ld63

I'm up for Service A soon and debating if I should take it to the dealer or DIY it. Would love your input on this.

Reasons to take it in:

1. Establishes a documented service record for future warranty claims and resale value
2. Peace of mind that all inspections are being done by Mercedes technicians

Reasons not to take it in:

1. I'm already doing my own oil changes. This isnt really due at the moment and I cant see paying them a premium for this
2. It'll be a pain to revert to stock secondary cats (currently running straight pipe with v-band)
3. Would need to revert ECU tune back to stock (not sure how idempotent these ECU tunes are so not liking the idea of multiple installs/rollbacks)

I know some folks take their car in modded, but I'd personally be more comfortable reverting to avoid warranty issues.

Thanks in advance.

Girard@ACGautomotive

Take it over to Sal at MBSD. He takes care of any warranty stuff on my car and would love to service it

Very mod friendly

abcut973

I would say #1 reason to take it in is enough for me. That is what I did.
Although I do most of the work on my car bringing it to the dealership for a quick oil change shows up on the carfax. So proof of regular maintenance for the future buyer.
I didn't even sweat putting the car back to stock before bringing it in.

twiz718

I did not take mine in, dealer wanted $250 for it and a shop that specializes in german autos charged $124 out the door.
I am not too worried about carfax if you can provide documentation/proof yourself, it should be sufficient.

realjones88

Your tune or straight pipe is much more likely to get warranty work denied (specifically engine work) than not having a dealership do the Service A. Keep a receipt for the oil if you DIY or take it to an independent shop and it should make no difference.

If you plan on selling the car soon or want the service listed on the Carfax then consider taking it to the dealer. It really depends on how much you want to save $125. Your tune/pipe shouldn't matter as Service A is really just an overpriced oil change anyway.

rentzington

i see you're in dallas, which shop did you go to? autoscope?

twiz718

Nope, this one. http://www.germaneuropeanimport.com/
I liked it.

Wobble64

As a thought: I actually prefer oil changes where you drain the oil from the bottom of the car to ensure any deposits are flushed out. Most dealerships will siphon the oil off through he dipstick tube.


So, doing it yourself is better in that sense. And using a magnetic oil drain plug adds to that - you can see how much metal, if any, has accumulated on it between oil changes.


The latter has less value now than it used to, given our engines are aluminum, but a lot of the moving parts are still steel.

jcfay

I've decided to do it myself. I don't want to revert my tune (not sure you need to if the service advisor is cool and fingers crossed nothing shows up as requiring warranty work), and also not sure that they'll do it well anyway. I know I can swap filters, put in the proper oil, and do the inspection myself. The only thing I think we'd miss out on, however, is if they do periodic software updates - anyone know about this? I also need to figure out how to measure brake pad thickness (shouldn't be too hard, right?).

Rolf de Graaff

How about the service indication on the dashboard? Does it reset itself or do you have to do that yourself?

jcfay

You reset it yourself. There are a few threads that describe it on the forums, and you can google it too and there are a few youtube videos that outline how to do it (it's the same for all W204s). With the car on, key in position 2 (I believe), and the odometer visible you start by holding down the phone call button on the steering wheel, then holding the OK button simultaneously. This brings up a service menu, and if you follow the threads/vids further you'll see it's an easy reset (but not easy to describe in text!). HTH

ld63

Thanks all!

Is there any MB documentation to help DIYers?

Like exactly how to do an inspection along with criteria for passing/failing.