503C43 ////AMG

So when I bought my car I took it to a reputable indy shop down the street from my house to have a pre purchase inspection and after I bought the car I had them service it except the tranny which I had serviced by MB. I am curious as to what the A & B service entails and if any of you guys could tell me how much you paid for it on your C43.

MarcusF

This is what’s done on a CLK. According to the WIS this is the 202 service (but it doesn't look right to me). The dealer who sold me mein kar regularly advertises an A for $199 and a B for $299. They don’t care which MB it is - AMG or a pedestrian model. They do charge more for V12s and diesels though. They also advertise that if the customer only wants an oil change, that’s $125 most days of the week, and as low as $70 when on sale. A long time ago, another local dealer (there are 5 MB dealers within 30 minutes of my house) quoted me $500 for a B.

FLYNAVY

Yeah it depends on the dealer and how much they pay their guys. When I was in MS, an A service ran me $99 and B was around $250, but I've paid more like $200/A, $300/B in other places.

hcetzneb

What they pay the tech is one factor.. also is labor rate, and also parts pricing. The dealer makes 80% and more of the hourly rate so to blame what they pay the tech isnt fair..

FLYNAVY

What I meant was labor rate, sorry. Wasn't upset with anyone, I was just pleasantly surprised to find out service was so cheap when I took it to the Jackson dealership when I lived near there. My point was simply that there can be variances between what dealer X charges for service compared with dealer Y.

503C43 ////AMG

UPDATE:
I called my local MB dealership and they quoted me:

A service - $189
B service - $315

I was actually blown away compared to the $800 I pay to honda to have my '99 accord serviced every 30,000 miles

503C43 ////AMG

UPDATE:

Scheduled my FIRST B service for tomorrow morning with a BG fuel injection system/engine flush. Total comes to $480 ($315 for B service + $165 for injection system/engine flush)..... Not bad at all IMO. I had my C43 pre purchase inspection done by a reputable indy shop here and when I bought it I had them do a full tune up. I figured I would take it to MB this time as you would imagine they would know more about my car than the shop, plus it's cheaper believe it or not at the MB dealership..... Like I said I pay $800 to Honda every 30k to have them service my '99 Accord which DOESN'T include the fuel injection system/engine flush. I will say that my Honda feels like a new car every time I get it back from them, it's the only reason I keep bringing it back. I CAN'T WAIT to get my C43 back from the dealer after the servicing and injection system/engine flush and see how she runs (wonder if I will get better MPG??)...... I will post results when I get the car back which should be tomorrow night, just in time for the extended weekend

503C43 ////AMG

UPDATE:

MB just called and informed me of what they found.....

My motor mounts and tranny mounts are practically brand new (which I had suspected when I checked them out)

My drive line has a small piece of metal that needs to be shaved off (not quite sure what they meant and I didn't ask any questions as I am currently on graveyard and was 4 hours into sleeping when they called)

They can not do the BG injection system/engine flush as they no longer do it on AMG vehicles (something about how our engines don't like it ????)

I have a SMALL oil leak on my left valve cover (i figured as much as I was beginning to smell a faint odor of burnt oil)

They said other than that my C43 is in PERFECT condition. So for about $750 I am getting everything that was wrong fixed

I am truly surprised at the level of inspection that you receive with a B service. When I bought the car I was afraid of maintenance costs and everyone was saying "it's a mercedes, it's gonna be expensive" I am proud to prove them wrong as I am paying less for my servicing than almost everyone I know with common everyday cars. Obviously there are some items that are SUPER costly (i.e front rotors, interior and body parts, etc...) but as far as upkeep I can't believe how cheap it is. I LOVE MY C43 AMG

I am going to pick up my baby this afternoon and I will post an update regarding how she is driving as well as what the metal piece was on my drive line.

P.S. Someone had posted that they had a fuel injection system cleaning done on their C43, where did you have this done at???

503C43 ////AMG

UPDATE:

Just picked up my baby and she is FLYING!!!!

total cost was $660 about $90 less than what they quoted me. The piece they needed to shave off was the transmission tunnel insulation, they just trimmed it down. I had them tighten my parking brake, HUGE difference. My valve cover gasket didn't need to be replaced just resealed, hence the reduction in cost. They explained that they no longer do the BG fuel injection cleaning/engine flush on AMG vehicles as it seems to promote increased wear on the fuel injectors and they had to replace too many, so they stopped. My first B service is complete and I notice a difference, my car is running smoother and responding quicker to manual shifting for some reason? Perhaps they did something to the ECU/TCU??? One thing that does bother me is they said they checked the exhaust for leaks and noted none, I know for a fact I have a SMALL exhaust leak as there is about 1/4" that isn't fully welded on top. I noticed this when I pulled out my shifter and could see the top of the exhaust. When I had my secondaries removed they welded in a straight pipe, this is where the weld was missed. Oh well I am going to take it back to the exhaust shop I had it done at and have them re-weld it. Other than that I am EXTREMELY satisfied with the work as well as the service, they treat me like a king at MB.

P.S. one of the service writers owns a C43 as well, silver with the 2 tone interior. That makes 2 employees at that MB dealership that own C43's, small world huh?

svt ricco

its good to hear these kinds of things about a dealer.. you're lucky!

FLYNAVY

Nice, did you use Wilsonville or downtown? I bought mine as a CPO from Wilsonville, and always had good experiences with their service dept while I was still living in OR. Think I remember 2 or 3 of the guys there either were or had been C43 owners.

99CEEFOURTHREE

503 C43 Glad to hear your car is running well.Now about that fuel system cleaning I am happy I did it to my C43 w/133k on it. Made a huge difference.Maybe mine were gummed up.I dont have to worry about doing it again as my car is a 3rd car and a nice weather only car which I ENJOY SO MUCH!! The claim about the servicing of injectors damages them, i asked my indi shop and they said he has been servicing benz,bmw,audi and porsche at his shop with the cleaning service and never ever ran into that situation......so who knows if you do it once HARD TO BELIEVE IT WOULD DAMAGE THEM.

503C43 ////AMG

I go to the downtown one as it is about 10 min from where I live (less than 10 min if I drive fast ) but the wilsonville one is STATE OF THE ART and offers a little cheaper prices from their parts department (by a couple dollars so most of the time it's not worth the 20 minutes drive). There is a guy who has a C43 currently as the wilsonville MB but there are 3 people at the downtown one, one guy has the most unbelievably mint C43 you have ever seen, it has 21,000 miles on it and not a scratch dent or ding

503C43 ////AMG

I was thinking the same thing but then I thought, why wouldn't they want my $165? especially when all they do is hook it up and let it run while they are working on other stuff, easy $165 IMO. So I find it hard to believe that they aren't telling the truth. I made a big deal about it and had them bring out the shop manager who explained it to me personally, they told me I should go get the techron concentrate and run it through my gas tank. MB has yet to steer me wrong and they treat me like a king there so I told them I understand and that I appreciate them thinking about my car instead of making a quick buck. I might just have to get the injectors removed and serviced OR just get new injectors which I am actually thinking is a better idea. Not that I suspect my injectors are bad but new injectors can't hurt right?

99CEEFOURTHREE

I can appreciate your reasoning.But why replace your injectors on a stock/lightly modded car when you can service them feel a difference and spend that money on other things for your 43! But if its running great keep it that way!!

FLYNAVY

Buy good gas and you probably shouldn't have to worry too often about cleaning/replacing injectors. Always have run Chevron Supreme w/ Techron or Shell Vpower in my cars, and have yet to have any fuel system problems.

503C43 ////AMG

All I run is Chevron Supreme but who knows what the guy before me ran....

FLYNAVY

Actually, I just remembered, I DID have one little fuel issue. Moved to Pensacola, FL several years ago, and started using gas from the Chevron by my house (a brand new station). After about a week, the gas gauge started going crazy and indicating anything from a half tank to empty right after filling up. Stopped going there, and the problem quickly went away (and never returned). So I guess it can come down to the particular station where you pump from....