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I have quite a few cars so my MY18 G63 only has 6400 from new - bought July 2018. I did my first oil change last February at 3500 miles - they wanted to replace wipers and cabin filters, blah, blah, blah - but I had them just change the oil and the air filter. Now it's asking for it's B1 service and the dealer wants to do oil, brake flush, cabin filters, air filters, blah, blah, blah. That said, it is coming up on 3 years old and I'm not sure what truly needs completed. My dealer says this service (20k) is $1700 and the next service (30k) is not so complicated, but the 40k service is very expensive - like $3000+. All three services (20, 30, 40k) will cost $5500+ individually, but MB has a service deal where I can get all three to be used over the next 44 months for only $2100. I plan on keeping the G63 forever, so this doesn't seem like a terrible deal, but now that I just bought another DD that will keep the G's usage even lower than the 2k/yr so far, not sure I need to spend this much on services that are intended for cars being used daily. Kinda feel dumb asking this since I have so many cars and have had numerous Gs, but I rarely keep my DDs long enough to get to this decision point. Any input will be greatly appreciated.
All seriousness, the service package sounds like a good deal if it is in fact covering all three service intervals.
My question would be 44 months to do all three, at your rate it will take 10 years to get to the first service interval, so your parts will likely wear out from deterioration / rot than actually needing service from wear and tear.
I have quite a few cars so my MY18 G63 only has 6400 from new - bought July 2018. I did my first oil change last February at 3500 miles - they wanted to replace wipers and cabin filters, blah, blah, blah - but I had them just change the oil and the air filter. Now it's asking for it's B1 service and the dealer wants to do oil, brake flush, cabin filters, air filters, blah, blah, blah. That said, it is coming up on 3 years old and I'm not sure what truly needs completed. My dealer says this service (20k) is $1700 and the next service (30k) is not so complicated, but the 40k service is very expensive - like $3000+. All three services (20, 30, 40k) will cost $5500+ individually, but MB has a service deal where I can get all three to be used over the next 44 months for only $2100. I plan on keeping the G63 forever, so this doesn't seem like a terrible deal, but now that I just bought another DD that will keep the G's usage even lower than the 2k/yr so far, not sure I need to spend this much on services that are intended for cars being used daily. Kinda feel dumb asking this since I have so many cars and have had numerous Gs, but I rarely keep my DDs long enough to get to this decision point. Any input will be greatly appreciated.
Oil changes, air filters, cabin filter, wipers, and fluid (anti-freeze, windshield, brake) checks are simple and inexpensive to DIY annually, and dismiss concern (I keep records and receipts). Tire service I have done every 5K at the tire store at no charge. Fluid flushes and changes (brake, coolant, transmission, differentials) aren't that much more complicated but indy shops do it for reasonable $$ and take care of fluid disposal. MB has made maintenance more opaque by printing service manuals that no longer list service items by mileage intervals. You can always call a dealer's service department and request an itemized quote for a 30K mile service to see what's going to be done, or extrapolate from a MY2015 (the last year with service items listed by mileage) maintenance manual. I think 40K includes new spark plugs, and they charge for the time it takes the mechanic to find them (lol).
This is the 550 service, guessing the 63 has a few more services. Even their package deal seems like robbery to me.
I understand some people don’t work on their cars and would rather pay more (a lot more) to have the dealer do it.
However, if you have basic knowledge of vehicles you can perform the services and by the end you will save yourself a lot of money and have a new found bond with your G.
As someone else mentioned, if there are items you don’t want to do, have those done at an Indy.
For the services listed below, personally I would have someone do the brake flush as I hate dealing with brake fluid and hoping my wife will be a willing participant.
If youre much like me, I am my own service adviser. I agree with streborx you can have them all done by your indi for a lot cheaper. You wont get the nice carfax history and the dealership receipt that goes into your vehicle's records but as long as you have receipts its going to be ok
As I get older I realize the time & energy I used to have so much of is getting shorter and shorter. I now find myself paying a hefty price for convenience. Having a loaner car ready instead of having to uber or coordinate with someone to drop off a vehicle is getting to be a pain.
I have quite a few cars so my MY18 G63 only has 6400 from new - bought July 2018. I did my first oil change last February at 3500 miles - they wanted to replace wipers and cabin filters, blah, blah, blah - but I had them just change the oil and the air filter. Now it's asking for it's B1 service and the dealer wants to do oil, brake flush, cabin filters, air filters, blah, blah, blah. That said, it is coming up on 3 years old and I'm not sure what truly needs completed. My dealer says this service (20k) is $1700 and the next service (30k) is not so complicated, but the 40k service is very expensive - like $3000+. All three services (20, 30, 40k) will cost $5500+ individually, but MB has a service deal where I can get all three to be used over the next 44 months for only $2100. I plan on keeping the G63 forever, so this doesn't seem like a terrible deal, but now that I just bought another DD that will keep the G's usage even lower than the 2k/yr so far, not sure I need to spend this much on services that are intended for cars being used daily. Kinda feel dumb asking this since I have so many cars and have had numerous Gs, but I rarely keep my DDs long enough to get to this decision point. Any input will be greatly appreciated.
I'm about 6 hours away from the closest MB dealer, and while I welcome any excuse to drive the G, traveling 600 mile R/T for an oil change seems irrational. I've put together my own maintenance schedule, and do the "A" Service myself. The messy fluids I'll let a nearby indy shop do for me. I welcome comments and edits on the attachment.
I started to enjoy tinkering with vehicles such as hard-wiring dash cams etc but I've never been brave enough to tackle oil or fluid changes. The biggest problem I have is I wouldn't trust myself to do the inspections to make sure things look good.
If youre much like me, I am my own service adviser. I agree with streborx you can have them all done by your indi for a lot cheaper. You wont get the nice carfax history and the dealership receipt that goes into your vehicle's records but as long as you have receipts its going to be ok
As I get older I realize the time & energy I used to have so much of is getting shorter and shorter. I now find myself paying a hefty price for convenience. Having a loaner car ready instead of having to uber or coordinate with someone to drop off a vehicle is getting to be a pain.
I have a 2018 G550 with 6400 miles - funny coincidence! I don’t drive it much either with the Mustang being the “daily”. I did end up getting the package deal - like @z168 i think there’s a convenience to getting that loaner car ready vs Uber/getting a ride from someone. I just don’t enjoy tinkering or taking to indies and figuring out my ride back as much as I used to when I was younger
The SF MB dealer has a nice checklist like matrix of fluid changes per year. I’ll see if I can get it scanned. If I recall Yr 1 was just oil change, Yr2 was oil change + brake fluid (including the same kind in the TC shifter?), yr 3 was oil change and auto trans ATF change that took a day+ and replacement of a leaking windshield washer tank.
I started to enjoy tinkering with vehicles such as hard-wiring dash cams etc but I've never been brave enough to tackle oil or fluid changes. The biggest problem I have is I wouldn't trust myself to do the inspections to make sure things look good.
I promise you, as long as you take the time to do it, your work will be as good or better than the techs.
You have a vested interest in making sure your car is in good condition.
I have had so many instances over the years of wrong fluids used, over torqued lugs, misdiagnosis, or just incompetent work….I do my best to use shops sparingly (and always check their work). Luckily for all of us, we have these forums available to troubleshoot.
There is definitely value in finding a good trustworthy mechanic, but those are hard to find.
I finally got around to putting my maintenance schedule (see my earlier post on 05-12-21 in this thread) into chart form (see attached). For those who rely on dealer or indy shops for service, this chart might still be a useful quick reference if items from the service ticket are checked off on it. I keep the 2 pages in a loose-leaf page protector in my G-Wagon file along with all receipts and (yes) recall notices. Comments welcome.
I just had a A service done on my 2019 GLS 450 at an Indie shop I’ve used for years. They’ve gone up on their pricing but from the look of the forum entries I’m still getting a pretty good deal. They charge $225 for the A service and $450 for the B service.
I just had a A service done on my 2019 GLS 450 at an Indie shop I’ve used for years. They’ve gone up on their pricing but from the look of the forum entries I’m still getting a pretty good deal. They charge $225 for the A service and $450 for the B service.
Seems reasonable -- just the oil and filter DIY is now about $75. Did the B service include new cabin and air intake filters?
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