Service costs.

[gwilson]

Hi all I own a 51 plate ML270 cdi. Yesterday I put it in for a service and this is the bill.

Labour 2 hrs for service plus 1 hour for Checking lack of power £127.50
Engine oil £34.50
Oil Filter £8.15
Air filter £17.89
Fuel filter £11.96
Air Mass Sensor £61.92 (MB part)
Engine Flush £10.55

Including VAT total cost was £313.34

Is this reasonable? Reason Im asking is for the last 3 1/2 years I have been running a VW Golf with a service plan so i literally dropped the car off then picked it up again without paying on the day.

The car was ready when they said it would be and the garage is only 15 mins down the road from me.

Thanks

Gareth

 

[television]

That looks fine to me, and reasonable

 

[jberks]

Looks very cheap to me.
3hrs ~ £127 - £40 per hour - I assume this wasn't a dealer - they're normally 2-3 times this price.
Even the parts are reasonable. I paid £100 for oil on my last dealer service (same engine). ACtually £35 is perhaps a bit too cheap - I'd question what oil they have used. It consumes 6.75L so thats £5L. What did they put in?
In contrast, Mobil 1 is £10L retail and £16L at a dealer.

£65 for an AMS - bargain.

Assuming its all been done properly I think you got a bargain.

 

[gwilson]

Invoice breakdown for the oil says: Oil (zetec) ford.

It was Carmasters (Scotland) in Baillieston Glasgow.

Guess I'll be using them again.

 

[Mark A]

I thought the Ford Zetec oil was a 5/30W . Iwould check as that is not the right oil for your ML.

£65 for an AFM is about right - my local MB dealer charged me about that last year for mine.

 

[television]

I have tried to find the actual spec of that oil, but had no luck yet

 

[Rory]

The oil probably isn't that critical but I would have preferred a Turbo Diesel specific oil rather than one meant for Ford petrols (but I think oils are generally a lot more similar than we're led to believe and the differences are mainly branding - I've been assured, for instance, Mobil 1 and Mobil 1 TD are exactly the same oil in different packaging).

The overall price is stunningly cheap - same work in an MB dealer at full prices (but they will discount heavily for older cars if asked) would have been getting on for a grand.