builthatch

i got a killer deal on the factory recommended 5/40 plus a rebate so i bought a bunch.

almost a year has passed since i got my car and thus, it needs an oil change. i am SO picky with my cars that i usually do my own oil changes - i hate anyone touching my stuff - but i have something i need to bring it in for anyway re: warranty so i wanted to just get it done at the dealer. i'm going to ask around to find a tech in the Delaware Valley at a Merc dealer who has a reputation for being careful.

anyway, how much should i expect to pay for an oil change if i'm supplying the oil?

also, if you know of a good technician i can ask for at a dealer in the southern NJ/ SEPA area, let me know.

Merc63

At the dealer lots. I doubt they would even let u supply.

Do it urself.

Jiffy lube does it by my place for $30 if I supply oil.

chrisridebike8

I bring my own oil and for a Service A I paid $160.

Diabolis

For as long as it's MB 229.5 approved oil of the proper viscosity, you can certainly bring your own.

I just had my first service A done at the dealer (with my own Mobil1 0W40) and the total invoiced time was 1.1 hours (they also did a bunch of checks and reset the service indicator). The filter and the two seal rings were about $25.

builthatch

thanks all.

at 1.1 and the parts cost, i'd guess you were probably around Chris's number, 150ish.

ok cool.

Diabolis

Dealership here charges $139.95/hr (that's Canadian $ - now about $0.90 US) so the labour was $153.95. Chris's number sounds right.

Merc63

Wow $150 for an oil change with your own oil, that's hilarious.

Head to jiffy lube or get a jack and some stands.

Merc63

Buy a mityvac and suck the oil out, you could do this wearing a suit.

AMG Boost

Not to derail the thread, but dosent doing your own oil change possibly void warranty?

Merc63

No lol. You don't have to bring your car to the dealer to get robbed of your hard earned money. You can do every aspect of the service at home or where every you choose, as long as you have evidence that the maintenance was completed, aka receipts for supplies.

AMG Boost

Oh I see. I got no problem doing my own oil changes, it is the little stuff im worried I could miss that they might want to nail me for.


Also for people doing their own oil change, do you guys take it to 15k kms? that seems so high. I wouldn't go over 10k kms for my car.

avery.whss

$150 if you do it yourself? what? mine cost like $190-ish at the dealer and i don't gotta get dirty

roadtalontsi

just use oem filters. the aftermarket ones are junk and come apart and clog stuff. which tends to not be warrantable
people provide there on oil or other parts all the time. Usually parts will charge 8-9$/qt so you can save some $$$$ there forsure.

Merc63

No way, I had my oil tested at 8000km and they said to change it. Ph was done among others. I think there was a track day or two in there.

natman316

I do my own mid interval oil changes using a mityvac. cost like 90$ though and my dealer charges 150 I think for oil change only.

By the way, how do you remove the oil filter without oil spilling all over the place? When I was doing mine no matter how empty i felt i drained it, when I opened the filter the oil spilled all over the place

avery.whss

open the filter first or loosen it then drain the oil

natman316

will try that next time

95_993

I just changed my oil this weekend. I picked up 0w-40 Mobil1 European Formula for $5/qt and a OEM Merc Filter for $12. 1hr hr of my own time while drinking coffee = $0.

Total cost of oil change = $52

Roswell

I agree, I used to get robbed 200$ at the dealership even when I brought my own oil. No more of this BS.

I'm doing mine at Mr.Lube where my friend is manager. Bought the OEM oil filter & my own oil... 30$ labor & bingo.

What I like is they dont have to jack up my car since they have a pit. My car is low with skirts, so jacking it up it tricky.

I stopped going to the stealer cuz I caught them using the mityvac on my car cuz they got lazy lifting my car, and they still charged me full price.

Merc63

Ya jiffy lube is sweet. I usually bring it there too, for $30 can't go wrong. I leave the plastic cover off under the engine for some more air flow, it makes oil changes easy now. Only thing is the blower snout blocks the oil filter cover, so I have to do that on my own.

peckcrossing

I take mine to Valvoline with my own oil/filter and it cost $19.99.

Diabolis

That may be true in the US - probably as a result of the Magnuson-Moss Act - but NOT in other places of the world, including Canada. Maintenance needs to be carried out by a factory-approved service center (not necessarily the dealer, mind you - there are indie shops that are authorized but they charge pretty much the same) or you're SOL if/when it comes to warranty issues that can be attributed to "improper maintenance".

Diabolis

I know for a fact that the distributor cost for a bottle of Mobil1 0W40 in Canada is around $8. If you buy a barrel (like they do at my Porsche shop) the cost per liter goes down to about $3.

builthatch

welp, i just wanted to update this and say that it cost me $94 after taxes and fees. i brought my own oil - they supplied everything else.

dealer was Mercedes Benz of Atlantic City.

like i said, the whole reason for throwing them the business in the first place (instead of just changing it myself) was because i've been there three times for warranty stuff so i figured i'd play fair and give them a little biz. anyway, they ran a pneumatic test on the upper lumbar and it passed, so the next step is to bring it back and have them manually check the deflate time and then go from there.

I am Jeff

I'm sorry to tell you that you just got jacked by the dealership if you paid 94 bucks for an oil change and you supplied your own oil. I pay 129 at my dealership for my oil change and they supply everything. Keep in mind that they will not categorize it as a Service A visit, just a normal oil change.