Annual Battery Certification No Charge- Mercedes Nanuet, NY

[JeffRay]

Mine is due for annual this September. Last year, can't remember what I was charged. Have to dig up my invoice and see as year 2 is due in September. I don't think it was sticker shock or I would have remembered that.

 

[Mzteaze]

Mine is due for annual this September. Last year, can't remember what I was charged. Have to dig up my invoice and see as year 2 is due in September. I don't think it was sticker shock or I would have remembered that.

Where do you go for servicing?

I took my car in on Tuesday and they still haven't "gotten around" to servicing the car.

 

[JeffRay]

MZT,

I live in Manhattan and go to MB Manhattan for official stuff. You can make an appointment online. They do have trained techs and of course, they have done mine. They are far from perfect given how few of us they actually deal with. They will charge your car, give it a wash and shuttle you to the train station. I generally leave the car overnight and pick it up the next day but you can talk to the Service Advisor to confirm this or ask for a "out-patient" same day servicing which could be hard for them to promise.

 

[JeffRay]

So it was time to bring mine in for the annual battery certification. I made an appointment for last Thursday and spoke to the service advisor two days before to ensure they would have someone available to do the car. Surprise, I got a call Friday to say they needed to keep car to do some software updates. Really? Sounds like they were not ready to do it last week. And this is a dealer at least partially owned by MBUSA.

Also, the service advisor said there were some charges to which I replied, it is free or under warranty. They aren't supposed to do other work without my authorization.

On Monday, will check in with him and argue the invoice when I pick the car up. Sigh.

 

[JeffRay]

Ready for a laugh folks?

So today, got a call from my friendly service advisor. Lets just call him Jimbo. Anyhoo, he says he wanted to check with me before doing any work. First, he said they could replace my four year old all season tires for $600. I laughed and said no thanks since I am returning the car next September with the original unused OEM run flats. Next he asked if I wanted to replace the wipers for $150 (part costs $75). I said no thanks as there was no problem with them when I drove the car in. Finally, after that warmup, Jimbo said that the electrical check would cost $650 and did I want to go forward with it. Knowing what I know, I said, yes, it was a required service which I brought the car in for. He further stated that the mechanic had check with Stuttgart and was informed it was entirely my cost. I said to go ahead but I would need to check the warranty to see what was and what was not covered.

BTW, I brought the car in last Thursday and with any luck, I will pick up my car on Wednesday.

This dealer has only two B250e so like many MB dealers not in California, they don't have a clue but at least they check with Stuttgart!

BTW, my buyout price next September is $18.8K for a 2017 with likely 14K miles at most. Black base model but with heated seats but lacking the options I had in my 2014 that I rarely used.

 

[JeffRay]

OK, got my B back today. They only charged me for Service A and B but did not charge me for the annual battery certification or the desiccant replacement. Good.

However, they still managed to hit me for $589.26 for all the consumables and labor. As an example, they charged me $25.90 for windshield washer fluid and $249.60 for an air dryer.

The service advisor claimed there was a software update delaying the service but no such software update is noted on invoice so believe it was an excuse.

 

[FordAnglia]

OK, got my B back today. They only charged me for Service A and B but did not charge me for the annual battery certification or the desiccant replacement. Good.

Jeff,

Ouch! As I've not yet had an MB service I'm in sticker shock after reading your post above. Shouldn't be too surprised, I suppose.

I'm not due for a routine service for quite some time. The in dash display still says "365 days" which never changes. I think it also goes by miles driven, I saw a 5k entry in the Secret Menu listing. I'm thinking this will come due sometime next summer.

I'm an owner, not a leaser, so I'm volunteering to going back to the MB dealer for service. I did buy the MB warranty (which only works for used vehicles with less than 10k miles - mine had about 9800 at purchase) I think this pre-paid for a couple of the annual services visits (A and B?)

I only know of the mandatory annual High-voltage battery inspection from the posts on this forum. I gather if you miss any of these the warranty is voided, right?

Peter,

 

[JeffRay]

Peter,

Ouchie. Actually, I am the dummy (a.k.a stupid). If I had asked or was told that they were going to do Service A and B, I would have declined as mine is a leased unit with 11 months left. They are supposed to run down the service items which Jimbo did not. Instead, he distracted me with talk of tires, wipers and a phantom software update. Very clever of him. Remember, they are now in the sales business.

If you got Service included, bravo. That is what I got with my 2014 as I leased it on Black Friday, which is the day after U.S. Thanksgiving when a lot of specials go on. For my 2017, I did not wait as the car appeared after months of nada here. So I stupidly jumped rather than have the patience or foresight to wait for another special.

Know that any authorized MB service shop can do Service A and B as it is the basic fluids and checks. They can also reset the computer when they are done. All but $120 of the $600 was for parts. Not sure what an Air Dryer is but they chose to replace that for $250.

in the memorable words of Roberto De Vincenzo, "What a stupid I am."