Are Mercedes still the brand I lusted after when I was poor?

[ian11]

I posted a couple of earlier posts praising my local dealer but...

following the W129 100k (km) service I had a list of pickups and was told I'd get a callback within 48hrs to make arrangements.

No callback. Given a pickup was 'shot front pads' I took the car off the road.

Still no contact. Turns out representative had gone on a 3 week holiday without actioning, no one else able to action (minor annoyance)

Keep getting calls dropped by reception. "Everyones at lunch. Callback another time. handset down" no jest. (annoyance now aggravation)

Drove 40miles to find out the score. Parked up, some person decided to snarl at me and 'swat' his hand to show me that I wasn't entitled to park in the waiting area and would need to go long term. Swatting hands, not good.

Told to take a long term seat. No-one interested. Eventually went to back end of dealer complex and bought the merc parts. (gave up)

Parts fitted by known 3rd party in 2hrs for £15. (redemption)

I'm really miffed about this. The SL may be old but I offered MB a blank cheque and they effectively refused it. It's not the first time either. Last time ended with MB corporate splitting hairs.

Really....I'm tripping over myself to enjoy the legend but more and more the legend has become a myth.

Are Mercedes still the brand I lusted after when I was poor?

Will a '10 SL run for 16yrs with just minor oil seeps? Will a '10 E cover the distance to the moon without belching?

Why is it that I will buy a 90s MB without flinching but when I see an 06 model I have grave misgivings?

I don't mean to criticise other members cars...they are gorgeous pieces of metal...but I'm not sure they are carved from granite any longer.

 

[wemorgan]

Are Mercedes still the brand I lusted after when I was poor?

Having recently worked at a British OEM it was interesting to hear the CEO views on dealerships. It was clear to him that a premium product needs to be sold in a premium product environment with all the necessary staff training. But acknowledged a change in culture would take years to implement. It sounds as if the staff training aspect of your experience was very lacking. It's worth an email to the dealership manager.

 

[219]

I think I'd go over an above the dealership following such appallingly rude and sub-standard treatment which , I'm glad to say , is neither the norm nor acceptable .

I've never had anyone so much as look down their nose at me when I have gone into numerous Scottish dealerships in any of my older cars - ranging from 'humble' 190E's , through W114,W123 and W124 models to my W126 lately , nor 15 to 20 years ago when I ran the Ponton as my daily driver : in fact , I used to find that the staff identified with and cared more about an enthusiast-owned older model , came out to admire and compliment them and generally went out of their way to be helpful - this extended to parts staff at Western in Edinburgh GIVING me 'old stock' parts which were taking up shelf space , spending time on the phone to the factory tracing replacements for 'unobtainable' parts , printing out sheets from the old microfische system , and workshop staff kindly shrinking on a new ring gear I had bought FOC ! All just because they liked to see the older cars being kept running . I have had similar experience recently with all three branches of MB Glasgow (Stratstone , and when they went under Reg Vardy's umbrella ) , also Glen Henderson in Ayr whose partsman spent about an hour determining the correct updated springs for my W126 ( and got them from Germany for me in just over 24 hours ! ) .

Such disgusting treatment as you have been subjected to ought to be complained about to the highest level - even escalated to someone very senior in Stuttgart - until you get an apology .

Especially since you drive one of their 'flagship' products ; although even the driver of a basic 190D , or an adolescent schoolboy just looking for brochures , does not deserve to be treated the way you were

 

[MOCAŠ]

Sorry to hear of your experience, and I hope you manage to find a dealer that meets/exceeds you expectations. MB dealers get a bad enough press these days, without them going out of their way to live up to it.

I can endorse Pontoneer's sentiments that they're not all the same – I've always had exemplary service from my dealership, and have stuck with them for the past 12 years as a result. On the other hand, my Škoda dealership is next to useless, again contrary to the general perception.

 

[Smarties]

A shadow of it's former self I'm affraid to say. And as for the dealers...

 

[The Boss]

id say its not what it used to be, but as others have said, there are some exceptional individuals who work for them who go out of their way to make you feel like the most important person at that moment.

That is what matters!

M.B Milton Keynes are in my books, one of the best i have come across.

 

[ianrandom]

I dont hear much good about the dealers unfortunately. What a shame. Its a sure way for the marque to end up down the toilet.
In my experience though, the parts dept of the Reading dealer i went to, apprehensively at first, have been really helpful. I've had a lot of odd little requests, but they always treat me with good humour and spend time digging around to find what i need.
I havent needed to experience the sales side of things and would hope not to really..

 

[Tiff]

I've never had anyone so much as look down their nose at me when I have
Especially since you drive one of their 'flagship' products ; although even the driver of a basic 190D , or an adolescent schoolboy just looking for brochures , does not deserve to be treated the way you were

Thanks Pontoneer.. You have put me firmly in my place on the bottom rung of the Benz ladder...

I don't use dealerships myself. Never have. I would kill to have some of the positions these guys have, and they seem to be so indifferent to customers it just makes me want to rip their cufflinks off. No interest at all in the products they sell.When you see sales or parts jobs advertised the sales part is what is stressed. What makes dealerships think if you have a track record in selling conservatories, you have ample qualities to advise someone to go for a C class instead of a 3 series?

I will vouch for Glen Henderson in Ayrshire too though. When I got my 190D, I found they were the original supplying dealer. I sent off an email asking if they had any service history etc. The sent back a very nice letter giving me the info they had, an original rear screen sticker and tax disc holder, and also the number for the parts department and a promise of a discount for parts ordered. Great service, and If I do ever need to get any M-B parts, they will get my cash. A little personal touch is all it takes.

 

[trapperjohn]

Now tht is the sort of service we like to hear about from Mercedes Tiff.

 

[219]

Sorry Tiff - absolutely no slur intended : I was simply trying to think of the opposite end of the range contemporary to the 129 SL .

I did , many years ago , have a couple of cars serviced at dealerships - one of them having been bought new there by my dad and serviced there until the car was passed onto me - it wasn't long until I started learning a bit about mechanics and that those earlier cars really were very easy to look after yourself - having been designed for easy maintenance , unlike some other cars ( mainly French ones ) I have had the misfortune to work on .

These days my main contact with dealerships is via the parts depts ( although I also buy certain parts from ECP ) and all the ones around here I find friendly and helpful . Glen Hendersons are good in as much as they actually hold in stock quite a lot of parts for older cars - when I needed a water pump for my 190E a couple of years ago , they were the only dealer to have one on the shelf - and they discounted it down from the £130 or so the others wanted to order in , to £80 odds ( those were exchange prices ) .

 

[tim.100]

The most significant and quantifiable difference between Mercedes in the early 80's and now is the complete loss of scarcity value.

 

[Bellow]

While waiting in the reception area of JR Weir, Aberdeen earlier this year, 3 guys walked in. Seeking parts for their van, they were in the wrong place. They should have been at another building completely, about a mile away.
Without wanting to appear the snob I'm not, the quickest and most accurate way to portray these guys is to describe them as chavs. Chavvy in their appearance, chavvy in their abruptness. It was one of those moments when everyone around looks up to see what happens next.
And what happened was the receptionist redirected them with the same politeness and helpfulness as she would have if they had just stepped out of a Maybach.
I was impressed. That is what Mercedes service is.
Ian11, you were treated shabbily. Take your complaint to MB UK and insist on staff reprimands and an apology. You are certainly owed one.

 

[219]

The most significant and quantifiable difference between Mercedes in the early 80's and now is the complete loss of scarcity value.

If you think they had any 'scarcity value' as recently as the 1980's , when really Mercedes were a common sight on UK roads , and in Germany every other car seemed to be a Merc , you should imagine the early 1960's - at which time ours was the ONLY Mercedes in the town where we lived and it was so very unusual to see another that drivers would acknowledge each other with a wave and a smile . A visit to the dealership in Edinburgh was just about the only time we would see another Merc .

Come the 1970's , with the advent of the W115/114 'New Generation' models , the cars were starting to become commonplace and not at all unusual .

I do feel , however , that Mercedes have lost that feeling of being 'a class apart' from other makes that they had as recently as the '80s or maybe just into the '90s .

 

[tim.100]

If you think they had any 'scarcity value' as recently as the 1980's , when really Mercedes were a common sight on UK roads , and in Germany every other car seemed to be a Merc , you should imagine the early 1960's - at which time ours was the ONLY Mercedes in the town where we lived and it was so very unusual to see another that drivers would acknowledge each other with a wave and a smile . A visit to the dealership in Edinburgh was just about the only time we would see another Merc .

Come the 1970's , with the advent of the W115/114 'New Generation' models , the cars were starting to become commonplace and not at all unusual .

I do feel , however , that Mercedes have lost that feeling of being 'a class apart' from other makes that they had as recently as the '80s or maybe just into the '90s .

I guess there is a big difference between 'scarce' and outright rarity. Appreciate your comments and knowledge.

 

[ian11]

I think I was probably rash to generalise about MB based on a couple of my experiences (you know how it is when you've just been shafted). For the few good dealers out there to whom this stuff matters I do apologise.

I've had no reply from the MD and I'm not sure I have the stamina to take it beyond. It's their own loss.

All credit to the car that I love it more ever day despite the hassle!

My residual problem from all this is that this little love affair with a W129 should have me all pepped-up for a low miles SL**AMG back in the UK, which is within my budget & practicality......

....but quite the opposite is happening. I'm thinking "those SLs have a lot of expensive moving parts and a lot of BHP grinding them together....if the dealer isn't in my team I won't be able to run it"

Funny...you never hear whines about Daewoo or Hyundai dealers....people often say "thats because the drivers have lower expectations"....bollo<cut>