I just got stuck paying $424 for my 1st annual service ???

[ChuckB]

I own a 2015 B class electric drive that I purchased new at MB of Palm Springs, CA a year ago. Took it in for the annual service A and ended up paying $424. Total mileage was only 1883 miles (I am retired and don't drive much). The bill included a parts charge of $213 for Dessicant Air Dryer, cover cap, and o-ring. My understanding was that the entire battery cert was "no cost" to the customer. I pointed to the appropriate words in the battery warranty documentation, but this didn't help. They said they called MB CAC and talked with some lady named Virginia that said the parts had to be paid for by the customer. I showed them various threads from this forum indicating other people did not have to pay for the parts. They were not impressed. Ended up paying the bill so I could get the car back. I thought electric vehicles were supposed to have very low maintenance costs. Is MB headed down the same road as VW? Do I have any recourse here or am I just screwed?

PS: I really like the car. It performs flawlessly and is fun and easy to drive.

PSS: I am posting this in the Technical Forum because I am wondering if I should even bother with annual maintenance since I drive under 2000 miles per year. Does anybody have any insights or advice. Palm Springs has a very dry climate, maybe the Dessicant changeout each year is not that important.

 

[wtzouris]

Chuck, I am sorry to hear about your experience. Yes I do think you could get reimbursed for all the associated costs related to the desiccant cartridges and labor for that service. Now if you agreed to wiper fluid refill, tire rotation, fluid checks, etc, that could be hard to get back.

DEFINITELY start with the phone, and only deal with the manufacturer, Mercedes USA -- make them contact your dealer on your behalf. You should be able to get a credit processed to your credit card for the appropriate amount.

1-800-FOR-MERCEDES (1-800-367-6372)

PRESS 4 Customer Care, then 5 for Mercedes Customer Care.

Mercedes CAC has the ability to pull up other conversations/cases by doing a computer search.

Here's what I referenced: Steve Lichtenstein (Customer name ) spoke with Debra A. at Mercedes CAC on 10/21/2015 12:12 PM and laid the groundwork.

ALSO mention my name WILLIAM TZOURIS (Customer name)

Response from MBCC:

Is the desiccant filter annual replacement covered under the Lithium Ion...

Response By Email (Debra A.) (10/21/2015 12:12 PM)
Dear Steven,

Our apologies for the confusion regarding the desiccant cartridge coverage.
At this point we recommend speaking to Zubair Ali, the service manager at Keyes European. He has been provided the process for coverage. Evidently the information has been finalized between Germany, the U.S. warranty services group and the dealerships within the last few days.
They refunded me the $230 I paid for the filter and labor and are fully aware of the battery warranty conditions.

 

[oilerlord]

Wow, they soaked you on that one. I learned early on that in my research of EV's, dealers know very little about these cars. The service advisor probably looked up the desiccant part number, added a couple hours of shop labor, and bingo - $424.

As William mentioned, the annual battery certification is under warranty. I just bought my B250e and yup, they wanted to charge me for the annual check before picking it up - but with Will's help, I emailed the PDF to them that clearly stated that it's the dealer's responsibility to do this under warranty.

From the warranty booklet:

"ANNUAL CERTIFIED SERVICE: The annual certification service for your lithium-ion
battery (described above) must be performed by an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center; and it will be
completed at no cost to the vehicle owner. This Battery Coverage does not cover any other
routine maintenance of your vehicle."

Personally, I'm somewhat in no-man's-land for future battery checks because B250e's aren't sold in Canada, the closest "authorized" MB service is about 900 miles away, and of course, my local MB dealership refuses to touch it. For that reason, I picked up an extra air drier pack online for ~$113 and will change it on my own next year:

http://www.mboemparts.com/oe-mercedes-benz/2423400801

 

[ChuckB]

Thank you very much wtzouris for the detailed information. I will give the people at Mecedes Customer Service a call at the number you have provided on Tuesday. Oilerlord thank you for the relavant quote out of the warranty manual that is also repeated in the battery warranty card. This is the exact quote that I showed to the people at the Palm Springs dealership. They just shrugged their shoulders and pointed out that it does not specifically state that the associated parts and labor are provided at no cost to the customer. They interpret "battery certification" as the registration data of my battery status being inputed and maintained in their computer database and that is what is at "no cost" to the customer. The parts and labor have to be paid for by the customer (or you don't get your car back). They do have a point - the term "battery certification" is not tightly defined and they see the certification as a "piece of paper" that attests to the fact that the proper battery maintenance has been performed and paid for by the customer and that the parts and labor are not really part of the "no cost" certification. What is needed here is a concrete ruling from higher powers above the dealership that the parts and labor are truely "no cost to the customer". They did call MB USA CAC and told me that some lady named Virginia confirmed their belief that I was responsible for paying for parts and labor. They made the phone call in private and it took just 10 minutes. A rather short time for a complex issue. It worries me that the Mercedes higher ups have different answers for this battery warranty question. Two classes of Class-B electric owners are being created here, those that have to pay, and those that don't. If is is being done in an arbitrary and capricious manner, we have the big "D" (discrimination) being committed by Mercedes. VW is already on a slippery slope trying to survive after some unsavory behavior. I sure hope Mercedes is not started down the path of dishonor. I have been a fan of Mercedes automobiles for over 30 years, but now I see some tarnish forming on the three-pointed star. How sad.

 

[oilerlord]

Well, the warranty booklet doesn't only mention "certification" but also the "service" as free of charge. I understand your frustration but I think this is more about ignorance on the part of the dealership rather than anything insidious as discrimination. In my experience, when a dealer doesn't know the answer, it's easier for them to guess than take the time to find the answer. I'd bet real money that your dealership had no idea that these desiccant kits had to be installed each year. Keep in mind that these cars are almost as rare as AMG Black Series cars. This year, only 310 units have been sold:

http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/

Putting this in perspective, The Tesla Model S is quite rare, and Tesla only sold about 12,000 of them this year, however that's 40X more than Mercedes B250e's sold. For that reason, it's understandable (but not excusable) that dealers know very little about these cars.

I'm picking up my car on Wednesday, finally after getting all the ducks in a row to ensure a successful import into Canada. One of those items was getting the car's individual Mercedes / Verizon VVC code required to get the Mbrace features activated. My salesperson sent me an email back saying that no one at the dealership knew what that was, and that it's probably a "Canadian" thing. I then sent them the phone number for Mbrace support, and they still weren't that motivated to help. It wasn't until I did I set up a conference call with the dealer and Mbrace that they FINALLY sent me the code.

 

[solardell]

This thread is very helpful. I'm in Florida and just beginning the discussion with MBCC and the Naples dealer. They are absolutely the best dealer I have ever known, however, the simple fact that this is a rare vehicle nationally and even more rare in Florida. This is likely the issue and steep learning curve for all of us, MB, the dealer and the owners.

I am a professional in the renewable energy business and have worked with the power side of Tesla for several years now. I do know the importance of maintenance of the battery, hence why I insisted on having the battery serviced as required in the warranty. Apparently, they just told me it was but never did the service. At least there is no mention on ANY of the 4 service tickets so far. Very frustrating!

I do hope I don't get the interpretation that results in charges to me that should be covered. I'll post the results when it is resolved, and not be in the category of "had to pay" vs. "did not pay".

MBCC said the cartridge is covered and not something that should be invoiced. The 2014 is covered for 5 years and 50,000 miles. The 2015 model year is 8 years 100,000 miles apparently.

On reading the warranty for the battery if the battery is not "certified" by MB within 2 months of each 10,000 miles the warranty is void.

From the Warranty Card of my 2014 B Class
CERTIFIED LITHIUM-ION BATIERY: As a condition to this Blattery Coverage, your lithium-ion battery must maintain its status as a certifiedbattery. These batteries are initially certifiedby Mercedes-Benz for a one (1) year term. But, to maintain its certifiedstatus and its coverage under this Battery warranty, the battery must be brought in for certification service within two (2) months of the end of the warranty's first year. If timely brought in for this battery maintenance, the battery will maintain its certifiedstatus and continue to be eligible for coverage under this warranty for the next year. This coverage can be renewed in this same manner in one (1) year increments up to 8 years or 100,000 miles, whichever occurs first.To maintain its certi­fied status, timely certification service is required at intervals of 12 months, 24 months, 36 months, 48 months, 60 months, 72 months, and 84 months. Any failure to complete this certification service within two (2) months of any of these intervals will void any coverage offered under this Battery Coverage.

ANNUAL CERTIFIED SERVICE: The annual certification service for your lithium-ion battery (described above) must be performed by an authorized Mercedes-Benz Center; and it will be completed at no cost to the vehicle owner. This Battery Coverage does not cover any other routine maintenance of your vehicle.

 

[cossie1600]

My dealership list the price of $85, basically I am paying $85 to rotate tires......at least i get a loaner out of it

http://www.mbsanjose.com/service/maintenance-menu

 

[Stretch2727]

Copying my earlier post on this subject in another thread.

Do no go to the dealer without having this agreed in writing. They will feel no motivation to do anything for you once the car is there.




Guys, the battery annual certification is no charge. See below my strategy for dealing with the MB dealer.

-Made the appointment 2 weeks in advance. Requested only recalls and annual battery certification. The rest of the "maintenance" is just simple checks.
-emailed the customer service with expectations of no charge for for the above.
-no response an threatened to cancel the appointment unless the parts were there and agreement this is a no charge service.
-She emailed parts are there but it is a maintenance and would cost $389.
-emailed invoice I got from WTOURIS on this thread showing this is covered under warranty.
-after 10 days got agreement this is no charge service!!

I will have my no charge invoice it anyone needs it.

Do not go to the MB dealer unless you have agreement this is no charge upfront.

See e-mail exchange below. I removed some e-mail address and full name to protect the innocent.

Mr.XXXXX. After a long extensive reasearch and getting my dispatcher and warranty administrator involved we have confirmed that the part is covered under warranty.I will see you friday. Thank you so much.
Mariana

Mariana,
My understanding is the annual battery certification with the air
dryer change is covered under warranty.
See the attached receipt for a friend with the same type of car where
it was covered under warranty.
My expectation is the services I am requesting will be no charge to
me.
Please confirm.
Thank you.
XXXXXX


Good Morning Mr. XXXXX

I have everything all set for you to come in on Friday. We do have
the parts we need to perform the service on your B Class, The air
dryer will not be something covered under warranty its considered a
maintenance item. The price on the Service is $389.00 incl parts and
labor. Please let me know if I can be of further assistance. Thank
you

Mariana

Respond or I would like to cancel for my friday appointment.
Thanks,
XXXXX

Mariana,

I would prefer that the work be completed in one day which is
possible if the parts are available.
-Can you confirm the desiccant "Air dryer" are in stock part number
is 242-340-08-01.
-There is also a special tool to access the high voltage battery
area. Do the technicians have this tool available?
-Confirm that the Annual Battery Certification that includes the air
dryers above will be completed at no charge under warranty.
Your help with some pre-planning to make this a smooth and quick
experience for me would be appreciated.
This is a unique car and I understand it something the service
department is not dealing with everyday.

Thanks,
XXXXXX

 

[ChuckB]

Update and report on my discussions with Mercedes and a really great resolution!

Hello all,

On Tuesday, July 5th, I called MBUSA CAC back in New Jersey and spoke with a very nice lady named Sandy for about 30 minutes. I explained all my concerns regarding being charged for the battery certification service (parts and labor) and provided her with all of the prior references cited by wtzouris earlier in this thread. She was unfamiliar with this particular customer issue, but was very greatful to have some good references to previous research work and decisions. She promised to work the problem and talk to the Palm Springs dealer on my behalf. The next day she left me a voice mail that indicated the dealer would be calling me soon and that I would be very pleased with the results. The next day Sheri Wisener, the conceierge person at Mercedes Benz of Palm Springs, called and told me that they were now completely "on-board" with the no cost to the customer feature of the battery certification and that I was definitely due a refund. And, even better, they had decided to go above and beyond and refund the entire amount of the service visit (all $424) which had also included the first year, Type A service! My service manager, Ric Williams, called and took my credit card info so he could reverse the charges. Today the reversed charges (credit) appeared on my credit card bank statement. Way to go and great kudos to both Mercedes Customer Service and my local dealership! What a wonderful outcome due in great part to information from this forum and its members.

I did learn about one very interesting new wrinkle. It appears that the Battery Certification service costs for 2016 B Class electrics now being sold will be partially shared by the customer. They did not elaborate, so check your warranty books 2016 owners because starting next January you probably won't be getting the no cost deal. 2014 and 2015 owners are confirmed good for the no cost deal for the full stated lengths of their battery warranties. 2017 may have even greater changes in store if Mercedes is ready and begins using their in-house designed batteries, motor, drive train, charger, control unit, and software. No more Tesla components is the long term plan apparently.

Thank you all so much for your help and useful comments.

 

[wtzouris]

Congratulations Chuck, that's great news. Also interesting that they are phasing out the no-cost service. I think the current B250e model will be with us through the 2017 Model Year. The new design -- called the Mercedes ELC -- will debut in the fall at Paris, but only as a half-completed concept. I wouldn't expect to see it until late 2017 in showrooms. It takes a while to develop an all-new design. It might even get pushed to model year 2019. I hope not......

 

[blaferty]

got this email from GA dealer. Interesting that B class is listed since it is not sold in GA.
must be national promotion.
Thanks, but I will pass...


For a limited time only, Mercedes-Benz USA is pleased to offer $200 off our Star Prepaid Maintenance program* from July 1st through September 30th. Prepaid Maintenance is a simple and convenient way to keep your vehicle performing at its best, with services that include:
- Synthetic motor oil and filter replacement
- Fluid level checks and corrections
- Multi-point inspection
- Wiper blade sets and more
With our program, you ensure that your vehicle is cared for by expertly trained technicians who use only Genuine Mercedes-Benz Parts and the latest diagnostic tools and tests. And aside from saving money, as compared to paying at each service visit, you save time by having paid for maintenance in advance.
Contact us at (770) 390-0600, and schedule a service visit today. But hurry—this is a limited-time offer.
Sincerely,
RBM of Atlanta

PIN: PPMC5ELNWAM

Vehicle Class 2YR/30K 3YR/40K
Original MSRP Special MSRP Original MSRP Special MSRP
Electric/B $750 $550 $900 $700
CLA, GLA, C, GLK, GLC, SLK $950 $750 $1,250 $1,050
E, M, GLE, GL, GLS, C450 Sport AMG $1,050 $850 $1,400 $1,200
S, SL, CLS, Diesel, R, GLE 450 Sport AMG $1,150 $950 $1,600 $1,400
CL, G, GT, AMG, Maybach $1,250 $1,050 $1,750 $1,550

 

[ChuckB]

Caveat emptor (sp?) : Let the buyer beware!

At the risk of being somewhat "snarky":

Here in Palm Springs, CA we have a substantial number of residents who are "mega-rich". If they see something they want or "need", it doesn't really matter whether it costs $10 or $100 or $1000. They just whip out their charge cards and pay the full inflated price. It is beneath most of them to value shop, look for a bargain, or even question the fairness of the price in terms of goods and services provided. They suffer from "affluenza". This behavior tempts unethical businesses to charge "whatever the market will bear" and this leads to us more ordinary customers being price gouged. The prices quoted above (by a Georgia dealer) for multi-year maintenance plans for Class-B electric drive vehicles are simply outrageous. The entire battery cert. service is at no customer cost per the battery warranty and the content of the type A or B annual service checklists is rather trivial. Please Mercedes, don't tarnish your three pointed star by playing these games. I am willing to pay a fair price for goods and services provided, but I will not participate in ego stroking and pricing schemes focused on the mega-rich.

 

[Lukeetal]

Thank you for this thread! I got my service a completed today. The service rep was having trouble figuring out the cost code. I pulled up this thread and after he did some research I didn't have to pay a penny. Not sure if they rotated the tires or not. I also got a loaner for the day too! MB Smithtown is the best dealership I have ever been to MB or otherwise.

 

[user 738]

Update and report on my discussions with Mercedes and a really great resolution!

I did learn about one very interesting new wrinkle. It appears that the Battery Certification service costs for 2016 B Class electrics now being sold will be partially shared by the customer. They did not elaborate, so check your warranty books 2016 owners because starting next January you probably won't be getting the no cost deal. 2014 and 2015 owners are confirmed good for the no cost deal for the full stated lengths of their battery warranties.

I just picked up a new 2016, and I can verify my warranty book states that the battery certification "...will be completed at no cost to the vehicle owner.".

 

[camaroguy]

It is my understanding that by US law the cannot charge the customer for service that is required to keep their warranty AND is required for only them to do. They have to do this free of charge, hence why they do it. The legally should not be allowed to change this for 2016 unless they also change the requirements for the warranty validity.

As for service A and B. They don't pay for that, because they don't have to. Those can be done by anyone who can physically do it.

 

[sdcal19]

I just took mine in for the first service. I am not being charged for the battery drier cartridges but there is a charge of 47.40 for "battery condition check". I am assuming this is the certification? I was told this was required service for the warranty. Is this something I should be paying for?

 

[JeffRay]

I got mine for free as did many others. Not sure what your dealer is charging for. There is a thread for this that talks about this.

 

[eneka]

Can anybody tell me if the 2017 model also has the battery certification included under warranty?

Also, dealer is offering 24mo/20k prepaid maintenance for $650. Is it worth it?

 

[chuckh007]

Ok…so I am new here and just bought a 2014 BED (already own a CLS550) and I love this vehicle. However I just had a "scratch the head" event regarding this subject. We found that the Maintenance Service Indicator (miles before the next service) was stuck at 365 days and read D1. Several tried to reset it to no avail. Yes we used the suggested procedure as outlined here….but no dice. Took it to dealer and they said that they would start a new cycle with Service A and showing 365days and hopefully counting down each day…..yes they did a maintenance service including the Battery check and replacing the Tesla filter. I told them I shouldn't pay for the latter and they said '" oh yes". Well the CAC guys that I talked to said it was up to each individual dealer whether or not the customer pays..period ! So I paid. Guess how much….for the whole thing, complete service and Battery servicing and dissicant filter replacing (this model year only has one filter) and it totaled $294. I didn't argue and really didn't have the energy to raise the argument again. I don't think this was too bad a deal anyway.http://www.mybclasselectricdrive.com/forum/posting.php?mode=reply&f=8&t=566#

 

[JeffRay]

Agent 007,

First welcome and enjoy the ride. If it is a 2014, I am going to assume you bought it used. A couple of hopefully helpful thoughts:

1. Not sure you should have paid but it is likely that it had already been done by prior owner but you would not know and they might not either.

2. Did you confirm that the recall software update had been done in 2016? Very important to do so.

3. Peruse this forum and you will accelerate your further enjoyment of your new acquisition.