Called another MB dealer about 10 miles further away...their price for the A service is...$299, minus a $50 off special. Their price for the spark plugs is $165 and for the air filter/element, it's $116.

 

Maybe this is a stupid question...but is there any reason why I shouldn't consider one of the MB specialty shops near me? I don't know anything about any of them, but I could ask around. Wouldn't they be cheaper? Wouldn't they do the same job? Thanks!

 

Check out the scheduled maintenance previously posted: The air filter element is the "B" service not in the "A" and does not need to be changed until 60,000 miles.

The $299 less $50 is still $20 more than Rallye Motors as I posted above.

Hope this helps

 

Many do exactly what you are suggesting: have an independent shop do it: it is only an oil change and filter. If this were my car, I would change the plugs myself and save a ton of money. But then again I have been working on cars for over 60 years and have the socket wrenches and time to do the job.

 

Thanks. I had planned on holding off on the air filter element. The $249 is the best of the three local dealers near me. My only alternative is to find a MB specialty shop. There's a few around me, but I don't know a thing about any of them. I'll ask around. Thanks again.

 

I'm going to look into a local, independent shop. If I tried to do the spark plugs myself -- it would take 2 weeks, I'd have at least a dozen extra parts leftover, and the car wouldn't start without a master mechanic fixing whatever it was I did! LOL. Thanks!

 

Thanks a lot sir, I will do that.