shahedC

When I had my 2004 C230K, I remember getting my Service for free...

I had heard about Mercedes dropping their service coverage in recent years, but didn't really pay attention to it.... until now!

I just took my 2007 SLK in for its first Service A, and got free detailing.... but i didn't expect a bill for $365.11!

Apparently, this is the normal charge for both Service A and B.

Did any of you get a shock when you saw your bill for the first time, or did you know it was coming?

~shahedC
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jbanks15

things expensive in dc! my service a was $144 and a service b is 269. the b included wiper blades. and that includes the labor. you need to find another dealer.

shahedC

woah.. there's a huge difference between $144 and $365... did you go to a new-car dealership?

I know of 2 other dealerships in northern VA and at least 1 in MD, so I could try one of those for Service B.

shahedC

Dema

You should quote a dealer first. They may have promotional offers, so it can bring you huge saving.

jbanks15

yes i get service only from my original new car dealership. they have setup their own a and b schedules that include the required stuff from service manual and also extra stuff like the wipers in service b included in price.

shahedC

well... I found out the hard way... I will go check out all 3 dealerships before going for Service B.

How much does a detailing cost anyway? Since I got it for free, I wonder how much I saved....

jbanks15

$30-50 but i have seen some for $100

White Rabbit

What dealer did you use? I think all the BG stuff they charged you for is a ripoff for a 2007 car if not all cars. American Service Center's mailer has a Beauty Treatment coupon for $189.95. Even the Infiniti dealer wanted $200 for it when I owned a G35 Coupe.

MercedesFTW

Service A for me was 250...

shahedC

SLK280DS, I did go to American Service Center in Arlington VA.

MercedesFTW, sounds like a ripoff to me.

I don't think there's anything I can do since I've already paid for the service, but I can at least be more informed before I get my next service.

shahedC

SLK280DS,

Off-topic: are you interested in a drive through the mountains of Skyline Drive... check out my "mountain madness" thread, and let me if you want to come along.

shaedC

White Rabbit

Thanks for the invite but I've got other committments for those dates. I made that drive last September and it's perfect for top-down driving.

guofuchen

Service A = $365.11 sounds high, mine was like $263, which was pretty high too me. At the time of purchased, the sales guy promise first service was for free. It was too bad that I didn't have him to put into writing. He denied the whole thing when I brought my car for the first service. I am in California, whcih is kind of more expensive than rest of the country.

9moon

Wowwww.. I Coulda Sworn That Service A Is Free... My Car Is Now Over A Year And I Only Have 2k Miles On It!! Lol.. Cool Huh???

Vodil

Service A is not the first service. There is a "break in" service that does not do much of anything. That is the first one and it is free. They did mine when I picked up the car because I did ED and had 2000 miles on it when it arrived.

shahedC

No.. this is not the "first" service.. it's just the first big service.

I did get the first service for free, when I hit 1000 miles in the first month of ownership.

In this thread, I am talking about Service A, the first big service at 13,000 miles.

~shahedc
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Roadscum

Can someone please define what is done during the service A and service B?

I've been told service A is an oil/filter change, not much more.

shahedC

Yes, I made a spreadsheet out of my Service A bill..

here it is again:

Ynot

I had a little bit more than that at 1 yr of owner ship. Now at 2yrs with 6,000 miles. I've been doing a little bit more driving. You should change your engine oil once a year just to keep it clean.

whoover

You should certainly shop dealers. The labor is high for an A service (essentially an oil change) and the Advanced MOA and Fuel Treatment are ripoffs. The hazardous disposal fee is way higher than California, but that could be set by a local government.

whoover

I got you some more evidence. I just had the 10k A service done on my S65. Total was 229.32. That includes a 10% discount because a competing dealer sent out a coupon that my dealer honored. But the only items were

Perform A Service: 145.00
Oil Filter: 22.28
Ring: .70
Mobil 1 5W-40 ESP: 76.05
Hazardous waste removal: 1.69

discount: -24.57
tax: 8.17
total: 229.32

The only thing that was more expensive here was the oil, but an S65 uses a lot of it.

And yes, they "detail" the car for free.

whoover

And another thing. Neither the BG fuel treatment nor the BG Advanced MOA oil additive are approved for use in MB engines. There are only two approved fuel additives (MB and Chevron) while the use of any oil additive can void the engine warranty. I'd give these SOBs a hard time!

shahedC

Well, they do clean the car every time I bring it in for service (both the heating and A/C were not working when I bought the car brand new in Oct 06)

The heating took several trips to fix, over the winter... (they kept messing up and installing things incorrectly), and the A/C was fixed in 1 trip when it was warmer in the Spring.

Anyway, the "detailing" that they did this time must have been different from the regular cleaning... the car looked so good, that one of my coworkers asked if I got brand new tires, because everything looked so fresh on the car.

I guess they should be cleaning it nicely on any visit!

someDCguy

$300 sounds excessive for what is, at the absolute most, 1-1.5 technician hours. However, when I called American Service Center, they quoted me $500 for a Service B. I thought the girl was nuts, until I called Mercedes of Alexandria, and they quoted me $650!

Seriously, where did you go for the Service B in the DC area? $500-$650 is absurd for what is a basic service and a clearing of a service code, and it looks like the two local MB dealer service departments are a little too used to ripping off their customers for my taste.

More to the point, does anyone know a non-dealer mechanic who can deal with "Service B" who is trustworthy in the Arlington/Alexandria area? I'll be damned if I take my car to the local dealers after they tried to rape me for what is essentially an oil change.

rogers3

Yeh they gotcha you on the amount. I purchase my CL500 from American Svr Center a few years back but everytime I coming in for service I just tell the rep my salesman said all my service is cover and smile.