Yesterday, I took the Mercedes SL550 in for its first scheduled service. This is basically an oil change.
Mercedes-Benz require their cars to be serviced every 5,000 miles or one year, whichever comes first. In my case, the year came first. In the 12 months since getting the car, I have put only 4,600 miles on it. Yes, I need to do more Driving with John Chow.
The oil change came to $210, which, quite frankly, is the most expensive oil change I have ever seen. The car takes nine quarts of high-grade synthetic oil which cost $52. There was also a filter that cost $23. The rest of the bill was all labour. I was able to reduce the bill to $170 by using a $40 coupon. Still, $170 for an oil change is a record for me. You do get some amazing service when you pay $170 for an oil change. The customer lounge is beautifully appointed. They have free Starbucks coffee, free WiFi, and even free shoe shine!
One thing I can say. Fletcher Jones Motorcars is making a killing off their employees. The service couldn’t have taken more than 30 minutes to perform, yet the bill for labor came to $124. I doubt Mr. Jones pays his service people $248 an hour, or even $24.80 an hour. I wonder if the employees feel they’re being taken advantage of? All I know if is, I wouldn’t be very happy if someone was billing me out at ten or more times what they pay me. This is one of the reasons I’m my own boss. I control what I get paid.
If you want to control what you get paid, download my new ebook, the Ultimate Online Profit Model, and find out how you too can afford a $130,000 Mercedes-Benz, and $210 oil changes. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go for a drive.
