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[Problemchild]

all...

its MOT and service time....

merc want £230 for MOT and A service

s2smarts is £120 for an A service but it would cost me £40 to get there and back plus a day off work.

i have full merc service history at the moment so is losing that worth the few ££ i would save.

not having done a service myself for quite some time, what do i actulaly need to do?

oil/filter
air filter is an induction kit
brake fluid was replaced when i did my brakes
coolant i top up when i need
cabin filter - done already
plugs were done last service
??
am i missing something or is it realyy £170 for what is only really an oil change??

as for MOT, well it expired when i was on holiday and need it done but i would prefer to take it to my friendly neighbourhood tester. i always took it to merc before as it was £35 but now i'm thinking a garage that would get to know my car would be better - especially with all the changes now in place.

thoughts?

JJ

[cosminnedelcu]

Self Service  - always i service my car personal , to be sure that is ok and know my car.
1.oil
2.oil filter
3.air filter/induction air filter knn or itg - clean maintance
4.fuel filter - if necesary
5.coolant - check the quality
6.brake fluid - check level
7.brake plates - check them
8.lights - front , rear
9.air cabin - check it clean it or put parfume on it
10.doors and rubber dors, give with silicon to maintain better

[funkydoodycool]

It wouldn't hurt to flush the coolant every year or two, I like to start fresh from time to time with all fluids.

Other than the normal things, it's a good idea to check the standard things that go wrong with your car, like the door cables etc.

Wheel alignment is something I'd get checked properly every couple of years too, especially on hard springs like the brab.

Otherwise I think you can do it ll yourself in a couple of hours.

Merc service history I'd say is pretty useless now the car's out of warranty. All I'm doing myself is keeping a log of dates and mileage of everything I've done, such as the recent oil change. Plus receipts of the things s2 and other places have done for me. That's up to you though, if you think it's of value then stick with Merc.

[mr singh]

id recommend buying the bits from mercedes and doing the service yourself. that way you have proof that its been serviced using mercedes parts

[Brabs]

The vast majority of what is the 'service' is in fact checks, so you could just work your way down whatever they did in your last A service or the list in the service book. Seems to me that you are more than capable. Then get out your John Bull printing set... anyone remembers those... and stamp the book 'JJ's Autos'. 

 

[brulaw]

The vast majority of what is the 'service' is in fact checks, so you could just work your way down whatever they did in your last A service or the list in the service book. Seems to me that you are more than capable. Then get out your John Bull printing set... anyone remembers those... and stamp the book 'JJ's Autos'. 

 

Wot He ^ said ......

[funkydoodycool]

That's a good idea.... I think I'll get me one of them stamps

[Problemchild]

Thanks guys - it's been booked into merc since yesterday for next week.

MOT has expired so that needs doing ASAP and having it booked in should mean I will be ok with the police.

I'll have a think about the rest

JJ

[CrazyG]

S2smarts are a Smart-MB approved/certified/authorised independant,
and to have that they must use only genuine Smart-MB parts.
Their stamp in the Service Book is as good as (if not better) than any
from MB, which also means that if your car was under warrantee then
it would be covered under the terms of MB if serviced and stamped by
them.
I think that tells you all you need to know.

[mr singh]

MOT has expired so that needs doing ASAP and having it booked in should mean I will be ok with the police.
JJ

you can legally drive you car to the MOT station WITHOUT a valid MOT as long as you going to the test center and nowhere else.

[Big Dunc]

JJ, its easy to do it yourself, you have done far more difficult work.

It is basicaly an oil change and a good coat of looking at.

I just write in my service books what I have done with the milage and date.  I dont stamp it, but I do keep receipts for the parts as proof it has been done.

It is even easy to reset the service indicator yourself, I think the details are on evolutions website.

[basilbrush]

MOT has expired so that needs doing ASAP and having it booked in should mean I will be ok with the police.
JJ

you can legally drive you car to the MOT station WITHOUT a valid MOT as long as you going to the test center and nowhere else.

I think you'll find you can drive to an MOT station on the day of a "prebooked" test without a valid certificate. If JJ uses his car at any time between now and then he will be liable for a nick and could be without insurance ??

[wh666]

Singh, basil, you can legally drive your car without MOT if you have a test arranged at a station like you said OR if you're taking the car to a garage to have work done to it.

Once or twice I've lapsed by a day, once I did get pulled with a car in the past and told them I was taking it to be welded, which was kinda true, I was, while doing other bits on the way.

Insurers are a pain, the problem is if you had an accident that wasn't en route from JJ's house to an MOT station or garage, then the insurers could try making the claim invalid.

[Problemchild]

i'm driving the missus' car anyway just to be safe.....

JJ

[Fox]

If you still have a FSH after all this time, I'd say it was a good idea to continue it.

Dependant on whether you ever want to sell your car on, think about whether a picky buyer will say 'ooh, they are all MB' or 'oh, they aren't all MB'.

I would suggest you keep a FSH because once it's broken it's broken forever. Whether you s2 or mb is up to you. I would prefer s2 to play with my car than mb but its whether those letters mean anything more to you.