Mercedes digital service record

mickdw

I'm looking at a Mercedes cls 2015. Car looked good but I found to my surprise that Mercedes don't seem to even include a place to keep a service record on paper in the service book - it's all gone onto a digital service record at the dealer.
My question? How do I access this?
Will an independent dealer selling the car be able to access this?
The car is worthless to me without this info.
Can any Mercedes dealer pull the info from the system?
Also, do Mercedes record mileage info to car key like BMW do?

Mech1

mickdw wrote: »

I'm looking at a Mercedes cls 2015. Car looked good but I found to my surprise that Mercedes don't seem to even include a place to keep a service record on paper in the service book - it's all gone onto a digital service record at the dealer.
My question? How do I access this?
Will an independent dealer selling the car be able to access this?
The car is worthless to me without this info.
Can any Mercedes dealer pull the info from the system?
Also, do Mercedes record mileage info to car key like BMW do?

Check inside rear seat armrest.

jmreire

Go to any main MB dealership, give them the VIN, and they will give you a print out of all the service history. Open the drivers door, and on the pillar, just underneath the silver locking bracket, there is a black sticker, and on that is written the full Chassis / Engine Nr. This is what they need to pull the service history. Even so, I have still seen plenty of Mercs with the stamped service booklet in the glove compartment. So while I know that ALL servicing, faults etc are recorded in the central MB Computer... I am always just a little bit suspicious of any vehicle that does not have it.

mickdw

Kinda suspicious myself but having looked closely at the service schedule booklet, there are no pages for marking down services and it didn't look as though they were removed.

mickdw

mickdw wrote: »

Kinda suspicious myself but having looked closely at the service schedule booklet, there are no pages for marking down services and it didn't look as though they were removed.

The pages weren’t removed. My W204 is the same, only the Digital Service Book is used these days. From 2011MY onwards I’m told, owners manuals/packs no longer included a section to record service history.

They’ll print out service statements and stamp them for you if you ask them to.

I’d be suspicious if the seller had a populated and stamped service book to give you!

It works well to be fair. Give the VIN to a main dealer and they’ll oblige with the ‘approved’ service history including ODO, dates and intervals, all from the vehicles ECU at time of servicing.

jmreire

There are two different types of books.....one contains pages which are divided into the different service intervals, with blank space for the Dealership service stamp. This is the normal set-up with every car, regardless of make.
The other booklet is for a different purpose. Friend of mine bought a 2009 C class, with full stamped service history booklet, while I know of another Merc ( 2010 E Class ) which like yours, does not have this stamped booklet.....so some seem to have it, while other's do not. And I have seen 2011 Mercs with full dealership stamped service history......For me, bottom line is, no proven service history.....no sale.:)

mickdw

Exactly.
It's big money and showing small mileage. Only an idiot would go ahead without verified history.
I don't know why but I've a feeling the Mercedes history in this case is going to show one early service and will neither be here nor there.
If the history looked good, seller would likely have it all there to view.

@Mick

A stamped book really proves nothing. The normal practice is to ask the main dealer network to confirm the service history, these days by checking the computerised record. You might as well skip the stamped book and check with a dealer directly.

@Mick, no good reason for that car to have missed an early service. If no record with MB, keep looking I’d say.

jmreire

mickdw wrote: »

I'm looking at a Mercedes cls 2015. Car looked good but I found to my surprise that Mercedes don't seem to even include a place to keep a service record on paper in the service book - it's all gone onto a digital service record at the dealer.
My question? How do I access this?
Will an independent dealer selling the car be able to access this?
The car is worthless to me without this info.
Can any Mercedes dealer pull the info from the system?
Also, do Mercedes record mileage info to car key like BMW do?

Can you check how many owners it has had? For sure, anyone buying a new Merc given the cost of it, is going to have it serviced by the book.....however the 2nd or 3rd owners may not give it the same level of attention.. that's what you have to be careful about.
Some people don't believe in the value of a fully recorded and stamped service history booklet with the car, but I do, and to me, its important to have it. The digital version is an added value document, and will confirm that mileages and service details are correct.
Good Luck with your purchase !!!!

mickdw

It was imported at 6 months old then one owner here.
It's not 3 years old yet.

jmreire

What mileage is on it now? Mercedes servicing can be either by mileage or time.... Oil changes are given in both miles and time, which ever comes first. If you access the service menu on the dash, it will tell you how many days left to next service, and which type it is, "A" or "B" service. You will really have to get the VIN code, take it to a main dealer, and ask them to give you a print out. Should not be a problem.

mickdw

Well to close this off, I rang a Mercedes service department this morning.
No records with Mercedes since 4 months old in uk.
I will Keep looking.

jmreire

mickdw wrote: »

Well to close this off, I rang a Mercedes service department this morning.
No records with Mercedes since 4 months old in uk.
I will Keep looking.

That's not looking too good......only other thing you could do ( or should I say "TRY" ) is to find out who the last owner here in Ireland was, and have a chat with him/her.
BTW, what kind of mileage is on it??? ( not that it really matters now, just curious.
Good Luck with your search !!!!

mickdw

40k miles or so.

Having nothing to do with it now.

jmreire

mickdw wrote: »

40k miles or so.

Having nothing to do with it now.

So 40'000 for 3 years......bit on the low side, TBH. But if genuine, could be a good buy, but would be a gamble for sure !!! Plenty of cars out there with verifiable history. Good Luck.

bazz26

It's a bit shocking that a premium brand car would not have seen the inside of a main dealer for at least 1 service in nearly 3 years. If the owner went down the indy specialist route then they should still be able to present invoices and receipts for work to enhance it's resale value. So either the car hasn't had a service since it was imported or something else is a miss with it for that much of a blank maintenance history.

A bullet best dodged there.

mickdw

Ah ya. Can't be dealing with that crap.

jmreire

Used to be the case with the old brown log book that you could see who the previous owner(s) were, complete with their address's. It was a simple matter to contact them ( it was not 100% fool proof either, but better than nothing.)
This goes back to what I was saying earlier on the subject about the value of a stamped service booklet. In your case mickw, even a service book stamped by an Indy would have been of some help, because he would be contactable. I use an Indy at times, and he always stamps the book. I have known him a very long time, and I trust him completely. Its very disappointing to find a car that ticks all your boxes, and then meet something like this.
Good Luck with your search.

DPolo

Best bet as said above, walk away, its a near €35k car with no history since 4 months old, no proven maintenance since then is a serious flag to some expensive trouble on that

mickdw

Ya its not a runner any longer. Was never going to entertain it without a full and proper history. The fact that there is non at mercedes is stunning really.