Sorry. It's the first four words in the third sentence.
This is like preschool. (Apologies, preschoolers....)

 

Just say what you actually mean. I can't read your mind.

"No answer from me". So...like I said you don't have an answer to any of my questions. And I'm the preschooler?!

 

I spent three nights in Motel 6 number one. Santa Barbara. Tom Bodett left the light on for me.

 

In other news, seems like a lot of Mercedes Benz owners don't trust their dealer's service department.
Wonder why that is...

 

Just read the freaking post.

I've been away from the issue for over a decade.
So I prefaced my sentence by saying I don't have an answer. The reason I don't have an answer, is because I've been away from the issue for over a decade.
Since I've been away from the issue for over a decade, I don't have an answer.
Do I need to repost again?

And no, I don't think I can give you that much credit.

 

We're done, @OldManAndHisCar happy to continue discussing this with you...but I'm done with this clown.

 

Honestly, they're just not that great. Mine is in right now for a creak beyond the dash in front, and I have zero confidence they will be able to diagnose it. I've sent videos and online reports of fixes etc to try and make it as easy as possible. Last issue I had was a creaking drivers seat, they had it for 3 days and gave it back to me "fixed" and it was totally unchanged. In 40 seconds of poking around under the seat I found the issue and fixed it.

 

I'm thinking a lot of these "techs" have a broken GAF meter. I don't blame them, they're underpaid, and overworked, half the time. Then there's the actual "mechaniching..." "mechnaicking..." Mecha... whatever! turning wrenches part, where if WIS doesn't have a procedure, some of them are clueless on how to fix it, be it because they're new, or because they slept through the training classes.

Either way, I don't go to dealers' shops often, but when I do, I always make sure to give the tech a crisp $100 bill before he begins working on the vehicle. I found it usually makes them do their job a little better.

 

I think another issue is MB probably stiffs them on the payment if they don't cross all their Ts and dot all their Is. Lexus was the same way. It drives them to say "cannot duplicate" because they are putting themselves out there to eat the cost of they do something and then MB says "you didn't do all the background neccessary for this repair".

Oddly enough the most accommodating manufacturer I have dealt with is Chrysler.

 

This is a forum, and as such you'll see more complaints than satisfied customers. Also, typical of forums, there are the Usual Suspects who are vocal in their dislike, but I think their generalizations are inappropriate. All Dealerships, or Indy's, are not identical.

For shops, it varies with the facility, management and whether it's part of a Dealership Group IMO.
I think it makes a positive difference if the owner is an enthusiast.

I had one MB shop that degenerated dramatically with a management change, that I now avoid.
I now travel an additional hour to receive what I consider one of the top three facilities I've ever used, including independents.
It's one of those YMMV things.

In my case, I visit the Service Facility before I visit Sales - chat with customers, ask a few questions of the Parts folks and Service Writers, and sit with the Service Manager.
That actually drives my choice of Brands.
I'm extremely pleased right now.

I lost my Independent a few years back, because they couldn't afford the diagnostic equipment for these new autos, their Infotainment systems, and software updates that are dealer centric. And their MB tech's training was aging, with difficulty in staying current. They had a fire and didn't reopen.
So, even with the more extensive Right to Repair movement, it's key to have a Dealer in your back pocket if your Indy encounters issues beyond their capabilities.

I don't know the nationwide percentage of good ones vs bad ones, but for me it's half and half. I was in the industry, and I get feedback. Hearing from regional dealer and customer people, it's probably 2/3 good and 1/3 poor. But that's second hand info.

I'm moving soon, so I'll be doing another meet and greet to see if my next car will be a Merc.

One of the things I check is the compensation and longevity of the technicians.
Where I am now, they make $49 to $100/hr, based on certification, and their newest tech has been there four years. Both positive metrics.

 

It appears that Mercedes is now reimbursing higher than retail flat rate, for warranty work.
That's a big deal because it will incentivize technicians to try harder, instead of saying "could not duplicate."

 

This.

Although I never take my car to the dealer unless it is 100% covered by warranty.
I've always worked on my own cars.

You should hear some of the horror stories told by a coworker.

Dealer service departments are legal organized crime making you feel gooey and happy while giving it to you.

 

When you have electrical, and/or electronic intensive systems, they are much more prone to have faults or discrepancies that are spurious, and thus difficult to replicate.

 

Another dealer service data point.

Part of deciding whether to keep my AMG 53 or replace it, I took an oil sample at 46,000 miles.
It was fine, but I've also decided to change by oil change frequency to 7,500, mi because I think 10,000 is too long.
So ask what an oil change only (no other service) would cost today.

Oil and filter $350.

 

Lets hope that works.

Agree, but they have to have the will to try and duplicate them.

I change mine at 5k miles. Thats shockingly expensive. Mine is in right now and the oil change is $255 and I thought that was bad. Thats my point, just makes no sense to pay them $350 to change the oil.

 

This is why I'm taking mine to a dealer. I'm at the end of my diagnosing/troubleshooting skills. Else, I do my own work.

I do mine a bit more often, but when it takes less than 15 minutes and no crawling around is involved, it's pretty easy. I get my oil in bulk, so there's some cost saving there.

 

With the lack of a dipstick anymore. I'm too old to be crawling around underneath my GLE 350. so I pay. but still make sure my tech is doing right. I ask for my old oil filter for my inspection. did the same for my spark plugs also. No glitter or missing tips/ fouled out plugs. so far. The four cylinder makes ne not want to push it too much on that Chassis. is only 4 hp less that my 2011 I had. I still do the oil changes on my Wife's 2016 E350. Very nice car with a healthy engine at 105K , no glitter in it's oil either.

 

For clarification, Blackstone Labs recommended 7,500 mile changes, based on my oil sample results. My dealer has almost perpetual 20% off coupons, so that makes the $350 oil and filter change cost $280.

Let's break that down a bit.
That $280 includes $175 materials, so the labor is $105.
Based on the local Shop rate of $275 an hour (yikes, but Colorado is among the highest cost of living in the country, so almost okay I suppose), so they're charging for 23 minutes of shop time. (I think my math is right.)
Someone said it's a 15-minute job, and I'm assuming that's after they have parts in hand.

Here's what's involved in Flat Rate billing, for any job, in a shop that uses flat rate billing.
It includes the time to **** the car, put it on the lift, go to parts and get the supplies, (just filter in this case because the oil is probably on a central pump), do the job, complete the paperwork and park the car back on the lot.
So 23 minute billing for a 15-minute oil change is pretty efficient IMO. An efficient technician would start the drain process, then go get the filter, allowing a complete drain, then complete the job.

Anyway, I'll pay $25 more than the Indy.
To me it's worth it, and all service records follow the car without additional documentation. If there's ever a question about correct maintenance, the records are right in front of them. No contesting.

That's based on the quality of service I receive, here and now.
If I didn't trust my Dealer my decision would be different, even on a simple thing such as an oil change.
There are places I just do not trust, both dealers and Independents.
YMMV. (The collective you, not you individually.)

 

Changed some oils in the pick-up truck this morning.
5.5 gallons of engine oil - 0-40 Rotella
9 pints of SAE 50 oil in the transfer case.
Greased all joints and suspension bits.
Changed primary fuel filter.

Saved a bunch of $$ from not having to drive it to my closest dealer 1.5 hours away, wasting most of the day waiting for the service to get done, and then driving it back.

 

I quit doing that. No lift or service pit anymore.
I'm still feeding used oil back to my local auto parts store, 2 gallons at a time. I still have about 25 gallons to go.
I'll get there.

 

Oh I understand how they get there, its just the same issue of paying $275 an hour for someone to be paid $15 to change the oil. I paid the dealer for my oil change (out the door just shy of $300) because it was already there having a warranty job done, even to save $100 its not worth the hassle of taking it two places. Its also the variability of cost between dealers. Euro Motorcars in Germantown is where I took it, they are very good and I trust the shop foreman and my service guy, but Euro Motorcars in Bethesda is actually considerably cheaper. Thats strange given they have the same labor rate (within $1) and are the same company, and Bethesda is a much higher income area than Germantown. I had the oil changed in Bethesda while I waited at 5,000 miles (I'm at 15k now) and they charged me out the door $180, $115 less than Euro Motorcars in Germantown... $180 is a very, very reasonable price and I doubt the independent would have been cheaper.

Its been this way throughout, Bethesda is 20%+ cheaper than Germantown for the same work. Germantown adds stuff to the A & B services too where Bethesda doesn't. I prefer Germantown because its just much more convenient for me,

 

Agreed.
However the lowest paid technician at the shop I've been using for several years is paid $49/hr not $15, and he's MB Certified. The newest one there has been on board for four years. To me, both those numbers are important.

OTOH I don't know of an Independent in a reasonable distance that works on current cars and has a good reputation.
The one I used to trust, had a good reputation but that was Dad. Dad has turned the operation over to Son, The reputation has deteriorated, and after talking with him a couple of times, I'm not confident. He argued with me, trying to embarrass me about my stating my AMG 53 has a 6-cylinder.
My Porsche independent sold to a mechanic I'm familiar with, but don't trust. Worked with him at BMW.

I went to the closest Dealer for an A service - my mistake. They did a pretty incomplete job, part of the reason I wanted to get that early oil change and take the opportunity to get my oil analyzed, brake pads measured - part of the A that was omitted.
Locally, in my small town, there's really only one I trust, but they don't have the equipment to work on anything with OBD2 or newer. They send me to the Chevy dealer for some stuff. THAT dealer varies monthly because of difficulty in retaining tech's.

I'm happy to have one source that I trust. Who happens to be an MB dealer. And I'm happy to pay a bit more.

 

Does your dealer use the master techs to do oil changes? Most dealers use lube techs that aren't certified mechanics.

I take the Pacifica to a really good local quick lube place, I wouldn't take the Mercedes there though, For a full synthetic Mobil 1 oil change they charge $115 and thats only 5 quarts of oil, so the $180 at the Bethesda dealer was really reasonable. That was their quick lane and it was done in 45 min. Germantown doesn't have a quick lane.

 

I don't know about their level of certification, Master or not.
I think they have 29 techs, only 22 bays, so the remainder is the overnight crew.
They've been fully staffed for years.
Another shop I'm familiar with can't hire techs. They were down to only three a couple of years ago. (Dealer Group.) Pretty sorry. Yes, I'd refer to that one as a Stealership.

My complaint with this thread is that I don't buy the generalization that all dealers are bad, or good for that matter.

It varies over time and place. I'm moving So I hope I find a good place to service my car. If not I may change brands. I'm very picky.
Or I might choose to drive to my current Dealer and visit some Colorado friends.

 

Any generalization is inaccurate. My issue is with the same assumption on the other side, that the dealer is always quality and always better.