CHATMANR

Steve Clark

HELL YES! choice?.


I thought the car was more important than its' "free" maintenance program.

victor20170

Definitely Yes. Love the car Some people spend thousand of dollars on mods What's the big deal with a few hundred for service

GDawgC220

Unfortunately, the *free* maintenance program was more important for some people. Oh well.

revstriker

Hmmm, so far, 4 people said no. If you answered no, why don't you give us your feeling on it? MB is basically making you pay for 4 oil changes that you didn't have to pay for before. To me, I think it's a bad decision for MB considering that others are now offering covered service, but it's not enough to make me buy something else.

I have a feeling that those 4 people probably would not buy another MB regardless of this decision.

Moving to the Mercedes Forum....

tifosiv122

The free service was a perk, nothing more, nothing less. It doesn't reflect on the reliability of the car in any way.

The only thing this did was raise the price without ]most people knowing.

Erik

revstriker

This is true. If they would have just upped the price by 1 or 2 grand (this would easily cover the service), no one would think anything bad, and it wouldn't change most people's mind. After all, if you're spending 40k, whats another grand?

revstriker

I doubt this FAQ is from MBUSA. I can't imagine them wording some of the questions that way: Look at Q10.

trench

I don't know - it looks like a FAQ intended for salesmen, with questions a potential customer might ask, followed with a "proper" response. I don't think it was intended for general/wide distribution.

CHATMANR

Thats exactly what it is.

mctwin2kman

I find it hard to believe that MB thinks a guy that spends $100K plus on some of the models wants to pay for an oil change later. There is a reason that person has $100K to spend on a car and it is not because he wants to spedn more for service! I would still buy one but this makes BMW's look a hell of a lot better to most people that are 'on the fence' still in there decision making process. In the long run this was a hell of a sales tactic by the Benz Dealer I bought from, it was right on the top of the list of crap he said about the car and company! Free Service and Free Loaners were the top two items, third was that the loaners were all Benz's. I wonder what they will say now??? Maybe they should have bumped the price up a grand and threw in a set of brakes as well. Should only need one set of pads in the first 50,000 miles for most people. Just makes MB sound like they care less about there customer and more about the bottom line in a time when people want more bang for there buck. Also lets everyone think that BMW is better because you will now get more bang for the buck, at least that will be the initial impression, you know the one that counts!!!!!

revstriker

You could be right. I guess that makes more sense.

revstriker

I find it hard to believe that someone who can afford a $100k automobile even cares (that much) about the free maintenance. I didn't spend half that amount, and I know it doesn't bother me (and believe me, I'm pretty careful how I spend my money).

I do agree that the free maintenance is a nice perk, and it's too bad that they have to do away with it. But I think the bottom line was holding down price. With the dollar sliding against the Euro, they are doing everything they can to hold the retail price where it is. Even without a retail change, MB is still getting less money per vehicle (on US sales) based on the exchange rate.

What they should do is create a program where you have the option to purchase a 4 year service plan up front. Then, those that want to pay an extra grand, can. It also gives the buyer the opportunity to roll it into his/her auto loan. If MBUSA were to run it, then all dealers would have to honor it. But at the very least, the dealers themselves ought to think about doing something like this for their own customers in their own service departments when they sell a car.

The thing I do know is that without a free service agreement, I would be looking for outside shops to do my maintenance (provided they keep up to the MB shop standards) for less money.

Kirill

Still doesn't sound right - that document should've been approved by legal department of DC - and I don't think they OK go with that wording.

BTW, I always had a loaner when brought my SLK for service.
And i got a free set of new viper blades on my B service.

Kirill

I don't think it cost MB 195$ to do an oil change.

When I first looked at MB I got an impression that I'd need to spend 200$ every 3 months to do an oil change, and I don't know where I got it from, but I was under impressions that engine is "vacuum sealed" so there is no way that I can do oil change myself.

Later when I heard about free maintenance - I started to shop for Mercedes again.

So although I didn't had my facts straight before, free maintenance was one of the things that turned me to Mercedes owner. Now that I know that I can do an oil change at home for 50$ worth of materials - I wouldn't have a problem buying another Mercedes.

revstriker

No, I'm sure it doesn't cost MB that much, but it probably costs the owner at least that much for the service at an MB dealer.

If/When I buy my next Mercedes, if it doesn't come with free service, and there isn't some kind of a "maintenance package" offered, then you can bet I will be finding some place else to take my vehicle for the required services.

revstriker

That's what I was originally thinking. Even if it is just for the dealers to help them answer questions, I would think they would word it differently. Plus, since loaners are a dealer issue, I'm surprised that MB corporate would try to have any kind of a response to that.

Then again, it could just be a draft that is not approved yet, and will be worded differently.

Language aside, I believe the info contained in the memo is accurate.

JohnAMG

I buy Mercedes for their cars, not the freebies. Like other stated it is a perk and I don't base my decision on it. Plus if you can't afford the maintenance of a Benz maybe you shouldn't be driving one. I will bet BMW will eventually drop their free services too, and also I wouldn't be caught dead in the new 5-series.

John

taylor192

Service A - $170 CND
Service B - $300 CND

For a total of $1410 CND for the first 6 services which are all that are included with the 'free maintenance' offered in the US. That's about $1000 USD people are complaining about that isn't included.

What they've done is given the customer the option of when and where to do maintenance. Instead of forcing an oil change at certain intervals, you are free to maintain your car in any way you feel worthwhile. I don't agree with it, we drive luxury cars which many don't work on themselves, not Chevys and Ford which people do get under the hood of.

Basically if I didn't have to go into MB to get my oil changed as part of the service interval I would just do it at home or go to a quick change oil centre. Cost would be 1/2 or less. Then again, I'm not the average MB buyer.

Perhaps BMW and Audi intriduced it knowing how many women and metro sexuals drive their cars and need to be reminded of when to change their oil, and MBs are driven by real men capable of doing or managing their own maintainance!

revstriker

I'm confused; since service is not included in Canada, why do you have to go into MB to get your oil changed? Nothing is stopping you now from finding a more inexpensive alternative.

I do agree though, that most MB owners do not work on their cars themselves, and have no desire to start.

taylor192

Cause I'm lazy and appreciate the loaner for the day, the free car wash, coffee, muffins and the good relationship with the service manager (and his hot female assistant )

I'd save about $100 going elsewhere, more doing it myself, but there's usually something I want looked at, fixed, or upgraded, so I've taken it in all 3 times, plus the FSS interval needs to be reset. Last time I had a couple burnt out bulbs I've been too lazy to replace, they did it and didn't charge me labour, just parts cost.

airbusman

The free maintenance is nice, but I change my oil at 5000 mile intervals MYSELF. I also change my filters, brake shoes and rotors MYSELF. (unless it is the free oil change/filter that the MB dealer does) The inspections are not hard if you know what you are looking for. It is relatively simple. A few of my fellow MB owner friends also do the same with their '01 CL500, '00 ML320, '01 ML430, '02 E320, '02 SL500 (To list a few in the MB club)......

I think that MB slipping to 26 in quality/customer perception/satisfaction is pretty bad, (Last year in a magazine survey) especially when MB was number 1 or 2 a short time ago.

This is only throws "petrol" on the fire for consumers that do not look beyond the surface of a few free oil changes for the quality/safety features built into a car.

Consumer Reports Magazine April 2004 report on the reliability or lack thereof of vehicles here in the USA/Canada does not bode well for MB. I hope that they get their act together soon.

All my vehicles get the oil changed at this interval, especially the vehicles that get to idle for long periods and do alot of stop and go driving (My wife's '01 ML320). She has 53,500 miles on it.

I am looking at Lexus for the next go-round for my wife. We had a new 1986 Toyota Tercel wagon, the car is still running - a friends kid has it, it has 300,000 miles on it. Lexus is quality built, and the safety mechanisms seem to have equalled the MB, along with the "gadgetry" including a better NAV system. (They at least have a bigger database than my MB vehicles. Heck, my Streetpilot III has a bigger more detailed database). It is kind of hard to keep MB when some of your friends have bought Lexus, and they laugh at you because their vehicles require alot less maintenance than yours. I wonder if Lexus does Japanese delivery?

As for Mobil 1, I still use it, but have switched my non-MB cars to Wal-Mart synthetic, ($2.40 a quart in 5 quart containers at the local Wal-Mart) it meets all USA/CANADA (SAE) and EURO standards and will switch my MB vehicles to it as soon as I find out that the oil complies with MB 229.5 standard. This nonsense of Mobil paying MB royalties to push it's oil is ridiculous.