[thesheriff443]

So my friend ownes a Mercedes it’s nothing special and is a 2007 registration
His rear brake line has started leaking and needs an urgent repair

He rang Mercedes today and said they could look at the issue on Monday not fix the issue but he would need to book a 700 pound service
Or he would have to wait a week for them to look at the car without the service

What absolute joke

[Niamh.]

Why doesn't he take it to a normal mechanic instead, will be a lot cheaper

[AnnieK]

Originally Posted by thesheriff443

So my friend ownes a Mercedes it’s nothing special and is a 2007 registration
His rear brake line has started leaking and needs an urgent repair

He rang Mercedes today and said they could look at the issue on Monday not fix the issue but he would need to book a 700 pound service
Or he would have to wait a week for them to look at the car without the service

What absolute joke

That's Mercedes for you - BMW dealerships pull the same thing.

I had a BMW a few years ago and the fuel pump went - BMW dealer wanted nearly £3k to fix it. Found another local garage a bit further away (also called BMW - Bolton Motor Workshop) who charged me £750 - same BMW genuine part. Tell your friend to shop about and find a non-dealership who specialise in Mercs

[bots]

yeah all the car companies are playing a game at the moment. Lexus give you a 1 year manufacturers warranty after a service, but of course you pay to bring it up to a standard thats not going to fail during that warranty period

My car gets a £150 addition added in to the service cost just because it has a turbo fitted, thats not taking account of parts or anything

[thesheriff443]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Why doesn't he take it to a normal mechanic instead, will be a lot cheaper

Just because he gets the car serviced at Mercedes, it’s thinking that if you take it to a main dealer you can trust them clearly they are the biggest rip off merchants.

[Beso]

Dont take it to a Nissan main dealer, you wont see it for 50 years.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by thesheriff443

Just because he gets the car serviced at Mercedes, it’s thinking that if you take it to a main dealer you can trust them clearly they are the biggest rip off merchants.

They are, it's not just Mercedes either, Gav brought his car (not a merc) to the main dealer when he needed a part replaced, they quoted him a crazy amount for parts and labour so he sourced the part himself on line and brought it to a general mechanic and saved himself about €1500. It was a genuine part as well he got online

[bots]

its becoming more and more difficult to not go to main dealers in the last few years because of all the tech that is in cars these days, and if some lone mechanic botched it up, it could see you drive off the road

[thesheriff443]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

yeah all the car companies are playing a game at the moment. Lexus give you a 1 year manufacturers warranty after a service, but of course you pay to bring it up to a standard thats not going to fail during that warranty period

My car gets a £150 addition added in to the service cost just because it has a turbo fitted, thats not taking account of parts or anything

Yes I’m a pretty good self taught mechanic myself or as I like to say spanner monkey.

A friend used to work for Volkswagen and was known as a master tech
When the garage was slow they used to do needless work and claim it back as warranty work.

[Niamh.]

Saying that I always bring my car to the main Dealer (Toyota) and they've always been pretty reasonable so far

[thesheriff443]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Saying that I always bring my car to the main Dealer (Toyota) and they've always been pretty reasonable so far

Toyota make great cars, it’s like everything in life good and bad.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by thesheriff443

Toyota make great cars, it’s like everything in life good and bad.

Yeah they really are, most of my cars over the years have been Japanese, they're so reliable and the parts aren't ridiculous money

[thesheriff443]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

its becoming more and more difficult to not go to main dealers in the last few years because of all the tech that is in cars these days, and if some lone mechanic botched it up, it could see you drive off the road

Yes very true, so much electronics in cars these day

[Dogeatdog]

There’s a reason they call them stealerships

I had to get my car serviced recently and I rang BMW for a laugh just to see how much they charge and they said between £700-£900. The parts only cost £200 to buy

[Dogeatdog]

Originally Posted by AnnieK

That's Mercedes for you - BMW dealerships pull the same thing.

I had a BMW a few years ago and the fuel pump went - BMW dealer wanted nearly £3k to fix it. Found another local garage a bit further away (also called BMW - Bolton Motor Workshop) who charged me £750 - same BMW genuine part. Tell your friend to shop about and find a non-dealership who specialise in Mercs

This 100%. You’d be saving so much money and a lot of them do use genuine OEM parts.

[user104658]

I can see the logic in going to a dealership but not for a 14 year old car… if you’re going to pay that sort of money you might as well be getting newer cars that will need less work. I get people hanging onto older cars if they’re actual classics but if it’s just a bog standard nowt-special merc?