Robin Cox
Active Member
I agree with you Cayman, I am using the 0W-20 Amsoil and filter in my gen 2 V-8 now. They are rated for 25k or one year. I will change at 15k or one year.
Oil Filter Suggestion
- Thread starter kevinbakon
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Richard,
You could trade the MB in on a 2010 ST Adrenalin.
:blink:
You could trade the MB in on a 2010 ST Adrenalin.
:blink:Tom,
Mercedes dealers are not like most other car dealers. My dealer has an impeccable reputation and all of their Techs must be trained, tested, and certified by Mercedes Benz or they don't touch your car, and they don't work there. I am treated like I am the only customer they have that day, and I have full confidence that they will do what's right.
Mercedes has reputation of building top quality vehicles, technical expertise in their service departments, and insuring their customers that they will get the best service possible
Yes their service rates are expensive, but not that much more than any other dealer will charge and they do give you a free loaner (no extra charge or special warranty required). The $250 charge is not just for the oil change, it includes all the service checks they perform like belts, rotate tires, fluids, brakes, any software updates, etc. Most other brand dealerships will charge you $150-$200 for an annual service and you don't get a loaner, and they probably don't do half the checks they say they do, and what is done may be done by an unskilled monkey.
Yes, I could do the services cheaper, but at 63 years of age, I don't enjoy crawling around under a car anymore. I have not changed my own oil/filterl on any of my vehicles in over 10 years and I have no regrets. The only automotive work I have done besides my LeverLift business was to clean my K&N air filters and I did on brake job on my 2001 Sport Trac.
I only did that brake job because everyone was having so many problems with their brakes on their Sport Tracs at that time that I wanted to be sure it was done right, and see if I could spot anything that was causing the problems.
I don't mind having a hobby vehilce to work on when I feel like it, but I don't want to bother spending my time working on a vehicle because I have to....I don't even like taking time to cut my lawn, so I am going to hire a lawn service to do that.
Tom, at some point in your life you will want to slow down. You will find that there are many other things you will want to do with your time rather than changing oil on your car, or mowing the lawn. My wife died 2 years ago, I have grandchildren, I'm dating someone special, and want to do a lot more traveling (just got back from Hawaii 2 weeks ago and plan on going to Europe next year). In my mind, paying someone $250 a year to do the maintenance on my vehicle is cheap and frees my time to do those things that I want to do, and enjoy doing.
Rodger,
???? Why in the world would I ever want to do that ??? :blink:
I have a nice used 2002 Toyota Highlander with a 228 HP V6, which serves my hauling needs, can tow my 2000 lbs utility trailer, and it gets better mileage than either of my 2 Sport Trac's did, but I did not buy the Sport Tracs for fuel economy. I had two Sport Tracs over a period of about 8 years and enjoyed them both. I would recommend a Sport Trac to anyone in need of a new or used vehicle of that size and versatility. I did not have the need for that size vehicle anymore and frankly wanted a change.
I traded my 2003 Sport Trac in on my MB in January 2008, I got $1000 over what KKB or Edmunds quoted as Trade-In values, and I did it just before the Used SUV market went down the drain. I got a great deal on the MB which was significantly lower than the average price people in this area were paying for the same vehicle.
...Rich
Mercedes dealers are not like most other car dealers. My dealer has an impeccable reputation and all of their Techs must be trained, tested, and certified by Mercedes Benz or they don't touch your car, and they don't work there. I am treated like I am the only customer they have that day, and I have full confidence that they will do what's right.
Mercedes has reputation of building top quality vehicles, technical expertise in their service departments, and insuring their customers that they will get the best service possible
Yes their service rates are expensive, but not that much more than any other dealer will charge and they do give you a free loaner (no extra charge or special warranty required). The $250 charge is not just for the oil change, it includes all the service checks they perform like belts, rotate tires, fluids, brakes, any software updates, etc. Most other brand dealerships will charge you $150-$200 for an annual service and you don't get a loaner, and they probably don't do half the checks they say they do, and what is done may be done by an unskilled monkey.
Yes, I could do the services cheaper, but at 63 years of age, I don't enjoy crawling around under a car anymore. I have not changed my own oil/filterl on any of my vehicles in over 10 years and I have no regrets. The only automotive work I have done besides my LeverLift business was to clean my K&N air filters and I did on brake job on my 2001 Sport Trac.
I only did that brake job because everyone was having so many problems with their brakes on their Sport Tracs at that time that I wanted to be sure it was done right, and see if I could spot anything that was causing the problems.
I don't mind having a hobby vehilce to work on when I feel like it, but I don't want to bother spending my time working on a vehicle because I have to....I don't even like taking time to cut my lawn, so I am going to hire a lawn service to do that.
Tom, at some point in your life you will want to slow down. You will find that there are many other things you will want to do with your time rather than changing oil on your car, or mowing the lawn. My wife died 2 years ago, I have grandchildren, I'm dating someone special, and want to do a lot more traveling (just got back from Hawaii 2 weeks ago and plan on going to Europe next year). In my mind, paying someone $250 a year to do the maintenance on my vehicle is cheap and frees my time to do those things that I want to do, and enjoy doing.
Rodger,
???? Why in the world would I ever want to do that ??? :blink:
I have a nice used 2002 Toyota Highlander with a 228 HP V6, which serves my hauling needs, can tow my 2000 lbs utility trailer, and it gets better mileage than either of my 2 Sport Trac's did, but I did not buy the Sport Tracs for fuel economy. I had two Sport Tracs over a period of about 8 years and enjoyed them both. I would recommend a Sport Trac to anyone in need of a new or used vehicle of that size and versatility. I did not have the need for that size vehicle anymore and frankly wanted a change.
I traded my 2003 Sport Trac in on my MB in January 2008, I got $1000 over what KKB or Edmunds quoted as Trade-In values, and I did it just before the Used SUV market went down the drain. I got a great deal on the MB which was significantly lower than the average price people in this area were paying for the same vehicle.
...Rich
They are like Land Rover dealers. At the rates they charge, they can take their time.
Kia and Hyundai has been rated higher in quality than MB has. When Diamler purchased Chrysler, the Mercedes brand went to crap. Anymore, you are paying for the name. I am not saying MB's are crap, but they are not much better than what is out there, and according to the link below, says they are worse than most.
Dad slowed down when he couldn't do it anymore. I pay him back for teaching me how to work on vehicles by working on his. I installed a hitch on his Taurus and I will be welding up a custom mount for his mobility scooter. Dad will be 77 in February. I refuse to let him give up on a vehicle he loves and I refuse to let old age stop him from getting around. The more active he is, the healthier he will be.
If I do it right, my kids will repay me for me teaching them how to take care of themselves and how to work on cars. I will never depend on someone to charge me $250.00 to change oil.
Your results may vary.
Tom
It appears that the article was written before Daimler dumped Chrysler, and who relies on JD Powers or Consumer Reports when buying any vehicle??? The best vehicles I have ever owned were trashed by both of those so-called unbiased critics. That includes the Sport Trac and my Mercedes, even though the article was written before my 2008 C300 was introduced.
Some of the worst cars I ever purchased were giving glowing reviews in magazines and they were all BS, especially the 1971 Chevy Vega !!! They reported that the unsleeved alluminum block was good for 100K+ miles when in reality many engines never made it 10K miles before they started drinking oil, and lots of it. I used to drive around with a case of oil and 16 spare spark plugs and have to change plugs and add a quart of oil during a 100 mile trip.
It appears that the feedback about the author and that article were overwhelmingly negative. So I don't really take much stock in other's opinions.
BTW, changing oil is not a vigorous excercise and not likely to do much to keep anyone physically fit.
I did all my oil changes for many years, but now to me it is a very boring, mundane task that requires too much of my time to purchase the oil and filter, change the oil and filter, refill with oil, and then taking the dirty oil to the proper disposal facility. It's not a matter of being too lazy to do it. I just don't want to spend my time doing that anymore.
Lastly, Mercedes sales have always been good, and continue to be strong dispite the economy. My MB was built in Germany, however the 2008 C300 is in such demand that MB had to open another assembly plant in South Aftica to keep up with the sales demand.
That would indicate to me that their customers have never read Consumer Reports or JD Powers' opinions about MB. Or they think like I do, that they are highly bias and nothing but BS. Remember that you drive an early model Sport Trac that was clobbered by JD Powers, Consumer Reports as well as most other automotive reviews, yet you stick to your guns that it is a good vehicle. Perhaps your bias based on the fact that MB is not American made?
Anyone who would imply that no MB vehicle is worth buying is clearly carrying a big chip on their shoulder. Anyone who never drove a MB but just based his opinion on JD Powers or Consumer Reports is not a very objective reporter, and their opinion is worthless as is the article they wrote.
Actually since the article appeared in the "Business" section, I can only assume it was not truely an automotive review, but more of a Financial/Business opinion about the company, and seemed to imply that Daimler failed to improve Chrysler and that hurt the quality of MB?? I think MB had major problems getting quality in to Chrysler vehicles and keeping the cost down to be competitive. They were stuck with keeping Chrysler as a cheaper brand with all it's quality issues just as it was. That's why they dump Chrysler as fast as they did.
Of course, Chryler exec's claim that Daimler extracted all the value out of the Chrysler and then dump the debris they didn't want??? What did Daimler gain from Chrysler who has been going belly up about 3 times in the past 40 years !!
...Rich
Some of the worst cars I ever purchased were giving glowing reviews in magazines and they were all BS, especially the 1971 Chevy Vega !!! They reported that the unsleeved alluminum block was good for 100K+ miles when in reality many engines never made it 10K miles before they started drinking oil, and lots of it. I used to drive around with a case of oil and 16 spare spark plugs and have to change plugs and add a quart of oil during a 100 mile trip.
It appears that the feedback about the author and that article were overwhelmingly negative. So I don't really take much stock in other's opinions.
BTW, changing oil is not a vigorous excercise and not likely to do much to keep anyone physically fit.
I did all my oil changes for many years, but now to me it is a very boring, mundane task that requires too much of my time to purchase the oil and filter, change the oil and filter, refill with oil, and then taking the dirty oil to the proper disposal facility. It's not a matter of being too lazy to do it. I just don't want to spend my time doing that anymore.
Lastly, Mercedes sales have always been good, and continue to be strong dispite the economy. My MB was built in Germany, however the 2008 C300 is in such demand that MB had to open another assembly plant in South Aftica to keep up with the sales demand.
That would indicate to me that their customers have never read Consumer Reports or JD Powers' opinions about MB. Or they think like I do, that they are highly bias and nothing but BS. Remember that you drive an early model Sport Trac that was clobbered by JD Powers, Consumer Reports as well as most other automotive reviews, yet you stick to your guns that it is a good vehicle. Perhaps your bias based on the fact that MB is not American made?
Anyone who would imply that no MB vehicle is worth buying is clearly carrying a big chip on their shoulder. Anyone who never drove a MB but just based his opinion on JD Powers or Consumer Reports is not a very objective reporter, and their opinion is worthless as is the article they wrote.
Actually since the article appeared in the "Business" section, I can only assume it was not truely an automotive review, but more of a Financial/Business opinion about the company, and seemed to imply that Daimler failed to improve Chrysler and that hurt the quality of MB?? I think MB had major problems getting quality in to Chrysler vehicles and keeping the cost down to be competitive. They were stuck with keeping Chrysler as a cheaper brand with all it's quality issues just as it was. That's why they dump Chrysler as fast as they did.
Of course, Chryler exec's claim that Daimler extracted all the value out of the Chrysler and then dump the debris they didn't want??? What did Daimler gain from Chrysler who has been going belly up about 3 times in the past 40 years !!
...Rich
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