dealership service today

[ugarph]

Greetings

Took the e300d in for the 60 k service, basically all they did was change all the filters and do an inspection. the total was 750 dollars 450 of that was for 5 hrs service, that only took 2.5 hrs. nonetheless my question is does that seem like a fair value? i mean i could have changed all of the filters in an hour or so, and saved tons of money (alas but the starmark would be voided?)

also they replaced the oil with mobil 10 w 30 ? anyone know if that is an accepted diesel oil ? should i take it back and ask them for the rotella that was in it ?

any advice is much appreciated

and thx

ugarph

[rwthomas1]

Welcome to MB service. Its geared to people who don't care whats under the hood, don't care what it costs, etc. Does the Starmark warranty actually say they have to do the service? Warrantys I've seen have clauses saying you can do the work but you better have proof in the form of receipts for parts/supplies and be able to recite the service procedures. That or take a little lube with ya next time..... If the oil is dino oil I would drain it immediately and put in a quality synthetic. RT

[ugarph]

Oil is drained and delvac 1 has been added. I dont know how the starmark warranty works, anyone with insight please chime in. The work i had done today could have been done in the time it takes to eat lunch, and for about 122 dollars total parts. Dealer charged me 306.44. Anyone recommend a better oil ?

thx for the reply rw

[sixto]

Originally posted by ugarph
Oil is drained and delvac 1 has been added.
...
Anyone recommend a better oil ?

Cheaper, yes. Better, no.

Sixto
91 300SE
87 300SDL
83 300SD

[ugarph]

Anyone know if ya can do your own service, keep the receipts as mentioned above and still maintain the starmark warranty ? i was under the impression that service had to be done at a dealer for it to be maintained and honored

any input is appreciated

[michakaveli]

I want pix! I want pix.... [please]


The Delvac has been running great in mine so far.


Is the Starmark warranty still applicable to a '97? ISn't it 4year/50,000?

[edge]

You can buy a car for what MB charges for a 45,000 mile tune-up. Cost me $995 for my ML320 when they replaced the brake pads during that service.

[P.E.Haiges]

Ugarph,

Fair value? That's one of the biggest ripoffs I ever heard of. I've only spent aboout 1/3 that much on my old beater 300SD in 5 years and 50,000 miles. Of course I do all the work myself.

How could they possibly charge $300 for a few filters? I don't know about your warranty, but with other warrantys you can do the maintenence yourself as long as you have proof it was done.

Delvac is the best oil. I would use it but I've never seen it for sale anyplace so I use Mobil 1. Where did you get the Delvac?

P E H

[jassz]

Do you not have a copy of your warranty? Should state pretty clearly in there if you can do your own work.

With any repair being done by a shop, it's always a good idea to find out what it's going to cost ahead of time. I always hold them to a quote. Or sometimes I will take them a list of things to do, and say, "Do as much as you can in one hour" They love me.

Anyway, it does sound like a 'bend over this won't hurt a bit' servicing you got today. Why don't you try putting some cold compresses on your wallet? :p Might make it not hurt so much.

[Rick Miley]

If you look at each dealership service visit as a separate entity, then no it was not a fair value. However, you may have an opportunity to make this right in the long haul. I'm lucky enough to live in an area with 3 dealers within a reasonable distance. None of them are all that great, but I've tried at least two service advisors in each dealership, and finally have built a relationship with one I can trust. He knows that he can't BS me and he's learned to take good care of my car.

Look at the terms of your warranty contract. You should be able to do your own work provided you save receipts. I can with my new car extended warranty, which is now called Starmark (wasn't called that at the time). However, I've chosen to go to the dealer for that service and now all those visits are registered in MB's master computer system. So if I have a warranty claim there is no question.

Those two concepts came together for me recently. I took the car in for a routine service and I had one minor complaint. The transmission was a little slow downshifting to first at a short stop, such as a stop sign. I thought this might be a minor adjustment or a software problem. However, the diagnosis was the clutch packs out of spec and they completely rebuilt my transmission under warranty. No questions asked, and the tranny now works even better than when the car was new. That one incident probably paid for my extended warranty and all the extra money I've spent at the dealer for the last 3 1/2 years.

Now you have something else to consider.

[Rick Miley]

If you choose to go back to the dealer, I would recommend taking in your own oil. Delvac 1 is the best you can get. I have a hard time finding it, so I use Amsoil heavy duty marine and diesel oil in 15W40.

And if you take in your own oil, make sure they don't charge you for oil. I've had cars come back with my brand new, full, oil jugs still in the passenger's floor (what did they think it was for?), and I've been charged for oil when the used mine. Like I said above, they aren't that great. You have to watch them like a hawk.

[ugarph]

thanks for all the responses ! my starmark indeed says i can do my own work !!!!!!!!!! i take this as an expensive lesson, and as such it will not be repeated. i will post pics of my cars, but how does one go about doing that ?

thx

[P.E.Haiges]

Ugarth,

You're learning, sorry it was the hard way.

P E H

You really go 600K on a 1966 200D?

[Rick Miley]

There are two ways to post pictures. One is to put your picture somewhere else on the internet, such as your private web space, and then link to it here using the "http://" button when you're posting.

Since you asked the question, I will assume the other method is more appropriate. When you're creating a post, look at the bottom of the window for the "Attach file" section. Press the brows button and it will open a window for you to go find the picture file you want to post. Note that this will only allow you to add one picture per post. Now the hard part of this method, there are restrictions on the size of the file you can post. It must be 800 by 600 pixels or less, and the total file size must be less than 66,560 bytes (65K).

If you still have trouble with pictures, email them to me at rickmiley@earthlink.net and I'll fix them up for you.