Just wondering what your annual car servicing costs are like? For consistency in results of the poll, this does not include replacement of parts (non expendables).
A few other details that could be provided and other items that could also be discussed:
Well, if you've got yourself a Mercedes-Benz I'm fairly sure you can afford the ongoing costs too. I trust you made your due diligence before purchasing.
Couldn't be further from the truth.
Second Hand Euro vehicles like Mercs and BMW's represent good value in the market.
Original owners sell them, when out of warranty and servicing costs get too much (from the Dealer)
So an astute buyer can buy a $115k vehicle when new for $20 to $30k with reasonable milage.
Going to a dealer with a Euro Vehicle of this age will send you broke.
You either find an independent or learn to do it yourself.
Pretty broad to say if you can afford a Mercedas-Benz you can afford the servicing costs
When a 10 year old Toyota Landcruiser would likely cost more to purchase and service.
Merc: https://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Mercedes-Benz-E2…
I bought a 8 year old CLK couple with 90.000k on the clock for $20.000 - new the car was $115.000. My MB dealer will let me provide my own parts PROVIDED they are genuine MB parts. As such I import items such as filters, brake pads and rotors from the USA for less than 1/2 of what MB Australia charge.
All up and annual service will cost around $600-$700, not much more that other makes.
All up pretty good value in my eyes.
If you think that's expensive your lucky you can't afford a Maybach. They charge even more to service one of those.
Being able to afford something is subjective. The bloke who asked about buying a house on Newstart payments probably thinks he can afford a house on the dole, if he changed his goals he could buy a Maybach instead.
How do you do this without replacing parts??
Oil Filter, Air Filter, Fuel Filter, Oils and Fluids….
By parts, I meant non expendables. I have fixed up the post just to clarify.
I do it myself, then i can take my time, use the best Oils and OEM Filters each time.
Not some generic or general oil the shop has, when some $$$ Euro vehicles have very specific oil needs.
Know of 2 people that left a dealership, 1 with no engine oil the other with no coolant after a Dealership Service.
No Thanks!
Doing it yourself is not for everyone, it can be a pain and it still costs $$$ for quality oils.
The Mrs car, BMW X5 3.0d;
BMW OEM Oil Filter $22 delivered
10 Litres of Nulon 5W/30 Euro Engine Oil $99 delivered (uses 9.5 lires per service)
BMW OEM Airfilter $55 delivered
YouTube generally has every vehicle on it, if it something specific.
IE: The BMW X5 Airfilter is really hard job, took me 2.5hours.
So much so, the Dealership will not bother doing it (sometimes) yet will say they have done it (because it is so hard to check)
Believe me, this has been proven on BMW forums where the owner checked to find a dirty old air filter when he got home from the service.
What sort of engineer would design a consumable item like an air filter in a way that it would take 2.5 hours to remove and replace it? Especially in an off road vehicle. Makes you wonder why you pay a premium for such bad design. I'm guessing form beat function on that one.
@niggard: You ever watch 'long way round'? It's designed as a proper 4wd. How it is used is another thing. The badge means alot to some people.
@Peace Maker: sorry, I've only ever witnessed the X5 in action in and around Sydney. I've never seen a BMW roughing it more than gravel paths. The only off road action I've seen a bimmer engaged in was in Top Gear's Africa special, where Clarkson ruined a 528i wagon.
@Peace Maker: Bullshit. It is a 5 series on stilts. It has no low range, no diff lock and poor ground clearance. The AWD system is complete rubbish to boot. It is not designed as a proper 4wd in anyway whatsoever.
@Peace Maker: X5 is NOT an off road vehicle, first page on manual spells it out.
Where it tells you NOT to take it off road.
I suppose your are going to tell us the Ford Territory is an Off Road vehicle next?
Mod edit: removed inflammatory statement.
Our Renault has 3 years of free servicing.
'Free servicing' is a fancy way of saying you paid in advance when you purchased. No such thing, as afree lunch
Nah, not for me. I understand what you mean, but not in this case.
Servicing is fixed $299 a year, I got 3 gift cards of $299 and that was after the agreed price.
Nissan fixed price services and Hondas are cheap too, would not go to a non manufacturer service centre any more. ( used to do my own servicing)
Our Renault has 3 years of free servicing.
One can be sure that free servicing has been paid in full price.
I alternate oil change and service every 7,500km.
7,500 = Oil change
15,000 = Normal service (Including oil)
22,500 = Oil change
And so on.
I've done this for every car I've owned, and partner's car.
Oil and filter is usually around $130, and servicing can range from $250ish to $500+, depending on brakes, wheel alignment, balance, wipers.
But to answer your question, my annual servicing would be about $430 ($130+$300)
Edit: 2014 Holden VF SS Commodore
This is really skewed as there are too many variables. Type, size of car, diesel, petrol, number of kilometers, age, just to name a few. Example, I do 30,000km-40,000km a year with a big car, Plus I DIY, my servicing costs will never be comparable to anyone unless they sit in that same category. No matter how hard you try, your poll will not provide an accurate pool of data, for any form of decision making or knowledge gain. Sorry to be blunt.
I agree with you; there won't be any extraordinary findings with just one poll. I intentionally made the question simple enough so that people could easily participate and at least it would provide some elementary findings. After all, this is not the consensus or marketing research.
So far it's quite interesting. There's a group of people who pay $100-300 for car servicing, and another group of people who pay excess of $500. It does make you wonder why the other group is paying more.
I go over $500 easy (one oil change is $150 DIY… but reasons would be, 4-5 services a year, diesel generally costs more, big car with kilometers over 150k. Its really hard to compare.
Ferrari offers complimentary servicing for the first 7 years
I have a mazda 3 and im up for my second service this year, both around $320ish mark. Tho I take myen to the dealer as they feed me 'free' food and give me a loaner for the day.
I do my own servicing so DIY under $50. Mechanic quote is around $150. Late model Falcon and Camry in household. Camry just out of warranty but been faultless
Falcon
Ford OEM Oil Filter $9
6.5 L semi-synthetic oil $35
Total $44
Camry
Toyota OEM Oil Filter $20 (with oil sump plug)
4.5 L synthetic oil $30
Total $50
Both approx 10,000 km/annum, serviced annually (1 year/15,000 km per owners manual for Ford, 9 months/15,000 km for Camry)
Not hard but requires your own tools (socket set, oil filter tool for Toyota).
I do almost everything myself with a Haynes or Gregory's workshop handbook in hand. I have a good set of basic tools, heaps of free time, and follow the recommended service intervals, except engine oil and filter changes - do double what is recommended. The only stuff I leave to a dealer is anything that needs a computer attached to adjust, or a service-specific big $ tool to pull apart. Doing your own mechanics is very satisfying; just take your time and double check everything. If there are any nuts and bolts left over once the job is done, just toss them over the fence.
This is a bit of a joke.
Servicing costs change every year. You cant exclude cost of parts.
Costs will go up as the car gets older and more parts start to wear.
Whats the point of this excercise anyway.
Just another time waster
With our local Mercedes dealership charging $250ph for labour the annual service costs soon explode.