Service A due and ridiculous quote from stealers !!

[JBell]

I got similar prices with an online quote too. Mad

They are in the ball park with what I was quoted for my W204 apart from the air filter which was £150.

The air filter is easy for £40 from ECP, pollen filter as well - MANN Frecious. Fuel filters are around £40. Brake Fluid I paid £50 for my indy to do it

 

[littlebrooklyn]

We paid £279.53 for an A Service back in March, including an MOT, we use an Indie in Harrow and have always been very happy with them

 

[davemercedes]

Apologies folks!
My line went down and my post was sitting half-done: this is what it should have said -

LOCAL SERVICE

I remember one or two discussions about sevicing, service contracts and rates on here and it's alwaus been of interest to me. When a member was decryi care ngpoor service at high prices recently I commented yjat sadly, most stealerships don't care whether you use the or not and whether you're satisfied if you do... whereas most independents (and I include the local garage with the real specialist indy in this comment) are very pleased to have your custom and actually care that you'll return for anyother requirements.

Here's my latest experience:

I use a local "all makes" garage for general servicing. The manager and most of his engineers are quite knowedgeable and they serivice my car according to A and B schedule at very reasonable prices. I went through a decision process when I'd had the car for a year and my experience with the service contract quotation from MB left me feeling glad to have escaped... So after discounting the value of Mobilo (I have full continental breakdown service via my bank) I went with my local well-known garage. As most customers will find, deaking with a local company can be an absolute pleasure and I find my garage's work ethic is secpmd to none. They tell me (for example, if a job is complex or needs special tools) to go to my Indy and on £-rates alone since I've had my S203 I think I've been on a winner!

So this year rumbled along and thank heavens SWMBO and I survied the lockdown (with dramaticallyt reduced mileage) and had both our jabs over recent months. I noticed what I thought was a mild "grauch" when braking a little hard and my parking foot-brake jammed a couple of times so I booked a service at about 6 months. The manager answere my call when I booked tje servie and he asked if it was necessary because he knew everyone's mileage is so much lower than average, this year.

Cutting it short, I dropped the car off in the morning as usual and arounf 12:00 the manager phoned me and said he had checked all the levels and thought it was a complete waste of time to do a service. He adjusted and lubricated the foot-parking brake himself.

My bill? It came to £=0

I think this illustrates more than anything the value of a local service garage that wants your business but doesn't take the "hiss"... and in fact cares about your and your vehicle. The garage has been in existence for about 20 years of which I've been a customer for about 10 years, And if I live long enough I'll be their customer for another 10!

 

[Cleck]

I use Prestige in Ossett, both for servicing and ancilliary stuff (they recently replaced the heated seat pad) and I've been very happy with them. I owuldn't hesitate to recommend them. Much more cost effective than MB Leeds.

 

[sonic]

A year last February I had an A service on the wife's SLC250d at MB Wolverhampton paid £250.

 

[s5tuart]

My quote for the CLS 350d Shooting Brake from Synter in Bedford at the beginning of this month.
"Service B would come up to £461.14 including all parts, labour, VAT, the environmental disposal of oil and a courtesy car if you would need one.



For a Service A it would come up to £328.93 including all parts, labour, VAT, the environmental disposal of oil and a courtesy car if you would need one.



In addition to those costs if the AdBlue had to be topped up on the day we would charge up to £40 depending on how many litres are needed.



If you would like to wait as we do the work or are ok to drop the car off and leave it with us without a loan car we could reduce the service cost by £20."

 

[vtaylor78]

We paid £279.53 for an A Service back in March, including an MOT, we use an Indie in Harrow and have always been very happy with them

Wayne Gates ?

 

[Blobcat]

My quote for the CLS 350d Shooting Brake from Synter in Bedford at the beginning of this month.
"Service B would come up to £461.14 including all parts, labour, VAT, the environmental disposal of oil and a courtesy car if you would need one.



For a Service A it would come up to £328.93 including all parts, labour, VAT, the environmental disposal of oil and a courtesy car if you would need one.



In addition to those costs if the AdBlue had to be topped up on the day we would charge up to £40 depending on how many litres are needed.



If you would like to wait as we do the work or are ok to drop the car off and leave it with us without a loan car we could reduce the service cost by £20."

That’s over £2 per litre for AdBlue, it’s the labour cost unfortunately

 

[Ron240]

Yes it's the labour charge that kills it, and prestige dealers are extortionate for it.
It was mentioned earlier £92 to renew brake fluid, and this would be on top of your service price where the car is already in the workshop having other things done to it.
Main dealer servicing is a licence to print money.
You could say the fancy showrooms and extras have to be paid for somehow....but when the perceived status of a car rises then so does everything else, often disproportionately.

 

[s5tuart]

That’s over £2 per litre for AdBlue, it’s the labour cost unfortunately

I did it myself! It's not hard if I can do it!!
£10.84 for 10 litres

 

[Wearsafoxhat]

Just been talking to MB about my up and coming service on our V class. An A service inc brake fluid and a dust filter, £452.
My next B service in two years time (2years or 20,000 miles ) includes the atf , brake fluid and an air filter is quoted at being approximately £1127.95.

So sort of breaks down as £400 per year, Mobilo one year, RAC the next then back to Mobilo. (12 months after service so a bit knackered on bi annual services)

Not real value for money imho.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Blobcat]

I did it myself! It's not hard if I can do it!!
£10.84 for 10 litres

Quite a few fuel stations have it on the pump for £1 per litre (or less if you use a HGV pump…)

 

[littlebrooklyn]

Wayne Gates ?

Yes, have been using him for years, always been very happy

 

[vtaylor78]

Yes, have been using him for years, always been very happy

Yes, have been using him for years, always been very happy

Yes my friend who lived in Greenford , said he was very good .

 

[davemercedes]

The beneits of using a recommended Indy have been illustrated on this forum many times - and long may it continue. Frankly, I can't think of a better owner-driver situation than being looked after by an Indy who charges respectable rates, knows as much or more about your vehicle than a dealer service engineer and then, as someone said a couple of weeks ago, goes out of his way to stop you spending money (rather than those who go out of their way to nudge you towards spending it)!

 

[Monday]

Seems something funny here. My cars alternate between A and B services each year. (This assumes that, as I do, you don't exceed the mileage of 15,500/year so the services are annual.) The A service (at years 1, 3, 5 etc) is just an oil change with a bit of a look round underneath - not forgetting the video of course. The B service varies but always includes a brake fluid change - as it is every 2 years - and may subsequently include filters, spark plugs, transmission fluid etc depending on whether it's 4, 6 or 8 year service. I don't quite understand why brake fluid and filters are being included in an A service?

 

[Ron240]

Brake fluid is every 2 years so if its only been 1 since last changed then it is obviously not required

 

[sonic]

I paid £1,000 for the MB 3 year service plan for the SLC when it was on offer. Thats 2 B & 1 A service.