starlight
Active Member
I suspect that the vast majority of Club members use indies or are expert in carrying out their own servicing and repairs, so this topic may not have much traction... but I'd be interested in views about M-B authorised dealers' standards generally and what to do when seriously brassed off.
In my part of the one world one company operates dealerships across a wide geographical area, which makes it difficult - in fact, close to impractical - to try out alternatives.
I own two Mercedes.
One is looked after by a brilliant local indie; the other has a Mercedes used warranty, so has to go to the local dealer.
(To be fair, one more than one occasion I've been more than grateful to see the Mobilo Roadside Assistance guy roll up to a breakdown. The chap who covers my area is brilliant; and, of course, with all due respect to the AA/RAC he's far better equipped to deal with the fault and the likelihood is that's he'll have any necessary parts in the van. So, to that extent, the stamped book has some benefit.)
Just under a year ago, over the course of about 3 weeks the "warranty" car was returned from the workshop on 3 consecutive occasions with a new fault related to the work that had been carried out. It was the least of it, but although the service indicator has been ticked as reset as part of a service... it wasn't.
Another bad experience today left me wondering why M-B UK trust their reputation to people who, frankly, couldn't care less: the fuse was lit by a so-called "service adviser" with a passive-aggressive attitude and for whom it was just far too much trouble to explain the work done on the car. It had been in the dealership for a full week for a service, MOT and a straightforward part replacement and diagnosis of a central locking fault. No progress reports in the meantime. No diagnosis. The fault had been intermittent, but it had been happening about 75% of the time over the preceding few days.
In fact, I am so fed up with (a) wanting to keep the car but (b) finding the dealership so totally insufferable that I'm wondering whether it's worth the bother of expending the energy on a full-blown piece of fulmination with M-B UK. I know they now operate a "Mystery Customer" scheme (body cameras, apparently!) and have been recruiting a field-based customer liaison representative.
Does anyone have any experience of high-level complaints to M-B about systemic, woeful service and any advice as to how go about one?
In my part of the one world one company operates dealerships across a wide geographical area, which makes it difficult - in fact, close to impractical - to try out alternatives.
I own two Mercedes.
One is looked after by a brilliant local indie; the other has a Mercedes used warranty, so has to go to the local dealer.
(To be fair, one more than one occasion I've been more than grateful to see the Mobilo Roadside Assistance guy roll up to a breakdown. The chap who covers my area is brilliant; and, of course, with all due respect to the AA/RAC he's far better equipped to deal with the fault and the likelihood is that's he'll have any necessary parts in the van. So, to that extent, the stamped book has some benefit.)
Just under a year ago, over the course of about 3 weeks the "warranty" car was returned from the workshop on 3 consecutive occasions with a new fault related to the work that had been carried out. It was the least of it, but although the service indicator has been ticked as reset as part of a service... it wasn't.
Another bad experience today left me wondering why M-B UK trust their reputation to people who, frankly, couldn't care less: the fuse was lit by a so-called "service adviser" with a passive-aggressive attitude and for whom it was just far too much trouble to explain the work done on the car. It had been in the dealership for a full week for a service, MOT and a straightforward part replacement and diagnosis of a central locking fault. No progress reports in the meantime. No diagnosis. The fault had been intermittent, but it had been happening about 75% of the time over the preceding few days.
In fact, I am so fed up with (a) wanting to keep the car but (b) finding the dealership so totally insufferable that I'm wondering whether it's worth the bother of expending the energy on a full-blown piece of fulmination with M-B UK. I know they now operate a "Mystery Customer" scheme (body cameras, apparently!) and have been recruiting a field-based customer liaison representative.
Does anyone have any experience of high-level complaints to M-B about systemic, woeful service and any advice as to how go about one?