Will this Invalidate the Warranty ?

[jberks]

Hi gurus,
My E240 is due a B (loody expensive) service shortly. Being 4 years old and out of the main warranty I would like to my local specialist Merc-Care rather than the dealer to do it. I was under the impression that the Mobilio and corrosion warranties were invalidated if a non franchised dealer serviced the car. Merccare tell me that this is no longer the case provided merc parts are used and fitted correctly. As they are half the price of the dealer, this is appealing, but with a 2000 E class, the corrosion warrant is worth a lot, and I don't have any other breakdown cover. Anyone know if there is a catch here, or can I take it where I want and still utilise these 30 year warranties ?

 

[LNM]

hold on, did you say thirty (30) years ?

Mine's only 12 years old + been serviced at MB to the dot. Where does that kind of warranty come in then?

b(oody) stupid non-filled wheel arch rims my arse !!

 

[teky]

all warranty work is garanteed regardless if it went through a stealership or insurance regulated vendor, most insurance companies are wary of dealers because of excess high cost and are due to feel the cost of this



C

 

[teky]

b(oody) stupid non-filled wheel arch rims my arse !! ?? what is a filled wheel arch rim ??????


C

 

[LNM]

124 has lovely flared arches; but sadly they are not well designed on the "inside", as it were. I gotabout three hanging baskets worth of soil out of the 4 inside wheel arches bit (I can't descibe it any better) on mine. The rust spot on front wing is a direct result of crap build up like this.

Just seems odd that MB didn't fill the folded-over-bit with wax or summmat to stop this. Seems like common sense to me.

Suppose they were concentrating on idel air control valves or the like at the time + it got overlooked.

 

[LNM]

"idle" even. sorry, I've had a few..

 

[maxmbz]

I would tread very carefully when using a non-franchised dealership, this may not invalidate your warranty outright but any parts fitted by any other garage apart from a reconised servicing depatment will not be covered. If you look at it from mercedes point of view your deciding to take your vehicle elsewhere and so not spending your money with mercedes. Loyalty will always stand you in good stead even beyond your warranty. For body warranty if any panel is worked on by any other bodyshop apart from those approved by mercedes will invalidate your warranty.

 

[zarnd]

jberks - how much are the servicing costs for your e-class when you took it to the deaers? cos i am thinking of getting one and have heard they are quite expensive to get serviced by the stealer!

cheers

Alex

 

[jberks]

Hi,
The stealer wanted around 450 for a B and about 220 for an A (just an oil change really). MercCare have quoted about half that.
Interestingly, I have found that by topping up the oil,(mobil 1 so quit pricey) the act of getting the oil cleaner has added several thousand miles to the service interval on the assyst system. (should save a few quid).
On the running cost front, I have just had the brakes done (new discs and pads on the front and new pads on the back, plus 4 wheel tracking and a diagnostic (my oxygen sensor has gone apparently - it seemed a little hesitant). This was £420, plus another £120 when the sensor arrives.
So, I would say that I haven't found the E to be particularly cheap to run but I forgive it every time I drive it, which, as I now commute across the pennines every day, is a lot. Having said that, I have no idea what a Vectra would cost to maintain at a dealer - I suspect possibly not much different.
cheers,
Julian