Value of a Full Service History

yellowtang11

Nobbie1967 said:

Presumably this means the manufacturers warranty is now invalid? Is it possible to get it back into a manufacturers warranty with an inspection, as this would allay future purchasers concerns. If you might sell in a year or two I’d steer clear as it could be a hassle to shift an expensive newish car without FSH.

I would have assumed so however waiting to hear back from MB. I believe anyway that if you service your car directly with MB they chuck in a free 1 year warranty from previous experience with a previous car. 

yellowtang11

frost500 said:

If you are paying £20k+, at the very least it should have Full Main Dealer Service History. It is a complicated piece of modern precision engineering. All it requires is routine servicing. The correct oil, replaced at the correct intervals, is absolutely vital to the engines economy/performance/reliability. If there is no evidence that this has been done, then presume it hasn't. And also presume the oil will be doing nothing now, the engine will be carbonising, the turbo vanes will be sticking, and the emission control systems will start to be clogged soon.

No amount of catch up servicing can put right the "damage" that has already started to occur.

Walk away.

Valid advice, thank you. I do appreciate that modern cars are built very differently from older and more solid cars.

If the dealership can provide an oil and filter change service invoice then would you say "hmmm maybe ok then" or would you only go for a Main Dealer Service History?

AdrianC

yellowtang11 said:

If the dealership can provide an oil and filter change service invoice then would you say "hmmm maybe ok then" or would you only go for a Main Dealer Service History?

I'd want absolute assurance that the manufacturer warranty wasn't compromised.

Look, it's a bloody expensive car.
It's also a fairly generic car - nothing particularly exotic or rare.
There are 365 2018 and newer C-class coupes on Autotrader between £20 and £27.5k, and 221 on Merc UK's approved-used search.
Sure, not all of them will meet your spec-sheet tickbox. But a lot will.
If you think one particular one isn't absolutely bob-on in some way, DON'T BUY IT. Wait. There WILL be another.

If t'were me buying an in-manufacturer-warranty £20k+ used car, I wouldn't even be considering anything outside the manufacturer's AUC scheme. Because the perennial question is why they don't want to retail that car as an AUC... What caused it to fail the checks...?

Sandtree

You also need to consider what your plans are for the vehicle... FSH and in particular manufacturer FSH adds less to older vehicles than newer ones. If you are going to keep the car for a decade the lack of a FSH would be less of a worry than if you were intending to keep it a year or two and then switch cars again. 

MEM62

yellowtang11 said:

Herzlos said:

You need to assume that if there's no receipt for it, then it hasn't happened. What should it have had in the 2.5 years since it's been registered? What's the service interval like? It's always possible it's only meant to have been serviced once by now.
I take it it's not a Mercedes franchise?

Unfortunately it's our friends at Evans Halshaw 

There's reason enough to walk away  :-:smile:

ontheroad1970

yellowtang11 said:

Herzlos said:

You need to assume that if there's no receipt for it, then it hasn't happened. What should it have had in the 2.5 years since it's been registered? What's the service interval like? It's always possible it's only meant to have been serviced once by now.
I take it it's not a Mercedes franchise?

Valid advice. As a previous Mercedes owner I believe it is 10,000 miles or 1 year, whichever comes first. Unfortunately it's our friends at Evans Halshaw 

Close - It is 12,000 miles or 12 months.  In my experience, MB allow a 1 month/1,000 mile grace period.

Goudy

Are you really considering buying a car for 20 odd thousand and then paying to servicing it, yet the car cost twice that new and the original owner couldn't be bothered?
Why don't you spend the same money to buy one the last owner kept the servicing up to date and save what it'll cost you on the service the other one's in obvious need of.

Herzlos

AdrianC said:

If t'were me buying an in-manufacturer-warranty £20k+ used car, I wouldn't even be considering anything outside the manufacturer's AUC scheme. Because the perennial question is why they don't want to retail that car as an AUC... What caused it to fail the checks...?

It could have been traded in to Evans Halshaw and hasn't been anywhere near the MB network. But that may raise even more questions since EH is mostly Ford.

yellowtang11

Thank you all for the excellent advice and comments. I have taken the majority view and stayed away from the car (and Evans Halshaw!). I will be looking elsewhere. Thanks.