Tied in to merc servicing??
Discussion
I have a c class on merc finance and in the T&C's it says that it must be serviced by Mercedes and if not then they will retro charge for Merc servicing at a defined cost.
Ok so on the face of it that's quite clear, but I am sure I remember from the mists of time that it is against EU law to insist that a particular garage/dealer/manufacturer service your car?
The costs are obviously far more than the local independent specialist. I appreciate that I could ask Merc to price match, but that would involve getting written quotes from the other garage and I am loathed to mess people around like that.
Any ideas or experience of Mercedes exercising this clause? Or do I have to stick with them?
Ben
Ok so on the face of it that's quite clear, but I am sure I remember from the mists of time that it is against EU law to insist that a particular garage/dealer/manufacturer service your car?
The costs are obviously far more than the local independent specialist. I appreciate that I could ask Merc to price match, but that would involve getting written quotes from the other garage and I am loathed to mess people around like that.
Any ideas or experience of Mercedes exercising this clause? Or do I have to stick with them?
Ben
Shouldn't be but looks like we are...
I contacted MB Leasing to ask about the same thing. I'd found a local independent Merc specialist that made me think I could save on servicing costs for my C Class. They use genuine MB parts, are MB trained, have all the STAR diagnostic equipment etc.
Though the parts are charged the same as a main dealer, their labour rates were the main difference that made me think it would be a cheaper option.
MB Leasing insisted that I had to use a main dealer for servicing. I told them about the independent and they gave me some excuse about maintaining the electronic service record and that the indy wouldn't be able to do that (the indy said it was rubbish and that they hook into the same system).
I wasn't willing to risk any financial penalties when the car goes back, so didn't pursue it anymore and use my local main dealer for servicing.
I've heard that MB can be a pain when handing back lease cars. Heard tales of them being overly picky about the condition of car.
My last car was a CRV which I handed back with a cracked wing mirror. I expected to have to cough up some change but they only sent an invoice for extra mileage over the contracted amount.
Anyone else have experience of handing back a leased Merc?
I contacted MB Leasing to ask about the same thing. I'd found a local independent Merc specialist that made me think I could save on servicing costs for my C Class. They use genuine MB parts, are MB trained, have all the STAR diagnostic equipment etc.
Though the parts are charged the same as a main dealer, their labour rates were the main difference that made me think it would be a cheaper option.
MB Leasing insisted that I had to use a main dealer for servicing. I told them about the independent and they gave me some excuse about maintaining the electronic service record and that the indy wouldn't be able to do that (the indy said it was rubbish and that they hook into the same system).
I wasn't willing to risk any financial penalties when the car goes back, so didn't pursue it anymore and use my local main dealer for servicing.
I've heard that MB can be a pain when handing back lease cars. Heard tales of them being overly picky about the condition of car.
My last car was a CRV which I handed back with a cracked wing mirror. I expected to have to cough up some change but they only sent an invoice for extra mileage over the contracted amount.
Anyone else have experience of handing back a leased Merc?
Thanks for that. Same situation here with the independent having connected databases/materials etc.
I suspected that that might be their (stock) response. I'm sure there was some EU law that said that it was uncompetitive to insist on a sole garage (or series of garages). I seem to recall that so long as you were a registered garage (MOT testing facility??) you were ok. I think it was in the context of manufacturers warranties - i.e. a manufacturer's claim that it would void a new car warranty if you serviced your car outside of the manufacturer's garages, was unenforceable. I'm trying to see why a finance agreement asking for something very similar would not also fall under this?
On your other point, I handed back a Mercedes albeit a few years ago under the 'halves and thirds' rules. As you can imagine they weren't that impressed, however despite trying a few things on (mainly around specific monthly payments vs having paid 50% of the credit), they took it back and (understandably) charged me the excess mileage.
There are adopted industry standards as to what constitutes 'reasonable wear and tear' on a vehicle when you hand it back. IIRC, Mercedes sent me a copy of these together with a handy protractor looking device so you could measure the size of your dings... A quick google hasn't revealed them, but I am sure others on here will an idea where to find them...?
I suspected that that might be their (stock) response. I'm sure there was some EU law that said that it was uncompetitive to insist on a sole garage (or series of garages). I seem to recall that so long as you were a registered garage (MOT testing facility??) you were ok. I think it was in the context of manufacturers warranties - i.e. a manufacturer's claim that it would void a new car warranty if you serviced your car outside of the manufacturer's garages, was unenforceable. I'm trying to see why a finance agreement asking for something very similar would not also fall under this?
On your other point, I handed back a Mercedes albeit a few years ago under the 'halves and thirds' rules. As you can imagine they weren't that impressed, however despite trying a few things on (mainly around specific monthly payments vs having paid 50% of the credit), they took it back and (understandably) charged me the excess mileage.
There are adopted industry standards as to what constitutes 'reasonable wear and tear' on a vehicle when you hand it back. IIRC, Mercedes sent me a copy of these together with a handy protractor looking device so you could measure the size of your dings... A quick google hasn't revealed them, but I am sure others on here will an idea where to find them...?
I know the guides you are talking about. Honda sent them to me when the CRV went back.
The term you are looking for is 'block exemption'. It addresses the concerns you/we have, but not sure how enforcible it would be...
http://www.blackcircles.com/servicing/about/block-...
The term you are looking for is 'block exemption'. It addresses the concerns you/we have, but not sure how enforcible it would be...
http://www.blackcircles.com/servicing/about/block-...
Unless you are doing more than approx 18k miles per annum you will only need one service a year, 2 minors, or even 1 depending on when you return the car, and one major service on a 3 year lease agreement.
If you are only saving part of the labour cost, which is a fixed cost for each Merc service,your actual savings will not be that high. You also have the benefit of any Merc upgrades etc that you won't get with an independent.
Have they said this applies to the brake fluid change and gearbox fluids if reqd, or just the basic service schedules?
If you are only saving part of the labour cost, which is a fixed cost for each Merc service,your actual savings will not be that high. You also have the benefit of any Merc upgrades etc that you won't get with an independent.
Have they said this applies to the brake fluid change and gearbox fluids if reqd, or just the basic service schedules?
Monkeylegend said:
Unless you are doing more than approx 18k miles per annum you will only need one service a year, 2 minors, or even 1 depending on when you return the car, and one major service on a 3 year lease agreement.
If you are only saving part of the labour cost, which is a fixed cost for each Merc service,your actual savings will not be that high. You also have the benefit of any Merc upgrades etc that you won't get with an independent.
Have they said this applies to the brake fluid change and gearbox fluids if reqd, or just the basic service schedules?
I was told it applied to all recommended work. I wasn't really looking to save cash. It's just that my local main dealer are pretty poor and the local specialists are totally meticulous. When I bought the car I was told that I could have the first service free. When it came to it, they wanted to charge me for new spark plugs, because they said they were due. I said that surely if they were due as part of the service that I was promised, I shouldn't need to pay for them, but they bored me into submission. I said don't bother changing them if you want me to pay for them, I will get them done elsewhere and it was at this point I got the line about invalidating my warranty. The best bit was when I picked the car up from having the new plugs fitted and it was running on seven cylinders because of a faulty or incorrectly fitted plug! If you are only saving part of the labour cost, which is a fixed cost for each Merc service,your actual savings will not be that high. You also have the benefit of any Merc upgrades etc that you won't get with an independent.
Have they said this applies to the brake fluid change and gearbox fluids if reqd, or just the basic service schedules?
Monkeylegend said:
Unless you are doing more than approx 18k miles per annum you will only need one service a year, 2 minors, or even 1 depending on when you return the car, and one major service on a 3 year lease agreement.
I think the schedule for my car is every 15.5K miles but have to have it every year. I'm on a 10k per annum contract so I believe this takes the mickey just a little bit, especially with the major service being done before the mileage would dictate.If it were just the cost of the Merc minor or major service it wouldn't be too bad. It's the additions to the service i.e. like the actual stuff you need to do. So a merc minor service maybe only say £170 but after you've added gearbox oil, brake fluids, filters etc etc it's £600 vs £300 for the indy.
The block exemption was just what I was thinking of, thanks! From that link it only appears to apply to warranties.
Still it's what I signed up to, so can't have too many complaints!
The block exemption was just what I was thinking of, thanks! From that link it only appears to apply to warranties.
Still it's what I signed up to, so can't have too many complaints!
ben5575 said:
If it were just the cost of the Merc minor or major service it wouldn't be too bad. It's the additions to the service i.e. like the actual stuff you need to do. So a merc minor service maybe only say £170 but after you've added gearbox oil, brake fluids, filters etc etc it's £600 vs £300 for the indy.
The block exemption was just what I was thinking of, thanks! From that link it only appears to apply to warranties.
Still it's what I signed up to, so can't have too many complaints!
Gearbox oil change is normally 37.5k miles if reqd, so you might get away without that over a 3 year lease. Merc don't require me to have one on my E212 as part of the service schedule, sealed for life apparantly.The brake fliud change is about £80 at my dealer so not so bad. The block exemption was just what I was thinking of, thanks! From that link it only appears to apply to warranties.
Still it's what I signed up to, so can't have too many complaints!
I suspect thee cost of not doing it with Merc will outweigh the benefits of an Indy if they charge you when the vehicle is returned at the end of lease. They are quite strict on return condition, and charges can rack up. I would be more concerned about this than servicing costs to be honest.
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