I leased a GLC 300 2020 at the end of December 2019. I purchased 2-year prepaid maintenance plan at the time of leasing because salesperson told me I don't have to do the third one before I return it unless I drove it too much.

I sent it to a nearby dealer yesterday (11/2/20) because the Check Engine light was on. They returned it to me today but the invoice includes Service A which NOBODY EVER ASKED ME ABOUT.

When I sent it in, the recommended service date shown on Mercedes Me app was mid January, 2021, probably because it has only 1000 miles on it due to COVID. Now the next service date was re-set to 11/3/21, which means I wouldn't be able to skip the 3rd maintenance before returning it.

After I questioned it, the service advisor claimed the start date is not my lease date but the manufacturing date and it is mandatory to do it at 10,000 miles or 1 year, whichever comes first. I can't find anything written to confirm what he said. All I found was to do it at 10,000 miles or 1 year APPROXIMATELY.

More importantly, shouldn't they at least call me before doing it? What if I want to do it at another dealer? Any advice/experience to share?

Update: The service advisor returned my message and said they would not request payment using my PPM this time but would pay for it themselves. I should do another Service A on 11/3/2021 and then Service B on 11/3/22 because they cannot reverse the order of the PPM services. He insisted though the 1y/2y... started from the manufacturing date (September 2019) instead of the lease date (December 2019).

My new question is: if I don't do Service B until 2y10m after my lease started, would that void my warranty? Can I do the Service B first (11/3/21) and then Service A on 11/3/22 (one month before lease ends)?

 

If they did not ask, you should get it for free... but most likely it wont happen.

 

The word mandatory may be misused? We bought the car out right and the 10,000 miles or one year is more of a recommendation than mandatory. It may or may not affect your warranty if not performed, I have not researched this but I usually do it at 10,000 miles, sometimes before one year, sometimes after one year and I have had no problem.
The fact that they did not call you to obtain an authorization is troubling, may be that is why they used the term "mandatory".
You can try to register a complaint with MBZ, they won't do anything, but it will affect the rating of the service advisor that took in your car, he or she may get less bonus because of the complaint. When they sent you a survey, you can give it a low score and remark the event that took place.

Why would your GLC had a check engine light at such low mileage is another question. Ours is a 2016, bought it when they first came out, with the exception of two start/stop malfunctions there has been no other issues. Not the best experience with the GLC, my 2012 E350 Coupe has been a very reliable car for almost 10 years.

 

The dealer should NOT have performed any service on the vehicle that you did not authorize. Irrespective that you have prepaid maintenance, they still "charged you", just in a different currency (not dollars, but in maintenance credits). I've experienced my dealer fixing little warranty items they found on their inspection without asking, but prepaid maintenance is NOT the same as you have a limited number of services.

Are you sure it was really not due until January, since you said you leased the car in December? If you took ownership in December, then the service would be due in December (at the latest), and not January. While some maintenance items are purely time based (brake fluid comes to mind), others aren't. Synthetic oil can last far longer than a year -- but the 1 year / 10k interval is really conservative in a modern engine, and in-part is for profit, and in-part is due to most drivers not really being aware of issues with their cars (ignorance).

Back to your question: If your maintenance indicator said the service was past due, then I could see them telling you know they were going to do it, but otherwise shouldn't do it without letting you. Anything not yet due should not have been done without consent -- never, ever, ever...

So I would get the service advisor to acknowledge this, and take care of the oil change close to your expiration (obviously, get this in writing). If you're giving the leased car in, then theoretically all you really need to do is an oil change and a reset on the indicator (A is just an oil change, tire rotation and a bunch of checks -- most of which dealers do every time you take your car in for service).

Clearly the service department figured it was due soon, so they also "figured" they'd do it while they had the car there. It's unclear whether they had good intentions (saving you the trip), or simply wanted to get the revenue now (rather than later). Either way, someone probably didn't realize that they would be messing up your lease-end return, so that aspect is critical for them to understand. You'll likely not get very far with "you cheated me out of a few weeks", as opposed to the specific strategy of not doing the maintenance.

FWIW, technically MB Financial can charge you at lease end for maintenance not completed -- but most dealers would waive this if you are leasing another car. Either they will CPO the car (in which case service is done anyway), or they will auction them (which nobody cares about at an auction).

 

That's a good question. Nobody called me about what caused the light on. Here are what they did as shown on the invoice:

Correction:
541011 PERFORM QUICK TEST
Tech Number: xxxxx Labor Type: W67
540650 ON-BOARD POWER SUPPLY VOLTAGE MAINTAIN (WHEN CHECKING/ TESTING AND
TROUBLESHOOTING)
Tech Number: xxxxx Labor Type: W67
478200 EVAPORATIVE EMISSION CONTROL SYSTEM CHECK
Tech Number: xxxxx Labor Type: W67
401580 REMOVE/INSTALL COMPLETE WHEEL
Tech Number: xxxxx Labor Type: W67
47000001 NON TIME FOR DIAGNOSTIC DEVICE
Tech Number: xxxxx Labor Type: W67

Part Number Part Description Qty List Parts Total: No Charge
000-545-01-41 DIAGNOSTIC
DEVICE, LEAK

 

Thank you very much for the helpful reply! I leased the car at the end of December 2019 and only put about 1000 miles on it by 11/2/20. I'm pretty sure the original service date shown in the Mercedes Me app was January 2021 because I thought to myself when I saw it that it might be due to my low miles.

I have an update about the unauthorized maintenance and a new question, which I will add to my original post.

 

I believe the dealer shouldn't do the service you guys don't agree or don't schedule to.

And I really doubt that "the start date is not my lease date but the manufacturing date". For example, my car manufactured in Jan 2020, and I leased it in Sept 2020 as the brand new. I will probably agree to do it based on manufacturing date only if this is the rare model with the special handcrafted and sensitive setup OR I have revved and abused this car a lot.

 

Thanks! Another member on MBWorld confirmed it's the manufacturing date but the dealer may have done an oil change to reset the next service date before delivering it to us.

 

Nowadays, engine oil can absolutely last for more than 1 year with normal use milage. So it does not matter starting from the delivery date, even, let say delivery date is half year after production, or maybe even longer.

For my 2020 GLC, the 1st service date is exactly 1 yr after the delivery date. I am pretty sure dealer set it up on the same date when I took the car.

If 3rd service is concerned, you could postpone a bit the 2nd service, as long as not having huge milage.

 

It's not the dealer's call. What if you wanted to take it to another dealer, it's your vehicle leased or not. I would not let this rest. As for the service due date, I've owned many MB cars and never heard of this. Always starts at day of service. Frankly, I've never even known any of my manufacturing dates.