My car needs a service

Seve OB

Merc E Class W211 model. 09D

been told I need the following on top of the regular service. would welcome any advice and opinions.

Brake fluid change €73.78
Gearbox & Transmission gearbox oil change €392.99
Steering, psf track rod end and inner track rod required, slight play . 4 wheel alignment required after repair €440.26
Suspension psr spring required. €329.87

Totals to quite a lot. just wondering what the repercussions are likely to be if I don't get any of them done, also how the prices stack up.

It is worth noting that the car appears to be driving fine, I've have no issues at all with it. 100k (miles) on it now. Was serviced just over a year ago... just a B service. with no extras.

Stallingrad

Main dealer or Indy?

Seve OB

main

Alanstrainor

Is this a Mercedes dealer price? I'd be going elsewhere for that kind of service tbh... It's a 9 year old car now, little value to be had at a dealer.

punisher5112

Why would you bring a near 10 year old car to a main dealer....????

Find a good independent and go from there.

You would be mad to spend that.

FGR

Seve OB wrote: »

Merc E Class W211 model. 09D

been told I need the following on top of the regular service. would welcome any advice and opinions.

Brake fluid change €73.78
Gearbox & Transmission gearbox oil change €392.99
Steering, psf track rod end and inner track rod required, slight play . 4 wheel alignment required after repair €440.26
Suspension psr spring required. €329.87

Totals to quite a lot. just wondering what the repercussions are likely to be if I don't get any of them done, also how the prices stack up.

It is worth noting that the car appears to be driving fine, I've have no issues at all with it. 100k (miles) on it now. Was serviced just over a year ago... just a B service. with no extras.

Of all the above - is there so much extra involved to align the wheels of an E-Class that justifies charging 8 times the price of a standard 4 wheel alignment on a Hunter machine?

I'm sorry I can't help OP - but unless there's a lot more to their wheel and suspension setups I feel the alignment part is questionable.

Seve OB

FGR wrote: »

Of all the above - is there so much extra involved to align the wheels of an E-Class that justifies charging 8 times the price of a standard 4 wheel alignment on a Hunter machine?

I'm sorry I can't help OP - but unless there's a lot more to their wheel and suspension setups I feel the alignment part is questionable.

but it is not just alignment, it is also the track rod replacement included on that section

Seve OB

I may just tell them to continue with the regular service and leave the extras.

but would it be worth getting them to do the brake fluid change?

NCT due end of next week, I'm guessing that some of these may cause failure?

biko

The steering and suspension may cause a NCT fail, or not.

You may as well wait until the NCT is done and fix any fail items as well getting oil done.

Alanstrainor

Seve OB wrote: »

I may just tell them to continue with the regular service and leave the extras.

but would it be worth getting them to do the brake fluid change?

NCT due end of next week, I'm guessing that some of these may cause failure?

Yeah I think that's reasonable, the brake fluid change is a good thing to do and the price isn't too outrageous.

When you say psr spring, is that just one of the main suspension springs has failed? If so that would be an NCT fail. The track rods might not be a fail yet, hard to say. Usually dealers will want to replace well in advance of failure.

The Bishop Basher

Regardless of what needs doing or doesn’t need doing, you may as well be burning your cash as going to a main dealer.

It’s your cash but it’s nuts to be bringing a 9 year old car near a main dealer unless you have to..

Seve OB

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Yeah I think that's reasonable, the brake fluid change is a good thing to do and the price isn't too outrageous.

When you say psr spring, is that just one of the main suspension springs has failed? If so that would be an NCT fail. The track rods might not be a fail yet, hard to say. Usually dealers will want to replace well in advance of failure.

not sure with the spring. what she said was its the spring that goes around the shock. as I say, I've noticed noting with regard the suspension being off, but I appreciate that doesn't mean it is not broken.

they don't have them in stock anyway, so I would have to wait on that one. i'll shop around.

there are actually parts priced up in the quote

price for spring seems to be €117.06 so that would be €212.81 to fit.

rods are priced at €85.57 so that is a further €354.69 to fit and do wheel alignment after

gearbox oil & filter €215.65 so a further €177.34 for labour.

Seve OB

Rennaws wrote: »

Regardless of what needs doing or doesn’t need doing, you may as well be burning your cash as going to a main dealer.

It’s your cash but it’s nuts to be bringing a 9 year old car near a main dealer unless you have to..

fair point. I've had the car from almost new so just always brought it to main dealer because it was as cheap as anywhere when just getting regular servicing done when I first looked into it. obviously now it is getting older and the miles ticking up, it needs more than just a regular servicing now.

I don't know any decent independent mechanics in my area and the dealer was just handy for me.

I will probably not be bringing the car back here again.

punisher5112

These threads seem to pop up a lot, advise is given and most seem to stick with the main dealer??? I don't get it the warranty is over, just because they are a main dealer doesn't mean they will do a better job.

Their overheads are huge so charge much more.

Alanstrainor

biko wrote: »

You may as well wait until the NCT is done and fix any item fail items as well getting oil done.

I think this is the best advice here. You've noticed nothing wrong before the service, let them do the fluid changes and put it through the NCT. Take it from there whether you need to replace the other bits.

Toyotafanboi

Obviously you will get cheaper work done, but for an MB main dealer those prices are fair. If you've had it from new and kept a main dealer history from new, it may mean something to you to keep the history up, it's still a €10k car, €1k in maintenance after a decade isn't bad.

The brake fluid isn't critical and is a popular upsell item, while technically due every "x" amount of time, I'd say if it was tested it'd pass as is. I'd probably decline that and do it half as often as they suggest.

I'd say if you go somewhere else they'll tell you the track rod is "grand". It probably is. You bring it to a main dealer for what is perceived to be the best possible care though so they will point out anything that is less than perfect and after that it's your own judgement call as to how for you want to go. If there's play it's showing wear, are you happy with that even if someone else says it isn't that much play etc?

The gearbox oil and spring sound like things that need to be done.

Looking at your breakdown of figures, say you got the parts 33% cheaper spurious and the labour for 50% less, you're still looking at a €700 ish bill so the question really is is a main dealer service history, shopping experience and aftersales worth €400 ish to you and to the car.

Seve OB

Alanstrainor wrote: »

I think this is the best advice here. You've noticed nothing wrong before the service, let them do the fluid changes and put it through the NCT. Take it from there whether you need to replace the other bits.

Done

Toyotafanboi

punisher5112 wrote: »

These threads seem to pop up a lot, advise is given and most seem to stick with the main dealer??? I don't get it the warranty is over, just because they are a main dealer doesn't mean they will do a better job.

Their overheads are huge so charge much more.

Some people just don't know where/ how to pick a good independent though and to be fair unless you get a recommendation it can be a minefield. The manufacturers approved workshops give people a bit of shopping confidence in that the work done to the car will be to a certain standard and if there is an issue afterwards it will be seen to. Other people have just stuck with the main dealer from when the car was new, they know what to expect, who to expect when they arrive and what they will be getting and they can rely on it (the same as others rely on their independent).

Some people enjoy the shopping experience, turning up to the fancy showroom, having a ("free") coffee and a chat, getting a newly plates loaner for the day, getting the car back washed, hovered and tyre shined and getting their roadside assistance and whatever other servicing perks. It may not be the cheapest but it's more glamourous than sitting in Advance Pitstop talking to a lad where the only part of him that isn't black with the dirt is the white of his eyeballs and some people are happy to pay a little extra for the niceness of it all.

There more to it for a lot of people than protecting a warranty, but they'll do that too :pac:.

Henry Ford III

Seve OB wrote: »

Merc E Class W211 model. 09D

Is the D significant?

punisher5112

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Is the D significant?

Couldn't have anything else on a Merc.....;-)

Seve OB

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Is the D significant?

the fact the mileage clock is in miles is probably even more significant

so it might be a D reg now, but it wasn't always