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The problem with Starmark is you never know how well they prepared the car for the Starmark certification. The car would have been over 4 years old and would have needed quite a bit of prepping if they did it by the letter of the program rules. All filter that are in need of replacement (NOT the ATF filter or fluid!) would have been replaced, spark plugs, etc, so none of this would be required quite yet, not after a year. It would need a 15K service (roughly 20K miles to 35K) assuming again that all was attended to as it should have been.
If you bought it at Sugarland you can ask them to research what was all done for the Starmark mechanical certification (in addition to the inspection itself, in other words what did the car need to have done for Starmark certification.
Any maintenance you have done I would certainly hang on to the receipts, but having a non-dealer do maintenance certainly doesn't void the warranty. I am unsure about non-performance of maintenance, this I would imagine could be construed as "vehicle neglect" to MB if a problem were to occur, which is why I'd hang on to receipts especially in this case.
I would rather insist (on principle) that MB coolant be used. I would be a bit hesitant to use any other coolant, but the guy may be correct that "it meets MB specs", but how to prove it? Generally most agree the MB coolant is what's best, and the cost isn't that out of line for it. I would double-check what was done for Starmark though, I'd be VERY disappointed to find out that the coolant flush and brake fluid flush were overdue or even within a YEAR of needing to be done when the car was certified for Starmark. It just shouldn't need much for maintenance work this soon.
Gilly
PS I'm pretty sure that's a 722.6 transmission in it. Should make for an interesting argument with the Indie mechanic to be sure, but I'd stand my ground and tell him to keep his mitts OFF the tranny! Period!
Mike, I think you are thinking of ARTHUR Champion, not Albert.
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