jpflip

Bought the car last year a used 2010 c350 full equipt... I was in love at first site;-) Now at 64769 kms (40245 miles) had to go for my first service which was a B with transmission oil change. In montreal the place is called Silver Star Mercedes and it is supposed to be the biggest MB dealer in Canada. On the phone for the appointment I was told the price was $600.00 including the transmission oil change...Of course the story was completely different when I arrived for the service. $349.99 was added for this job and they only added 6 liters of oil which mean they did not empty the torque converter. I tried to talk to the service manager before they start the job and told me they never do it. I also tried to talk to the service adviser about the fact that I have to pay for the oil change when , at the beginning, this transmission was suppose to have lifetime oil in it....Her answer was , I've been working at this dealership for 18 years and never heard about lifetime oil in any transmission!!!! Of course she didn't know that I am in my 38th years as a mechanic and the Mercedes is my thirtieth car, always maintain my own cars except on warranty (BMW, Porsche)……So the total of the B + transmission oil was $1090.20!!!! $400.00 for the transmission, air filters (2) $143.65, oil change about $89.00. This one really make me mad windshield washer $4.50 !!!! I always keep my tank full and someone probably added 4 ounces in it and charge me for a full gallon!!!! And finally $320.70 in labor ($129.00 per hour)…I remember the last word from the service adviser and it was "I hope we will see you again" LOL!!!! Yes you will!!!LOL!!!! My car is simply a perfect , runs good without any issue. Too bad stealership are damaging the reputation of MB and the pleasure of driving a beautiful piece of engineering….

Carsy

Don't blame you for being in shock.

I still crawl under mine at age 66 & enjoy doing all the servicing ,including ATM. Keeps me young!!

jpflip

Good example to follow, I'm impress, congratulations! Received last week a Fluke temp sensor and now I am trying to found this Assenmacher adaptor. Already got a Motive power fill pro and , of course, lots of info how to do it from this forum!!!! Thanks!

Carlos.33193

Never heard of lifetime transmission fluid either? Manual specifically states when to change transmission fluid in our cars..

J__

there are technically lifetime trans fluids, I recall hearing some american cars have this. Common sense however suggests there no such thing as 'lifetime' lube that will stand up to the stress that a tranny puts out. I think it's a marketing ploy from the auto manufacturers to make your tranny break faster so it will be more money in their pockets when you take it in for a tranny swap.

vipsa

Lifetime fill is a gimmick used by manufacturers to refer to the lifetime of the vehicle. In automotive marketing, a typical lifetime of a vehicle is the time the customer takes it in to the dealership for service. For most that's while the car is still under factory warranty and in some cases extended warranty. Since most people won't take their car to the dealer after 100k miles, the manufacturer considers that the life cycle of a vehicle.
BMWs for example have a sticker on the their trans that specifically states that it's filled with lifetime fluid.
For the most part even if you don't end up changing the fluid at 40k, the trans will most likely last until that 100k lifecycle. What happens after that, the manufacturer is off the hook and they simply don't care.

So for most enthusiasts which I consider most of us here, the way is to DIY and do what we can to extend that lifecycle. For that you need to learn to work on it yourself of find a really good trustworthy indy.

jpflip

RavenMDX

Hey jpflip, I also live in Montreal and I've been to Silver Star a few times. What can I suggest to you is never go there unless your benz is still under warranty.

I also did my tranny service a few months ago but I didn't go to Silver Star. Just across from Silver star, a few blocks down there's a specialized indie Benz shop called Exclusive Mercedes. They only service benz and the technicians used to work for Silver Star. They don't charge $129/hour (more like $90) and give a better service. its a small place but they do a good job at a much better price. My tranny service was about $450 tax in.

http://www.exclusifmb.com/

jpflip

Thank you very much for this suggestion, I really appreciate it!

Glyn M Ruck

Filled for life = short life!!

jpflip

LOL!!! It's been a while since the Chrysler, Dodge, Firebird Trans-Am, Camaro of the seventies and eighties...even my 1980 Honda Accord... Never heard of automatic transmission oil change

Detailingdoc

Lol you got off easy my B service and Tranmission and Brake fluid change ran 1500. Absolutely ridiculous.

jpflip

OMG!!!! This give Mercedes a very bad reputation...It scare potential buyers....

Glyn M Ruck

That's just gouging ~ plain & simple.

Detailingdoc

Not only that they didnt change all the fluid from the torque converter. Outrageous prices and cutting corners. You gotta love it.

kev10

You guys are definitely scaring me. I am starting to plan to trade in my C300 before its fourth year maintenance service comes (I currently have the prepaid three-year service). Might put Infiniti and Lexus in my next car consideration.

Carsy

Obtain a quote on their servicing first.

MB-Convert

That is awesome, I am with you on this one!

tmsiegle

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...60k-kms-6.html

Give the latter part of this thread a read. macsp went through a very similar issue with his dealer in Toronto. Seems that MB Canada are really uneducated (and arrogant to boot) about the TC drain issue. Hope it helps.

jpflip

Thanks for the link! Very interesting...

Sportstick

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/22/2...sumer-reports/

When Consumer Reports thinks you're too dull, boring, and un-sporty, I think there may be a problem.....

Pete7874

Ehh... dealers will be stealers... Our C300 was in service last weekend for Service B. The dealer's service B pricing is clearly listed on their website. After I dropped the car off and was called a few hours later to get an update on the work, I was given a price that was several hundred dollars higher than what's on their website. The service advisor informed me that they have a basic Service B and a full Service B and they assumed I wanted the full service. Yet their website only lists one type of Service B, and when I asked him what the difference between the two was, he started speaking gibberish but finally mentioned that it also includes tire rotation. I just about lost it at that point, considering that the car has staggered wheel setup.


As for trans fluid change, they charge $350 to replace half the fluid. They don't have a price for the other half as they claim it doesn't need to be done. Sigh...


On a related note, they recommended the following work, which I told them to skip for now:

- Replace front differential fluid (due every 40,000miles), $70

- Replace rear differential fluid (due every 40,000miles), $160

- Replace spark plugs (Spark plug replacement recommended for 5yr/ 91k service), $349.38


Are these legitimate items that need to get done? I couldn't find much info on these. I know the sparkplugs should be changed by 100K miles, but the car currently has 59K miles, and I've never heard of time being much of a factor there. What about the front/rear diff fluids? This is a 4matic by the way.

Big Daddy

The Merc C is a surprisingly easy car to service compared to many others of its class around the world. A little mechanical nous can go a long way in savings when you do it yourself.

Big Daddy

Remember the dealer makes very little money on the sale of a car. The big earner is doing the servicing/repairs.

Pete7874

I'm well aware. But it's one thing to be upfront about the price and it's another to try to scam you by practicing some sick bait-and-switch scheme, hoping the owner is rich and won't question their BS.