Car Servicing

At the moment the car is too new to use anything but dealers but as I intend to keep it a while that information could be very useful. Thanks MM 

Before I decided to keep my car and just run it and run it, I did get quotes for part exchanging it from a number of different garages, including the main Mercedes dealer that I bought it from and had always serviced it on the dot.

The car although  1st registered in March 2011 was paint sealed before delivery and is still in showroom condition, and has done only 65,000 miles.    But the answer was practically the same from all of the dealers, they just got out Glasses guide and grudgingly offered me £12,000.  As I said the car is spotless and has been maintained from new on a Mercedes maintenance contract.

So what was the point of looking after it so meticulously, and spending top dollar on its maintenance?  When it comes to trying to part ex it for a new or newer one, the only thing that seemed to matter was what the book said.

Needless to say I have told the Mercedes dealer that i will no longer be  a service customer, it makes Zero difference to its value now, and there are a number of good Mercedes experienced private garages about that will do the job much cheaper.

TF

I have a mate who loves his Mercedes buts hates the service, he says they always seem to look down their noses at him. There's no reason why a good local garage can't make a good job of it. Maybe teach these high-and-mighties a lesson!

I do agree with what Tigerfish has posted. Glasses guide rules.

For the same reason don't buy accessories and extras when new, (except perhaps the tow bar) the spec that gives you what you want as standard or you wil lose out as they just look up your model in the book.

A good local garage is not able to invest in the specialist diagnostic tools modern vehicles need. It was far easier a few years ago but now i can se the local guys nomatter how good they are disappearing.

A specialist garage however is a different matter and some have al the kit and are better than the stealers.

 ..... and there are a number of good Mercedes experienced private garages about that will do the job much cheaper.

TF

You still need to be careful. I needed a new water pump on my Smart Roadster (not the most accessable of parts - nothing is!) A new pump from Merc was £90, and the quote for MB to do the complete job was £330, the MB independant came in at 'double that' ..... I did it myself in a couple of hours. Another MB independant charged me 4 hours labour to replace the fuel pump, when the MB book time is 1.4 hours. Despite taking it bak to them twice, it stunk of fuel every time I filled it to max ..... apparently I was over filling it. It would have worked out cheaper to take the car to MB in the first place. A new 'O' ring fitted by yours truely solved the fuel leak from around the tank where the pump fits ..... strange that!  But don't let MB fit new Airmatic struts to your car ..... 3 attempts & two damaged doors later 

"don't buy accessories and extras when new, (except perhaps the tow bar)"   Some OE towbars are grossly over-priced and were often made by Witter in the first place, I'd choose an authorised Witter dealer every time..Coming back to the main dealer vs indy argument (that's short for independant by the way, not Indians!) I used to work for Crypton and everytime a manufacturer created a new peice of diagnostic kit our boys would have a clone made within a month. The indies can still get all the latest kit and can check/diagnose just about anything with wheels just as accurately as the main dealers. Like all these things though, the kit is only as good as the operator

They are indeed geoff but if you want to have the vehicle warranty to cover the tow bar and perhaps more importantly the wiring then the manufacturers option is worth considering.

Even though it often is the local Witter agent that fits it

I've found Halfords Service Centres very good, Reasonably priced and good service. They report any problems found, guarantee free replacement on discs and pads for the lifetime of the car. A while back they claimed they would refund you if you found they'd missed anything, I noticed they hadn't lubed the door hinges and sure enough they refunded me the (labour) cost of the sevice

This is true.

Tow bar, electrics and spare wheel kit for Discovery Sport £1250.

I had to sit down and check the pacemaker. I want a car for that not a tow bar!

I don't recommend Halfords for pacemakers!