yzhou

Is the engine oil for c63 the same as other C-class?
I got a 2014 sedan, I am in Texas, If I change it by myself or supply my own oil to dealer. What is my best choice? Thank you guys!

builthatch

it's a half hour shop labor (60), cost for the filter and seals (20) then 9 bucks for solvent and oil disposal, which is bull**** but i'm not going to fight them over that. then tax.

there's no way you pay $100 for nine quarts of that M1 5-40 ESP (which is the oil that Merc dealers must install if using their own oil), the filter and the labor...and then tax. i'm not even including the nonsense charges like solvent and oil disposal. give me a break. if you do, then you'd be in the vast minority because they'd be discounting every single part of a normal c 63 change by at least 40%.

Merc engine code vs. approval list chart - http://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/d/d/en/Spec_223_2.pdf

For M156 engines:
here is the 229.5 list - http://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/bevolisten/229.5_en.html
and then the 229.51 list - here is the 229.5 list - http://bevo.mercedes-benz.com/bevolisten/229.51_en.html

i don't know about being the same, but this is the oil that my dealer specs for it so i ended up getting two cases on Amazon and then a $25 rebate check. it's not as good as the Pennzoil rebate where you get basically five quarts of their best synthetic Platinum Ultra for $2 total, haha, but only some sort of Pennzoil Euro version is MB approved for this engine (or overall, i forget) and i figure for the price, i'll just go with what the factory recommends. i mean, i'm not doing used oil analysis, i'm not doing extended intervals (OE is 1yr/10k, i drove <5k last year) so whatever.

Diabolis

That makes no sense - the cost of the oil and filter alone is higher than what the dealership is charging you. At least here in Canada, the Formula M is about $12/L (and the car takes ~9L) and the filter is $25. What am I missing?

builthatch

that post originally said $100 when i responded but he changed it to $129 without an edit note.

either way, you are correct, the math does not work out so i'm curious.

i believe my dealer charges $8.40 a quart (mine cost $6.25 from amazon + M1 rebate, delivered) and apparently they charged me $16 for the filter. so using those numbers that right there is $91.60 for the oil and filter. so without any tax, add'l charges, etc., the labor they charge at his dealership for the oil change using those prices is under $38.

that's pretty aggressive haha.

I am Jeff

Over here in the states, you can buy your oil for around 5-6 bucks a quart. Filters usually run me around 15 bucks per change. When I do it myself, it costs me 60 bucks for oil + 15 for filter. I only take it in once a year to have the dealership note that I'm performing regular maintenance. Well worth the additional $25.

I thought I included an edit note, but my dealership sends out service coupons every quarter. My last oil change was 100 bucks + tax. It has since been changed to 129, hence the revision. Sorry for any confusions. You're more than welcome to PM me for the dealership.

builthatch

you are getting Mercedes-specified oil for 5-6 dollars a quart? may i ask where? Mercedes has a long list of approved oils for our engine, but none of it that i can find is that cheap, let alone that easily accessible. the M1 5-40 ESP Formula M isn't even that easy to find unless you are buying online and on amazon, shipped free and with a $25 M1 rebate it came out to 6.25 a quart.

like i said, i'm used to paying literally $2 per five quarts of PPU because of their rebates and such so it killed me to pay for the M1.

thanks.

jvanbrecht

My Dealer sells me my oil for between 5 and $6 a quart. Typically I pay around 70 to 80 to change the oil myself, and it only takes like 5 to 10 minutes if I do the top side method only. If I do a drain and vacuum from underneath, it takes me about 45 min, and that is with me having to jack up the car. Should still not take more than 15 to 20 minutes at the dealer.

I am Jeff

Exactly! I only take it in for the documentation of the maintenance occuring. I get my 5w-40 at the dealership for 5-6 bucks. You can buy Mobil1 0w-40 oil at walmart for 24.97 for 5 quarts.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mobil-1-0W...Quart/23636902

builthatch

ahh ok; you are using M1 0-40 at home, gotcha. that flies on 229.5. i was thinking you were using the 229.51 list which has all ESPs and are harder to find. that's why i resorted to Amazon. there is no way in hell that any of the dealers in a 100 miles radius from here would charge $5-$6 for ESP so if you guys are getting it for that from them, keep buying haha.

$5-$6 a quart for you to take home so you could change yourself? of which oil?

the dealers in this region charged half hour for oil change, full hour for Service A. they charge half hour for the change even though it might take them less. my car was on the lift for longer than half an hour though and it appeared it was draining for most of that time

i wanted to change the oil myself but don't want to be a total warranty guy - service people hate that - so i threw them a bone for this latest warranty issue and didn't change it myself. i figure with this change they won't balk when i ask for a specific tech for a warranty thing, they will fit me in on Saturdays, etc. a little reciprocation can go a long way in that business. i've been in three times for warranty **** since i got the car March last year and i've only driven ~5K miles.

I am Jeff

The walmart link was only an example of MB spec oil for 5-6 dollars a quart. I use 5W-40 ESP for the oil changes I do at home. I purchase the oil from my local dealership at that price. It pays to have good relations with the parts department.

w204nyc

Where do you go Jeff? Mercedes of
Manhattan gives me the long time customer and only charge me a measly $229 plus tax of course lol

builthatch

no doubt, i agree totally. i skateboard with the (now former) parts guy at MB of AC and he quoted me last year at "$6 a quart, tops" for 5-40 ESP FM. that sounded great but i had no reason to go out there and could get it shipped to my house from Amazon with the rebate for about the same price. no tolls, no gas, etc.

we are talking a few different things here and that's where the confusion is.

my beef was your $100 or even $129 for an oil change including the oil, because the math didn't make sense. and $5-$6 a quart is TOTALLY believable if the parts counter guy is giving you a deal, but to have that hookup cost factored into the service writer's invoice for the change is odd to me, and to reach that net change cost, it would have to be. otherwise, like i said, they are giving you a ~40% break on every point of the invoice (oil, labor, parts, misc. charges, tax, etc.) when it was $100 and ~25% at $129.

however, if they are issuing a coupon for that, then that's what's happening at your spot

I am Jeff

I usually go to Sovereign. I can see that Manhattan is taking care of you!

avery.whss

this recent oil change I decided to buy the oil/filter from MB (it was 160ish for both) from the dealer, then I went to a lube shop and they charged me $30 to do it all...and the dealer charges me around 250 for everything if they do it...so the cost isn't that huge..the only difference is the dealership lets my car sit in the lot for a few hours where the lube shop is maybe 20 minutes after all the guys drool over the car...plus the dealership washes the car which is kind of a bonus actually

i just had the 60,000KM transmission service done and that was only like $100 more at the dealership then it would have been at some indie shop

Diabolis

Further to what Avery said, the dealership also loans me an E-class for the day while the C63 is getting serviced (I got an E-class loaner both times I've had to take the car in). Add that to the SRL reset, a mechanic who only works on MBs and uses a torque wrench to put in the drain plugs back in, the full hand wash and of course the fact that I don't have to waste an hour or two of my time waiting for the oil change in a lube shop, and the $60 difference is IMHO more than fair.


P.S. I get Mobil1 0W40 for under $5/liter from my P-car mechanic who has barrels of this stuff (just pump it into a couple of 5L jugs), but AFAIK the non-ESP 5W40 FM stuff only sells by the bottle, which is what they still put in the C63s at the MB dealership I go to.

avery.whss

Yeah I'm pretty sure the difference isn't even $60...it's not very much..like you said mechanic who only works on MBs etc...I think MB is pretty well priced honestly for what you get...even their detailing service isn't that expensive (around 300) compared to other "indie" places that charge close to $400

builthatch

wow some of us are so different from each other, hahaha.

i was sketched for even paying someone to change my oil. i felt like a dirty, dirty yuppie. then i was nervous about which of their techs was going to touch the car, etc. i had to get intel from my car enthusiast former parts counter guy friend at that dealership about which tech was the most careful and detail-oriented.

wash it? my goodness, if someone else tried to wash my car it'd be a big deal to me. i'm one of those nerds who understands the 40 hour finish correction scene has a car without a scratch even under fluorescent lighting and a scanning electron microscope, and i readily admit that. i'm mentally ill with my car but otherwise, i'm actually VERY easy going.