Turbo2

Hi All-

My '05 C230SS's warranty is almost over (wow, 50K went quick), I purchased in new in May of '04 and haven't had a large # of issues with it. Mostly just small things, BIX ballast, some squeeks, rattles, etc. but all in all it's been pretty much problem free except for some small annyoning issues.

So...I'm going in for my final service (service B) under warranty in the coming weeks and I have about 47K on the clock right now, so I want to try to have any issues, etc. dealt with during this service.

What should I ask the dealer to do?
-Look over the whole car since the warranty is about to expire?
-Perform any TSB's that haven't been performed?
-Look at wear items to see if they are beyond their lifetime and have them replaced?

Finally, are the above things something that a dealer would actually do? Knowing that this will cost them money and not me (since I'm still under warranty)?

Thanks for your help/advice.

C230 Sport Coup

Depends on the dealer.
Some are just lazy.

I was in Sac for a time, took my car in for oil change, and tranny flush,
close to end of warranty, and they replaced a bunch of things, bushings, suspension bits, wiring harnesses and more, as a result of me asking them to look for anything and everything.

Just a few miles before the end of warranty, I took it in for an ESP problem to San Jose Smyth, they repaired the one problem, charged me 300+ dollars for an A service, when I specifically asked for an oil change only,
and didn't do jack.

It doesn't cost the dealer, they bill the mothership. It's just a matter of if they have the desire or the bandwidth to do so.

Turbo2

Thanks for the response...this is kind of what I was expecting. I guess we'll see how good my dealership is in a week or so!

aolsen

What are you going to do after the warranty expires? I want a warranty for mine, the warranty expired already. I'll be the second owner, so I don't think I can get an extended warranty from MB. Maybe they can offer me a pre-owned type of warranty, i dunno, lol.

Turbo2

aolsen-

Nothing, just pray that nothing major goes wrong. That's one of the reasons I want to have everything looked over now and have the dealer replace anything under there dollar while I still have that luxury.

There are aftermarket warranties available out there, do some research on the board, a few members have mentioned some that they are happy with.

Buellwinkle

The best thing for the dealer is to have them check everything. That way they can wait until your warranty expires and then tell you that you need the work done. You have to understand that it's in the dealer's best interest to have you pay for repairs rather than MB. For one they get a much higher hourly rate, for two the get to bill you for more hours for the same job. Pretty cool huh?

Or, you can take it to an indy, pay him for an hour's labor to go over the entire car with the understanding that he won't do any of the work, it's just so you can complain to the dealer and have it done. Of course it's in his best interest to do the work also.

Or, you can just complain about stuff so they have to check, like complain that the suspension makes rubbing noises when you go over bumps. Then they may replace worn bushings (mine were replace last time and my car is 1 month newer than yours), maybe worn balljoints, etc. You can also disconnect the MAF sensor long enough to throw a code, that way it gets replaced because inevitably it will throw a code on it's own in a year or so. You can also complain that the sunroof squeaks when opening/closing, see if they will clean it out, lube it for you. The key is to complain so that even if they don't do anything, you can bring it in post-warranty and say that you complained of this problem during the warranty and they didn't fix it and maybe they will fix it free.

Good luck. Remember, it's best to not keep an MB past it's 4 yr, 50K mile expiraton date, especially if you rely on the dealer for repairs. It will cost you more than buying a new car, at least it does at MB of Laguna Niguel. Also, cars depreciate more once they are 5 model years old or exceed 60k miles because many banks won't floor (lend money on) cars older than that. So if you were to check a reputable used car pricing guide, you may discover that keeping the car 3 more years may depreciate more than the first 3 years and that's not counting the cost of repairs for the last 3 years.

BlackLiquorish8

i'm the second owner for my car bought it at 39k and warranty is good till 100k

rumsbeard

Do you know which Service Advisor you dealt with at Mercedes Benz of Sacramento? I just got off the phone with one of their service advisors and he did not really want to help me out at all. He basically said that a thorough check of the car before the warranty expires would be "upselling the warranty" and that he could only offer a multi-point inspection.

I've actually had a multi-point inspection performed already at Smythe European in San Jose and they did not find anything wrong with the car. After reading your favorable comments about the Sacramento dealer, I thought I would try them out too.

C230 Sport Coup

I was going in for a tranny flush and oil change as well....
they wouldn't give me a loaner at first, but gave me a ride to my corp apt. in Rocklin. After a day or so, they called and said they'd need the car longer, and gave me a 2005 C230.
OK. I found it.
I'll pm it to you, so he don't get in trouble, and not be able to help you.

They replaced
1. Left sunroof cable
2. Both torque strut bushings
3. IR sensor on drivers side (but forgot to do the pass side, presumably since 2002 is the only year a C230 had one on that side. I did actually ask for that) Smyth eventually did the pass side under warr but I had to show them the warranty docs saying it was covered before they would look at it.
And then they charged me 400 for an A service.
4. Replace MAF, had oil in it, coming from the "Oil seperator".
Whats an oil seperator anyway?
So they removed the SC, intercooler and cleaned everything...
for this they did charge me $100 "goodwill" which I gladly paid.
I never asked them to do it, but I think my SA may have gone a little out on a limb, so I just paid it.
5. "Muffler, AI" ????
6. RR thermostat housing and replace Cam Adjuster
7. Install updated tail light harness 203-440--26-13
I later had a problem with this harness....a resistor inside the harness fried...actually was burned to a crisp. I replaced the resistor with a 2 watt one. Thread out there somewhere.
8. Replace sway bar links 203 320 28 89

No even on the invoice, they gave me one new key, said the old one was bad...never had a problem with it, but whatever! Cool.

Total was $504 including oil change, tranny flush and the "goodwill" payment of 10% for cleaning the intake system and the cost of the MAF which isn't actually covered I guess.

Looking over the bill I just realized they added some part related to the defective IR into the oil change part and called it a "Guide".
Looking it up on the EPC I see it's actually the lock cylinder on the drivers side. So, while they did a lot of stuff under warranty, they also charged for me for stuff that I didn't ask for, and apparently accidently charged me for a $60 part that was part of the warranty.
So...hmmmm....

EDIT: Well I almost called Sac, and was going to try to get my 60 bucks back! Ha, well I read the warranty...the part replaced isn't covered, but
the fact is they broke it while repairing something else...
whatever. It's been over a year.

Also, regarding the above list. I also went in with laundry list of minor complaints, which resulted in all of the above. No complain, no get.

Smythe is worthless when it comes to really hunting for things.
Try Autobahn if you're near the end. They're more, uh, investigative.
Ask for SA Paul Baines.

rumsbeard

Thanks, patiently awaiting your PM.

yeuchau

i am also the second owner and car has extened warranty till july 2009.

i took my car in for oil change yesterday and told them that I think the engine is leaking oil, so they replace the valve cover, and everything was done within 2.5 hours, i wonder how many hours of labor they will charge you if it's out of warranty.

C230 Sport Coup

When under warranty they only used 6 quarts of oil. Always.
And I always had to add oil. I'd mention it, but always it was a little shy.
When I went in after the warranty expired they used 7 quarts.
Doing it myself, it took exactly 7 quarts. But I put 6 in at first, before topping it up. Never want to overfill.

Draw your own extrapolated conclusions.

Saprissa

2003 also has the IR on the passenger side. MB did away with it for model-year 2004.

Carlos

Saprissa@aol.com

edd1e22

M271 motors have been having issues with the head and losing compression.