Service B1 Advice and Artico Material...

[Kully]

Hello All, my 2008 Mercedes C180 is due for a service in around 20 days. Its coming up as a B1 service and having called MB service, they have informed me that the total cost will be just over £600 as I need to have new spark plugs fitted (due to age of the vehicle) and the usual service bits.
So can I get the spark plugs fitted elsewhere or does it have to be part of the MB service? I've never had to pay so much for a service on my car... Plus I am looking to sell the car, so am trying to get the full service history but I don't really want to have to fork out £600 plus...

Finally as I am selling the car, the driver seat has some wear on the 'artico leather' it's just cracked the white fabric underneath is perfect no tears or rips (see image), shall I get this repaired (I can see this costing a few hundred I imagine!) , try to repair myself or sell as is and take some money of the asking price?

Uggghhh it's such a shame as the car is lovely to drive, low mileage, full service history etc but I now need something bigger...

Any help would be much appreciated.

K

 

[EmilysDad]

You can take your car to a local respected Merc independant where it'll cost nothing like £600 .... IMHO it really is wasted money top get Merc to service a 12 year old car.
I had one Artico panel replaced on my previous car a few years back & it was £100 ... he removed the seat, took it away for repair & refitted it within 24 hours. You could gt a quote for repair & go from there if you think it's worth it!

 

[Wighty]

If you are going to sell the car and depending on how you sell it , just get a basic A service done (oil change ) , so you get an MB stamp .
A lot of MB dealers do a +7year old car basic service cost , you have to ask for it and if you supply your own oil it’s probably less than £100 .
That might take the sting out of the loss you will make selling it . Don’t bother with the spark plugs

 

[Ron240]

IMHO it really is wasted money top get Merc to service a 12 year old car.

Absolutely in mine too.

 

[Kully]

If you are going to sell the car and depending on how you sell it , just get a basic A service done (oil change ) , so you get an MB stamp .
A lot of MB dealers do a +7year old car basic service cost , you have to ask for it and if you supply your own oil it’s probably less than £100 .
That might take the sting out of the loss you will make selling it . Don’t bother with the spark plugs

 

[Kully]

Thank you so very much! I would never have know this and would have most likely paid for it (they really do know how to rip you off don't they) I'll call them tmrw and book it in, hoping that this will attract buyers... Thank you so much once again really appreciated.

 

[Kully]

You can take your car to a local respected Merc independant where it'll cost nothing like £600 .... IMHO it really is wasted money top get Merc to service a 12 year old car.
I had one Artico panel replaced on my previous car a few years back & it was £100 ... he removed the seat, took it away for repair & refitted it within 24 hours. You could gt a quote for repair & go from there if you think it's worth it!

Thank you for the advice, I think I will get a quote for a repair... As I think it will put buyers off, if I save on the service cost it's worthwhile looking into the repair of the seat... Much appreciated

 

[LostKiwi]

Thank you so very much! I would never have know this and would have most likely paid for it (they really do know how to rip you off don't they) I'll call them tmrw and book it in, hoping that this will attract buyers... Thank you so much once again really appreciated.

A full MBSH on a 12 year old car will make little difference to most buyers.
As long as it has full history that's all most will notice.

 

[Wighty]

Thank you for the advice, I think I will get a quote for a repair... As I think it will put buyers off, if I save on the service cost it's worthwhile looking into the repair of the seat... Much appreciated

Basic oil change service at your local garage will save a few more quid

 

[Kully]

I'll call MB tmrw morning and get it booked in for a basic service and provide my own oil. I've also sent a email to two local companies who repair car seats so I'll keep you all informed for your information.
Thanks again

 

[Kully]

Well asking MB to knock some money off and getting a basic service for my car was a bit of a waster they have come back and said that the total cost will now ne £372.29 as opposed to the £600 that I was originally going to be charged! I even mentioned my loyalty to them for years etc but they would not budge... So now I'm stuck do I just pay for it and get the full service history before I sell it or go elsewhere? I've advertised it already on AT and when I've had calls pple are asking if it's full MB SH so I think it will be a factor when selling... Uggghh what a faff!

 

[Kully]

Ps I am getting the car seat repaired so that's one job that will be ticked off

 

[Ron240]

I am confused.....Mercedes are prepared to do the service £228 cheaper but you said they would not budge?
I still say that it should make no difference to the sale price of your car if it has not had every single service carried out by a Mercedes dealer.
As stated earlier it is wasted money to continue using a Mercedes dealer on a 12 year old car, when an independent will do exactly the same job at a much cheaper price.
Any potential buyer that would be put off by independent specialist servicing on a car of this age is probably not the type of person you want to be selling to.
It would be unreasonable for anybody to expect a 12 year old car to have a full main dealer service history.
Cars like this will be out there, but they will be the exception rather than the rule.

 

[sonic]

As others have said on this age of car a full service history is attractive, a full MB service history is unusual. Its unlikely to make much difference on the sale.
Tell us where you live & we can recommend an independent MB garage near you. That will be a lot cheaper.

 

[Wighty]

Ps I am getting the car seat repaired so that's one job that will be ticked off

So does your MB Dealer not do the Value Service on 7+ year deals ?