Appaling Customer Service From MB Colindale (Bodywork)

[un1l]

After purchasing my CLK beginning of Feb, i aimed to get the rust on the arches and bootlock done by the Mobilo warranty.
The previous owner had maintained a Full Dealer Service History and planned to get it done but was then given a company car.
I phoned MB Colindale and explained that i had only just purchased the car, would i be eligible. They said to bring the car in on a weekday and it should be fine.
I took a day off work and headed down there to the bodywork dept, initially a lady first said i was not eligible as my car was a '99, and the warranty is only valid for cars 2000 onwards.
I was aware that it was for cars 1998 onwards and stressed that i actually do know what i was talking about and have been through all this on the phone.
She apologized and said it was her mistake and took a look at the car.
She took all paperwork required and said it would take a week or so before i got an answer.
She then phoned me last week and said i needed to take the car in for a paint reading, to see how many layers of paint were on the car and if it had any bodywork/repairs done to it previously. Why she couldn't do this on the first occasion i do not know.
So my father managed to get the afternoon off work to take it down there and have the reading.
She has now just left me a voice message saying because i have owned the car for 6 months, i would have to wait.
What i am annoyed at is the fact that i have had to go out of my way to do all this..when they could have just told me i would have to wait.
She is now postponing the claim til 6 months of ownership.
For those who have had experience dealing/working with MB in this area, is there anything else i can do to have this push through?
Contacting MB directly perhaps?
Let me know please.
Thanks

 

[gbjeppm]

6 month wait for new owners is fairly standard afaik. Sorry. It is to stop traders getting cars fixed at MB's expense allegedly.

At least you should not have to go through that again in six months time, they should just book it in and do it. I would try and get a written agreement to that effect, or book it in now for six months time.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Sorry to hear of your frustrations. The 6 months of ownership thing is the way it works - been stipulated to others too.

I guess it's to stop traders buying cheap - getting MB to foot bill of repairing - and selling on at a profit. A trader would be unlikely to tie up capital so long.

 

[un1l]

Yes i am aware of the fact that they do need to wait for 6 months, surely they could have told me that on the 1st occasion - rather than giving me lip service all this time.
Oh well, back to the drawing board.

 

[gbjeppm]

Yes i am aware of the fact that they do need to wait for 6 months, surely they could have told me that on the 1st occasion - rather than giving me lip service all this time.
Oh well, back to the drawing board.

Well you would have had to go through all of this anyway either now or in six months, look on the bright side that it is done.

Now just make sure that they don't want to do it again in six months time

 

[television]

Collindale is a strange outlet ,, when we walked in there to order a new S class loaded the girl said to us" it would be best to make an appointment " "but if we cared to sign in they may have someone to see us within a few hours"

We left

 

[Joe_SP]

MB in Salisbury agreed to fix my corrosion on my W202 when I had only owned it for 4 months, it may be because I had bought the car from my father in law who had owned the vehicle since new.

It took a single 20 minute visit to the dealer in the morning, MB had agreed to cover the repairs 100% (on all the panels with original paint) by 2pm.

Maybe I got lucky?

 

[Flash]

After purchasing my CLK beginning of Feb, i aimed to get the rust on the arches and bootlock done by the Mobilo warranty.
The previous owner had maintained a Full Dealer Service History and planned to get it done but was then given a company car.
I phoned MB Colindale and explained that i had only just purchased the car, would i be eligible. They said to bring the car in on a weekday and it should be fine.
I took a day off work and headed down there to the bodywork dept, initially a lady first said i was not eligible as my car was a '99, and the warranty is only valid for cars 2000 onwards.
I was aware that it was for cars 1998 onwards and stressed that i actually do know what i was talking about and have been through all this on the phone.
She apologized and said it was her mistake and took a look at the car.
She took all paperwork required and said it would take a week or so before i got an answer.
She then phoned me last week and said i needed to take the car in for a paint reading, to see how many layers of paint were on the car and if it had any bodywork/repairs done to it previously. Why she couldn't do this on the first occasion i do not know.
So my father managed to get the afternoon off work to take it down there and have the reading.
She has now just left me a voice message saying because i have owned the car for 6 months, i would have to wait.
What i am annoyed at is the fact that i have had to go out of my way to do all this..when they could have just told me i would have to wait.
She is now postponing the claim til 6 months of ownership.
For those who have had experience dealing/working with MB in this area, is there anything else i can do to have this push through?
Contacting MB directly perhaps?
Let me know please.
Thanks

I know a MB approved bodyshop that will submit the claim regardless to the six month ownership nonsense as long as you have FMBSH but it is not local to Colindale!

If you want I will PM you the details.

 

[Rory]

You can understand the 6mth delay, but if the car qualifies otherwise then surely it makes more sense to do it sooner rather than later.

Or perhaps they work like the leasing companies do, and think that you might write the car off the next day so do the minimum possible.

 

[Rory]

Collindale is a strange outlet ,, when we walked in there to order a new S class loaded the girl said to us" it would be best to make an appointment " "but if we cared to sign in they may have someone to see us within a few hours"

We left

I love that kind of story - I'd be driving a BMW now if my local BMW dealer hadn't done a similar thing. To be fair, the showroom was full of people throwing orders at the salespeople, so they probably didn't need my order as well.

 

[maddog]

Why buy a used car with rust and then complain when the manufacturer doesnt bail you out ????

Bit of a cheek i reckon

 

[KLP 92]

DON'T use MB Colindale for paintwork.

They use M&A Coachworks for repairs, i had my E320 CDI done a month ago and 2 weeks later the rust bubbled back

I'm currently awaiting to be booked back in, have overspray removed from the inner wheel arch panel + 4 other body panels that weren't even painted.

 

[WLeg]

I recently acquired a 2000 W202. I went to MB in Hertford (my local) to pick up a new oil filer, and got chatting to the bodywork person there. I knew about a small rust patch on the wheel arch, which she agreed to look at. She then decided to look over the whole car. It is now booked in for almost every panel to be re-sprayed (very small spots under rubber seals, etc) next month. At the time of booking, I had owned the car 3 hours. I can only suggest that different dealers have a different attitude. – And recommend that you try speaking to Emma Luxford, at MB Hertford (MB Hertford sub out their body shop to Hilton Coachworks. www.hiltonaccidentrepair.co.uk).

 

[hawk20]

I recently acquired a 2000 W202. I went to MB in Hertford (my local) to pick up a new oil filer, and got chatting to the bodywork person there. I knew about a small rust patch on the wheel arch, which she agreed to look at. She then decided to look over the whole car. It is now booked in for almost every panel to be re-sprayed (very small spots under rubber seals, etc) next month. At the time of booking, I had owned the car 3 hours. I can only suggest that different dealers have a different attitude. – And recommend that you try speaking to Emma Luxford, at MB Hertford (MB Hertford sub out their body shop to Hilton Coachworks. www.hiltonaccidentrepair.co.uk).

I think yours was approved because the rust patches were small and could have been missed by the previous owner.

What the six month 'rule' is for, is to stop people buying an old rusty MB cheaply and then going to a dealer and expecting to have it fixed up free. Then being able to sell at a profit.

So if the rust is clearly visible, the previous owner should have seen it and got it fixed. And if it had full MBSH it would have been seen and noted at the last service. AND the buyer must have seen it when buying and should have got the price reduced to reflect the rust. As I understand it some exceptions are made when the rust is not clearly visible and yours appears to be just such a case.

 

[Rory]

Allegedly the decisions on whether to do the work or not are made by the same couple of people at MB UK so it ought not to make any difference which dealer you go to. As long as they are prepared to submit the claim, the decisions should be consistent.

 

[vijilants]

DON'T use MB Colindale for paintwork.

They use M&A Coachworks for repairs, i had my E320 CDI done a month ago and 2 weeks later the rust bubbled back

I'm currently awaiting to be booked back in, have overspray removed from the inner wheel arch panel + 4 other body panels that weren't even painted.

The sad thing about it is M&A are supposed to be their best bodywork shop in the London area !!!! The reason my car was sent to M&A was because of the big stink I kicked up re my car, so they sent it to their "best" bodyshop.

My rust was done via warantee by them....they wrecked my alloys, damaged my driver's window, all which had to be paid for by MB. They also took a very long time to do a very minor job. !!!!!

On the next rust episode, I refused to have the car sent to M&A so it was sent to a place in Dartford. This was even worse. The car was sent back to them three times.....once by my local MB dealer as he was not happy with the job....Very poor quality job, overspray everywhere, again damage to my alloys, mud not removed from behind the wheelarches, even though the rust was on the arches. Basically, a back street bodshop would have done a better job !!!!

It took nearly three months to sort out a job that was booked in for four weeks. Ultimately, my local dealer who initally was in charge of the job gave up and was lost for words, and from then onwards I had to deal with the MB bodywork manager for the UK to get my problems sorted out.

The moral of this tale......MB bodyshops work to a very low standard !!!!

 

[television]

Reading the above by desilva "Ouch"

 

[tromppost]

Go to Hughs of Beconfields. The body shop is second to none. You will get a lone car so its not to far out of your way...

 

[hawk20]

The moral of this tale......MB bodyshops work to a very low standard !!!!

The moral of the story is that the particular guys who did your car did a bad job. And, of course, it should not happen.

The MB bodyshop here did a superb job on my brother's car when someone backed into it. First rate. Triangle Sprays at Cadnam.

 

[television]

The moral of the story is that the particular guys who did your car did a bad job. And, of course, it should not happen.

The MB bodyshop here did a superb job on my brother's car when someone backed into it. First rate. Triangle Sprays at Cadnam.

I am not saying that you do not have a good eye young man, but who is the judge on whats good and bad,, I have seen such appalling work done on cars where the owners were happy and had not even seen the defects, evrything from ripples , orange peel, pin holes, water marks and the rest.
No matter who or how good the job done it can always be seen