NickTH

Just got an email from my dealer today:

"Your chance to guarantee 2 years or 20,000 miles* of expert care for your 2012 ML350 will soon expire. Call us today to purchase Mercedes-Benz Star Service Prepaid Maintenance — the convenient way to prepay for required services and protect yourself against unexpected increases in costs and services down the line. The benefits of Mercedes-Benz Star Service Prepaid Maintenance include:

30% savings versus purchasing maintenance as you go**
Potential increase in resale value
Convenience of having paid for maintenance in advance
Mercedes-Benz trained technicians using Genuine Mercedes-Benz Parts

And now, Mercedes-Benz Star Service Prepaid Maintenance starts at the new low price of just $619 for 2 years or 20,000 miles.

The Service department here at Mercedes-Benz _______ is staffed by highly trained service professionals. They can help ensure your vehicle is cared for with the superior attention to detail it deserves.

Contact us at _______ before your first Service visit or 10,000 miles* to purchase a Mercedes-Benz Star Service Prepaid Maintenance plan.

Sincerely,
____________
VP Service"

So, just curious as to how many of us here bought the pre-paid maintenance, for how many yrs & for how much?
Vs those of us who will pay each time we bring in to (1) to MB Dealer for 10,000 mile & 20,000 mile service, or (2) to independent shop for service.

Think I was quoted $135 for 10K, & $235 for 20K service at the Dealer. So why is $619 price quoted above a good deal?

NickTH

So does anyone do maintenance on their cars?

shortspark

I've always done my own maintenance on all my vehicles. My Honda Ridgeline has never seen the inside of a repair/service shop in the over seven years I've owned it. Granted, it only has 53,000 miles on it and they are virtually bullet proof but still, that is pretty good. Basically, all I've done is Differential fluid changes, rotate tires, transmission and oil changes and little things like cabin/air filters, etc. Virtually nothing requiring a whole lot of work.

I understand the ML is just as easy with its maintenance schedule, maybe even moreso. I would never get a prepaid maintenance from the dealer if you read what is covered. For the first four years/50,000 miles there is almost nothing to do beyond oil changes and tire rotations. There may be a couple filters to change and visual inspections of various items but that is it. You have to use the European oil specified and good fleece oil filters but those are the only things to really be careful about. The ML is virtually maintenance free, at least during the warranty period. And it is easy to maintain as well. You extract the oil through the dip stick rather than the drain pan under the car. You do this with a liquids extractor (like the Mighty-mite) and the oil filter is located on the top part of the engine, meaning you never even have to crawl under the car. The money they want for this service is way too much, besides, its fun to work on your own car and with the ML it is truly a piece of cake!

CeeCee510

Is the prepaid maintenance worth it? I plan to keep the car for at least 5 years.

NickTH

Yep. I agree w/ Shortspark.

Don't think it's worth.

After the first free tire rotation at the dealer at 5000 miles, The first 2 maint items are just oil changes at 10,000 & 20,000.

I've used the oil extractor device & oil filters on my BMW every 5,000 miles for over 12 yrs.
So for around $40 for Mobile 1 synthetic oil (Walmart, $26 for 5 quart jug), & $10 for fleece oil filter (for BMW), K&N oil filter for ML350 is $19 on Amazon.

So for $50 - $60 & 30 minutes of time, I think it's not worth the inconvenience of dropping it off at the dealer for service.
But of course there's lots of owners who just loves to go to the dealer & have all their service done there & get the full service treatment....

Cyber GS

I have a 2011 ML with the 3 year pre-paid plan that cost me $429 after negoiation. They originally quoted me either $579 or $569.

I called the service dept prior to purchasing the ML and asked how much the 10, 20 & 30K services cost and I don't rememeber off hand the break down of each, but I do remember them totaling around $800.

Then I called another dealer and they quoted me basically the same prices +/- a couple of dollars.

IMO the plan was worth it to me.

soomba

I think 10k service is already included. Isnt's it?

Cyber GS

No, it's not included..

Dino34

Your getting the prepaid maintenance for around $800?? I just bought a 12 ML350 and the dealership quoted me $1300 for 3 years????? what the hell? They are robbing customers at this dealership!! I'm glad I didn't purchase it. When I got home I went to the MB website and they had it quoted for $700/3yr...

CeeCee510

Which Website. I am going to check it out!

Cyber GS

$1,300 for 3 years, that dealer is freaking nuts!!!!

hdg

I did not buy it on my 10 or 11 GLK350's which is pretty much the same intervals as my 2012 ML. I did buy it on the 2012 ML because I could go back and add up my recpts and yes you do save to a point...

On the 2012 a transmission fluid and filter change has been bumped up to 70,000 miles, it used to be at 40k on the 2010 & 2011 which added almost a 600 bump to the B service it was done with.

That being said MBUSA did not adjust the price dowm for the 2012 prepaid 40k service so it is a savings to prepay for 10k, 20k and 30k. Approx 690 dollars is what I paid for the 3 yr 30k package if memory serves. I would not advise going for the big $ bump at 40 as the service interval no longer calls for the trans service and MB being MB I dont think they will do it because it is only going to cover what is called for.

NickTH

So even at the best prices so far, $690 (or $700), for 3 yrs, basically we get 3 oil changes, 3 maintenance counter resets, plus One cabin filter replacement & brake fluid change at 2nd yr/20,000 miles only.

http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/servic...nance/src-4050

Wonder if I can get that price at my local dealer?
or how much does my local indy shop charges for individual oil changes & cabin filter change & brake fluid changes?

shortspark

The M-B website lists $769 for the three year pre-paid service and I believe it includes the items you listed plus tire rotations and various visual checks and fluid level top off. That is a lot of money for what you are getting. As I said in a previous post above, I would much rather do these basic things myself for the ML, same as I have done for all the other cars I've owned in the past fifty years. The ML is easier than most to maintain because unless you rack up a lot of miles your service will take place only once, maybe twice a year. I average less than 8000 miles per year on my vehicles so for me it is only once a year.

The ML is also easier than most vehicles to maintain because the oil filter is located on the top of the engine and the oil can be extracted through the dip stick, also located under the hood. A liquids extractor is very useful for many other applications around the house and garage as well. There are several styles that operate either on compressed air, ac/dc power or hand pumping. The engine compartment location of the dip stick and oil filter means you never have to crawl under the car to change your oil.

Although I think it is fun to work on your car, to me the main benefit of doing it yourself is quality assurance both in parts and application. I do not believe the dealership will use the best oil for this vehicle, that being Mobil 0w40 Euro blend synthetic. You can find this oil at many WalMarts for around $7 a quart. The dealer will use the minimum standard and grade oil that they buy in bulk drums which satisfies the car's requirements. I'm sure it is good oil and better than other car dealer's oil but not as good as you can get yourself. And the best oil filters used for the ML are fleece (not paper) and you can buy them for under $20. Also, basic maintenance is performed by the shop employees that are not true mechanics and generally they don't know any more than you or I. There are simply too many problems and mistakes that can happen when you bring a car into a dealer or mechanic shop. I have learned over the years that unless you have a severe problem, recall or warranty issue you are much better off staying as far away from the repair shops as possible. And never let them wash your car, especially if it is a dark color or you will have to get it detailed to remove the swirls and scratches.

As long as you are physically able, have a good floor jack or car lift to rotate the tires and are willing to spend about $75 for an oil extractor, the maintenance over the first few years of ownership can be done at your own pace and leisure and is virtually a piece of cake.

iankayem

How would the resale value compare with a dealer stamped service book?

shortspark

I'm not sure about that one and I don't think anyone has that answer. I keep very good records and receipts of the maintenance I perform, including taking photos of the equipment I use (such as oil and filters). I also take photos of the mileage from the odometer itself along with pictures of the maintenance notification code that is shown in the dash. When I bought the ML in May I also bought a high definition video camera. The camera was bought for other reasons of course but I plan on putting it on a tripod in front of the ML and visually recording my work when I do maintenance items. That may sound like overkill but you can't do much more than that to safeguard your warranty and I suppose it can even be used in your favor to satisfy the most discriminating future buyer.

If the job is done properly and it is all there on video for everyone to see who can complain or question it? You often see tapes that folks make when they work on their cars in instructional form on youtube. If you want to learn how to change the oil or the air filter on your ML for example, all you have to do is watch someone do it on youtube. I can assure you they won't video tape their work at the dealership and then hand over a copy of it to you. All you can do is trust they are doing the right thing. And usually they are but I have heard plenty of stories of service people getting caught not rotating tires properly and even forgetting to tighten the oil filter and/or oil pan bolt plug and many other things that should be done but are neglected either unintentionally or on purpose. I heard of one case at my Honda Ridgeline forum of a dealership changing oil and stripping the threads of the customer's oil pan which are aluminum and very, very expensive to replace.

Speaking of Honda, on my Ridgeline for example, if you bring it to the dealer for a transmission fluid change they will drain the pan which holds three quarts and fill with three quarts of new fluid. That's it. However, the transmission throughout the lines as well as the pan holds nine quarts total, not just the three maintained in the pan. Therefore, the proper method is to drain the pan and fill, drive a few miles and drain and fill again. You do this three times so that when you have completed the third fill you have finally achieved your goal of having virtually new transmission fluid throughout the entire system. They won't do this at a dealership. It might be okay to satisfy the minimum requirements but it is just one example of how things can be done better and more thoroughly by doing it yourself.

Bottom line is that if I wanted a used car and the seller could not produce any service and maintenance records of any kind I would walk away no matter how nice the car looked. But if he showed me his maintenance records and something like photos or videos to verify those records I would pay HIM a premium for the car over someone with only dealer service kept records.

RChpmn

I noticed that prepaid maintenance (5yr or 50K mi) for the ML350 Bluetec is almost twice that of the base ML. Are maintenance costs for the the diesel that much more than the gasser? Does the prepaid maintenance include AdBlue?

My local dealer is offering free scheduled maintenance for life, but won't budge much on price without dropping this offer. I doubt I'll continue to live here for as long as I own this vehicle, so this isn't much of a benefit to me. I'm considering purchasing the maintenance plan instead so I can use it at any dealer, and hopefully pay something closer to invoice on the car.

GregW / Oregon

Delaer has never stamped my book. Of course, a buyer could go back to the dealre to retrieve records, except I have done in-between changes myself. As long as you keep good records with documentation, this should not be an issue.

Willie T

PPM does include Ad Blue.

NickTH

Zip.
Have traded it over a dozen cars, & have never ever seen dealer ever looked at service book. Don't think they ever cared.
Just getting car washed & detailed will add much more value to car trade in value...