SERVICE A OR OIL CHANGE
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Joined: Mar 2021
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2024 GLE, 2022 GLC , 2022 GLC
SERVICE A OR OIL CHANGE
When asking about buying a prepaid service package such as an A-B-A service agreement, my salesman informed me that it doesn’t pay for people buying the vehicle, it is really more for people leasing it. He basically said that these services are oil changes with on the B service some filter replacement. Told me not to buy prepaid package, that it is more cost effective to pay as you go, especially when many service departments offer service specials such as $25- $50 off. If I just get an express oil change at my MB dealer instead of the A service do I jeopardize my warranty ? Things like the cabin filter I can do myself thanks to YouTube. I know that the service reminder needs to be reset, however, I think that the service department will do that as well. I realize that it is easy to say that if you are spending so much on a car why worry about about a few hundred bucks. I personally don’t like to get ripped off, it appears that a great deal of what is included in the A service is “check “ this or “check” that, most likely done with an oil change anyway. My main concern is that I want to maintain my warranty in good standing. Thanks
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Joined: Feb 2004
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From: Milton/Westport, MA USA
me: 2015 SL400 & 2015 ML400; wife: 2022 GLC Coupe; daughter: 2017 GLC SUV
I completely agree and recently commented as such on one of these forums. Your salesman's candor is refreshing: if the lease payments are based upon, say, 40% of the car's value, then the PPM is also 60% off. That's a no-brainer but I generally pay maybe $300 for a Service A and $600 for a Service B so these $2500 PPM packages don't require me to use a calculator, lol. My first 6 or 7 MBs were all purchased used and therefore most service was post-warranty. I often opted for oil change only (about $125 at the time, which included lunch or a loaner on the dealer); I would tell my SA "I'm sure if anything needs attention you'll tell me about it." Does anyone really think they won't tell you your car needs $1200 in brake work because you didn't pay to "check" brakes??
That said, when I've serviced the cars I've purchased new (my wife's recent daily drivers) I buy the whole Service A or B, and like you said, there's always a coupon reducing the price. A nice bottle of rum at Christmas for my SA seems to guarantee that, lol.
That said, when I've serviced the cars I've purchased new (my wife's recent daily drivers) I buy the whole Service A or B, and like you said, there's always a coupon reducing the price. A nice bottle of rum at Christmas for my SA seems to guarantee that, lol.
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From: Colorado
'21 AMG53 wDPP & ARC, 19 GLC300 - Former-03 C240,2 ML BlueTecs,20 GLE450 E-ABC,15 Cayenne D,17 Macan
When asking about buying a prepaid service package such as an A-B-A service agreement, my salesman informed me that it doesn’t pay for people buying the vehicle, it is really more for people leasing it. He basically said that these services are oil changes with on the B service some filter replacement. Told me not to buy prepaid package, that it is more cost effective to pay as you go, especially when many service departments offer service specials such as $25- $50 off. If I just get an express oil change at my MB dealer instead of the A service do I jeopardize my warranty ? Things like the cabin filter I can do myself thanks to YouTube. I know that the service reminder needs to be reset, however, I think that the service department will do that as well. I realize that it is easy to say that if you are spending so much on a car why worry about about a few hundred bucks. I personally don’t like to get ripped off, it appears that a great deal of what is included in the A service is “check “ this or “check” that, most likely done with an oil change anyway. My main concern is that I want to maintain my warranty in good standing. Thanks
You are responsible for maintenance, probably more so because you're driving a car owned by Mercedes. They'll perform the maintenance and charge you for it when you turn it in, if you decide to skip services.
You can do the math and make your own decision. Ask what the current charge for each service during the period you choose, add an inflation factor, and compare.
If this is a used car, consider how close are you to some of the more expensive services, like tranny flush, brake flush, or spark plug changes, that will be covered by a PPM. They will be included in the appropriate B Service, so if the 'B' is the one you mentioned, it will be included.
You may get advice to go to an Independent, but that doesn't apply, because prepaid maintenance is Dealer Service. PPM doesn't pay Indies.
A previous statement that the lease charge varies with your residual value is incorrect. The price is the price. If you include it in the lease, you pay interest on it as well. Like a set of floor mats.
Last edited by mikapen; Dec 20, 2022 at 11:44 AM.
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From: Richmond, Virginia USA
'12 E550, '10 ML350, '06 E350, '20 GLC300, '21 GLC300
Let's truly understand what's included per MBUSA,com:
Service A:
I do my own oil changes, tire rotations, brakes, brake fluid exchange, engine air filter, cabin filters and spark plugs. I leave transmission, coolant, O2 sensors and anything requiring their computer to others. Safe to say that an A-B-A is not worth it to me. If you're planning on an oil change every 10K and skipping the brake inspection, I don't recommend that.
Service A:
- Mercedes-Benz motor oil replacement
- Oil filter replacement
- Fluid level checks and corrections
- Tire inflation check and correction
- Brake component inspection
- Reset maintenance counter
- Mercedes-Benz motor oil replacement
- Oil filter replacement
- Fluid level checks and corrections
- Tire inflation check and correction
- Cabin dust/combination filter replacement
- Brake component inspection
- Brake fluid exchange
- Reset maintenance counter
I do my own oil changes, tire rotations, brakes, brake fluid exchange, engine air filter, cabin filters and spark plugs. I leave transmission, coolant, O2 sensors and anything requiring their computer to others. Safe to say that an A-B-A is not worth it to me. If you're planning on an oil change every 10K and skipping the brake inspection, I don't recommend that.
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From: Milton/Westport, MA USA
me: 2015 SL400 & 2015 ML400; wife: 2022 GLC Coupe; daughter: 2017 GLC SUV
Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 157
Likes: 36
From: Suffern, NY
2020 GLC300 & 2009 SL550 (previously had 1999 CLK / 2006 E500 / 2011 GL450)
The A and B service rates charge for inspections that most service departments (any brand) do for free as a way to generate business. We have owned MB since this FSS started (in 1998 we bought MY1999 CLK).
As noted above and many times here, for a lease the PPM aid a no-brainer, as you only pay for 40-50% of it and the rest I added to your residual value. This is a marketing strategy for MB — another small incentive to lease, something for the F&I people to sell, and they get a large percentage of off-lease cars that have factory documented service. In my case I will pay about $900 net over my 42 month lease for 4 services.
If you don’t lease, it’s less clear. An oil change is $150-200 at the dealer and a brake fluid exchange is maybe $250. What’s missing here is the air/dust filters which are DIY (but a little bit of a PITA on the newer GLCs). So for an owner, you could get 4 services without filters done for $1,100-1,300 at the dealer. Even if you have the dealer do the filters, you’re probably adding $200 to every second service, so you’d be at $1,500-1,700 for the first 4 services.
Filters are a huge markup item at all dealers. Aside from their inflated parts prices, I get ads from all of the other dealers (non-MB) with “promo pricing” on cabin filters that are usually $129-179. Give me a break — changing the cabin filter in those non-MB cars takes 5 mins as it’s in the glove box (and parts cost like $15).
So if you want to DIY your own air/cabin filters, find the DIY video for your model year range (2020+ differ from the earlier years). Al’s decide if you want a dealer part or an OEM alike Mann or Mahle (don’t know which make GLC filters as I’ve never shopped for them).
As noted above and many times here, for a lease the PPM aid a no-brainer, as you only pay for 40-50% of it and the rest I added to your residual value. This is a marketing strategy for MB — another small incentive to lease, something for the F&I people to sell, and they get a large percentage of off-lease cars that have factory documented service. In my case I will pay about $900 net over my 42 month lease for 4 services.
If you don’t lease, it’s less clear. An oil change is $150-200 at the dealer and a brake fluid exchange is maybe $250. What’s missing here is the air/dust filters which are DIY (but a little bit of a PITA on the newer GLCs). So for an owner, you could get 4 services without filters done for $1,100-1,300 at the dealer. Even if you have the dealer do the filters, you’re probably adding $200 to every second service, so you’d be at $1,500-1,700 for the first 4 services.
Filters are a huge markup item at all dealers. Aside from their inflated parts prices, I get ads from all of the other dealers (non-MB) with “promo pricing” on cabin filters that are usually $129-179. Give me a break — changing the cabin filter in those non-MB cars takes 5 mins as it’s in the glove box (and parts cost like $15).
So if you want to DIY your own air/cabin filters, find the DIY video for your model year range (2020+ differ from the earlier years). Al’s decide if you want a dealer part or an OEM alike Mann or Mahle (don’t know which make GLC filters as I’ve never shopped for them).
Last edited by High Technology; Dec 28, 2022 at 10:21 AM.
Thread Starter
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Joined: Mar 2021
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2024 GLE, 2022 GLC , 2022 GLC
Service A
You either didn't read, didn't understand, or don't believe my comment. I've never been a leaser, but that's the lease pitch: why pay for 100% of the car if you're only going to keep it for, say, 3 years? So THEY get to decide what percentage of the vehicle's life your lease term represents, and what the residual value of the car will be when you give it back (BTW, everyone with any sense is buying out their lease returns and selling their cars retail in this current used car environment). When you sit down to price a lease (new OR used) they calculate how much of the cars useful life (or remaining life) you're "buying" and they calculate your lease payment. If you added $5000 wheels, you only pay that percentage of the wheel cost in your lease payment, no different than the the PPM cost. I buy the WHOLE car, so $2500 or whatever for PPM is not a deal I want, but if they amortize 40% of that ($1000) into your 3 year lease payments, and those 3 years get you an A/B/A?? That may be a good deal.
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Member
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 157
Likes: 36
From: Suffern, NY
2020 GLC300 & 2009 SL550 (previously had 1999 CLK / 2006 E500 / 2011 GL450)
After reading your input as well as some others, I will most likely do an express service, an oil change, at 10k miles, and since I am not confident in doing a brake fluid exchange on my own, will let the MB dealer do a B service. I generally keep my vehicle for about 4 years...
FWIW, the cabin filter depends on your environment -- 2 year intervals are pretty conservative. Yeah, I've seen nasty pictures of ones that weren't changed for many years (and I've changed a few gross ones for friends since Acura and Honda use the same filter and I buy them 2-3 at a time), but if you're keeping the car 4 or so years, you'd probably want to change at the 2-3 year mark. Just saying that if you do yourself and you live in a cold climate, just wait till Spring to do it...
Same with brake fluid -- it's not that it goes bad, per se, but it absorbs moisture (it's hydroscopic) which hampers its effectiveness and causes corrosion if left unchanged for long durations. Acura/Honda suggest replacing it at 3 year intervals (irrespective of mileage), whereas BMW and Mercedes are 2-year intervals. Again, if you're keeping the car for ~4 years, you'd probably want to change it once, but it's not a situation that your brakes fail shortly thereafter if you don't change at 2-year intervals.
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The A and B service rates charge for inspections that most service departments (any brand) do for free as a way to generate business. We have owned MB since this FSS started (in 1998 we bought MY1999 CLK).
As noted above and many times here, for a lease the PPM aid is a no-brainer, as you only pay for 40-50% of it, and the rest I added to your residual value. This is a marketing strategy for MB — another small incentive to lease, something for the F&I people to sell, and they get a large percentage of off-lease cars that have factory-documented service. In my case, I will pay about $900 net over my 42-month lease for 4 services from carzinity.
If you don’t lease, it’s less clear. An oil change is $150-200 at the dealer and a brake fluid exchange is maybe $250. What’s missing here is the air/dust filters which are DIY (but a little bit of a PITA on the newer GLCs). So for an owner, you could get 4 services without filters done for $1,100-1,300 at the dealer. Even if you have the dealer do the filters, you’re probably adding $200 to every second service, so you’d be at $1,500-1,700 for the first 4 services.
Filters are a huge markup item at all dealers. Aside from their inflated parts prices, I get ads from all of the other dealers (non-MB) with “promo pricing” on cabin filters that are usually $129-179. Give me a break — changing the cabin filter in those non-MB cars takes 5 mins as it’s in the glove box (and parts cost like $15).
So if you want to DIY your own air/cabin filters, find the DIY video for your model year range (2020+ differ from the earlier years). Al’s decide if you want a dealer part or an OEM alike Mann or Mahle (don’t know which make GLC filters as I’ve never shopped for them).
As noted above and many times here, for a lease the PPM aid is a no-brainer, as you only pay for 40-50% of it, and the rest I added to your residual value. This is a marketing strategy for MB — another small incentive to lease, something for the F&I people to sell, and they get a large percentage of off-lease cars that have factory-documented service. In my case, I will pay about $900 net over my 42-month lease for 4 services from carzinity.
If you don’t lease, it’s less clear. An oil change is $150-200 at the dealer and a brake fluid exchange is maybe $250. What’s missing here is the air/dust filters which are DIY (but a little bit of a PITA on the newer GLCs). So for an owner, you could get 4 services without filters done for $1,100-1,300 at the dealer. Even if you have the dealer do the filters, you’re probably adding $200 to every second service, so you’d be at $1,500-1,700 for the first 4 services.
Filters are a huge markup item at all dealers. Aside from their inflated parts prices, I get ads from all of the other dealers (non-MB) with “promo pricing” on cabin filters that are usually $129-179. Give me a break — changing the cabin filter in those non-MB cars takes 5 mins as it’s in the glove box (and parts cost like $15).
So if you want to DIY your own air/cabin filters, find the DIY video for your model year range (2020+ differ from the earlier years). Al’s decide if you want a dealer part or an OEM alike Mann or Mahle (don’t know which make GLC filters as I’ve never shopped for them).
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From: Colorado
G550
Oil (2 5-qt jugs) and a filter usually cost me ~$70, and 45 minutes of time. $100 would tempt me, except I told my kids I'll handover my key fobs and stop driving when I can't DIY oil changes any longer. (lol)
