Mercedes Car Service Dublin -€665

ruddy1987

I have a 2020 Mercedes A class, always been serviced in Mercedes. Its due a B Service as has 70,000 km. Before I booked it into MSL i asked what the B Service costs. I was quoted €665 and advised this included:

1) Full Health Check

2) Oil & Oil Filter

3) Air filter

4) Pollen filter

5) Wash and vacuum

6) 12 months roadside assistance (not required as have on insurance)

To may that sounds bonkers money. Anyone know any possible non Mercedes garage in Dublin that can service under and update the digital service history?

Fabio

What's a "full health check" exactly?

You're essentially doing oil, oil filter, air filter, and cabin filter there. €665 might be the going rate but it's madness.

User1998

Automotive Air Conditioning in Ballymount are Mercedes Benz specialists, they have all the software etc

bazz26

Standard main dealer pricing. Their hourly labour rates alone will make your eyes water.

Stallingrad

You are paying about 50% extra to keep that Mercedes-Benz service history. It's up to you but a lot of Indies will do it for half that.

GPoint

250 max for this service, health check is a OBD scanner check for errors most likely. Plus visual checks underbody like you get at NCT

Unreal rates…

OP have you bought second hand and it’s your first service or has prices in MSL gone up?

road_high

As said above try find a good Merc Indy mechanic

Whocare

I'm surprised there so many people buying bmw Mercedes and can't afford to service them in main dealer went there still fairly new

ruddy1987

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121764423#Comment_121764423

I bought a year old and as part of the purchase from the dealer they included the first two services. As such this is the first one I have to pay for. I expected maybe €300-€400, that’s why I got a bit of a shock and wanted to see alternatives.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121764550#Comment_121764550

it’s not about if I can afford it or not, it’s more about actual value for money. If there are good alternatives that are priced more competitively why should consumers not look for other options.

goochy

Terry Jackson motors though he not cheap

Idbatterim

Wow an air and pollen filter. Must take all of 3 minutes to change, what a shambles. How much is just oil service ?

How do they gouge people with electric car servicing ?

Yeah Right

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121764550#Comment_121764550

This is a stupid argument to make, I see it on Boards all the time. Just because something is nice/expensive, that doesn't mean the owner should be open to getting ripped off at every available opportunity. Absolutely bizarre logic, essentially defending price gouging and rip off merchants. It's one thing skimping on the basics after splashing big on a purchase, but it's quite another to blithely handwave away any overcharging based on your original purchase price.

It's the equivalent of me seeing: "If you bought a gaff for a million, you'd have no problem with a painter charging you €9000 to do your skirting boards, yeah? Or a plumber charging you €15,000 to powerflush your rads? I mean if you can afford the big pad......"

Prices can still be a rip off, even if you have the cash available. Did you even read the OP properly to get a feel for the context of the post or did you see the title and go "hurrrr, these Merc/Beemer/Audi dopes can't afford the most basic of services durrrrr what a pack of saps". They CAN afford to service them in the main dealer. This main dealer is still being a complete bowsie when it comes to how much he charges though.

goochy

i would expect that price for an S class

kirving

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121764715#Comment_121764715

Aside from Oil (20k), Oil Filer (20k), Air Filter (??k), Plugs (60k), and potentially less wear on the brakes, EV's need everything else really, and this lack of scheduled maintenance is sometimes reflected in car testing.

https://www.adac.de/news/tuev-report-2024/

Whocare

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121767920#Comment_121767920

Personally I wouldn't buy fresh car without main dealer service history

goochy

I would be same but if hes planning to keep a few more years won't matter

MarkN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121764550#Comment_121764550

What a stupid comment.

goochy

not really people should check these things out when buying , say i was buying a 3 year old prestige car and previous owner had tried to save money on servicing - it wouldnt inspire me .

bazz26

It's a 4 year old A Class, hardly a prestige car.

There is a big difference in saving money on servicing and being taken for a dope.

MarkN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121769768#Comment_121769768

The OP was merely questioning a ridiculous quote for a relatively minor service. The two of you jumping to conclusions about their ability to ‘afford’ it is embarrassing (on both your parts).

goochy

an A CLASS is a small prestige car , they arent exactly the same price as a corolla or a focus

bazz26

That does not make it prestige.

But if someone wants to pay S Class money for servicing an A Class then good luck to them.

goochy

its a small prestige car , as said people dont pay €50k for a small car when they could have bought a focus

Quin_Dub

It has been a few years since I was in an MSL Service centre , but previously they had a sign on the wall showing the hourly rates for Service.

Not parts/consumables pricing - The Hourly rate for the staff.

They listed out all the brands they covered - VW , Audi , Mercedes , Bentley etc.

The Mercedes hourly rate was about 2x the VW one and the Bentley was another 2x on top of that again.

They didn't have dedicated Mechanics/Technicians for each brand , it was the same staff doing all the work - they just charged you more based on the brand of car you drove.

That is the absolute textbook definition of price gouging.

goochy

more complicated cars and better mechanics - the best mechanic is likely to work on Bentley

Kaisr Sose

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121770033#Comment_121770033

That does not mean they or any car owner cannot shop for value for basic servicing work.

It's not about affordability for the owner, it's about value for money. For example If someone can afford to buy a Mercedes/prestige car, they dont have to fill up at the most expensive garage because it's an expensive car. It's their choice whether they do. Same for servicing.

Searching for value or knowing when you are being over charged are common sense tools any car owner or consumer should have in spades in this country.

Quin_Dub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121770127#Comment_121770127

Impossible to prove though..

Modern cars are ALL the same from a Service perspective.

Plug in the diags reader, do the things on the checklist.

Unless you are in there to troubleshoot/resolve an unusual complex issue , the "quality" of the mechanic is largely meaningless.

An Oil and Filter change does not require extra training or experience nor are they materially more challenging/complex if it's a Mercedes/Bentley or a VW/Audi.

Any 1st year apprentice can do a standard service on any vehicle without much if any oversight.

Charging more for the same task based solely on the brand of the car is price gouging , plain and simple.

GPoint

Is it down to payments dealer has to make to use authorised Mercedes diagnostic equipment?

Because mechanically there should be no difference whether you drain oil from Mercedes or from a Skoda

colm_mcm

It’s likely a Renault drivetrain, so there’s no justification for double the service cost over Renault service. They don’t pay their apprentice mechanics more because it’s a Mercedes.

djan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121768523#Comment_121768523

From my experience an independent brand specialist will do the work to a higher standard and won't blindly replace whole systems when just a component will suffice. Dealers don't need good reviews and happy customers to get business because of people blindly going in to keep full dealer service history which is of little actual value come resale when you account for the increased cost.

goochy

Terry Jackson motors in Shankill wont be the cheapest but hes been around a long time and he always has tasty motors in for repair

Lord Baron Lane 8

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058335999/mercedes-car-service-dublin-665

I have never bought a German car you would want a bank behind you .

Quin_Dub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121770446#Comment_121770446

That's a fair point.

Set aside a new/newish car with Warranty - It totally makes sense to use the main dealer during that timeframe to ensure you get warranty support if and when needed.

So , you buy a 3/4 year old "Prestige" car and hold on to it for another 4 years maybe servicing it 5/6 times during that time depending on milage.

Main Dealer vs. Independent you are probably saving 250+ per service , especially on a high end vehicle , so a saving of maybe up to €1500 over the timeframe

Are you really going to get that extra ~€1500+ quid on an 8 year old car on trade in because you have a full set of Dealer stickers in the Service book instead of an Independent?

goochy

only on a really high end model

Yeah Right

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121768523#Comment_121768523

Translation: ""hurrrr, these Merc/Beemer/Audi dopes can't afford the most basic of services durrrrr what a pack of saps".

I've posted on here before about Joe Duffy/Audi North Dublin. I would actively avoid a car that was serviced by them, they're that bad. Anyone handing their money over to that shower deserve to be rode sideways.

You are not reading and understanding the points being put to you, including the OP. I might as well be shouting down the toilet, for all the good it's doing, so here's my last attempt, in bullet format so that it's easier to digest:

• Doesn't matter where you get it serviced if you're not gonna sell it before it's maybe 6 years old. After that, it doesn't matter anyway
• You were giving out about people not being able to afford the extra costs associated with 'high end' cars. The OP CAN AFFORD to get it serviced by a main dealer, he cannot afford to be ripped off by them while getting it done.
• That's not what this thread is about, it's about the difference in cost of servicing it from one main dealer to another
• If you were getting your car serviced and the options were either in MSL (who charge €665) or Brady's in Castleknock (€415), both of them main dealers, which one would you pick?
• Only a fool would choose to pay an extra €250 for absolutely no reason, right? You'd want to be a complete idiot to pay over the odds for the exact same product/service, correct?
• So why are you moaning about the OP who is questioning the high cost of the MSL service? The answer is because you don't know what you're talking about and you're spouting the same auld shite that people have been trotting out for years without understanding the words coming out of your mouth. There are hundreds of thousands like you, who all want to buy cars.
• The main dealers know this. I'm convinced this whole "main dealer full service history" was started by them to milk idiots for every penny they have.

I mean, if the main dealer wanted €2,500 to change the oil and filters, would you just pay it anyway to keep the full service history? Why? To preserve the value if you wanted to sell it on? You think you're gonna get an extra €15k on the asking price of a 6 year old S-class versus one without the full history? Of course you ain't, so what's the point in spending all that money? The OPs service didn't cost that much but it is still an eye-watering amount of money to be handing over for an hour's work or so.

The reason this entire premise exists in the first place is because of an outdated trope about Irish people being stingy when it comes to this sort of stuff. Traditionally, we didn't have any sort of motoring industry or culture here, outside rallying really. P. Anyone who was around pre-NCT days will remember the bangers you'd regularly see on the roads, held together with gaffer tape and superglue, spewing blue smoke, mismatched wheels and paint jobs etc. eople would scrimp and save where they could, getting often unlicensed or unqualified 'mechanics' to carry out ad-hoc repair jobs. Cowboys, mostly.

Those guys are long gone and it is the main dealers who are the cowboys these days. No responsibility, no accountability, just an inflated sense of importance and grandeur because they work for one of the German car companies.

bucketybuck

Personally I laugh a little at people who sneer at the dealers when they can't even do their own servicing.

"It should only cost X, because they are just apprentices and it isn't worth it etc etc".

The market doesn't work that way. Supply and demand, the dealers are all booked out weeks in advance because they have more work than capacity, of course the prices are going to reflect that.

And bad news folks, it is going to get a hell of a lot worse. The lack of new technicians coming through hasn't fully hit yet, soon it is going to be an absolute nightmare just to find a garage at all and their prices are going to keep going up to match that fact.

No business is going to leave money on the table, if the diary is full then damn right they should be increasing prices.

And there is no point shouting that changing an air filter should be cheap because it is easy, if its so easy then buy the parts and fit it yourself.

User1998

I think if its all recorded electronically then it doesn’t really make much of a difference whether if was Mercedes or an independent.

Getting an independent mechanic with the proper Mercedes servicing software is a lot better than having a glovebox full of handwritten oily receipts from loads of different mechanics

GPoint

Bottom line should be that only go to main dealer if you have manufacturer warranty or extended warranty on a used car. After that up to individual, if main dealer is only marginally dearer than Indy and if you may get good will warranty from the dealer on potential break down then nothing wrong with servicing car with them. If it’s twice the price or more for such basic service then reputable independent is as good. I have serviced my cars in dealers and independent. Always had excellent experience with either.

SweetCaliber

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121772352#Comment_121772352

Not true, you can get your car serviced in any VAT registered garage and keep your warranty.

Having seen the carry on of main dealer technicians in multiple garages, I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole unless its warranty work. Much prefer to do it myself or pay an indie.

kirving

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121772427#Comment_121772427

When push comes to shove and you need serious warranty work done (lets say engine internals or EV battery) the independent will likely not have the proof, nor be willing to spend the time, to fight your corner and state that the car was serviced to the letter of the manufacturer spec.

For a premium car under warranty, it's absolutely worth going to the main dealer. Shop around of course, but service cost are utterly tiny when compared to depreciation on a premium car.

I recently bought a second hand GLC, which will be under manufacturer warranty until it is over 7 years old. Bought it approved used (CPO), so 2 year warranty, and then paid for the extended CPO for an extra 2 years. Having previously been quoted crazy BMW bills, it makes total sense to me for the peace of mind.

Charles Babbage

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121769915#Comment_121769915

Are they harder to service than a Corolla or a Focus?

A Focus service would be half that.

ofcork

You wouldn't think so with a Nissan engine the A class is prestige in name only.

goochy

Rubbish . Sure land discoveries had a Psa/ Citroën- peugeot engine once and bentleys have had same parts as a vw

buzzerxx

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121771951#Comment_121771951

Booked my 2021 530e in for a sevice with joe duffy, might cancel now after reading reviews, rang the other 3 bmw dealerships and all similar price.

Joe duffy can do it next week where all the others where booked out till JUNE, I found that a bit suspicious.

buzzerxx

Joe duffy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121772023#Comment_121772023

Problem with that is if anyone in the future brings that car to a main dealer for a service all of those 3rd party services stored in the cars computer will be deleted when the main dealer writes in their service. You are better off with manual dockets

Yeah Right

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121829087#Comment_121829087

My post that goes into more detail on my experience with Audi North Dublin is here. Wouldn't touch them with a bargepole.

rob316

A service is a couple of filters and an oil change, if your paying anymore than €300 you are been bent over.

Nimrod Pinky

hey there

quick question given that you guys are budding petrol head enthusiasts… anyone on here from the MB car club know much about Benz NOx sensors….? I think mine is on the way out started to get a. ‘Check engine light’ - I got it removed but it may come back because these being ‘faulty sensors’ are quite common. Was going to replace it myself, seems pretty straight-forward, however on the forums it says that you need to do some s/w update otherwise the fault keeps reappearing….? Can anybody shed some light and/or help out. Some lunatic iwants to charge me €700 (for a €130 OEM sensor) & €300 for ‘technical’ s/w updates!!!! wtf???

Summitatem

Quite expensive, Audi service plans are great value. 3 services for €864 and you can pay interest free over 3 years. Bizarrely a 3.0 is the same as a 1.4 with them.

Summitatem

WRT EVs……Wiper blades and brake fluid changes and tyres. A colleague paid €800 for 2nd service on a 2 year old at most Opel EV ….was just front tyres that allegedly needed replacement.