Service History????

[rajinder_1]

Hi Guys,
MMMMMMM i have been pondring for some time now to weather it is worth having a full dealer service history.... Although i think if i was buying i would prefer (i know im a hypocrit) but i dont think that the resale value would compensate the extotionate amount charged.....
£250 for a service or £90 per hour labour.
I have a good independent that i use and have been for the last 6 yrs or so, from my first mercedes c class ( which i have no intention of selling as it would not make financial sense due to depreciation) But i have got a SL320 which is overdue on the mercedes stamp for a service. Although i did service the car as soon as i got it new oil, and filters which in total cost under £150 for parts and oil im still tempted to pay £250 for a stamp...

Is it worth it????

Rajinder

 

[television]

I have exactly the same problem, My 40k B service is overdue, what do I do ? pay out £465 for what.
I change the oil and filter myself every 6k miles, I can check and do everything that MB does for this service. With the A service costing £250.
One is always told not to buy a SL without a stamped up book. The point here is that anything that needs doing is extra anyway.A full service history does not mean the car is in good condition or that everything works.
I have the correct service forms, do I just fill them in and keep all info with the car. One day when the car gets sold it will be in perfect order, everything working and every bill, also one of the best cars on offer.
I still remember seing adds for cars, £14,750 spent in the last 12 months, bargain at £5,000.
What do you do ? as Rajinder says.

Malcolm

 

[Blobcat]

A few things to consider;

• Are you going to be selling the car, if not then it only matters to you where you get your services done
• If you were buying would you look at non MB serviced cars?
• If you are keeping the car for a number of years, as long as you have all the paperwork you should be fine
• If the car is genuine and all paperwork for servicing and repairs are with it when you sell, what premium is put on for MB or not?

I have sold a few cars over the years all described "FSH" and not once have I been asked if they were main dealer services. I have my 'E' MB serviced but use a mechanic friend to undertake any other work. This keeps the servicing up and my costs down.
I only intend to run mine for around 5 yrs which is why I have kept the MB servicing up. If I was keeping it I would service it myself.

 

[Silver Arrow]

The Audi goes to the main dealer as it is under the manufacturers warranty. When that expires, I move to the independent in the village as he was with the MB main agency when MB had main agencies convenient to their customers. I haven’t found any problems with the fancy kit analysers which the new cars use. (Yet!) My current MB 124 coupe is pretty straightforward and had full MB history when I acquired it. The book is stamped up with the independent now. Same thing with my daughter’s MR2 etc.

 

[XB70]

From the perspective of someone looking at R129's for sale, can I offer my thoughts.

The first thing I always ask, for any car, is whether it has a full service history from the dealer. The reason for this is, especially with older cars, the ongoing payments at the top rate indicate that it was someone who looked after the car and spent what had to be spent and did not skimp - if they return, time and after time, to say Mercedes Benz and continue to fork out money, then that says to me that the car meant a lot to them and was treated accordingly.

With cars on their second or third owner, what I want to see is continuity of servicing - if its MBSH for the first owner, then a recognised specialist for the 2nd and 3rd owner, then that would be fine by me.

For an earlier car (say, 1992-94), my preference would be MBFSH till about 1999 then specialist from then onwards - from 1999 onwards, I would guess that job movements etc would see the service staff not be as up to speed on the R129 whereas the specialist, often ex MB anyways, would still have their skills on the older cars and be using those skills on a daily basis.

For the informed buyer, a FMBSH and/or specialist history should amount to the same thing - it would be a positive.

Cheers

James

 

[rajinder_1]

Right i think that will settle it, independant it is.... Im pretty sure that it shouldnt make too much of a difference with the pric when selling. I cant see it being over £1k from a dealer history to a indie history. As you would probably save this anount in 2-3 services i would probably opt for a indie...

Rajinder

 

[television]

While eating my Sunday dinner (eggs on toast) The answer came to me.
Raj has a very good indi, I was deputy Technical secretary for the Rolls Royce Enthusiast Club for some time.
I am going to print these pages off, and keep them with my car documents to show that this dicision was not taken without much thought.

Malcolm

 

[Blobcat]

Hi Malcolm
I hope that doesn't mean you will hold the forum responsible if you don't get a good price if you sell

 

[television]

Hi Malcolm
I hope that doesn't mean you will hold the forum responsible if you don't get a good price if you sell

To be truthfull If I run the car for another 9 years I will be 80 that will be OK, but as you say if I sell in 5 years, that works out at, 11,646 members = 2p per head and "that will do nicely"
I service my own as it gives me a chance to look around other things at the same time, I also know that it has been done, we are fortunate that no one slips in a new crankshaft any more. :lol:

Malcolm

 

[rajinder_1]

I think you have the right idea malc, i have got a c class which was service every 6 months ie oil and filter which i done myself and had all major work done via my mechaninc that has been the best way, was just a bit concerned as im not sure on how long i will keep the SL. I think the indi will be best and wont break my bank ac every time....

Rajinder

 

[jberks]

My view is that an indie is fine. It doesn't really affect the resale value at all.
If you come to sell it, you either sell privately or trade. If you trade, they will only give you bottom book. It doesn't matter how the figures 'look', thats what you are getting. Anything over is simply set against the profit on the next one.
If you are selling privately, then yes, history matters. As XB70 says, the dealer stamp implies that it has been maintained regardless of cost. However, if you keep every indie reciept, listing not just the services, but every check, tweak and minor parts change, then to a private buyer, that says the same thing.
Anyone in the know will also be aware that the standard of maintenance from a proper specialist is equal to, if not better than, that of a dealer.

I will be calling my indie this morning to book my E270 in for her 25k service. That despite her being 16 months old, having FMBSH (she was a demo until last Oct) and having 2 1/2 years warranty remaining. They tell me that they will handle any warranty claims in the same way the dealer would. I trust their work and their knowledge and the £600+ per year I will be saving isn't to be sniffed at either.

In my view, the dealers have priced themselves out of the owner/driver market.

 

[mioba]

This is clearly where garages make alot of thier money on servicing. If you are keeping the car for ever (at least a long about 7 + yeasr) it may be worth considering. Depending on the age of your car it bay have a 10 year or a 30 year bodywork warranty, subject to full MBSH.
my M reg E200 (only 74k) had a few wings replaced as they were perforated a few years back all under this scheme.
Then again if you skip the full MBSH you can get the parts from say europarts or gsf (who I always see delivering at my dealer) and get such work done by an independent.
is a bit of a catch 22 situation, really depends on how long you want to keep the car for and if your indy is good or not.
Since my car is now over 10 years old, I am lucky becasue a relative of a good friend of mine is a mechanic at merc, he now gets all the parts and services my car at home, he also gets my book stamped. Plus I save massive on the labour.