[Forrester]

I thought there were offers of 3 years free service for MB's below the A45s and A35.

On buying second hand I personally would only buy one serviced at a franchised dealer but in terms of selling it may not make much difference if you are going to hang on to it for a good few years.

 

[Forrester]

So I had my first service today on the A35 and yes thanks to V8 I quoted TIPS G154 p10 071664 and they changed the battery under warranty, so thanks for the tip. I've had 32 'Me' critical battery warnings. The battery is the same spec VARTA so we'll see if it goes the same way after a week or two. The cost of an A service here was $850 which in your money is about £535, don't know how that compares at your end.

Do you have a service plan option in Australia.

Some service costs at the start of the Service thread Service Cost

 

[Forrester]

The issue I have with my service indicator is that it was set around mid-February when I assume they did the prep but I had it delivered in the first week of March. So I already have the irritating service due notification coming up. Then followed by the overdue sign no doubt but I won't book it in until early March so that the futures service dates align with the registration and delivery of the vehicle.

I'm guessing most of our cars will have similar early service indicators as the dealers won't set the service clock running on the day of pick up or delivery.

 

[Forrester]

Thanks. I think the upside, to the extent it can be called that, I only see my car just sitting in the garage so never get to see the service warning notice in these strange times.

 

[Forrester]

Had my first service yesterday for the A45s and as a part of it i asked for all software updates. I had a call back from the dealership asking why did I want all software updates as it could cause the car to go wrong. I would have thought having updates would be like updating my computer or phone and a necessary part of keeping the car running in it's best condition.

Has anyone else had that from their dealer or know if the dealer is right to advise against updates. I had the updates done anyway but have no clue what they were as there is no feedback.

 

[Forrester]

Very interesting. I will see if anything I usually see is not working next time I drive any distance. Before updating the ECU they first asked if I had a map. First time I've ever been asked that.

 

[Forrester]

had my first service on 5th March. Asked for any updates to be checked and was assured they were all upto date. Just have to take their word for it they checked 😳

Yes agreed. But I remember we both had our cars in for software updates before and no one said then that our cars could die in the process.

 

[Forrester]

As a part of the service I asked for the start/stop to be looked at as it is very slow. And much slower than my previous A45 and any other car I drive.

The dealer told me yesterday, as I was following up if they had done anything, they had updated the software for it but that the start/stop restart can vary depending upon driving conditions. This was a new one for me. Does anyone know if it is true or should I just try another dealer

 

[Forrester]

I don't think the system has any AI capability and I generally think the MB garage I used have it wrong.

 

[Forrester]

That is certainly true if you have one of the rare breed models or if you need a DCT gearbox oil change now that they have lowered the service schedule to such a ridiculously low mileage so that it catches many people at their second service, even if you are a low mileage user it probably saves you £100 over two services but the fundamental issue is MB are ripping us off.

The additional benefit of the SP I've found is that there is no haggling and up until now, taking my previous A45 in to account where I also had a service plan, I've never felt ripped off. Which I frequently did with my E-Classes and C-Class.

I have also found with my daughter's minis having a SP for them was a lot better than when they came out of the plan and all sorts of extras started to be suggested by the garage.

 

[Forrester]

Is the labour charge around £200 per hour. If that's correct then it explains everything else.

 

[Forrester]

£180 for an Audi! Probably what we would pay for my wife's before family discount

 

[Forrester]

In Japan, MB's come with 3 years maintenance included, along with the 3-year warranty. So, no service costs for 3 years.
Plus, they were running a campaign when we bought ours that included the 2-year extended warranty and maintenance for free. (Approx. 1500GBP value)
That includes at least one sha-ken, as well. (Maybe two? I'm not sure.) Sha-ken is the infamous government mandated inspection in Japan that by itself usually costs around 700GBP.
So, we can basically relax for five years as far as maintenance and service goes, which is nice.

In the UK 3 years free services comes and goes for selected A-Class models, depending on MB sales.

 

[Forrester]

I think they're trying to boost sales whatever way they can, as they're kind of expensive for the average Joe in Japan. The ¥5M (£33K) I paid for this little hatchback is the average annual income in Japan. So, they have to offer extras to increase the perceived value, I think. Especially to assuage the fear of excessive repair and maintenance costs.
Although, I do see a lot of three-pointed stars on the road. So, they must be doing something right.


By "sales" do you mean limited-time marketing campaigns? If so, that's what the extra two years of warranty and maintenance was for me.
But, the standard is three years warranty and maintenance. All of the "luxury" brands that we were looking at in Japan (MB, BMW/Mini, Audi, Lexus) offer that same basic coverage. Lexus is even a little better with 5 years warranty and 3 years maintenance. (Toyota does know how to make reliable cars.)

As an additional service-related perk, I believe my dealer also include a 6-month new car "mini" service, which includes an inspection and fluid top-off, which is a nice little gesture on their part. I guess that's part of the famous Japanese "omotenashi" one often hears about. (I'm not sure if that's an MB-Japan thing, or specific to my dealer, which is a smaller one, and is known for offering a higher level of personal service than the huge mega MB dealer. I'm very glad we chose them.)

Take a look at this previous thread especially the last post on page 1 Free servicing

 

[Forrester]

Well my A250 had its extortionatly expensive main dealer 2nd year B service and mandatory brake fluid change yesterday, an interesting experience. Having only done 9000 miles I expected to have the call that all was OK & the car was washed and ready to pick up but instead I received a video of my 'complimentary' visual health check from a nice young mechanic called Dave who took me for a video tour of the car, how nice I thought 🤣

He kindly pointed out that my wipers were smearing so recommended new ones front and back, then he showed me the tread depth, 3.94 on the front which he called 3 and 5.76 on the back which he called 5, he said the back ones were 'probably' ok but the fronts needed changing, oh and although there was no sign of uneaven wear I would need a 4 wheel tracking service.

I was still smiling to myself when my very own private service advisor George called me to take me through the recomendations and price them up for me. £65 for the wipers, they didn't have matching Hankook tyres in but they did have (significantly more expensive) Continentals and could even price march KwikFit prices at only £327 fitted and £95 for the tracking. How surprised he was when I said I didn't want him to do any of these extras, not even the wiper blades he said almost desperately 🤣

Now I'm all for garages giving advice on items that need doing or might need doing soon but this sort of blatant up selling is criminal. The wiper blades just needed cleaning, most people change their tyres a 2mm (agreed some will change them at 3) but recommending replacements at 4mm is shocking and recommending 4 wheel tracking when there is no evidence of uneven wear is just profiteering. The problem is many many people don't, or don't want to know about cars so assume they are being given good advice and just cough up.

As if this was not bad enough I noticed that my oil level was below max when I got home so either the car has suddenly started using oil since the day before, they haven't done the drain plug up correctly or they didn't put the correct amount of oil in, I will investigate when it stops raining.

So much for rip off garages, I won't be using this one again

Was this Bristol?

 

[Forrester]

Mot is not included in the SP.

An MB garage will give you a guide price so you'd probably do better to ask them rather than get a general ballpark idea from us.

 

[Forrester]

No MB franchise dealer service is cheap but it depends on a number of factors in whether you stick with MB or go elsewhere. For me I want to make sure everything is kept as good as it can be with all the software updates which are relevant and my rear diff oil change happens, in the first place, and then happens correctly. Clearly not many A-Classes are AWD, but they all have software which needs to be updated correctly. A personal choice at the end of the day.

 

[Forrester]

Does that no invalidate the warranty?

The SP is purely a tool to spread the cost of services so does not affect the warranty. But the SP does mean not having to haggle over the cost of a service at an MB francised dealership.

 

[Forrester]

Personally I would not by an MB which was not serviced 100% at a franchised garage. Although that maybe difficult to determine as the owner might well have gone to KwikFit for new brakes as a for instance but generally the service print out showing that it was only worked on for the services by an MB garage is something I would look for everytime if buying second hand.

 

[Forrester]

Is it a Mercedes-Benz PCP, or some other finance company PCP?

This makes a difference, as if it's a M-B PCP - it says in the finance documents that you have to use the M-B dealer network, or pay a penalty at the end of the term if the car hasn't been serviced by a M-B dealer.

I assume it's an MB PCP from this line:

The car is on a PCP finance agreement and every time I have approached Mercedes about servicing

So yes it has to be an MB franchised dealership or a penalty will apply later. As it is what it is I would look at the service plan thread.