lightfytr

Have any of you been told that having an outside repair shop do any maintenance will void warranty on that equipment? When I took my car in the other day that is what I was told... Really? Smh.

hyperion667

can you provide any more details?
which dealer is this and where?

Arrie

I don't think any car manufacturer can demand service by their dealers for keeping warranty good. This most likely would be against laws.


When you service the car yourself or have it done by someone who is not MB service center you need have everything well documented and make sure you go by what the service booklet asks for.

amdeutsch

Amazing how some stealers still try to scare people in violation of federal law. Like Arrie said; keep to the details and save the documents, receipts, etc.

El Cid

Speak to the service manager or the general manager and get a clear understanding.
However, while MB does have to honor the warranty if the maintenance was performed correctly and to standard, that is where the potential issue comes up. Dealer and MB might say it was not done to standard or something was done incorrectly and then you have to fight with them to get it resolved - or just pay for it.
I do not go anywhere except the dealership during the warranty period. If nothing else, consider it good insurance.
Using the dealership also builds a good relationship with someone who can negotiate on your behalf with MB if an issue arises.
If you can afford a $50,000+ car, is it worth saving a couple of hundred dollars over the course of a year to take a chance?
Also,been burned by incompetant "certified, qualified, highly recommended" independents.

DC-IT

I fully agree with El Cid.
It is important to build up a good relationship with your M-B dealer.

When I had my BMW 335D I always service it at the Dealer until it was out of warranty.
Then I had one service done by an indi and shortly after that my 335D started having SES so I had to send it back to the BMW dealer.

Fortunately, the SA knows me well. My BMW 335d needed over $13,000.00 repairs due to injector and ECU failures as well as carbon build-up clogging the intake manifold and cylinder head!
The SA got BMW to cover almost $10,000.00 worth of the repairs even though my 335D was over 65,000 miles and out of warranty!

Another perk in getting the dealer to service/maintain our vehicle is we get an M-B loaner.
I was even given a brand new 2014 E250BT for the day when my E350BT was in for oil and filter change!

BACnMercedes

There is a federal law prohibiting the warranty from being voided as long as you have receipts or can prove the work. My stealership only gets things covered by warranty work. Everything else gets done at less than half the costs at a local shop that specializes in MB. I also take the SA doughnuts or something every now and then so I can have things covered like DC-IT had done. Stay on their good side.

DC-IT

These posts indicate that it's not worth the risk to service your vehicle by an indi when it's under warranty:

https://mbworld.org/forums/5216591-post1.html

https://mbworld.org/forums/5615805-post45.html

https://mbworld.org/forums/5927469-post49.html

BACnMercedes

Everyone has different luck getting things covered when they are outside the warranty time frames. In the above examples, the first one, if there was not extended warranty, is just luck if the dealer/manufacturer covers it. It's 80k miles! The second two examples should be covered if there is no more to them other than what the person has posted about. But since there are no more posts we do not know what happened to them. Sometimes dealerships are like insurance companies and they have to be "reminded" to cover items. It is unfortunate that it is this way but sometimes they don't want to do the extra work to cover items or it might not be beneficial to them
Read up on this:
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/article...ne-maintenance

Everyone has their different beliefs on the subject. Me personally, I'm just not paying the stealership anymore more money then needed. They have double crossed me and double charged me enough. For me it is just a lot cheaper to have it done any another shop besides the dealership. Either way you go OP, keep your own records for ANY work done anywhere for anything. Good luck!

El Cid

I had an update on my audio over a year ago under warranty. Had a problem with loss of sound on very rare occasions after that so I took it to dealership. Could not duplicate the problem. BUT they kept the car for three days and contacted MBUSA and did several things to the car. Provided me with an E Class loaner for all three days. No problems since.
Amazes me the people who purchase an expensive luxury car and then quibble over the costs of service or run regular gas in it.
Have had other makes of cars and because I used the dealerships for service, many times things were covered 100% under "goodwill" after warranty expired.
BTW, using dealership also establishes goodwill with MBUSA. It pays off.

DC-IT

Modern vehicles are like driving a computer as most components are controlled by the ECU and the inde garage do not have the equipment or knowledge to reprogram the vehicle.

In the case of my 2010 BMW 335D the inde garage wasn't able to work on it as they don't have the tools to replace the injectors or clean out the carbon buildup.
So it had to be done by the dealer. That was when good relationship built up through years of using the dealer for service pays off when the dealer went to bat for me to get BMW to pay for most of the costs even hough it was out of warranty.

I was provided a new F30 for over two months while my 335D was in the dealer getting fixed! And I put over 7,000 KM on the loaner F30!
No inde would do that.

lightfytr

Thanks for the feedback everyone, I felt strongly this was one of their sales tactics. It didnt pass the common sense test.

This isnt about "quibbling" over repair costs as El Cid so eloquently commented this is about me as a consumer being able to decide where my maintenance dollars will go. Remember in this world your financial position is increased by reducing cost and/or increasing income.

If I can do something myself, I reduce cost. But thanks!

DC-IT

Your financial position will be greatly increased if you buy a Toyota Camry instead of a Mercedes.
But when one has achieved a certain level of financial success or near retirement buying a luxury car is a reward for all the hard work. Besides you can't take it all with you.

Some do not have the skills or inclination to get their hands dirty in doing self maintenance and would prefer not to take any risks by getting their vehicle maintained at the dealership.
The added benefit is the availability of a M-B loaner and the peace of mind that if anything goes wrong the dealer or M-B is responsible.

I certainly don't mind paying the few hundred $ more at the dealer as the interval between service is 10,000 miles or 15,000 KM. For some this is once a year but for me its like ever four months.

I guess we all have different opinions and do what's in our best interests.

Cheers

ghstudio

Be a little careful if you have a mercedes finance lease. Remember, they own the car, not you....and they can dictate how it should be serviced. I believe the MB lease says you must have the car serviced at a MB dealer.....and it's a very good deal to include service in the lease since it is residualized.

El Cid

My thinking exactly. BTW, read your Operators and Maintenance manuals carefully and see what they say.

BACnMercedes

Wait! Are you getting loaner cars for normal service work?

GregTR

I think this is the biggest misnomer that is propagated on this forum. The residual value of the vehicle is determined solely by the MSRP of the vehicle and the percentage that MBUSA sets for a given month. Adding in a pre-paid maintenance will not increase neither the MSRP nor the percentage therefore it is NOT residualized. It is simply increasing capitalized cost and the lessee is liable for the difference between capitalized cost and residual value during the term of the lease meaning you will pay for the entire maintenance with money factor and all.

Any dealer who says otherwise is lying and deceiving.

Note: Some manufacturers sometime will bump residual percentage by a point if you opt for the pre-paid maintenance. So in those cases the maintenance is costing you less as you get a higher residual value but the discount has nothing to do with the residual percentage but with the MSRP of the vehicle.

Example:
Vehicle: MSRP $50K
Residual value: 62% for non-maintenance 63% for maintenance
Maintenance price: $1,500.

Under the misnomer people would tell you that the $1,500 maintenance really only costs $570 because you're only paying for 38% of it as it is "residualized". Again, this is not true.

Under real world condition where the captive finance company gives you a point bump on residual your residual on the car would go from $31K to $31.5K so you're only saving $500 off of the $1,500 not $930 like you would think.

As the MSRP of the car goes up the deal gets better, for example on a $100,000K car your saving is $1,000 as 1% is $1K.

But this scenario only applies if the finance company does give the one point bump in residual for buying pre-paid maintenance which MBUSA may or may not do.

But to say that the "maintenance cost is residualized" is simply incorrect.

El Cid

This thread is about not using MB dealerships for maintenance. It is NOT about pre-paid maintenance plans.

GregTR

I'm glad the thread police has arrived and added some value to this otherwise lame LMGTFY discussion...

DC-IT

The dealership I use provides loaner car when I send my vehicle for normal A or B service provided I request it when I call for a service appointment.

I didn't even bought my last two vehicles from them!
If no request is made for a loaner car then I have to wait in the lounge or get a shuttle service.

Normally I get a 2013 C300 but two services ago I was given the new E250BT for the day.

lightfytr

Thanks everyone, I want to say I really do appreciate the comments. Even El Cid.

The only point I want to make and im sure many others have seen the same is that we come to these forums for a little fellowship among similar vehicle owners and to get ideas or support for upgrades and vehicle problems. I would ask that each of us read what the OP is asking for and not get carried away with what their reasons are. To each is own. Probably every argument I have seen on a forum has come from someone responding and then criticizing or answering a question that wasn't asked. Case in point, look at the posts that have to do with HID headlights, people are often asking for feedback on how they work and customer satisfaction but many of the posts turn into what is technically legal and illegal. For those who answered what I was asking, thank you. For those who gave life lessons, well...

42hockeymom

Dad????







(sorry, DH just had this conversation with my dad last night! So, if you're name is Carlos, I'm going to go and run away now!)

GregTR

Off topic but that "maybe E350 4matic" better be a wagon! You will need it for the hockey gear. Trust me...