So put it the other way, what would the charge be for the diagnostic check, the price of the part plus minimum .5 hours labour.
It is only phone companies that charge by the minute

I have a friend with a corsa sxi engine management light is on and it cost him £67 for the diagnostic check which showed up a faulty alternator, he has to pay for the check if he take the car away, But if they repair his car they will waver the charge of the diagnostic check and charge for parts + 1 hours labour and the work is guaranteed for 1 year. .

 

[malcolm E53 AMG]

Welcome to the world of Mercedes. I empathise with you re the shock of the bill but we all go through this phase of ownership. The MB dealers labour rates are frightening and hard to justify, most long term owners seek out other garages (either indie's or competent local outfits) to do basic maintenance.

On the bright side you have discovered this forum and will gain knowledge about your car from other peoples experiences.

Also, I must admit to being impressed by the service you received. The dealer diagnosed the problem properly and carried out the repair. Had the problem not been diagnosed properly and the dealer had started playing around with ECU's (it does happen) you might have ended up multiplying your bill by 5.

Welcome to the forum and I hope you find it as rewarding as I have.

 

[Stevie A]

The moral of the story is that driving a Merc is gonna cost more money. It's the badge - it has a cost. You can't get anything for nothing and just think of the time saved trying to find out what was wrong with the car.

 

[davidC200K]

Not sure that anyone is complaining about paying more to drive a Merc. Its about at least feeling that you are being treated fairly.

 

[Parrot of Doom]

I used to drive an old shape Audi A4. In 80,000 miles of driving over 4 years, the only thing that ever broke was the MAF sensor. It ploughed on regardless, never gave me any cause for concern, was quiet, cheap, economical (55mpg), stylish, good stereo, and great seats. It would happily run on cold vegetable oil fed straight into the tank, did it for years it never complained. Absolute belter of a car.

Cost me £11000, sold it for £3000 4 years later, 138000 on the clock, sweet as a nut. Hardly any squeaks or rattles.

Mercedes aren't the only manufacturer with a reputation for reliability (if there still is one)

The Audi dealers though.......you think Merc dealers are bad.....

 

[jberks]

I will now have to look around the Peterborough area for an independant Merc specialist to do work outside servicing which I would like to keep complete with dealer stamps, at least for another year or two anyway until the return on having this history is eaten up by the cars age.

Jimmy,
pop a note up and someone will recommend a good specialist nearby.

I had the same view with the E240. Kept the servicing with the dealer until it was 6 and then went to the specialist. It saved me over £250 on that one job alone. 6 months later I started to regret it as I was trading it in. I waited for the history question with trepidation. When I said the last service was with a specialist, the answer was 'oh thats fine then.". They offered me bottom book anyway, despite it being lowish mileage and mint. They always do. I was only offered bottom book for a mint very low mileage, still under warranty C class too (my dad got the bargain instead!). Provided there isn't any downside with regards to the extended warranty I bought, my late 04 E is going straight to the specialist when due and I'll keep the £200+ a time, in my bank account. They can do warranty work anyway and the EU won't let their work affect the manufacturers warranty. After all these years I think I finally realised there really isn't any reason to go the the dealer any more.

 

[dogsbody]

Ouch!!!! Dealer should come witha health warning sticker.

Welcome to the forum!
As other have said the loss of all the safety circuits abs eps cruise etc are disconnected for "safety" due to the failure of the stop light switch. The car is quite safe to drive as normal 1970's car without any special safety features.
The stop light switch costs £7.57 plus vat.
Mine went 3 months ago, and it took 3 different forum members an hour to diagnose the problem! ( cheaper than £113!)
There is much knowledge, based largely on grief and driving experience on the forum.
Use the resource wisely, and preferably before you shell out. Also useful to find a local independant garage which knows Mercedes, but has failed the Dick Turpin charging course (aparently passed by most Merc Stealerships)