Mercedes Servicing

Go to a Renault garage, believe it or not alot of mercs are actually Renaults underneath. I know alot of Merc owners don't believe but it's true, I'm not trying to insult you or anything. 

Also if you see a garage local to you it's worth reading its Google reviews. Just make sure if its serviced outside of Mercedes that you don't loose your warranty on other parts

Hi, 

   in the UK, if your car has been serviced by a Mercedes dealer they and Mercedes usually contribute towards the cost of repairs for any major fault that your vehicle experiences. This only applies for cars up to 5 years old. 

  My a/c compressor failed when the car was 4 years old, quoted repair cost was £1100, ended up paying £240. Contribution from the dealer and Mercedes.

  Recently the NOX sensor failed (a very common problem with ad-blue Mercs) the dealer gave me 10% discount Mercedes refused to contribute as the car was over 7 years old. Repair cost close to £1000! The car has done 51,000 miles and always been serviced by the dealer.

  It would be worth asking your Mercedes dealer if the same applies in Spain and if there is a age limit cutoff on when they/Mercedes will contribute towards a repair cost. Depending on the answer you can then switch to any other recommended garage that will repair a Mercedes car. Most garages now have diagnostic test equipment that can connect to a variety of makes so it is not a issue.

 In the UK I'll save around 50% using a non-dealer mercedes repairer versus the Mercedes dealer network, probably similar in Spain I would imagine. 

Rgds,

Aitch.

I worked as an aftersales manager in the UK for 20 odd years in franchised main dealerships. In the UK its common for any dealer to ask the manufacturer for a goodwill gesture for a repair that isn't wear and tear. So far here in Spain I have found the aftersales service to be absolutely shocking and nothing like the UK. The aftersales in the 3 main dealers I have taken my car to is terrible. I am still looking for a good one to use permanently. One even told me a worldwide recall isn't necessary in Spain (that was the workshop manager)! My latest was the car booked in for service and a recall. I was told the car would be ready for 1.30 when booked in.

When I got there I was told it would be ready at 6.30. We had left our daughter with a friend and had to be back for 2pm. They do not have courtesy cars so had to hire a car at 36.50 euros to go from Elche to San Miguel and back. It would have been cheaper if I had ordered when I made the booking but said I didn't need one for 3 1/2 hours. So far this is Alicante, Torrevieja and Elche. One would hope a Mercedes dealer may treat customers better. I have found one Opel dealer in San Miguel who is really good but he cannot service my electric car. I did have a repair on my old car done there and my friends take their car to him.

Same with my last service. Normally takes about an hour and a half but took it in at 1030 and thought a walk around Torrevieja would waste an hour or two. Nope, told it would be 6 to 6:30 pm. 

They also said they would phone when it was ready. Went back at 5:30pm and the car was outside all done but no phone call. One person in front of me collecting his car and it took 45 minutes to deal with just him. 

A couple of years before , the engineer phoned to say some rust had got in on the tank behind the oil filler. Would cost €430 to replace. Took over half an hour before he would accept it was still under warranty and should be replaced free. 

Not the type of service one would expect from Mercedes. And €660 for a routine annual service is taking the mick. Never paid more that 150 euro on my new Hyundai.

Which Hyundai dealer did you use. Mines a Hyundai Kona Electric. The price is fine cheaper than petrol or diesel but Autofima in Torrevieja and Elche are not good at aftersales. If you read the reviews all is good until after you buy the car, then it's all downhill. The saying in the motortrade is 'Sales sell the first car, aftersales sell the rest'. I was going to look at the Ioniq 5 whilst my car was in. I didn't and now I won't be buying another Hyundai in Spain. The problem is are any other dealerships better when I want to buy another electric car.