[niruvrs9669]

Received a call this morning saying that the boot actuator is faulty and the respective assembly needs to be replaced. The part costs Rs.47,000 without which the boot can't be operated. Supposedly the boot actuator is linked to left brake light assembly which will also not 'fully' function until the actuator is fixed. I told them to go ahead with the replacement, but the part isn't immediately available, so they are planning to deliver the vehicle by evening.

Hopefully no new faults emerge, fingers crossed !

[sgm]

I got my first annual service done recently. The car had run only 7.5K Km, thanks for Covid-19. The bill details are attached. I was shocked to see the AdBlue expenses and this is terrible pricing. I used to image these will be like Rs 100/L. Looking at the bill, if you run 15K KM per year, the AdBlue expenses from Mercedes is going to cost 9-10k. After 7.5K KM, 8 Ltr, top up is showing a 4k+GST amount
The car had a few rattles from the front passenger seat and the screen of the panoramic sunroof, this has been there from day 1 and during the first check-up I missed it and later I couldn't get it fixed as Covid pandemic was starting. This was happening only while going over bad patches of road, so I didn't notice this in the initial days. Now the entire rattling issues are fixed and the minor irritation has disappeared and I really enjoy the quiet ride I'm a bit puzzled why I was charged for some of the consumables when this was fixed under warranty.

I have taken a 5 year "Compact Service" pack which covers all the regular fluids/filter services for 5 year for unlimited mileage. Hopefully my usage will be back to normal after this pandemic and I can recover the investment done for maintenance package.

[Puneet0051]

Originally Posted by sgm

...

I have taken a 5 year "Compact Service" pack which covers all the regular fluids/filter services for 5 year for unlimited mileage. Hopefully my usage will be back to normal after this pandemic and I can recover the investment done for maintenance package.

I was buying the same package as yours for 5 years but in the end decided to buy Compact Service plus for 5yrs /100k kms coz i found the other package to be more useful with my running. I completed 17k in last 1.5 years of running 220d

I never checked the adblue pricing separately but that's a good insight. So if I run my car for 90k in 5 years I will atleast spend 90k on Adblue alone

[sgm]

The cost was not charged for me as the Service pack is covering it. I'm mentioning this as a warning for BS6 Diesel owners of MB.
Compact service package doesn't cover brake pad/disc, wipers and wheel alignment/balancing, compared to the "Compact Plus" options and everything else remains the same.

[niruvrs9669]

Originally Posted by niruvrs9669

Hopefully no new faults emerge, fingers crossed !

Picked the car from MB workshop this evening. Except for the boot unlock issue, everything else seems fixed !

Firstly no noise from the airmatic compressor and the vehicle felt more planted than ever before. Not sure if they reset any suspension settings.

The engine response was good as before. The steering felt a lot lighter than before in a good way. The senior technician had left for the day, so couldn't take a detailed work done on the vehicle during the repairs. The repairs costed 2.39 Lacs including GST.

Overall, I'm quite satisfied. I guess it's also to do with my shift in value perception of this car after getting jolted by the price of new GLE - smaller in proportions than the ML .

[Stolidus500]

Originally Posted by sgm

I got my first annual service done recently. The car had run only 7.5K Km, thanks for Covid-19. The bill details are attached. I was shocked to see the AdBlue expenses and this is terrible pricing. I used to image these will be like Rs 100/L. Looking at the bill, if you run 15K KM per year, the AdBlue expenses from Mercedes is going to cost 9-10k. After 7.5K KM, 8 Ltr, top up is showing a 4k+GST amount

My dude adblue is available at every petrol station. Paying 10k every 15000 km is daylight robbery. Adblu is a generic liquid costing 550 per 10 litres at Indian oil petrol pumps. With others being at same range. I don't see any reason for you to pay thousands per litre.

[Parambir]

Originally Posted by virkdoc

Ranjit Randhawa at Kharar. Great guy and one of the best Ive ever seen.
Does a lot of cars and bikes.

Contact details please

[katil.garage]

I noticed contacts of some third party Mercedes workshops on this thread but most of them were based in or around Punjab. Is there any high quality Mercedes workshop in Delhi that is tried and tested? Please provide contact details of the same.

[Sanidhya mukund]

Recently while I was inspecting my cars underbody, I noticed that the rubber ends of the anti roll bar drop links seem to be damaged. (part number A2043203789).
Fellow BHPians had also advised me to have my ATF changed. I decided to try this workshop recommended by BHPian Rohan Dheman. I had my transmission oil changed and also had both the drop links changed. I paid a total of 18K, and till now I am quite satisfied with the work he has done.
I would recommend those who reside in Delhi NCR to try him once, his name is Gulsher Ali and he runs a workshop by the name of “Merk motors”. He has worked at T and T motors for 13 years and is now running his own workshop. When I asked him if the parts are genuine, he claimed that they are not Mercedes branded, but are OEM, from the suppliers of Mercedes. You can contact him at +91 9891807380.
And before I forget, I would like to thank BHPian Rohan Dheman for giving me his number. If it weren’t for his help, I would have continued going to the dealership and would probably have to spend tens of thousands just for normal servicing.

[niruvrs9669]

Originally Posted by niruvrs9669

Except for the boot unlock issue, everything else seems fixed !

The steering felt a lot lighter than before in a good way..

The boot actuator part has arrived, so will be going for the replacement this week along with the 1.30 lac KM regular service. Is it a good idea to replace the brake calipers and discs outside of Merc ? As they are expensive but most sensitive components, I'm in splits.

Also, started noticing a 'strained' motorized noise with the steering rotation, but it gradually disappears as I drive some distance. Not sure what this is. I know that the expensive steering assembly replacement was deferred last time. The technician had advised to keep filling the steering oil regularly. May be I'll check and top up the oil to see if it's fixed.

[katil.garage]

Lately I've been noticing a bit of a rattle coming from the rear passenger side when going over bumps. The car has only been driven 7600km carefully. Also I still find the suspension to be crashy when going over bumps at normal speeds, is it normal? It's a 2018 C200 W205.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by Sanidhya mukund

if the parts are genuine, he claimed that they are not Mercedes branded, but are OEM, from the suppliers of Mercedes.

It's a polished way of saying non-genuine. I don't think any OEM supplier of MB will risk supplying parts in market. There are manufacturers who will supply only to OEMs, and many others who will supply in the market too, but they will always have their own brand name. As an example, Battery, Bearings, Clutch manufacturers etc. will supply to OEM's and in open market but never without their Brand marking.

[Sanidhya mukund]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

It's a polished way of saying non-genuine. I don't think any OEM supplier of MB will risk supplying parts in market. There are manufacturers who will supply only to OEMs, and many others who will supply in the market too, but they will always have their own brand name. As an example, Battery, Bearings, Clutch manufacturers etc. will supply to OEM's and in open market but never without their Brand marking.

Do you believe that the parts could potentially be of sub-standard quality? Visually, it seems to be fine, but as we know, in the aftermarket there are tonnes of spurious parts and there is little we can do about it, other than trusting the mechanic. There is absolutely no way to check the quality of the parts being used.
Mercedes dealers would not sell us parts over the counter. In fact, they do not even give part numbers in some cases. If we get them to do the work, then they would certainly make us pay through our noses.
Is there any other way of sourcing genuine parts?
In other countries, scrap yards are a good repository of totalled cars. But in India, Mercs seldom end being broken up for parts. In such a scenario, the poor customer either has to be at the mercy of the dealership or depend on a random mechanic and pray that he uses genuine parts.

[Turbanator]

Originally Posted by Sanidhya mukund

Mercedes dealers would not sell us parts over the counter. In fact, they do not even give part numbers in some cases. Is there any other way of sourcing genuine parts?

As a fact, I have never owned a MB until recently and am not aware how they work. But seeing some other posts in the ownership threads, MB India keeps a fat margin. It will be a good idea to send the car to the dealership, ask for an estimate and if you find the prices higher get the works done from outside. You can get some partial work so they don't charge you just for the estimate or if everything is expensive, just pay them for estimation. This estimate should have all the part numbers clearly which you can order online from EU / US distributors. Again, I have not done but should not be difficult as there are no restrictions. If you have a business account with DHL etc, and have an IEC, it will be even easier else they will simply clear on your personal name.

Patel Auto is one name that many people recommend when it comes to MB. They used to be an official service centre many years ago and I got a chance to speak to one of their owners. Seem nice and a contended guy to me, they are into third generation in this business and will even source parts. I was at their place few months ago for a different reasons and saw multiple premium vehicles from Mercedes to Porsche & Bentley. There was an MB Ambulance of SPG being repaired as well. Worth a try in future.

[greenhorn]

more discussion available on this thread here
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...er-market.html (OEM vs Branded Spare Parts from the after-market)