I bought the 2016 E 550 Cabrio in February of 2017 with 7K miles from the dealership. I assume it had the A1 Service upon purchase because I now have my first notification for B1 service. Notice says I am 70 days late.

I've put 9K miles on the car in the past 14 months. Dealer wants $530 for the service and says if I do it somewhere else (Indy) I can lose my warranty.

Seems like a super high price for items which are not very complicated.

What leads on these services - amount of time (1 year, 2 year etc . . .) or mileage? I average about 10K miles per year I expect.

And is it true I will lose my warranty if I have someone else do the work?

Opinions and facts are appreciated. First computer on wheels I've ever owned. LOL

 

Ask him if he's familiar with Magnuson-Moss act. You can get it done somewhere else. You just need to keep the receipt to show that the work was done. You can also buy a maintenance package. I don't think they're discounted that much, but usually a 3 service pack is a little over $1000 so it's almost like getting the A service for free. You can check in the extended warranty subforum for vendors that may also sell it.

A and B service is typically either mileage or time, every 10k or every year whichever is first. At least you're doing about 10k a year, I feel bad for the ones who go in for service with just 5k/year.

 

I am doing about 40K a year on my E350 and there are NO issues with someone else doing service, but they may want to see if it was done depending on the issue. In January I had my engine rebuilt at about 58,000 miles (known wrist pin defect on certain engine #s). I do all of my own services so it wasn't in their records. The manager just came out and asked where I was having service done because it wasn't showing up. I told them I did it myself. No further questions. Free engine under CPO. The entire job cost them something like $15,000. In fact, I even go into the WIS for every service and print out an official M-B workorder for the service, and fill out / sign off on every single item, and staple it with dates and receipts for just such a case. I offered these records and they really didn't care. Bottom line, find a new dealer or call them on their BS.

As far as time goes, I came up on my second B service in a year last week. I opted not to flush the brake fluid as it wasn't even 9 months old, since I did it on the last B service back in, I think, July.

You are putting so few miles on your car, mileage won't matter but things like fluids and rubber still break down over time - I think the recommended interval is at least yearly - so year 1 do an A, year 2 do a B, year 3 the next A, etc etc. Someone might correct me on that.

God, I wish I had that luxury...

 

The dealer said you "can" lose your warranty and he was right. If the owner does not keep good records or the servicing independent does not properly do the service, the manufacturer can disallow warranty repairs. Having a car serviced by an independent does not offer irrefutable proof the service was done properly and if the manufacturer determines failure because of a lack of proper service, Magnusson-Moss does not offer protection. While it is rare, I have seen multiple manufacturers refuse warranty and it then becomes the owner's responsibility to take action to reverse this decision...not a cheap option.

 

wow that's f-d up....

 

Yes and no. You are right, if an independent changes your oil and fills it with antifreeze instead, the warranty is void and the independent shop is liable, the dealer is not. However, that's not the point of this discussion. The main gist is:

1. Under Magnusson-Moss, the burden of proof falls upon the DEALER to PROVE that an outside service or aftermarket modification CAUSED the defect you are trying to claim under warranty.
2. They CANNOT deny a warranty claim simply based on the fact that service was not performed at a dealership.

So let's say you put an aftermarket exhaust on your car. A cat-back. The dealer cannot deny a warranty claim on your radiator because it has nothing to do with the exhaust. They MIGHT be able to deny a warranty claim on your catalytic converters, or oxygen sensors, but THEY need to be the ones to prove that, for instance, during the installation they accidentally cut a hole in the cat or an O2 sensor wire got burned due to the routing of the aftermarket exhaust.

Similarly, you do not need to take your car to the dealer for oil changes. If they deny your claim for taking it to Jiffy Lube, the dealer (not you) needs to send the oil out for analysis to prove that Jiffy Lube filled the car with the wrong oil, and they also need to prove that that incorrect oil caused the failure you are trying to get repaired under warranty.

What I am not sure about is if the dealer retains the right to simply refuse service to someone. It would be in poor taste and not a good business practice, however, I do think they might be able to simply opt not to work on your car and justify it some goofy way, like "your aftermarket exhaust installation presents a safety issue for our mechanics" or something equally ridiculous. I can't even think of what the justification would be for a normal service done elsewhere, so I had to jump back to the aftermarket exhaust example. One tactic I have heard of, is dealers might refuse to work on a car if the job they have to do involves working on the aftermarket parts. Again I can't conceive of a situation this would arise involving independent service, so I have to default to aftermarket parts: they could, for instance, refuse to replace your transmission, if doing that job involves removing the aftermarket exhaust you installed. I've heard of them saying "our mechanics have established procedures for every job, but we have no established procedures for XYZ so we can't touch it". They might insist you reinstall the factory exhaust, then they will do your transmission. It's crappy but I think that could be a loophole. To reiterate, I can't even conceive of a situation where this could apply to just having an independent service done.

Now, don't go printing this out and running to the dealer waving it yelling "this dude on the interwebs says this about you and you have to do what he says!!!". However, this is the Campbell's condensed soup version of Magnusson-Moss and you CAN go and print M-M and take it in to the dealer and show him that, if they give you enough trouble.

I've never run into any issues, knock on wood. I had a Jeep I bought brand new and ridiculously modified while still under warranty. Never had an argument for any reasonable request. Also see my example above about doing my own services, and still getting my engine rebuilt under warranty. Some businesses are better than others, and maybe I've been lucky. There's always MB N-A to appeal to if your dealer gives you a real headache.

 

While Darel has offered a good synopsis of the Magnussen-Moss act and its ramifications, there are some other facts that apply in the real world. It in no way applies to the dealer. The Act applies to the warranty provisions of the manufacturer. The dealer cannot void your warranty as they do not issue the warranty, the manufacturer does. The manufacturer will ultimately make the decision of what is and what is not under warranty and any decision to void any warranty. The dealer can only recommend.

The manufacturer sets the terms of the warranty and restricts warranty repairs to authorized repair stations which are their franchised dealers. They have the right to set the standards required to keep the warranty applicable. The reason behind Magnusson-Moss was to protect the consumer against unreasonable warranty conditions and charges. The problem though is that it is interpreted and taken into account in their policy and procedures as it cannot possibly foresee all possible circumstances. If the manufacturer decides to deny warranty coverage because of insufficient proof of properly done maintenance or the use of improper parts, the burden of proof lies with the consumer, not the manufacturer.

I started in this thread to simply state a caution for owners to be careful with their maintenance choices done outside the dealer network. Most all of us in the industry have seen problems arise in this area. I must say that in over forty years of owning and operating new car dealerships, I have never seen a customer win a case litigating the Magnusson-Moss act as their source of complaint.

 

Since it become topic about legal rights, the latest cars ( and farm tractors) do have software that require subscription-coding of most crucial components.
Stupid Ox sensor cost 4-digits at dealer as the result.
So here is the page where you can vote your voice on the issue https://repair.org/stand-up/

 

@JALLEN4:


Good point. I did lump dealers and the manufacturer in to one and they are not.

D