Bryce1023

Made an appointment to bring my GLE 350 4matic in for it’s first service, just hit 10k miles. It seems like the A service is basically an oil change and some checking of fluids, tires , and brakes which is routinely done when I bring my Honda in for a $59 oil change. The A service is $295 and the express service is $169.99. One dealership told me that for the A service the car is put on a lift, for the express service the oil is sucked out from the top without checking the undercarriage. I don’t know if the dealership I’m going to does the same. They don’t even rotate the tires. In either case my warranty is not jeopardized. BTW the range in price for the A service was $295 to about $600. Should I rotate the tires at this time, what service do you think I should opt for? I do own the car , not leased, and I generally keep it for nearly 4 years, never ever want to own it when it comes off of warranty. Thanks

haibieb

Go for the A Service, the checking of the entire car (assuming it is done correctly) is worth the extra cost in my opinion.

TexAg91

i always rotate my tires with every service. It will maximize the mileage if it is not out of alignment.

Bryce1023

Went for the A service today, had a $25 coupon that dealership offered. Naturally, when I spoke to service advisor this morning she told me that he cost is $335. I told her that I was quoted $295 , she said that labor cost went up on Monday, I told her that I was quoted on Tuesday. When there is a commission associated with how much the SA brings in there is too much temptation to pad the bill. She saw that I knew that she was full of it, I was charged $282.93 complete. Don’t put Dracula in charge of the blood bank. I am grateful that I am able to afford whatever price the dealer makes up, however, I will never allow the SA think that she is getting one over on me.

TexAg91

Winning

Yes, I too have noticed the service writers are padding the bill when they can get away with it. I‘m guessing they are being incentivized to make up for lost profits the past two years due to people driving less due to COVID. It is not unique to Mercedes.

I caught my Infiniti service writer doing the same thing. I’m currently having my AC evaporator replaced, and got a quote from the part’s department (who looked up my VIN) — a new evaporator core costs $450. The labor to install it is $1900 (12 hrs) because the dash board is in the way. So the bill should be $2350, which is still a lot. When I made the appointment the service writer quoted me $2800 plus tax. When I asked him to explain the cost he said the core was $900–he was marking it up 100%, on top of the parts dept mark up. I called him on it and told him parts quoted me $450. He then said they must have quoted the wrong part, and I said no, the parts guy looked up my VIN. So I kindly asked that he check with parts, and he put me on hold. Long story short, he said I was right and he quoted the wrong part number. Maybe, but had I not called him out on it I doubt he would have lowered the bill if I had agree to the $2800 quote.

Bryce1023

Hi TexAg91, when I had my A service done yesterday, I wanted my tires rotated. She quoted me $69.95. I said no, I see Mavis Tire ( not sure if it’s a national chain )offers a free tire rotation . I realize that they most likely will try to sell me something, I’m good at saying no thanks. Do you or any of the other well informed participants on this site have an option on if it’s wise to take it to Mavis and just give the guy a nice tip. I kind of had enough with most MB dealers feeling that anyone who spends so much on a car will be too embarrassed to question price. I have become less embarrassed, some wise individual told me “ You don’t get old and stay stupid “. Thanks

TexAg91

Anyone can do a tire rotation. Just make sure they know about the wheel offset difference if you have 20 inch or larger wheels. Due to the offset difference, you can’t rotate front to rear without dismounting the tires from the rims (the back rims have to stay on the back, and the front rims on the front)…which will require the tires to be rebalanced….or you will need wheel spacers. Either way, mavis can do it for less than Mercedes. If they are just switching left to right, it will take 10 minutes. No need to pay Mercedes $70 to do it.

Bryce1023

I would have never known that the front rims must remain on the front of the vehicle and the rear rims on the rear. I am not so sure that Mavis knows that either. Would the front rims even fit on rear and vise versa? I do have the 20 inch tires on my GLE. MB ( dealer ) told me that the proper way to rotate the tires is front to back and crossing sides can lead to a problem, not sure if she was accurate. From the useful information you have provided, I kind of think that maybe the MB dealer should do it. I guess if it entails rebalancing all 4 wheels $70 is not that outrageous. I was given the Cooper tires with my GLE, I’ve read some negative comments about them , however, I think they they performed rather well for the first 10k miles. BTW I checked my tire pressure after the A service and noticed that the service technician set all 4 to 38 psi. I had had the rear tires set to 40. Thanks

Ron.s

It’s surprising how few people know about the difference in offset on the 20” AMG wheel, including Dealer staff. To the naked eye they look the same but the offset is stamped on the inner wheel. From memory I think the front is 57mm & rear is 45mm. That’s almost a 1/2” difference…so the front would stick out further and the rear less making almost an inch difference in wheel track-if they are incorrectly rotated. Your Dealer isn’t likely dismounting and rebalancing for the amount quoted. Discount Tire was doing it (Hunter RFB) for $60 but I think they raised their price recently. They do a normal tire rotation free for customers.
Since remounting tires can lead to tire bead damage over time, another option is to go 20k or just skip rotating. In my area a new set of equivalent tires is $900-$1000. Will the tire rotation vs a little more tire wear save money or cost more in the long run? Those of us with staggered wheel and tire sizes (21” & 22”) don’t have a choice since they can’t be rotated.

TexAg91

Concur with everything Ron states above. Your MB service writer is only correct if (1) the offsets are the same on all 4 wheels, and (2) the tires are unidirectional. I have this setup on my Infiniti, this fall I had Michelin CrossClimate 2 tires installed at Costco, which are unidirectional (They are also the best all season I've ever owned, snow traction was phenomenal--I highly recommend them). So on my infiniti the rotation pattern has to be left rear to left front, and vice versa. However on your GLE with the 20 inch rims (that's what I have on mine), the factory tires should be bi-directional, so the proper rotation is simply left to right. If you had bi-directional tires an the same offset on all 4 corners, the proper rotation is front to rear, and the left rear goes on the right front, and vice versa (the X rotation pattern). Any competent tire center with ASE certified technicians should know this...however it never hurts to verify. Anyone can rotate tires, and it's probably the new guy/gal that is paid the least.

TexAg91

I think even fewer people know the difference in offsets also applies to the 20inch, non-AMG rims -- I have the 10-spoke 20 inch rims on mine. When a purchased it, I too thought the offset delta only applied to the AMG wheels due to performance reasons, was quite surprised to learn the offset delta is on all 20+ inch rims.

GregW / Oregon

It's strange the 19s are the only wheel sets that aren't staggered. That and the fact they are so small makes them real odd.

TexAg91

Things that make you go, “hmmmm”

Bryce1023

You answered my question about 20 inch non AMG , which is what I have . Surprised that it is not included in the B service . Just to make sure that I understand the info correctly, with my 20 inch NON AMG wheels, I should rotate left front to right front and vice versa, left rear to right rear and vice versa. Thanks
Then rebalancing is not needed since the tires never leave the wheels?

GregW / Oregon

IMO, just switching sides is of little value, unless you have an alignment problem causing uneven wear. Front to back is more useful, since the rears get more wear from acceleration and the fronts deal more with cornering and braking.

TexAg91

Yes, that is correct. My logic is the tires are bi-directional, so switching sides left to right reverses the rotational wear direction and will help them wear more evenly. That said, I agree optimum tire rotation is front to rear using the X pattern.

Ron.s

Google tire rotation for the different methods. Front tires also wear significantly from turning (scrub) so anything but front to rear or one of the other methods, that you can’t do with staggered offsets, isn’t worth the cost, IMO.
I rotated (by swapping on the wheels) my GLE 450 20” tires at about 16,000 miles after some research and talking to my Dealer. Actually advice was 50/50 between that method and run them without rotating

mikapen

As you consider your rotation strategies, pay attention to the inside shoulder of the rear tires.
You can strike steel (belts) while you still have 4-5/32" on the outside shoulder, because of the 1.5 degrees negative camber (by the looks of it). That's the limit of tire wear, and it can happen 5 - 10,000 miles before the outside shoulder.

Bryce1023

Wow, I never realized that tire rotation can be a complex matter. I think you guys did help me resolve this issue. I am going to leave the tires where they are. I will trade in my GLE sometime before it’s 4th birthday, I never want to own these vehicles off warranty, and hope for the best. Don’t know if my Cooper tires can last for 40k miles , that’s about what I should have on the GLE at that time. If I see that I will need 4 new tires after 20k miles I will buy them, probably 4 Michelin all season NON run flats. Thanks for the info all of you imparted regarding this matter.