LUXURY SERVICE
How much does it cost to service a Mercedes-Benz? Not as much as you would think!
BUYING A LUXURY CAR IS ONE thing, being able to service it is quite another. We’ve all heard stories of wallet busting service bills, of no free services, of parts costing an arm and a leg. But what’s the reality? Are luxury cars really that expensive to maintain?
To find out we headed over to Mercedes’ manufacturing facility in Chakan just outside Pune. The facility is unique, not just in India but even globally in that all of their operations are based at this one facility – manufacturing, sales, marketing, aftersales, communication and now a fullfledged training academy, an integrated parts warehouse and even a car modification centre for limited-edition models. Mercedes-Benz being the luxury market leader is also an ideal test case to gauge service costs, if their rivals haven’t already implemented the plans Mercedes are offering, they are sure to follow.
Santosh Iyer is the head of Mercedes-Benz India’s after sales operations, tasked with overhauling the commonly held belief that luxury car ownership is an expensive proposition. “The best part about luxury cars is they are fun to drive,” says Santosh. “Customers don’t use it to their potential because of maintenance issues. But with the service packages, you do not really have to worry about the wear and tear and enjoy driving to the fullest.”
So what are the service packages?
“Our cars come with three years warranty, we are the only ones in the luxury segment. The service packages take care of the ownership costs. Anything related to the engine, powertrain, including wiper blades is covered under the service package.”
Mercedes has two kinds of service packages, Compact and Compact Plus, the latter also including brakes and wheels under the scope of work. Tyres do not come under this, they have a separate insurance cover. The service packages are configurable and each model has around 45 different service packages, starting with two years and going up to ten years at different mileage schedules. For the A-Class a two-year package costs ` 49,000, going up to ` 2,72,000 for ten years. For an S-Class, the two-year package costs ` 81,000, going up to ` 9,47,000 for ten years. All of these packages are available and configurable online and this includes the AMG models with prices starting at ` 2,22,500 for the CLA 45 AMG for three years, going up to ` 7,45,000 for four years and 80,000km for the G 63 AMG (which, when you take into account its ` 2 crore price tag, is actually very reasonable).