My 2001 E55 is now due for it's A service. I have owned it 22 months, although still less than 8,000 miles.

I call up Downtown L.A. Mercedes, Service Department, and they ask me what time I can be there in the morning (later this week).
I advise I will be there no later than 9 A.M. I ask how long I should expect to wait. He replies "sometime in the afternoon". Well, then, about what time do you think that would be, I persist.
Oh, it's hard to say, blah, blah....

I know that the A check is not very involved. Not too much more than an oil change. WTFO!!

Is this what I should expect from a dealer? Maybe I should take it to an independent, but then I would have to pay, right?

 

Just because you are dropping it off by 9, there's no reason to expect that they will get to it right away. In addition, there's no assurance that they will not find something that needs more extended attention. So, I think their response is reasonable.

 

Do they have free coffee, leather couches and dataports in the waiting room?

Are you worried about somebody taking your E55 for a joy ride?

 

You will probably get your car by 2PM. Both my E55 and ML320 took that long for the A service. Just request a loaner and pick up your car later. Don't insult your E55 by taking it to a Jeffy-lube!!!

John

 

That is odd. Usually, it seems that customers who are waiting actually get priority in the bays over those who have loaners. I always wait for my car while the oil is being changed. The most it has taken is 1 hour.

I actually change my own oil, off of the flexible service system. I just like the way the car runs when it has fresh oil. I buy my filter/cassettes and the 0W40 Mobil oil at my dealer. Then again, I drive 120 miles daily.

Cheers!

 

Thanks all for your replies. I called the following day, and found out who my service advisor was. She was straight forward, and courteous, and assured me it wouldn''t take long at all to do the work. The day of the appointment, I showed up quite early, and met with the s.a., then waited for the car in the lounge. It was perhaps 1 hr 30 min, then good to go.

No input from the s.a, on what was done to the car, nor advice on bringing it back for B check. I decided to ask about the latter, since I already knew of items performed in A check.

When I got home, I looked in my Service Booklet where it states "Your authorized Mercedes-Benz Center will certify in the service booklet that all services have been carried out." - No where in the booklet is there evidence of any service done.

I realize there is a high volume of maintenance being done at these dealerships, and the service is no doubt excellent, however, when there is a Service Advisor, acting as go between, I suppose (what kind of maintenance training do they have?), there is NO interaction between the owner and the maintenance professional.

When the car is off it's warranty, maybe I would not return to the dealership just for this reason, irrespective of cost difference.

Again, I would really appreciate everyone's frank opinions on this subject.

 

If you want your maintenance service book stamped, it's a good idea to leave it out on the front seat or hand it to the service advisor. Some dealerships have a rule that employees should not open the glove compartment (what did they find? maybe the owner then thinks something is missing...)

 

Thank you for all replies. All were helpful.