I know many of you have already had the first 12 month "A" Service on your B200 but I thought I would post up my experience in case anyone with a new B200 is interested. As a point of reference, I dropped my B200 (non turbo) off at the Downtown Mercedes in Toronto this morning and I picked up the car at 5 pm. The car was 5 days past the 12 month mark and it had about 19,500 km on the odometer. FYI, the dash has been bugging me for about 90 days to take the car in but I waited until the 12 month mark before booking the appointment. Not sure why the dash bugged me earlier.
The total charge for the service was $299.69 + tax = $338.24 total. I must say they were extremely courteous and they called me twice throughout the day to confirm the work they were doing and to answer any questions. I had a bunch of questions because I thought that $300+ for the first service was kinda high but I must say they did a very thorough job. I paid a premium but I must admit, I received a premium level of service.
They gave the car a very detailed checkup and I noticed that they caught a bunch of things without being asked. The most noticeable change after picking up the car was the brakes. They checked the brakes and reported them at 70% on the service invoice (which isn't too bad after 1 year) but I noticed that they must have also adjusted the brakes in some way. The brakes are much more responsive and I'm wondering if they rebalanced the front/rear braking ratio. In the past, I've noticed rust on the rear brakes and I've wondered if the rear brakes are being used as actively as the front brakes. I'm wondering if the shop fixed this today because the brakes are now very much improved and very sticky feeling (which is great). It could be they just cleaned them...not sure. The shop also updated my CVT control unit software without being asked and the car now shifts much smoother. They changed the oil, oil filter, pollen filter and cleaned out the windshield washer tank and replace the washer fluid. I think they did a bunch of other stuff like lubed the doors, etc.
Here is the cost breakdown:
Labour (1.3 hours) - $159.90
Oil Filter - $10.28
Air Filter (Pollen) - $58.30
Windshield Washer Cleaning solvent - $3.95
V Cleaner (not sure what this is) - $9.25
Windshield Washer Fluid - $3.51
5.5 Litres Synthetic Oil - $49.50
Environment recycle charge - $5.00
Total = $299.69 + Taxes
They washed and vacuumed out my car and they gave me a nice Mercedes Baseball cap as a thank you for being a customer. The service manager walked me out to my car and made sure that I was happy and didn't have any questions. He also invited me to call him anytime with questions, etc. When I got home, there was a nice package waiting for me from Mercedes Canada with a really nice Mercedes logo Fleece Blanket as a 1 year appreciation gift.
Expensive....but I got treated well. The car feels happy. $300 isn't that bad when you consider that other brands require you to come in 2-3 times throughout the first year and it probably adds up to the same amount. I seem to remember that Lexus charged you $80 for the first minor service and then hit you for $250 for a major service at 12 months. I guess they will get it from you one way or the other. I don't have an issue with this provided they provide a top notch service experience.
Did you get a loaner while your car is being serviced? My service B is exceed 101 days now and counting. I am at 14,000 km. I am waiting for it to hit the 15,000 mark and go for service. The reason is to save on further service. After two years, I believe you can either buy extended warranty or you are on your own.
PS: How can you people get 19,000 km a year? My B is 1.9 years old now and is still low 15,000.
My other licensed car - the smart - does over 20,000 km per year too. I am about to take the B 200 on a 6000 km road trip......
Mine goes in for service next Tuesday. I hope to not pay more than $300 or so.
The warranty issues are: replace warped but not leaky (replaced already once due to leak) second sunroof lamella panel and clean some loose plastic debris out of the instrument cluster.
My rear brakes are also rusty-ish and they already changed them once under warranty when the sunroof leak was being repaired. I doubt they'll replace them again, though I now have a better idea of how to stop the rear brakes from rusting (USE the brakes).
Mine goes in for service next Tuesday. I hope to not pay more than $300 or so.
The actual cost of my first service at Three Point Motors Victoria was $200 plus or minus a few cents, and that included Mobil 1 0W40 oil. Well satisfying......
Washed it, yes. Avoid carwash you say? It's never been a problem for me at least. When they do my smart, they don't wash the plastic rear window, which is fine.
I mean avoid letting the dealer wash the car after a service. I read from some bimmer forum that dealer use some car wash machine to wash that would lead to scratch and swirl mark.
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