Hello. According to service maual, you are supposed to get your car serviced every 15k. I was wondering if it is really necessary because 30 k service includes what 's on 15 k service. Isn't that redundant? Would it be okay if I just get my car serviced every 30k?(of course, 7500 mile oil change is a must=) I was thinking about skipping 15 k service bc 30k service is very comprehensive and it include everything you need. Thanks. Please corret me if i am wrong. I think i am... =)
Take care.

From the number of problems you have had it sounds like the first owner(s) of your car have used such rational.

How could any of us avise you to do less service than the manufacturer recommends?

Maintenance is what you do to maintain life in machinery. But let me tell it to you like it is. They build the cars so good now days that if your pocket book is more important than your machinery you can join the ever growing ranks of new car owners that do NOTHING. I firmly believe that you can drive a new MB 100,000 miles and do NOTHING.. Just add oil as it is used up.

Of course the next owner of that car will have bought a pile of junk.... does that matter to you? I image it doesn't matter to a lot of folk. Using that last assessment the ONLY reason to do anything on that car that you will trade at 70k is that you will loose an equal amount of money on the sale value without records of service. But then again records are probably cheaper to make than service for this type of car user.

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Steve Brotherton
Owner 24 bay BSC
Bosch Master, ASE master L1
26 years MB technician

Thanks for your detailed reply. Hmm... I was just wondering about this. This does not mean that I will skip the required service. Yes, so far, I have done everthing that I was supposed to do=) including 15k, 30k, and 7500 oil change. From what you have told me, I think I will not skip 15k maintenace service=). Yes, I am the first owner. Take care. Thanks for your time.

Periodic service is actually what we called preventive maintenance (PM) in the military. Its why, for example, the 2 1/2 ton trucks the USArmy used in Desert Storm performed so well, never mind most of them were built in the USA in the early 1950's.
PM includes inspections as well as fluid and parts exchange. You may can sometimes skip some things, but how to know what and when something is weak, loose, excessively worn? PM is is, in my humble opinion, very necessary for safety, reliability, and long life(maybe yours as well as the cars).
It's the cheapest insurance you can buy for an auto.

Just an old soldier's $0.02.

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Roger
'75 240D 300000 miles

I agree with Steve, I believe that most of these cars would go 100K miles with only corrective maintenance. I guess there are too many people that prove this all the time.

This is why the junk yards are full of cars that didn't get put there by collision with an 18 wheeler. With a well built automobile, constant preventive maintenance including indicated service, inspection and then correction of whatever may fail inspection, will keep a well built automobile running virtually forever. The key is listening and feeling for problems as well as regimental preventive maintenance.

There are so many people that think that a car is worn out at a certain mileage, 100K is a common number, that it's unbelievable to me. There is no reason, that most cars, especially Benz automobiles, can't go multiple hundreds of thousands of miles. I've proven it with more than one.

Good luck,



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Larry Bible
'84 Euro 240D, 516K miles
'88 300E 5 Speed
'81 300D Daughter's Car
Over 800,000 miles in
Mercedes automobiles

The 30 is the exact same service as the 15 with the Z added on . That is the 15 is the E and the 30 is the EZ....Do your service if you want it to work well for you.