Sabotage

Hey I have a few questions
1) The section in front of my panoramic roof, right between the windshield and the glass is starting to fade a bit. Can I have a body man repaint that or is there any sensors there and need to take it into MB to take care of?
2) I bought the car with the best tire package warranty there was. All the rims have some sort of scratch and both front tires have a little bubble on the sidewall. The document stats the warranty cover rim damage (scratches included) and tire damage. Will I have any issues for MB to honor the warranty purchased by the previous owner that expires in 1/21.
3) I'm very mechanical and usually take care of cars on my own. The car is still under warranty and I planned on trying to extend that warranty when it expire. If I do the maintenance work on my own, will the warranty be voided or can I show proof of oil/filter and such purchase that will have them honor the warranty if something go wrong with the engine
4) The car has 47000 miles already, I bought it with 45000 three weeks ago. Can I trust this engine to go the long haul or is this a car you get rid of after a certain mile or keep my second car to pile the miles on? I'd rather just have one car...
5) What do you think about working on this car? A car is a car to me, more or less. I have never been afraid to do maintenance work on my cars but then again, this is my first MB. Regular maintenance such as brakes, oil, filters, broken hard parts are no big deal to me. Should I reconsider this mentality because this is a MB?
6) I have the ash wood interior. What can I use to clean it with. So far, I 've been only using a damp microfiber cloth. I'm worried about damaging it with chemicals. What are people using to clean that ash wood?

Thanks

pkaia524

since it sounds like we are similar types, here are a few thoughts:
1) can’t imagine there are any sensors in this hard body panel. I do know there is a sensor (auto wipers) in the rear view mirror.
3) I bought my 2015 with 14K miles and bought the extended MB warranty. I asked two SA’s at two different dealers about DIY versus dealer maintenance voiding the warranty. Both said if I kept records it would not be a problem. I also take photos of the process of every maintenance performed, date stamped. And fill out the service book. To me this is similar to the question if taking your car to an Indy voids the warranty. Same answer - no it doesn’t.
4) no idea on longevity. I’m now at 58K miles with no issues. I think if one maintains the car as required, even changes items that aren’t “noted” like diff fluid, and doesn’t abuse the car, it will more likely last. I ran a BMW to 193,000 miles without any major repairs (one frozen brake caliper, one oil filter gasket leak) in spite of the idea that BMW’s are unreliable. You just need to keep up on the maintenance, check fluids, etc. vast majority either don’t or rely on the service needed light. I’m more aggressive in my service intervals.
5) A car is a car. I’m more limited by the lack of a lift than the fact it’s a Mercedes. The hard part is finding DIY videos, as most owners take their car to the dealer. And how the manufacturers keep making more items more difficult. For example, I’m having an Indy change my trans fluid/filter next week because it’s not drain and fill, and the fluid needs to be at a certain temp.

pkaia524

And so far I’ve performed:

4 oil/filter changes (easy). I have only used OEM filters and Mobil 1 so MB can’t say I used inferior parts.
1 air filter change (easy)
2 cabin air/dust particle filter changes (engine compartment is easy, under the glove box is PITA)
Spark Plugs (Indy shop - it’s winter plus the plugs are buried pretty deep in the engine bay. I thought $125 in labor was worth paying to avoid the hassle.

Sabotage

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my questions. It does seem like a lot of people take their cars in to be serviced. When I read through the service performed, everything on the list is just a check. All you're really just getting is the oil change for around $500. That's a little hard to swallow when you can take 15 minutes to do the checks on your own. But like my wife says, 25% of the bill is parts, 25% is labor and the other 50% is if you want the name then you'll have to pay for it.

GringoBling

correct, Service A is an oil change and cabin air filters. I just have my dealership do the oil change and reset the timer and do the rest myself.

These cars are easy to work on, I just did the plugs on my C400 and it required no special tools and was easier than many cars I've worked on.

The motors are very reliable with normal maintenance.

The roof thing is a common problem on some of them, a lot of people just vinyl wrap it. As for warranty issues, I have had nothing but a positive experience with MB warranty.

pkaia524

Out of respect for your wife, you don’t have to pay it. People simply think they do, or “something” bad will happen.

Any marque perceived as expensive/luxury doesn’t automatically mean only dealer servicing is required. I also have 2 Porsches and perform DIY service on them as well. They don’t break, perform well, etc. Like a C300, they too are only cars with fluids, filters, etc.

I agree completely that the MB service $ only buys you some checks in a box that I can do as well.

As for the cost of an oil change, DIY it’s $15 for the OEM filter, and about $35-$40 for the oil (Wal-Mart price of $23/5 quarts of Mobil 1 0W-40). If you want to pay $100s more to MB instead, it’s your $. I don’t.

Krypton

I am in a similar boat like yours, OP. I do a lot of the maintenance work on my cars - all german cars only - on my own. yes, I have the exact same issue as yours where that middle panel has faded and I spoke to MB dealership to see if it was covered under warranty and it wasn't and I am not paying $800 for that so I am going to wrap it in a gloss black Vinyl.

Bought the car at 13k miles in 2016 January and now have 58k miles on it without any problems. This is my wife's DD as I hate MB's and love my BMW's lol.

Sabotage

Thanks for the idea on the wrap, I went and got it done today, looks way better. They ran out of wrap so I have to go back Friday to complete it but its already a great improvement

I love hearing people talk about working on their car no matter what it is. When I go under my car and wifey comes out to say something, I'll just pull out a copy of your statement and say Porsches

Let me know what you think about the wrap when you get it's done. Mine cost $110, I'll see how the finished product looks before I comment on my opinion. They did a half *** job today when they ran out of paper so they will have to do it again.