Car dealership speaks out after an electric vehicle driver was charged for an oil and filter change – even though EVs don’t need them
- EV driver charged $445 for an engine oil change
- His Mercedes-Benz vehicle is fully electric
- Dealer said charge was an ‘innocent mistake’
A Mercedes-Benz dealership that charged a driver of an electric car for an oil change has insisted it was all an ‘innocent mistake’.
The EV’s 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.
While he had expected the service to be pricey, he hadn’t anticipated being charged $445 for an ‘engine oil and filter change’.
‘I thought I’d have a quick look at the invoice and $445! $445 for what? To perform an engine oil and filter change,’ he says in a video posted to social media.
‘The problem is, this car is fully electric. They charged me to change the oil and 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 – It’s definitely electric.’
A 3 Point Motors spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on Friday that the charge had been an ‘innocent mistake’.
The driver took his Mercedes-Benz EQA-250 to a dealership in Melbourne for the service (pictured)
‘A valued member of the 3 Point Motors team accidentally selected the wrong Job Code when printing the invoice for the Electric Vehicle Servicing,’ they said.
‘This was an innocent mistake that was discovered when the driver came to collect the vehicle and in no way did it alter the pricing or actual works performed.
‘We apologised and attempted to re-issue the correct invoice on the spot, but the driver advised he didn’t want it rectified.
‘We have since been in contact with the actual registered owner of the vehicle and provided them the correct invoice information.’
Matty said he initially hadn’t questioned the $700 invoice, but on closer inspection of the itemised invoice had realised the mistake.
Fully electric vehicles do not need engine oil or filter changes because they don’t have an internal combustion engine.
While he had expected the service to be pricey, he hadn’t anticipated being charged $445 for an ‘engine oil and filter change’ (pictured is the itemised invoice)
The 2021 Mercedes-Benz EQA 250 is the German carmaker’s second and most affordable all-electric model in Australia with a before on-road price of $76,800.
The electric car is powered by a 66.5kWh battery and provides a 480km range once fully charged.
A Mercedes-Benz dealer that charged a driver of an electric car for an oil change have insisted the charge had been an ‘innocent mistake’