Service Care Advice

[syedeali]

Im having difficulty deciding if i should go for this or not, at £25 a month it will cost me £900 over three years.

Alternatively i will have 2A (2x£200) services and a B (£300) service in that time which would come to £700 (i think thats the lowest ive seen at inchcape) some dealers seem to have A and B services for £20-£30 more

So the difference is potentially £200 would it cost me this much in the 'extras' such as filters etc over the two years??

 

[ashakeeluk]

I have the same dilemma. Interesting to see what others think and their past experiences.

 

[Rory]

You'll also need a brake fluid change at 2yrs which should be £60ish.

It doesn't cover anything else except the standard scheduled services so even if there was additional work you would have to pay for it.

ServiceCare prices are new and are quite a bit lower than the previous programme which had absolutely insane pricing. But you should save money by committing to these programmes, not spend more!

BMW does 5 years servicing on 5 Series for £350.

 

[jberks]

BMW must be subsidising at that rate!
Is a dealer A service only £200 and a B only £300? Sounds very cheap!! My rough figures are £250 for an and £450 for a B - rarely been less.
As those prices, the fixed deal makes more sense.
Still you could simply use an indie and save the difference.

 

[jonharker]

Inchcape are doing fixed price servicing of £199 for A service and £299 for B service for cars to 4 years £180/£280 4 years plus exc luding any extras of course.
Prices do seem to have become more competitive.

 

[Yakker]

Given the labour rate for any work performed over and above a service tends to be well north of a ton, then is the service just a loss leader for getting other work ?

 

[Rory]

BMW must be subsidising at that rate!

Probably not as much as you might think, and, unlike Mercedes, they're still on long-life servicing of course.

The big thing for BMW and its dealers is that it keeps the cars in the network. No doubt they load on all sorts of other work too.

I just got 5 years servicing (annual basis) on wifey's new Jazz for £500, and Honda's are not renowned for being cheap to service. VW do 3 year deals on Golf for £250.

Inchcape are doing fixed price servicing of £199 for A service and £299 for B service for cars to 4 years £180/£280 4 years plus exc luding any extras of course.
Prices do seem to have become more competitive.

They've been offering similar prices for at least 3 years.

Click the link on the mid-right of the page:
http://www.inchcape.mercedes-benz.co.uk/

 

[carabind]

Personally, I pay as I go.
You're not stricted to MB stealers (you can use decent indies, particularly if you appraching end of warrantybut will need breakdown cover as you'lllose mobilolife)
Whatever the saving is (£200 quoted), you can get a couple of tanks of fuel for that.


And if you've prepaid, I'm 99% sure they will try and tuck you up for any extras anyway (wiper blades, engine flush,aircon spray etc etc)
Tranny and brake fluids aren't included which makes a joke of the claim that this covers all servicing

 

[syedeali]

BMW does 5 years servicing on 5 Series for £350.

Yes ive seen that but its limited to brand new cars only, if you buy it after registration its £750 & £810 for a 3 series and 5 series (6 cylinder)

 

[syedeali]

And if you've prepaid, I'm 99% sure they will try and tuck you up for any extras anyway (wiper blades, engine flush,aircon spray etc etc)
Tranny and brake fluids aren't included which makes a joke of the claim that this covers all servicing

Thanks for your opinion however brake fluid seems to be included now

"What Service Care covers
Service Care covers the cost of all manufacturer recommended service items required in the service schedule, including for example, brake fluid, spark plugs, fuel filter, air filter and screen-wash. The first service covered under the Plan can only be carried out 3 months after the contract start date."

 

[syedeali]

Im still undecided......

So the plan will include a £60 brake fluid change on year 2

How often is the air filter changed and how much does it normally cost?

I have a diesel so no park plugs (which would have been included) when would the fuel filter normally be changed and again whats the cost?


If the dealers say i need "extra" items changing can i not just say NO! as the service plan states it covers "all manufacturer recommended service items required in the service schedule" if its not covered by the service plan it cant be mandatory. The only two items that are excluded in the small print are wiper blades, bulbs and repacement of any friction material which i imagine means pads discs etc

 

[GeorgeA]

Im still undecided......

So the plan will include a £60 brake fluid change on year 2

How often is the air filter changed and how much does it normally cost?

I have a diesel so no park plugs (which would have been included) when would the fuel filter normally be changed and again whats the cost?


If the dealers say i need "extra" items changing can i not just say NO! as the service plan states it covers "all manufacturer recommended service items required in the service schedule" if its not covered by the service plan it cant be mandatory. The only two items that are excluded in the small print are wiper blades, bulbs and repacement of any friction material which i imagine means pads discs etc

The air filter is about £15 and is not changed often enough; only at the second B service from my experience. The fuel filter is changed every 4 years or 35000 miles. The part is about £20. I would be wary that if you refused any work the dealer said was necessary they will not stamp the service book. You then have the hassle of getting the work done elsewhere and returning to get the book stamped. Who needs this hassle. Could be for work that is not required anyway.

My advise - save the cost of the service plan into an account then use it for each service whether at the dealer or elsewhere. Allows you to keep your options open.

 

[Rory]

You'd do better on ServiceCare if you timed the coverage over a period when additional items, such as fuel and air filters were required.

Not sure what the current state of play on ATF change is, but it used to be a one off change at 4yrs/37.5K miles - but maybe they've stopped it again now.

If you got it for the first 3 services of the car's life then it'll need nothing more than oil & filter changes, one pollen filter and one brake fluid change, so it wouldn't be very good value.

 

[ashakeeluk]

I've got my car on Agility scheme and my estimated mileage is 12K a year.

I spoke to the service manage at the local dealer where I purchased my car and this is what the plan would include with their pricing over three years:

2 x A Service @ £229 a service
1 x B Service @ £329 a service
Gearbox oil change inc oil @ £240
Pollen filter Change inc filter @ £43
Brake Fluid change inc oil @ £80

Individual pricing without the plan this would be £921.

The plan is £24.99 a month over 3 yrs, this would be £899.64 in total.

If I had the car for 4 years then it would require a Fuel & Filter change @ £170.

This does not include brake disks, pads, wiper blades.

This is my first mercedes so it would be interesting to see what others think in terms of the prices quoted and those that have had mercs for a number of years their average costs for servicing.

Amjad

 

[Rory]

I've got my car on Agility scheme and my estimated mileage is 12K a year.
....
Gearbox oil change inc oil @ £240

I'm not certain of the interval on newer cars, but on the facelift W203 and W211, for example, ATF change is 37.5K miles or 4 years, whichever is first.

If that's the case for your car I'd be amazed if the dealer did it at 36K. Is it really called for on W204? I can't make it appear on the ESS on the MB website.

 

[ashakeeluk]

Just checked service booklet that came with my W204 and it states the following:

Once after 50000 km/3 years replace ATF Oil & Filter (vehicles with 7G auto and 5 speed auto)

Air & Fuel filter after 75000 km/4 years.

Looks like they have changed it.

 

[hawk20]

BMW subsidise servicing as a marketing tool. So do Honda at the moment. But BMW offer lousy finance deals and Honda not much better.

Mercedes offer great finance deals but you pay full whack for servicing.
They all offer something in these tough times.

The service care package may just about equate to normal servicing costs on the figures you've been given. If it covers you against future price rises it may be good value.

IMO hardly worth wasting much sleep on this decision. It looks pretty nip and tuck.

 

[jberks]

Individual pricing without the plan this would be £921.

The plan is £24.99 a month over 3 yrs, this would be £899.64 in total.

Well, based on that I wouldn't bother. Thats a saving of £7 per year. At those prices it's a pre-payment scheme, not a savings scheme.
You'll save vastly more by ringing 2 or 3 local dealers and negotiating a discount. I've had £30, £50, even £100 off on one occasion, just for the asking. Last time I used the dealer I asked for a price, (£240) then said, "and what discount do I get off that?" Clearly people don' ask much as he seemed a bit surprised, but went off for a minute and came back with "We can do it for £200 Sir" - that's nearly 20%, and without playing hardball! Clearly if I'd been inclined I reckon I could have pushed them down below £200. Remember, an A service is a lad on £15k, pushing a pipe down the dipstick hole to suck the oil out, change the oil filter and pump a preset lump of oil back in. If it takes more that 15 minutes I'd be surprised and if we can get the oil for £50 retail, how much do you think a dealership, buying wholesale in drums is paying?.
.
You can also buy Mobil1 from Costco and have them use that - That saves around £60 an oil change on it's own.

This is all assuming you're locked into the dealers and can't use an indie. Not sure what stipulation there is on the agility scheme as to whether it says it must be dealer serviced, but if not, then an indie will save you vastly more (and doesn't affect the warranty).

 

[syedeali]

Thanks for all the advice guys ive decided,

Since my first service is due in 4 months which should be a straight forward A service with NO 'extras' as it would be on 10k im going to pay cash and ask my local to price match inchcape for £200.

If i then go on the service care i would get

1x A Service - £200/£229
2x B Service - £300/£329

Gearbox oil - £240
Pollen filter - £43
Brake Fluid - £80
Fuel & Air Filter change - £170.

Total cost £1,333 for years 2,3,4 however on the service plan it would cost £900. I agree its still a lot of money and i could save at an indie but it is a new car afterall. Plus by sticking to the dealers for the first 4 years it should accrue some 'goodwill' so if anything does go wrong outside warranty i stand a better chance.

 

[Rory]

That's a good plan, but be aware that at some point in that regime you will get a "we've got the wheels off and it could with pads and disks all round" call.

They'll also push you on the "a/c service" and other optional items.

Maybe you can resist these things, but many people just go along with whatever the dealers says.