alexisvx

This post is a bit of a rant so I apologize in advance.

I am a new Benz owner and I naively thought that I should go to the dealer to have my car serviced and fixed. I mean, how much more expensive can they be right?

I was shocked by the price disparity between what the official dealer quoted and what independent mechanics did. But what was more shocking to me is that the dealer blatantly lied to me and created non-existent issues that I had to fix.

I went to a couple of independent mechanics who both confirmed to me that the services that the dealer said I had to do were not needed. The total cost estimate from the dealer was around $10k!!

At one of the independent dealers, I got chatting with one of the mechanics who said he used to be a master mechanic for 15 years at that dealership and he left because they kept asking him to create fake reports. He said the cost of the rent on the dealerships building was so high that they ask their mechanics to create fake issues. He even showed me a service estimate from the dealership from one of his clients who left the dealership and his report was very similar to mine.

Below is what they said I needed:

Replace ABC Pump and flush system - $3,600
Cooling System Service - $340
Spark plugs replacement - $915
Power steering fluid exchange - $330
Transmission fluid exchange - $670
Rear Differential service - $370
Cabin Air filter replacement- $215
Front break pads - $539
Rear Break pads & rotor - $1,050

The 2 independence mechanics said I didn’t need any of these even after I told them that I was recommended to do the work! They said I’ll need to replace the front and rear break pads in a few months, the spark plugs were good and the ABC Pump was totally fine - it was just the oil filter housing next to the ABC pump that was slightly leaking that I’ll need to fix at some point. I mean even the rear rotor were fine.

Now I understand why people on the forum call them stealers!!

Amir_AMG

I’m on mobile. What year and model do you have? How many miles? The dealer is a rip-off but all those are recommended services based on miles. I really doubt any of the places you went physically inspected your spark plugs or your rear differential fluid

tonylinc

Cabin air filters can be bought for around $20 and they take five minutes to replace, there's videos on Youtube. Even for a SL600 V12 engine taking 24 spark plugs, my cost was around $14 each spark plug and I did those myself, which not everyone can do but it wasn't terribly hard. The local stealership here stole the floor mats out of my car and replaced them with worn out, dirty mats of the wrong color and they had creases in them from being scrunched when the seat was moved forward for years! The mats I had were pristine. I made them buy me new replacements for the junk they had put in my car and I haven't been back with any of my four Benzes. Rear diff fluid you could do yourself and the fluid cost less than $15. The only thing good at a Benz dealership is the free coffee and the fun of looking at all the nice shiny new cars.

alexisvx

I'm at 94,000 miles on a 2009 SL550. Not sure about differential fluid but they did do a 2h inspection and checked spark plugs, cabin air filters ABC pump and all else. I bought the car 4 weeks ago and the car had been serviced recently. I actually found a receipt for the cabin air filters replacement which was only 3 months old. So they were definitely not being honest.

alexisvx

Regarding the air filters, I actually bought them to replace them myself but after 2 of the mechanics told me they don't need replacement, I'll just wait and replace them later. I haven't looked at diff fluid, but I could to power steering fluids myself and probably coolant as well. But I won't bother with them now as they told me there is no need. The fact that you haven't taken your 4 Benzes to the dealers is confirmation that this is not an isolated case. There should be some regulation in place to protect the unsuspecting consumers. Here on the forums we are more savvy than others (I'm not yet but learning) but other people literally pay thousands and thousands of dollars more than they should.

mikerx80

Unless it’s an issue that can’t be fixed at an Indy, I would not take a car that’s older than 5 years to the dealer. You are too vulnerable and most dealers will take you to the cleaners. Find a good Indy and handle your maintenance matters that way not to loose your shirt.

HLG600

The prices you were quoted for the spark plugs, differential service and cabin air filters are abysmal.

Cabin air filters should be replaced once a year. Unless they can confirm you have new filters, I call nonsense on that too.

$30 w/ a lifetime replacement policy (yes, even on wear items): https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/mer...ter-2308300418

imtheking

My trunk was not staying open- went to get an oil change and their courtesy inspection came back with the trunk struts needing to be replaced- parts and labor $384

Bought the struts from amazon for $15 and watched a youtube video- took 5 minutes to replace both struts- no really, remove a clip with screwdriver, pull of the strut and pop in/clip the new one- all done

F*** dealerships

Tommyboy928

yes did same, was little hard press them back on, the 07 have hydraulic system open and close. but got it done.

Tommyboy928

yes did same, was little hard press them back on, the 07 have hydraulic system open and close. but got it done.

Frederick NL

I drove a 230.6 for work back in 1978(!) and on a dealer bill I noticed they had mounted a new starter motor. Never had a problem with that. “Preemptive maintenance“, the reception called it. In my naivety I thought - so that’s how they keep them Benzes going forever. That would work even on a Lada. Naive, young, but then it wasn’t me paying the bill.

hyperion667

Years ago I bought ROOF RACKS for my E class, still have them too, the DEALER quoted TWO HOURS to install!

Yes, I said TWO HOURS! That's just one example of their jackassery.

It's true, NO dealer can be trusted!

At least you lived and learned OP, Good luck to ya!

imtheking

You can say that for any business- I work in the IT industry- Best Buy charges $40 to install memory into your computer. This is as easy as changing a battery for your TV remote. Should be a $5-$10 fee- hell it should be free given how easy it is

With this said, I do agree that dealerships and other places of business sometimes charge an outrageous amount of money to perform the easiest of tasks but if things go south during the repair and they need to spend more time than they accounted for- it will end up a loss for them

Years ago I had a flat $99 repair fee to work on your broken computer. Remove a virus, dead hard drive, slow computer etc etc etc.... It bit me in the *** in the end because many issues that I assumed would take 1 hour to repair ended up taking me the whole day- even days

$99 for a 2 day job- bad business model- I learned

poppyboy

I went to the ER a few months ago. A $10 bag of IV fluids and $8 venoset (I used to buy them for that retail) was charged $797 to my insurer.

Dudeman

Well, if you think that's bad, I'll give you an example of bad.

About 7 years ago I was involved in a head on (more or less) accident. The EMT responders insisted that I need to go to SF General hospital although I was more or less OK, just a few scrapes and bruises. They took me there by ambulance, total distance of the ride to the hospital, 6 miles. Total cost $1850. That's some taxi ride!

At the hospital, they insisted they had to give me an MRI because I had some bruises across my chest from the seat belt, and they were concerned about possible internal damage. Then they Xray'ed me just in case I might have some broken bones.

Mind you I wasn't complaining about anything except my knee which was scraped under the dashboard, and a scrape on my forehead from the airbag hitting my glasses and scraping them against my forehead, they just put bandages on those. Then they put me on a gurney, and parked me in a hallway for 2 hours. During this time, I had 3 social workers approach me trying to find out if I have insurance and whether I need financial help. After 2 hours, they finally discharged me with only a bottle of ibuprofen to use as needed for pains and aches.

So, how much do you think SF general charged (or tried to charge) my insurer? Over $30,000. The MRI alone was something like $20K.

So yes, dealerships (Mercedes or any other) are not any different. They will try to take advantage of a situation any chance they get.

hyperion667

That's a hell of a story dudeman, that's our healthcare system huh? It's shining now too.

Frederick NL

Was that an incident in a Merc? An R230?

Dudeman

It sucks, doesn't it. My company pays $700 a month for my health insurance, and I pay another $300, so that's $1K a month.

Here's the ironic thing. The accident happened near my home, which is about a 15 minute walk (about 7 blocks) from Kaiser Permanente (my health provider). I told the EMT workers that I have Kaiser, and that Kaiser was only a few blocks down the street but they insisted I needed to be taken to a "trauma center", San Francisco General Hospital.

When SF General tried to bill Kaiser for the services they provided (all $30K of them), Kaiser would only pay for what they called customary charges, meaning they wouldn't pay some of the overinflated prices SF General was trying to charge. When that happened, they tried to bill me for the difference, about $12K. I called Kaiser to find out what to do, and they send them (SF General) a cease and desist order, because apparently that is illegal. So the letters of payment demand stopped immediately.

But it goes to show you what a racket this healthcare system really is.

And you can bet that once this COVID-19 situation finally settles, they will try to recoup their cost by jacking up our insurance rates

Dudeman

No, this was in my SLK230. I was driving down the road at about 30mph, and as I was coming through an intersection, an on-coming car decided to make a left turn right in front of me. That car was a 2011-2012 SL550. So basically Merc and Merc crime .

My SLK basically hit her right front corner, at what was probably a 40-45mph closing rate. The front end of the SLK was literally folded under. The SL550 front right bumper and fender were totaled too, but the other driver took responsibility, and their insurance paid for everything eventually.

Right after that I bought my first SL500.

hyperion667

I didn't even consider what will happen when this subsides......guess you're right.......those damned insurance companies......

Tommyboy928

USA has idiotic system, is made for rip off your health system, 45 prosent of costs ,goes away in paper movers in hospitals . 15 min MRI for 20 000 USD, should be jail for.

Frederick NL

Sorry for the impertinence, but I’ve been wondering for a long time what it is like to have an airbag inflating in an accident. What do you recall of the sensation? Do you think it spared you more harm?

Dudeman

Don't know... The accident happened in the blink of an eye, I really didn't even have time to react and put the brakes on. I remember there was a lot of smoke or dust, and I had to open the car door becuase I couldn't breathe. Then some guy that had seen it happened, ran toward the car, and he started screaming "holy ****" over and over. I was a bit dazed and kind of put my hands on my head to clear it, then I noticed there was blood all over my hands (which explains the guy screaming). It turns out when the airbag had deployed, it shoved the eye glasses up my forehead, in the process breaking the plastic nose pads, so the little nose pad arms had scraped my forehead and that's why I was bleeding pretty good.

The other driver, a lady, just got out of her car, surveyed the damage, and started calling someone, It didn't look like she was hurt at all. In my case, my right knee had scraped the underside of the dashboard, and was bleeding pretty good too. But nothing really major.. I'm pretty sure that the seatbelts would probably have done a good job too (they did actually, as I had a bruise in the shape of the seatbelt across my chest and stomach. So I'm not sure if the airbag did more help or damage. Maybe in a harder collision it would have helped, prevent my head from hitting the windshield or breaking my neck, but in this case, it seems all it did is give me a big headache and a gash on my head.

hyperion667

You're very true my friend. I recently read that the Netherlands wants it's people that are here in the states to come home because of our third world health care.

Frederick NL

NL warned it’s travelers that coming home is going to be more difficult by the day. And the apparent lack of adequate measures in the US seems to be a worry. And of course we in turn are blamed by the Germans and Belgians for not having a lock down. But really, keeping internal US flights afloat is a guarantee for regrets later on. Look around you.. if ever there was a time for a gov’t to step in, across it’s own shadow of being small and non directive, it is now.
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