Service B Shock - MBClub UK

320's Plenty · 27-04-2011, 09:51 AM

Well my car went in for it's B service yesterday, the dealer uses fixed price service charges, which for mine was £255.

I had a list of problems for them to look at, the dealer phoned late last night to say all the problems had been dealt with apart for two items, low speed steering grinding noise which they could not replicate and headlight beam setting, which they say is correct.

I was concerned about the lighting issue and queried this further, to which the dealer said they would change the bulbs, but I replied they are xenons, then the penny dropped with the service guy who said that I didn't have xenons but they were projector type and I was not the first who had had a problem with their lights and didn't know they were no xenons. We didn't test drive the car in the dark, as we bought it in the summer!

In all seriousness I would not have bought the car if I had of known this, but would have sourced another one.

Anyone, been fooled like this.

crockers · 27-04-2011, 09:55 AM

change your bulbs Phillips extreme. Will make a difference. But xenon was a cost extra on this car.

x332race · 27-04-2011, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 320's Plenty

In all seriousness I would not have bought the car if I had of known this, but would have sourced another one.

Anyone, been fooled like this.

Really....you would not have bought the car if you knew that it did not have zenon lights?

I have 2 mercs, one with and one without zenons, and to be honest in normal night conditions I would be hard pushed to notice the difference. Zenons nice to have but not a deal breaker for me.

npuk · 27-04-2011, 11:34 AM

Unless it was advertised wrongly as having Xenons then I dont see how you can say they fooled you into thinking it had Xenons.

fuzzer · 27-04-2011, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 320's Plenty

Well my car went in for it's B service yesterday, the dealer uses fixed price service charges, which for mine was £255.

I had a list of problems for them to look at, the dealer phoned late last night to say all the problems had been dealt with apart for two items, low speed steering grinding noise which they could not replicate and headlight beam setting, which they say is correct.

I was concerned about the lighting issue and queried this further, to which the dealer said they would change the bulbs, but I replied they are xenons, then the penny dropped with the service guy who said that I didn't have xenons but they were projector type and I was not the first who had had a problem with their lights and didn't know they were no xenons. We didn't test drive the car in the dark, as we bought it in the summer!

In all seriousness I would not have bought the car if I had of known this, but would have sourced another one.

Anyone, been fooled like this.

Easy way to tell is ....

Next to the headlamp switch , if theres a level adjuster 1,2,3 etc its halogen , if its missing its xenon.

Also lifting the hood , there should be 25000v stickers round the lights and also when turned on the lights should do a wee dance up and down and left and right ( if they are adaptive)

Also the car with xenons has headlamp wash.

And yes i wouldnt have bought your car without xenons either.

st13phil · 27-04-2011, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crockers

change your bulbs Phillips extreme.

My experience of the Philips Extreme bulbs in my W204 (I'm assuming that the OP's car is a W204) was that they did make a marginal difference on main beam, but precious little on dip beam which is what I really wanted

Also be aware that they have a considerably shorter life expectancy than the standard bulbs, so carry a spare!

BTB 500 · 27-04-2011, 02:20 PM

I put Philips X-treme bulbs in all three of our vehicles three and a half years ago, and only one (out of eight - the Vito has H7s) has blown so far. So I don't have any complaints about the life expectancy

crockers · 27-04-2011, 03:38 PM

Not sure on204 but on 203 it takes 4 bulbs. Did you change all 4?

Hammy · 07-05-2011, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crockers

Not sure on204 but on 203 it takes 4 bulbs. Did you change all 4?

£255 for a B service is cheap if my local MB dealer is anything to go by. I have just been charged £300 for the same service and this was only after haggling.Initially they wanted £360! - I received a customer feedback form afterwards and awarded them 5 stars for everything, but caveated that in the comments section, stating that at £300 for a glorified oil change it bloody should be excellent service!

markjay · 07-05-2011, 08:31 PM

I had Xenons on my previous car which i ran for 7 years. Don't have them on the Merc. they are a nice toy, but not buying the car because of that...? And clearly, if you haven't noticed anything so far5. e.g. insufficient light etc, then surely what you have now is fine?

A160DSB · 07-05-2011, 08:45 PM

Excuse the ignorance.... someone explain the difference between xeonons and normal lights?

billywhiz · 07-05-2011, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by npuk

Unless it was advertised wrongly as having Xenons then I dont see how you can say they fooled you into thinking it had Xenons.

Indeed a few non clued up salespeople were like this. I know this from experience - from the outside projector style do look very much like Xenons.

For me Xenons are very important - I drive a lot of dark country lanes and they DO make so much difference.

It was on the top 3 of my car shopping list to the point I'd never buy a car without them.

RAG · 07-05-2011, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billywhiz

Indeed a few non clued up salespeople were like this. I know this from experience - from the outside projector style do look very much like Xenons.

For me Xenons are very important - I drive a lot of dark country lanes and they DO make so much difference.

It was on the top 3 of my car shopping list to the point I'd never buy a car without them.

Couldn't agree more, I am surprised to hear people saying they cant tell the difference, an absolute must have for me, night and day difference (pardon the pun!).

markjay · 07-05-2011, 09:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A160DSB

Excuse the ignorance.... someone explain the difference between xeonons and normal lights?

The bulb commonly known as 'Xenon' is actually called HID (High Intensity Discharge ). It does use Xenon gas, but then so do other non-HID bulbs, which is why the term 'Xenon' can sometimes be misleading.

markjay · 07-05-2011, 09:48 PM

Headlamp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

27-04-2011, 09:51 AM	#1
320's Plenty Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Glos UK Car: C320CDi Sport Posts: 58	Service B Shock Well my car went in for it's B service yesterday, the dealer uses fixed price service charges, which for mine was £255. I had a list of problems for them to look at, the dealer phoned late last night to say all the problems had been dealt with apart for two items, low speed steering grinding noise which they could not replicate and headlight beam setting, which they say is correct. I was concerned about the lighting issue and queried this further, to which the dealer said they would change the bulbs, but I replied they are xenons, then the penny dropped with the service guy who said that I didn't have xenons but they were projector type and I was not the first who had had a problem with their lights and didn't know they were no xenons. We didn't test drive the car in the dark, as we bought it in the summer! In all seriousness I would not have bought the car if I had of known this, but would have sourced another one. Anyone, been fooled like this. __________________ Car C320CDI Sport, Obsidian Black, 18" AMG Alloys, Leather + heated seats, Command, Sunroof, etc.

27-04-2011, 09:55 AM	#2
crockers Hardcore MB Enthusiast Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: North Wilts Car: Volvo Polestar V60 D5 SE Lux Premium Geartronic Posts: 6,883	change your bulbs Phillips extreme. Will make a difference. But xenon was a cost extra on this car.

27-04-2011, 11:34 AM	#4
npuk Hardcore MB Enthusiast Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: London Car: A180 CDI Avantgarde SE (2008) Posts: 3,951	Unless it was advertised wrongly as having Xenons then I dont see how you can say they fooled you into thinking it had Xenons.

27-04-2011, 02:20 PM	#7
BTB 500 Hardcore MB Enthusiast Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Berkshire Car: '97 R129 SL500, '07 Vito 120 Dualiner Long, '96 Audi A4 TDi 110 SE Avant Posts: 13,515	I put Philips X-treme bulbs in all three of our vehicles three and a half years ago, and only one (out of eight - the Vito has H7s) has blown so far. So I don't have any complaints about the life expectancy

27-04-2011, 03:38 PM	#8
crockers Hardcore MB Enthusiast Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: North Wilts Car: Volvo Polestar V60 D5 SE Lux Premium Geartronic Posts: 6,883	Not sure on204 but on 203 it takes 4 bulbs. Did you change all 4?

07-05-2011, 08:31 PM	#10
markjay Hardcore MB Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: London Car: W203 C180K 2006 / Serviced by Olly PCS (BlackC55) / COMAND NTG2.5 retrofitted by Alfie and Richard Posts: 7,044	I had Xenons on my previous car which i ran for 7 years. Don't have them on the Merc. they are a nice toy, but not buying the car because of that...? And clearly, if you haven't noticed anything so far5. e.g. insufficient light etc, then surely what you have now is fine?

07-05-2011, 08:45 PM	#11
A160DSB Hardcore MB Enthusiast Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Canvey Island, Essex Car: A160 BRABUS Metallic Meteor Grey Posts: 384	Excuse the ignorance.... someone explain the difference between xeonons and normal lights?

07-05-2011, 09:48 PM	#15
markjay Hardcore MB Enthusiast Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: London Car: W203 C180K 2006 / Serviced by Olly PCS (BlackC55) / COMAND NTG2.5 retrofitted by Alfie and Richard Posts: 7,044	Headlamp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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