value of MBFSH

[EuroCLK320]

I know it's been said/discussed before but just how important is it to have a full MB service history. I agree that the service history should be there but does it actually have to be with MB I wonder?

 

[peterchurch]

Hi,
my personal take on this is this...

If you have car X with FMBSH it might be worth 17K

or you have car Y with FSH and thats worth 16 K

Over the course of the life of X it has 4 services plus plugs, disks, pads,tyres... All done with MB and costs 3K

While Y has the same done by an idependent and costs £1200

When you sell the car it might be worth less but you have saved about the same in servicing... You may also be able to demonstrate that the car has the same level of history as FMBSH and then you might close the gap between prices futher...

I also take the view that If MB wanted to charge me £500 for a B service I can get a B done plus a full set of plugs (not included in a B) and a set of pads for free... (still using MB parts of course)

The net result = my car runs better for me

 

[SLinKyjoe]

i am inclined to agree here....maybes for really new the services are not that expansive as nothing needs doing so you can fool them with FSHMB for a few years. but i think most buyers will want to look at whether the car has been servcied properly and regularly and that doesnt mean MB just that is was done at the right intervals...this generally means you are saying you have looked after it.

i at some point the car will fall into the hands of someone who really knows what they are doing and they do it themselves...even tho that doesnt get a fsh it does tell when you see the car....

so its up to you really. what does you pocket say?

 

[mlc]

I think this is a really hard call, but I come down on the side of regular and correct maintenance rather than the need for main dealer servicing. Sadly far to much "FMBSH" is actually not true, and that goes for other makes as well. It is far to easy to get the book stamped!

What is important to me is history, the classic car owners will understand that what matters is an accurate record, not who did it. The problem is that MB ( and the others to be fair) make so much of the importance of the service record that too many people buy in. Some of the best second hand cars I have had have come from fleets, they use computerised records and normally provide a print out at sale. PHH in particular provide details of every penny spent on the vehicle, not just servicing but tyres, wipers, accident damage etc etc. To me that tells the story of the car and helps you make your judgement.

Mark.

 

[R129]

Evidence of regular servicing is a term I have come across when buying classics. Invoices and and the circumstances of the seller are in my opinion worth more than some rubber stamps in a book. It is quite easy to get a stamp made up as many unscrupulous car dealers do.

With Mercedes in particular I would prefer servicing to be done elsewhere on older cars as the dealers do not seem to have any interest or experience on the older models and will carry out repairs blindly and at great expense whereas an experienced specialist will often have seen the problem before and will be able to suggest a suitable remedy.

A prime example relates to a Porsche I once owned, a week after a 100k mile service at a dealer a cam chain snapped. Took it to a specialist who pointed out that this happened to all cars of this type at around 100k and they usually change them on their customers cars for about £300. Porsches' response was that this item was not mentioned on any factory service bulletins and did not need to be checked or replaced despite them inadvertently mentioning that they had seen a similar failure on three cars in a month.

On the other hand it is still difficult to convince many buyers that Mercedes servicing is not all its supposed to be. Personally I would use a dealer for the first few years of cars life and then move on to DIY or specilists.

 

[jberks]

Its like decorating your house, it doesn't add anything to the value, but may make some people buy yours rather than someone elses. I learned that when I tried to trade in my C - mint, low mileage, fmbsh, 6 months signature warranty remaining - the dealer offered me trade and didn't ask or look at the service book.
I agree - fmbsh for 4-5 years then a specialist who, as with the porsche story, will know the older cars better than the dealer and maintain it better.

Tricky with the E class corrosion warranty though, although my dad has just had a few bits tidied up on his C for < £100 so the extra £200 I paid for my last service to maintain the warranty is starting to look a bit foolish.

Swings / roundabouts ....

 

[peterchurch]

Tricky with the E class corrosion warranty though, although my dad has just had a few bits tidied up on his C for < £100 so the extra £200 I paid for my last service to maintain the warranty is starting to look a bit foolish.

Swings / roundabouts ....

Of course if your car gets a ding and you repair it (even with MB) all bets are off an you are back to a 3 year waranty

 

[mlc]

It did strike me that the main reason for staying with the MB dealer servicing could be the body cover.

Peter - Are you saying that if you have accident damage then the corrosion warranty is lost, even if the repair is done by an MB bodyshop? That sounds very unreasonable of them, interestingly one of the kids has had an accident last week and is insured with Tesco. Thier paperwork states that the repair will be done to a standard to not effect the warranty - that sounds unlikely from what you have said.

Mark.

 

[OlafMaxwell]

To preserve the Mobilo corrosion protection warranty you have to get the car repaired at MB........However if you got a door repaired,for example, I am sure they could not refuse cover on a wing. I must admit that having had one minor scrape repaired at MB the quality of the work was better than most places. Instead of masking lights etc they were removed.

 

[davidsl500]

I reckon servicing at the correct intervals and getting your book stamped is the prime goal and an independant specialist carries almost as much weight and maybe more so on older vehicles.

If you enthuse about your specialist then the buyer will be more confident and if its a new to mercedes buyer he/she will be even more pleased to learn that there is money to be saved by using specialists that he/she may not know even existed - this is another strong selling point if you can demonstrate the buyer can save on running costs without reducing quality.

 

[jberks]

Going off the point a little but MLC's comment reminded me of a discussion I had with Audi branded insurance (red star really )after the wife stuffed her A3. They wanted the car to go to their approved bodyshop. I asked if it was an Audi approved bodyshop and was told no. I said that the warranty would be voided so it must go to an Audi shop. They said fine. I asked about the automatic loan car included in the policy and they said that it was provided by the bodyshop. I phoned the audi bodyshop who said they didn't have any. The insurance co said that it would have to go to 'their' bodyshop then ..........
After some discussion on how an Audi insurance policy was going to invalidate an Audi warranty and a lot of increaingly stroppy phone calls incoroprating the words solicitor, breach of contract and media, they relented, the A3 went to Audi and they rented us an astra. But it does go to show that corrosion warranties and manufacturer approval are not things insurance cos seem to take into account.