Luxury Car Means Luxury Repair Prices

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Dear Car Talk

Apr 21, 2015 (Archives)

8 Comments

luxury vehicles

Dear Car Talk:

I am an old fellow (77), but not yet senile, I think. Every time I take my 2007 Mercedes Benz ML350 to the dealer, I am amazed by the high maintenance cost. The first time I got an oil change, I was charged for two oil filters, both of which were "fleece" filters. I pointed out what I thought was an error for charging me for two filters, but they told me that my engine has two. This past week I took the car in, and they said one shock absorber was leaking and needed replacing, but both should be replaced at the same time. The cost for replacing two rear shocks was an astronomical $1,200. About half was labor and the other half parts. Why does this cost so much? The car has only about 21,000 miles, and as you can see, my cost per mile (3,000 miles per year) is really high. I hope, as a senior citizen, I am not getting "fleeced."

-- Marshall

No more than other Mercedes owners, Marshall.

When you buy a "luxury" car, part of the deal is that you're going to pay luxury prices for maintenance and repair -- especially at the dealership. Who else do you think is going to pay for all those guys in white lab coats and the wide-screen TV in the waiting room?

If you had, say, a Ford Explorer, your bill for two shocks would have been $600. But, of course, then you wouldn't have the prestige of paying twice as much for the Mercedes shocks. 

At this point, since you're no longer under warranty, your best option might be to find an independent mechanic for routine service and repairs. While you still might want to go to the dealer for anything unusual or complicated -- since the dealer knows these cars better than anybody -- there's no reason that Dieter and Fritz down at German Auto and Hummel Figurine Emporium can't do your oil and filter changes, scheduled maintenance, basic repairs, and brakes, tires and shocks. And they'll do it cheaper than the dealer will. 

They'll still have to buy certain Mercedes parts from a nearby dealer. But they may also have experience with aftermarket parts that they feel are just as good, and are a lot cheaper.

If you need help finding a trustworthy mechanic, try checking out our Mechanics Files (www.mechanicsfiles.com). That's a database of mechanics who have been personally recommended by other readers of the column and listeners to the radio show. Put in your ZIP code and look for a highly recommended shop that specializes in German cars, and see what comes up near where you live. 

You might not get free schnitzel in the waiting room like you're used to at the dealership, Marshall, but your American Express card won't be smoking quite so much after you pay your bill. 

• 8 comments
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BillytheKid• a day ago

Typical for MB. I have several friends with them as well as BMW and maintenance is a monetary nightmare. This is the exact reason I quit purchasing luxo vehicles years ago and started purchasing Toyota Avalons. They are more comfortable than the German brands and cost very little to maintain.

hyhybt• 8 hours ago

I'd be more worried about a scam from being told I needed shocks at all at such a low mileage than from hearing the price.

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Jerryg50• 9 hours ago

I previously looked in to the cost of operating a Mercedes, and other high end German cars. They are great for prestige. As for the overall lifespan from what I have seen and other family members experienced they did not fair much better than the mid to upper end of the Japanese cars. I rarely see any of these higher end German cars on the road that are older than about five to six years. The reason is "too expensive to keep going". But I see many Japanese and American vehicles on the road that are in the range of eight to ten years old. Especially the American type vehicles, they are very reasonable to keep going.

I now have a higher end Murano. The ride is terrific. It has been very dependable. It is a bit more expensive than the average Japanese SUV for service, but it is a lot more reasonable to keep up than any of the German vehicles. I kept the last Murano for 9 years. When I traded it in it was in very good condition. I wanted a new one to have the newer technology and to have a bit of a change.

I am in to my second year with the newer Murano that I bought. I do the oil changes and the general maintenance at the dealer only. I don't think I even spent much more than a thousand dollars on it over the two years. It only needed oil and filter changes. I once changed the wiper blades because I damaged the wipers when breaking some ice off of them.

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Gigem85• 17 hours ago

A friend of mine bought a Hyundai. He was so proud of how little the car cost for what he got. When things started going wrong and breaking you could see why they sell the car so cheap. They make it back on the repairs. WOW. I was surprised how much his repair bills were.

•Gigem85• 17 hours ago

My 85 year old dad has a Mercedes. I think the car is 5 years old and has less than 20,000 miles on it. When he gets the maintenance reminder he dutifully takes it to the MB dealer and pays the high prices. BUT he does get other service items done at no charge. When his washer fluid is low they fill it for free. They have washed it several times for free. They have checked and done minor service for free. I know they aren't really "free" when you look at how much they charge for service.

With any luxury or high end car, if you can't afford the service and repairs you shouldn't buy the car.

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Robecology• 19 hours ago

Not necessarily. Go test drive a Tesla. Ask customers and Tesla owners if maintenance is expensive. You'll be in for a surprise, if you're expecting multiple filters to replace, fluids to check, etc. They warrantee nearly everything on the car....it's phenomenal.

•BillytheKid Robecology • 19 hours ago

For $100,000 I would expect to have a full massage and body wax while I wait for scheduled maintenance.

Three_to_Five• 21 hours ago

This is actually why most luxury brands started including "free scheduled maintenance" with all of their leased vehicles. People realized the oil changes were so expensive that they stopped doing them altogether because they were only going to drive the cars for 3 years. The luxury dealers were left with 3-year-old cars with burned up engines that had never had an oil change. The result? Factory free maintenance.