A Melbourne Mercedes dealer has come under fire after a customer revealed that they charged him $445 for an "engine oil and filter change"... For his electric car.
One of the many advantages of electric vehicle ownership is that EVs are far easier to service than internal combustion-engined cars. Not only do they have much longer service intervals, but the cost of EV services are generally cheaper, as they have far fewer service items that need attending to: you don't have to worry about oil or oil filter changes, for example.
Well, in theory at least. One Melbourne-based Mercedes EV driver has taken to social media after he found that his local Mercedes dealer had charged him for an oil and filter change, despite the fact that – in case it wasn't completely obvious – EVs don't need engine oil and don't have oil filters.
The owner, Matty, took his two-year-old Mercedes-Benz EQA-250 to the 3 Point Motors dealership in Epping, Melbourne for a full service on April 11. It was only after inspecting his invoice that he realised the mistake had been made, prompting the confused EV owner to even go out and check that his car was indeed an EV... It had him second-guessing himself.
WATCH Matty reveal his EV service stuff-up below.
"The problem is, this car is fully electric. They charged me to change the oil and oil filter on a fully electric car. Not hybrid, full electric. I thought I'd just double-check this – I've been driving this car for two years; let's just check it again for the 14th time today – yes, it's definitely electric," he said in a viral video he posted to TikTok.
3 Point Motors has since said in a statement that it was an "innocent mistake" that occurred when a technician accidentally selected the wrong job code when printing the invoice for the luxury electric SUV, and have since refunded Matty.
This definitely smacks a bit of the old "top up your blinker fluid" gag... But really, it's not that funny. Matty might have caught the mistake, but we bet there would be other drivers who aren't quite as savvy who wouldn't question such an invoice.
RELATED: 13 Best Electric Cars In Australia 2023, As Tested & Driven By Our Editors
How do I service an electric car?
A Mercedes-Benz EQA 250 like Matty's. A subcompact luxury crossover SUV, it's closely related to the ICE-powered GLA. Prices start in Australia from AU$81,700. Image: Mercedes-Benz
EVs may be mechanically simpler than ICE vehicles and boast longer service intervals, but they're not completely immune from servicing.
While EVs might not need engine oil, they do need transmission fluid, coolant and brake fluid. You'll also need to top up your washer fluid like you would on a normal car. Thankfully, small service items like this are a cinch to do yourself.
Other service items like tyres, windscreen wipers, light bulbs and cabin air filters will also periodically need attending to. It's still a car, after all.
However, any problems with the battery array or software in the car can be near-on impossible to do yourself, and you'll need to take your EV to a dealer or a mechanic that specialises in EVs.
The post Australian Mercedes-Benz Dealer Caught Charging Electric Car Owner For Oil Change appeared first on DMARGE.
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