tell me i'm not an ***! I paid 677 Euro's for my car to get the oil changed and everything else they do. Are the price's "fixed"worldwide by mercedes in germany so that some smart *** mechanic doesnt reap you of? do they allways charge you for reading the cars ecu? even if you dont ask for it? in greeceitsin thereDNA to reap eachother of so....

 

It does seem excessive. An oil change by itself at my local dealership is $89 but even when I asked for it, they still charge me $139, haven't figured that one out but it's the price of working with stealerships. The rest of the service, or in your case 600 euros worth is to check the engine oil, transmission oil (MB makes this pretty close to impossible for us on many cars, you need a service diptstick and the trick for opening the red plug), brake wear, coolant levels etc. Most of which you can check yourself in 5 minutes (except the tranny oil unless you buy the dipstick). The reality is, it's in their best interest to check everything because they want as much revenue from you as possible (see my other post about service scams).

Keep in mind with the internet, people are getting lower and lower prices on new cars and many people are already aware of their overpriced accessories scam like alarms, magic paint sealant, etc, that they don't make as much money in sales anymore. The service department is the only place they can truly take advantage of most people and make serious money.

So besides oil and checking stuff, what exactly did they do for that amount of money? You maybe able to talk to the service manager and see about getting some of that back. In the U.S., at least in California, you can file a complaint with the Bureau of Automotive Repair and they will press the dealer for a refund on unncessary repairs or one's not approved by you or cancel their license to operate, fine them or both.

 

My freind in Greece there is no such thing as closing them down everyone and everything is so corupted you'll be suprised! i'll check my receipts and tell you exactly what they did on my car. The only thing i can do is send an e-mail to mb in germany. Its best in greece if you take your car to a dealershipif have an mb or bmwfor the tune ups etc its easyer to sell it if you need to do so. my car was imported from germany by the previous owner, i have a complete history of the car.

 

Its all depends on what the Labor rate of the shop is at...The one I work at is $168 an hr... Im not sure if there is a cap on labor rates. All the MBZ dealers labor rates in my area are different. They very a few dollars... I guess it all depends on shop location and reputation..

 

Personally, I would rather pay a ridicously high hourly rate on 2 conditions -
1) be honest and sincere about the repair
2) charge actual time, not over inflated book time, for example, 10 minutes changing a MAF for an experienced mechanic is far from the book rate of 1 1/2 hours.

 

ok hold your head now it could start spining! i was at dealer at 09:10 in the morning! I got my car back at 17:00 in the afternoon!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Hi,
I agree that MB labour rates are very high and also find the cost of a "service" excessive.
However, its all about what is done and how long it takes multiplied by the rate.
Several things to consider.
You don't need to be highly trained mechanic to check lights, change oil etc but the charge out rate is for a "fully" trained mechanic!
Most of the checks can be done DIY however if you DIY this will adversely effect some aspects of the Warranty which relies on dealership servicing to qualify.
In UK some of the high price is to cover "add ons" like free recovery and the 30 year corrosion warranty.....what a joke!
Also the recommended oil is Mobil 1 0w/40 which sells in UK at about £32 for 4 litres and most MB's need approx 8 to 10 litres. The dealer charges about £10/litre
......and then off course there is VAT in the UK at 17.5%.
Everything except the basic check lights and change oil as prescribed on the standard service job list is charged out as an extra job! this includes reading the ECU codes.
BEWARE.