Buellwinkle

Then they wonder why sales are down 20%, hmmm... I would not have bought my last two MBs have it not been for free maintenance, in both cases the car I was comparing it to didn't have it and MB did, I'm sure in a few years when I'm in the market again, if there are 2 cars that I really like and one has free maintenance it will certainly play an important role in decision making.

LorinserCClass

We were just at the Land Rover dealer of Encino yesterday and even they have free maintenance/warranty. MB definitely dropped the ball here. Same price for their cars in '06 minus service

tommy

How do Land Rover's cookies rate, though? :p

I just hope that MB factored into their dollars and cents decision the drop in sales and goodwill from axing the free maintenance. BMW has already had ads touting theirs. Bad MB!

camarc

Although MB used to include "free" maintenance during the factory warranty, and some manufacturers still do, lets face it, the maintenance isn't really "free." Don't get me wrong, I like the fact that I don't have to pay for maintenance on my 2003 C-Class, but in reality I paid for the maintenance up front when I purchased the car (i.e., it was figured into the selling price of the car by MB).

delbomber

It's not the cost, it's the convenience...the perk that should come with driving a "premium" badged car that is missing. The cost to serve me a glass of wine in 1st class on a plane is trivial, but the benefit to passengers' satisfaction, while intangible, has a very nice ROI I'm sure. Maintenance might not break any of our bank accounts, but the, but it sure would make that star sparkle a little bit more.

Saprissa

i guess it's also dependent on when and where you buy the car.
If the price of maintenance was included in the cost of the car (meaning what MBUSA pays to DC for the car), then we all paid for it. Since i got 4 C320's between 2003-2004 all for $2k-$5k under invoice, it's kinda nice to know at least i got a break on something (call it maintenance, call it extra options, whatever)....
bottom line: i enjoy the car much more, and not worry so much about the "free" maintenance. Money I saved from each deal, i put towards an extended warranty through MB Chico back in the day when it was relatively cheap. It all catches up in the end, and with gas prices on premium hitting the $3+ mark, well, some might argue the cost-benefit of owning a Mercedes-Benz.

but that's what we all sign up for when we buy a Benz. Take it or leave it ! I happen to LOVE it !

Carlos

Saprissa@aol.com

revstriker

Seriously people, crunch the numbers. I'd rather pay $3000 less for my car and not have the maintenance included. But if you're not like me, then negotiate a service contract when you buy the car, and have it rolled in to the price of the car. Then you can fool yourself into believing you have "free" service. :p

What's really disturbing is when people pay for the "free" service and then do the maintenance themselves.....

revstriker

I understand your point, but seriously, do you really believe you are getting a "premium" car when you purchase a C class??

The only thing that MB did was to give people the option of not paying for the maintenance up front. However, everybody still has the ability to do this. If it makes you feel that much more "special", then on your next car purchase, buy 4 years worth of service. Then your star can sparkle bright every time you bring your car in for it's "free" service.

delbomber

I don't care about the service, personally, but with any premium badge (be it a car, hotel stay, tv) customer expectations are usually strived to be exceeded, not just met, thus justifying the added expense of buying. Companies establish themselves as industry leaders buy offering unparalleled levels of service and satisfaction, which it seems MB has done for a long time...and by eliminating "free" service, MB is taking one more step towards the proletariate of auto manufacturers. Lexus, esp, is kicking MBs *** because their cars are such good values and are far more reliable...people will have less and less incentive to pay a premium just for a hood ornament that seduces neighborhood kids towards vandalism.

As for the C-Class not being a premium badge, I scoff at that idea. At 35k nicely equipped it is still 25% more expensive than the avg MSRP of all cars sold...and beyond price, how does one define a premium brand?

Saprissa

anything over $3.00 a gallon !

Tishers

I see alot of the points being made in this thread but it's no deal-buster to me if MB pays for my oil changes and tire rotations or if I do. I can see how some customers would "think" that maintenance should cover everything.

It's the rule and not the exception that most vehicles coming off the factory floor end up requiring something "special" like full synthetic oils, magic transmission fluid or maybe tire air imported from antarctica <s>.

My first experience with magically expensive fluids were with a VW Passat that developed a transmission leak (ok, the rock did knock a hole in the pan) and to refill the transmission cost $500.

Hopefully we were all informed buyers and owners and none of this is a surprise to us.

vraa

Okay so when your competition is offering free maint, fantastic service, etc,. Why can't Mercedes?
That's got to be representative of something. Deal breaker for me man.

Moviela

I have not found a dealer that will sell me a maintenance plan, and MBUSA sings the "dealers are independant" mantra.

The reason I would like to get the maintenance prepaid, is that it protects me from inflation. My spies at Mobil predict $ 6.00 a quart (wholesale)for Mobil1, where it is $ 2.00 now. I can't imagine any other service or parts not being affected by this 50% increase in the price of oil.

I have to agree with that other sage, Buellwinkle, that the price of gas cannot go too high. I have already noticed that the I5 is running better on my daily trip from the OC to the Valley. Perhaps at $ 4.00 a gallon, a 30 mile trip will be 30 minutes again, instead of two hours.

Moviela

Hmmm, you are not far off. Costco now offers to fill your tires with Nitrogen for an extra fee. With the poor air quality in the USA, I can understand why people would not want that in their expensive tires.

vraa

Well the nitrogen isn't anything about the air quality. It's about the percieved (IMO, real) perception of the qualities of nitrogen versus regular air.

amdeutsch

@moviela

1) You missed the watercannon bath you promised to show up for while floating down the Mosel river in your rubber ducky.

2) You forgot to add your favorite word to your hot air post from costco: NAFTA

revstriker

I understand and I agree. However, I also understand that DC is running a business that relies on a certain growth and profit rate. Raise the price of the car (to cover additional costs, inflation, exchange rate, etc.) and run the risk of losing sales/profit. Remove the cost of maintenance and keep the car where priced close to where it is and minimize that risk. So the choice is the risk of brand deflation, or sales/profit deflation. I still think they made the right decision.

revstriker

No, the competition is adding the cost of maintenance into the price of the car. It's just not a line item for you to see. MB could certainly do it, but they would have to raise the price of the cars to cover the expense.

revstriker

I find it interesting that your dealer is not willing for you to pay up front for 4 services to your car. But still, take the money that it would cost and throw it into a savings account, or a money market account.

Even with the price of Gasoline increasing to over $3.00 a gallon in some areas (Calf), overall demand is still high. In fact, it's still increasing! Until this demand levels off, or starts to drop, we will continue to see prices increase. The $100,000 question is, how high will it go?

mick1

paying for service doesn't bother me as much as seeing four or five cars looking exactly like mine in the parking lot at work

not only that, when you leave work and drive on the freeway, there are a whole bunch of bmw looking exactly like the one you're driving.

LorinserCClass

Yesterday I picked up a brand new 52.5k Audi A6 FULLY loaded. I haggled it out to 45.5K. I still have my complete free maintenance and I have my brakes and oil changes as well. I also got a few free details for 3 yrs since the cars are forced to include paint protection and lo jack. I wasn't the only one their because of the free service btw, a few were ex MB customers. Free oil changes and maintenance makes a huge difference to some people, and if other manufacturers can still offer it w/out raising prices and still making profits why then does MB have to 'stick' it to us loyal MB customers?? Personally for me it doesn't matter anyways, I more than likely will not buy another MB untill something comes that really blows my mind.

ffejalink

This topic has been beaten to death. Please visit the following link to read more about the discontinuation of free maintenance: http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosins...uto-241591.htm. A few of you hit one of the primary reasons manufacturers are dropping the programs: customers rank free maintenance plans very low on their list for purchase consideration. Profit margins are slimmer than ever and manufacturers are doing anything they can to beef up their bottom lines. Personally, free maintenance isn't a consideration when making a purchase decision - it's a nice perk, but it won't make or break the deal.

kmchow

In Canada for '03 models, MB still offered free 2 year replacement of wiper blades,bulbs,brake pads and discs.

At least Audi does cover brakes/wiper blades in their free servicing. Don't know about BMW/Cadillac/Lexus.

vraa

BMW does that as well.
Speaking of which, I need a new rear wiper and new brake pads

ffejalink: Do you know how much it costs to make an SL500 a few years back (2003 or so)?

Around 16,000$, give or take some. How can profit margins be low? Management is screwed up, hopefully though the new guys will fix the company and bring it back to the car everyone, including us enthusiasts, desire. Until then, our business will go else where.

Moviela

16K is the "A cost" or the amount of cash tendered to put the car in the parking lot, materials and labor.

The cost of the unit is much higher. You must add for administrative and management costs, pension and health care, depreciation of the factors of production, engineering, transportation, advertising, marketing, factoring (cost of money), and warranty repairs to the unit.

All done, DC gets a return on investment of 3 to 8% per unit.

To make more money the company can most easily cut costs. They keep the prices of parts shaved to the bone, and in the last year they have concentrated on quality to lessen the warranty burden, and eliminate the free service. This gives the company more money. They need that money to pay the hefty dividend to the share owners.