To reply to your other comments:
I am the CTO of the company.
Our technicians go through a corporate classroom training and our company pays for (but does not require) certification through the AOCA. About 40% are certified. The average wage is $8/per hour.
Store managers get a quarterly bonus averaging $3000 per quarter. If they have 1 warranty claim due to shoddy service, they loose it entirely. Employees agree, in their employment agreement, that warranty services arising from gross negligence will be taken from their paychecks. This is rarely done, but I have seen a few cases with some higher paid employees who have been just plain stupid.
I do not attribute my mileage solely to oil changes, but I will say that I have several friends who have the same year and model who have not driven their Jeeps nearly as long and hard as I have mine and they have had MANY major issues with their Jeeps. Oil changes alone are not why mine has gone so long, but having things pointed out to me is.
I just got my 320. The picture is linked from the Benzworld site (it just looks just like mine). I am not a troll. I have not nor will I tell you what oil changing company I work for. What I will tell you is that MANY of the people working for our company have cars with very high mileage on them and they all get their oil changed an average of 3,000 miles (it only costs us $5 for the oil change). I have not had any of the any fluid changes on my 320, but I do know we service them (I looked up our vehicle records). I am sure you are all very car savvy, and I am glad to be here in this forum. If I am pitching to frumpy old ladies, then I must be doing it for the entire oil changing industry. Our company does carry and will fill your car with Mobile 1 at a higher price and at a great profit. We are happy to do it. People who pay attention to their cars can go longer, but NOT 10,000 miles. A Mercedes engine is better built than most engines. Evidence is in the longetivity compared to most. Mercedes owners are, in general, somewhat better at taking care of their cars, I dare say, or so I shall assume (paying this much for a car will make most people better stewards of their means of transportation).
I do not get a bonus based on how many oil changes we do, and neither do any of the executives. In fact, I get no bonus at all. I make a straight salary. Consider this for a moment, if you will. Is it really in the best interest of any car maker to produce a vehicle that lasts forever? Is a vehicle whose engine goes 1,000,000 miles before dying really a good business model in todays market? Something to consider when you look at an automotive manufacturer's oil change interval suggestions. Talk to a friend who is a mechanic, and I would be curious to know if he or she thinks 7,500 miles is a good idea. Our company CEO has gone to Washington D.C. to lobby against major auto manufacturers who have tried all kinds of insane things to increase their bottom lines. They have tried to get the EPA to pass laws requiring the use of fluids and lubricants manufactured by companies they have interests in by claiming that they are more environmentally sound, and our CEO has paid tens of thousands of dollars in private tests to prove that they were LYING, and has won in arbitration at the EPA in person. I have been with the company for 5 years, and know of at least 4 instances where he has taken auto manufacturers to court for various crooked and disgusting practices. The absolute LAST entity you should trust is a car manufacturer.
Nuff said!