[Lawto]

I have an A200 premium which I really like but it only has a 1.4 engine and I only do approx 6000 miles per year, even the person who rang from the dealership said they couldn’t believe the service costs for the new A Class. It will pay me to take the service plan out at £29 a month which is £350 and a lot less than the £467 they quoted. Maybe that’s why they put service costs so high so that people will take out long service plans with them.
I am on a 3 year pcp so will definitely swap before the third service is due - the charges on a par with a high performance Porsche engine.

 

[Lawto]

My AMG A45 cost me £350 1st service, £520 2nd service, and was £800 to £1000 for the 3rd service, although I sold before 3rd service. I've recently posted this on another thread. I dont know what model you have but for anything more mainstream than the AMG its excessive. You would have to check with the car supplier re servicing at an indie. You'd be free to do this without affecting the warranty if it was your own car. As for brake fluid change I've seen comments here that its unnecessary especially at 2 years. I'm pretty sure its not mandatory, just recommended. Your supplier may have a penalty for dodging the last service, can't imagine they'd miss that trick. I owned my AMG so I'm afraid I'm not au fait with leasing company conditions. In the thrill of getting a new car, and when the numbers are all so big, we tend to gloss over the servicing costs until they fall due. We all do it - know I do.

I think you can totally understand the cost for a highly tuned engine like the one in the A45 but for a 165 bhp engine it just doesn’t make sense

 

[Lawto]

Glad they gave me free 3 year servicing but would still pay The £28.00 per month after that if i still have the car , Also don't forget roadside assistance is included in that and after the 3 years are up if you continue the £28.00 monthly payment so not to bad of a deal i think.

My original argument was the cost for the second and third service (I have got the first one free) for which they are quoting £1,317.56 which for a 1.4 engine in my case was quite staggering considering the car won’t have done 20,000 miles over the 3 years. I shall take the service plan out for 2 years and if I swap the car before the 3rd service is due they will issue a refund on what extra I have paid or transfer over to another car.

The £29 per month (it went up in January)is only valid if taken out in the first year of ownership, if taken out after the first year it is currently £32 a month and will obviously rise each year.

 

[Lawto]

Think this has been touched on before but didn’t see an answer. In the UK, am I correct in thinking that we do not have to have the vehicles serviced by a Mercedes dealer but can use any authorised garage?

I think you can have your car serviced at any garage as long as it is vat registered and uses genuine manufacturer parts

 

[Lawto]

You are right but you try selling the car without a MB full service history NIGHTMARE had it with my Jaguar sports car 3 years Jaguar service 2 year s by another main garage mint condition nobody wanted to know.

Totally agree, I had a new Mazda 6 before the Mercedes and had it serviced at my local garage who I have used for the past 35 years and it didn’t make any difference but I think it would be different with the Mercedes hence why I am taking the service plan out. Also I really love the car but get a bit edgy thinking about the amount of technology on it,that’s one of the reasons I don’t plan on keeping it beyond the 3 years. I could also see Mercedes being a bit arsy if you took it back if it had been serviced elsewhere.