The Complete Cost Of Maintaining A Mercedes-Benz

When you’re in the market for a new or used Mercedes-Benz, you’ll eventually wonder what a Mercedes-Benz generally costs in maintenance. In this blog, we’ve done our absolute best to give you a complete rundown of the costs and what you can expect for different models and model years. Let’s start with a quick answer:

Mercedes-Benz are one of the most expensive cars to own in terms of maintenance which costs an average of $908 per year. This is much more than the $646 average for all car brands. Mercedes parts are more expensive than average to replace, and they need to be replaced frequently. This means Mercedes is more costly than other luxury car brands such as Cadillac ($768 per year) and Lincoln ($879 per year).

However, that certainly doesn’t tell the whole story. Below, we’ll start by looking at the annual maintenance cost of the most popular models and their corresponding model years. Furthermore, We’ll look at the eight most common service points and discuss what a Mercedes-Benz costs you in this regard. We’ll also compare the annual maintenance costs of a Mercedes-Benz to 23 other car brands and discuss why a Mercedes-Benz is considered cheap or expensive in maintenance. Read on!

How Expensive Are Mercedes Models To Maintain

First of all, we feel it’s essential to understand how much each model, and different model years, cost per year in terms of maintenance. For this, we’ve taken data from Repairpal. We’ve compiled this data in the two tables below.

In total, we analyzed seven popular Mercedes-Benz models. For most models, we’ve gathered the maintenance costs associated with older models than 2018. This is because newer models are still under warranty and have fewer problems overall, which means not enough data is gathered.

Though it’s a bit of a subjective observation, the Benz also typically has fewer problems than other Mercedes lines like the W204 or the larger ML350.

In the case of the G-class vehicles, you can see we’ve been able to gather data of cars made between 2017 – 2015. This is because Mercedes introduced these cars in the American market in 2015. Furthermore, newer cars don’t have enough data because they’re under warranty, and not many of them are sold because they’re premium vehicles.

We found that both the GLE, GLC, GLS, and GLA all have significant maintenance costs. Of course, this is because we’re talking about luxury, larger SUVs that have much higher maintenance costs than other cars. However, the annual maintenance costs of $1,000+ are something to pay attention to.

Year	GLE350	GLC300	GLS450	GLA250
2018	x	x	x	x
2017	$1,049	$947	$1,357	$898
2016	$1,074	$1,010	x	$878
2015	x	x	x	$926

Luckily, we’ve some more data for the C-, E-, and S-class vehicles, especially the models mentioned below. This is because these models have been on the market significantly longer than the G-class vehicles, which means more data has been gathered.

We see here that, once again, these vehicles have significant maintenance costs associated with them. Especially the S-class is incredibly expensive. However, this is to be expected because the S-class is the premium model of Mercedes-Benz, which is already a premium brand.

The maintenance cost of the C-class and E-class are high, but we would expect to see these numbers for sedans of a premium car brand.

Year	C300	E350	S550
2018	x	x	x
2017	$729	x	$1,192
2016	$656	$716	$1,250
2015	$807	$795	$1,237
2014	$729	$833	$1,281
2013	$794	$811	$1,272
2012	$833	$728	$1,283
2011	$688	$810	$1,186
2010	$733	$771	$1,248
2009	$815	$929	$1,451
2008	$781	$888	$1,455
2007	x	$888	$1,344

Are Parts And Services Expensive For A Mercedes?

Besides knowing the annual maintenance costs per model and model year, we feel it’s also essential to give a cost estimation of the most frequently carried out maintenance tasks. Any Mercedes will have problems and require regular maintenance. This is because this gives you an understanding of how expensive Mercedes-Benz is when it’s time to replace some of its key components.

When reading the subheading below, please keep in mind that Mercedes are generally larger cars which means their maintenance cost and the replacement costs of certain elements will always be higher. This is a factor that comes into play.

Furthermore, we compared the estimated cost for each repair/maintenance task for the GLA250, GLE300, C300, and S550 because this is a representative selection for the complete Mercedes-Benz line-up.

Oil Change

The average cost for an oil change in a Mercedes is between $143 – 207. The Mercedes S550 costs the most, with an oil change costing between $176 – $207. The GLA250 has the most affordable oil change costing a maximum of $155.

On average, an oil change costs $40 – $60 for conventional oil and $60 – 120 for full synthetic oil. What type of oil your Mercedes needs depends on the model; however, most Mercedes do need synthetic oil. This means oil changes for a Mercedes are much more expensive than average.

Brake Pads

Replacing the brake pads on a Mercedes costs between $177 – 366. The GLE350 and the S550 have the most expensive brake pads costing more than $287 per axle. Replacing the brake pads on a GLA250 costs a maximum of $203, which is reasonable.

On average, brake pad replacement costs between $150 – $300 per axle. This means that Mercedes uses brake pads that are, generally, more expensive to replace. This is partly because they’re large SUVs or sedans.

Filters

Numerous filters need to be changed from time to time on a Mercedes. The fuel filter is arguably the most expensive one. Replacing this filter costs between $253 – 313. Replacing an air filter costs around $97 – 187, and replacing the cabin air filter will set you back $95 – 161.

Typically, replacing a fuel filter costs between $80 – $150. This means the replacement cost of a Mercedes fuel filter is very expensive compared to the average cost.

The costs for an air filter and cabin air filter are also more expensive than average. However, we know that many of these filters on premium vehicles last much longer (especially the fuel filter can sometimes last the lifetime of the car), which is a difference that should be mentioned.

Battery

Replacing the battery of a Mercedes generally costs between $328 – 576. Mercedes tend to have expensive batteries, and labor costs for such a task in a Mercedes also add up quickly.

On average, replacing a car battery costs between $120 – $240, meaning that Mercedes have costly batteries. This is once again mainly due to their size and the fact that very few people will install a budget battery into their premium Mercedes.

Timing Belt/Chain

Replacing the timing belt or chain on your Mercedes doesn’t need to happen too often, but it is relatively expensive to do so. Expect to pay between $500 – $1,000 to have a timing chain replaced on a Mercedes.

On average, replacing a timing belt will cost between $500 and $1,000. This means replacing a timing belt or chain on a Mercedes has a pretty standard price.

Tires Rotation And Replacement

Tire rotation will happen just as frequently on a Mercedes as it will happen on any other car brand. Expect to pay around $50 for this. However, replacing tires is a different beast. Replacing tires on a Mercedes will generally cost $200 – $300 per tire, excluding labor.

On average, a single tire costs $50 on the low end for sedans and smaller cars, whereas it can cost up to $500 per tire for SUVs and trucks that require a premium tire. Mercedes aren’t budget-friendly, but they also aren’t that expensive.

Spark Plugs

Replacing the spark plugs also needs to happen from time to time. For a Mercedes, you can expect to pay between $220 – $519 to have a set of spark plugs replaced. The GLE350 is the most expensive Mercedes; replacing a set of spark plugs costs $437 – 519.

On average, it costs $75 – $250 to replace a set of spark plugs. Once again, Mercedes are very expensive compared to what the average price would be.

Headlight Bulbs

Headlight bulbs generally last 3-5 years before they burn out. Replacing them costs between $60 – $373 per set of headlight bulbs on a Mercedes. The S550 seems to be the most expensive car to do this on, costing between $240 – $373.

On average, replacing headlight bulbs costs between $100 – $150 for a set, making Mercedes more expensive than average.

Are Mercedes More Or Less Expensive Compared To Other Brands?

We also feel it’s important to know how expensive Mercedes’s are compared to other car brands. We compiled data from Repairpal and put it in the table below to get this clear. This table compares the average maintenance cost of all Mercedes and all model years to that of 23 other car brands.

As you can see immediately, Mercedes is pretty far down the list, which means they’re expensive to maintain compared to all other car brands. However, comparing Mercedes to Asian carmakers that do not focus on premium cars is not fair. Therefore, we need to compare Mercedes to similar brands.

In this case, we see that Mercedes is still one of the most expensive to maintain annually. On average, a Mercedes costs $908 per year to maintain. This is higher than Lincoln ($879) and Cadillac ($783 per year). However, it’s not as high as BMW, which costs $986 per year to maintain.

Brand	Average Annual Maintenance Costs
Honda	$428
Toyota	$441
Mazda	$462
Hyundai	$468
Kia	$474
Nissan	$500
Acura	$501
Mitsubishi	$535
Lexus	$551
Buick	$608
Chrysler	$608
Subaru	$617
Dodge	$634
Jeep	$634
Infiniti	$638
Chevrolet	$649
Volkswagen	$676
GMC	$744
Volvo	$769
Ford	$775
Cadillac	$783
RAM	$858
Lincoln	$879
Mercedes	$908
BMW	$968

Why Are Mercedes So Expensive To Maintain?

After reading the information we’ve written above, we think it’s safe to conclude that Mercedes-Benz’s are expensive cars to maintain.

But why is this the case?

First of all, as mentioned earlier, Mercedes cars are generally larger cars which means they need larger parts and/or parts that can carry a heavier weight. Furthermore, wear-and-tear on the cars is harsher, meaning replacement is needed quicker.

It wouldn’t be fair to conclude Mercedes are extremely expensive when car brands like BMW and Lincoln, arguably Mercedes’s closest competitors in the US market, have similar maintenance costs.

Furthermore, Mercedes are luxury vehicles which means they have newer and more complex components (such as electronics and engines). They also have suspensions and steering components built for performance which can lead to further increased costs. This means that replacing them isn’t easy and that this requires skill and time, which increases the amount of money that needs to be spent.

Sources

• https://repairpal.com/mercedes-benz