Servicing question

[benignb]

Greetings,
New to all this and to Merc. Just bought a 220 CDI (56) under warranty until December 2009. I leave near Cambridge and was just had a few q's.
The car is due for an MOT before Dec and a "B" service in about 14000 mls. I have been researching independent merc garages as well as Robinson's Merc main dealer in Cambridge e.g: (L & L Bishops Stortford) http://www.landlautomotive.co.uk/ and Carrera Nazeing http://www.garageservicesnazeing.co....cing_continued
Is it best to stick with Robinson's for MOT and first B service or go to the one of the above independents? Any advice?

Also would going with one of the above independents deny further participation in Mobilo?

Thank you

 

[television]

You do loose the moblo if you go to an indie,, You could try and get the MB garage to do it for the same price as an indie,,some will

Welcome to the forum

 

[Blobcat]

You do loose the moblo if you go to an indie,, You could try and get the MB garage to do it for the same price as an indie,,some will

Welcome to the forum

Mine is doing work cheaper than independents, being a paid up member of the MBOA (owners of this site) gives discount at most of the dealers for parts and servicing. Most dealers will also offer discounts for cars >3yrs old which I also get even though like yours mine isn't that old yet.

 

[Rory]

How many miles has the car done?

Call the dealer and ask them how much the service is - as Malcolm says, some of them will compete with indies now.

The other big thing to do is to ask them is there will be any additional work required. They may well be evasive about this, saying they can't tell until the see the car etc, but given your VIN and mileage they can tell you exactly what needs doing.

This is important as things like brake fluid (required every 2yrs) and auto box fluid change (required once at 37,500 miles or 4 years) plus maybe the fuel or air filter might need changing and you'll be looking a bill for additional work that is more than the cost of the service. You used to be able to refuse this additional work and get it done elsewhere but the dealers have generally been keen to stop people doing tihis by refusing to stamp service books if all the work isn't done.

They can also tell you if there are any service advisories (little updates) outstanding on the car.

On balance, if the car is still in warranty then it's probably worth getting the dealer to do it and maybe get them to do an end of warranty check so they can put anything through that might need doing. However you could end up with a bill that is way larger than originally quoted if you don't ask the right questions.

 

[Alex M Grieve]

Greetings,
New to all this and to Merc. Just bought a 220 CDI (56) under warranty until December 2009. I leave near Cambridge and was just had a few q's.
The car is due for an MOT before Dec and a "B" service in about 14000 mls. I have been researching independent merc garages as well as Robinson's Merc main dealer in Cambridge e.g: (L & L Bishops Stortford) http://www.landlautomotive.co.uk/ and Carrera Nazeing http://www.garageservicesnazeing.co....cing_continued
Is it best to stick with Robinson's for MOT and first B service or go to the one of the above independents? Any advice?

Also would going with one of the above independents deny further participation in Mobilo?

Thank you

Hi.

here is my alternative view.

MOT can be done anywhere - I tend to choose a local garage which is convenient. Some say that MOT providers will provide a service (and even at a discount to the published rates) to find faults which they can then charge to rectify. That may be true, but happily I have not found that problem, so for me, MOT "at the end of the road" is fine.

You say the car has 14,000 miles to go until the B service. Firstly, will that come round before the MOT, or the expiry of the warranty? If not, I would truck on until the service is due.

I would then use an Indy for the service, and any additional work (see Rory's note) discussed with them, agreed and included in their estimate before the job is done.

Servicing outside the MB network does not disqualify warranty (as long as the work is done to MB recommendations with MB approved materials), but does take you out of the Mobilo Life scheme, and may well invalidate any extended warranty arrangements (which can prescribe that you use an MB dealer).

I use this strategy and it has served me well over 7 cars and 20 years. I am sure I have spent less in that time than I would have done using dealers. If and when I have a problem, it is for my own account and I accept that.