mjr24

I have.....but $85 sounds like alot for an oil change.

vraa

BMW has free oil changes

mjr24

VRAA! You are :p

PaulX608

The dealer did the previous ones free, but I'm about to do the next one myself. Out of warranty now, don't ya know. Anyway, $85 doesn't sound too bad to me when you think about 9+ quarts of Mobil1, plus filter and labor. I figure it'll cost me $50 or $60 to do it myself, then I have to schlep the used oil to a collection site, etc. Not to mention liability. If I screw something up under there, it's on me. If the dealer does it, they'll fix what they break. Unless, of course, your dealer sux. The Valvoline place down the road that does our other vehicles oil changes said they'd do my ML for $90, but they don't have the right oil, so I'm just gonna do it myself.

DarrenCT

absolutely-- after working for a service dept long ago(subaru) and seeing what can happen when people try to cheap out on oil changes, my dlr can do all the services. unless you know someone you REALLY trust

techbike

The dealer sucks the oil through the dipstick tube and I don't thnk that's a proper way to drain old oil. I do it the old fashioned way; up on a lift, drain plug off for a half hour while inspecting the rest of the undersides. Better chance of getting the sludge out?

Vendetta

Absolutely. And partly because they lift the car and give it a good once-over while they're under there, like a good pre-flight check.

I'll bet most of us don't get under our cars very often to test random bolts to see if they're tight, eyeball the exhaust system, or even just to see how things look. I know I don't... but again, that's why I take it to the dealership.

-V

EDIT: Ha! Techbike... talk about being on the same page at the same time. You do it yourself, but you definitely do it right.

AMG2GO

They suck out the oil?! heh I can just see an MB tech standing next to a CL with a tube in his mouth.... with the foreman screaming "HARDER!!!"...

are you guys changing oil other than the scheduled A and B service?

vraa

I'm going to use this to take every chance I can to rub it in yalls face

They shouldn't be sucking it out from the top. They should put the car up on the lift and drain it.

That's what all the Mercedes dealers and Lexus dealers do as well.

Chip

So they don't put drain plugs in CL's. I thought drugs were illegal in Germany?

vraa

Illegal? Isn't that one of the few places where you can buy/sell hash legally?

I think there is a drain plug, I could've sworn I saw some W215's lifted up @ Mercedes of Sugarland when I went.

Chip

That's Amsterdam. The Germans just drink a lot.

techbike

My information is 2 years old; which was when I stopped having the dealership do oil changes. A service supervisor told me they sucked the oil out with a pump as it was easier, and the filter's right there too, up on top. I reserved comment and just started doing it myself. I have a 4 post lift and this finally gave me justification for "the boss".
Re: intervals, every 5000 miles or in the fall if I don't hit that (Eurospec 0W40)

SJRAMROD

You guys will be happy to know that it is cheap for the dealer oil change with a Benz. My Vette is around $115-$125 at the chevy dealer. I never had it done........always did it myself!

apdesign

I used to change my own oil when I was driving Japanese cars, but now when I start drive German cars I have the dealer change the oil. You actually don't save much by doing it yourself and the hassle of dealing with doing it and so on, plus they use mobile 1.

WIldcat465

What a hassle to get rid of the old oil, crawl under the car, risk having it fall on top of you. My SL is in for A service, they give me a C230 loaner which I will put 1000 miles on and save the miles from my CL. So, I save $, by taking my car in for service--gas alone will save me a bundle. Save your fingernails, take it to the dealer.

sped

I change the oil in all my cars, I had a C-5 Corvette and what a hassle! I had to drive it up on wedge blocks so I could get the jack under it, then doing the work under the car was not fun. After I purchased the CLK I found the Mityvac fluid evacuator and do all the oil changes from the top using the evacuator. The 2 MB service centers here suck the oil out as well, they say it gets more oil out then draining it. I thought it was not as efficient as draining it, but now it think it is. All I know is that it is sure convenient, I just pump the vacuum up and go inside and watch TV then go back and pump it up a little more, change the filter, and then I'm done. I also never worry about the drain plug not being tighten enough. After seeing what the dealer does (schlock'n oil all over the car) when they change oil I really like doing it myself. I have done this in my 2 CLKs and 2 E class cars for years without any problems. After all anyone with a boat will tell you that is the only way they remove the oil from a boat motor.
I use the 07201 in the web page below, they also make pneumatic powered extractors.
http://www.mityvac.com/pages/products_fee.asp
I think Northern Tool is where I made my purchase but will look when I get home to be sure. They do have it for about $89.00.
I am surprised that this area of the forum has not discussed the oil sucking dilemma before, in the CLK forum area we talked about it at length about 2 years ago.
As far as getting rid of the old oil I just take it to Pepboys and they take care of it, very simple.
Regards,
Ed