Comical 'lift' fail from MB compared to BMW

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pjs

Active Member
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Sep 8, 2008
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186
Location
Wakefield
Car
C250cdi Coupe, Audi S5 Cab
Took my car to local dealer today ( more later) and they generously offered me a lift home. Chauffeur rolled up in a branded diesel smart car. What a crock of ****. He's done 8000 miles already this year running customers about and is really embarrassed. The smart car was awful by the way.

Compared to the 5GT by local BMW dealer provides to its chauffer guy, its BMW 1 Merc 0
 
We've got a fleet of Smart cars at work and I think they're great!

They're not quite in the same league as a 5GT, nor come to think of it even a Ford Fiesta!
 
The smart car was awful by the way.

Never liked Smart Cars. I kinda get the feeling I'd get a whooping in the Robot Wars Arena in one of those things. :D
 
Took my car to local dealer today ( more later) and they generously offered me a lift home. Chauffeur rolled up in a branded diesel smart car. What a crock of ****. He's done 8000 miles already this year running customers about and is really embarrassed. The smart car was awful by the way.

Compared to the 5GT by local BMW dealer provides to its chauffer guy, its BMW 1 Merc 0

Seems rather ungracious of you to deride what was, after all, a free lift. Perhaps you'd rather have walked home?
 
Never liked Smart Cars. I kinda get the feeling I'd get a whooping in the Robot Wars Arena in one of those things. :D

Yep, noisy, terrible ride and just a bit odd

Seems rather ungracious of you to deride what was, after all, a free lift. Perhaps you'd rather have walked home?

Hey, I'm happy with a lift! But they only volunteered it when I asked if they could ring me a taxi. Its just obvious penny pinching in the extreme and really pisses their driver off - he has to spend a lot of time in there. And pointing out that BMW down the road do a much better job.
 
really pisses their driver off

Perhaps he ought to be grateful he's got a job in the current climate. Don't know what's wrong with people these days.

Don't forget that (most) MB showrooms sell Smart cars, so it makes sense for them to use them for this sort of work. Seems a needless extravagance for the BMW showroom to use a 5 series for this purpose. Perhaps their customers are in greater need of having their egos massaged...
 
Perhaps he ought to be grateful he's got a job in the current climate. Don't know what's wrong with people these days.

Don't forget that (most) MB showrooms sell Smart cars, so it makes sense for them to use them for this sort of work. Seems a needless extravagance for the BMW showroom to use a 5 series for this purpose. Perhaps their customers are in greater need of having their egos massaged...

Or BMW want to register more "5"s as "sold"
 
I would have thought taking customers home in a better car than they currently have would be an up-sell opportunity. Rather than using the cheapest options..
 
i got a lift to work in an s class when dropped the merc in for some mods so have to say merc treatment was great!(that time - may it continue!)
 
I would imagine most BMW dealers have 5GTs coming out of their ears. They make the R-Class look like a runaway success and the Vel Satis both a commercial and stylistic triumph.
 
I would have thought taking customers home in a better car than they currently have would be an up-sell opportunity. Rather than using the cheapest options..

Up-sell opportunity? Ugh! Marketing-speak, I take it?

Time was when customers were deemed capable of deciding when they wished to change their car for another model. Can't imagine any dealership having a sufficient range of cars readily available to entice every customer that leaves their car in for a service.

I suppose they could default to just carting everyone about in an S-Class, but how many A/B/C-Class drivers are likely to be persuaded to buy one of those on the strength of a lift home? Perhaps there's more chance of their buying a Smart as a second car (though probably not a diesel one...).
 
Up-sell opportunity? Ugh! Marketing-speak, I take it?

Time was when customers were deemed capable of deciding when they wished to change their car for another model.

You're quite wrong, I made an impulse purchase soon after visiting my Mercedes dealership many years ago in my youth.

I went in looking for a then newly launched CLK 270CDI and came out, about an hour later, from the Audi garage after ordering an A4 2.5TDI cabriolet, such was the useless service from the Mercedes dealer. ;)
 
You're quite wrong, I made an impulse purchase soon after visiting my Mercedes dealership many years ago in my youth.

I went in looking for a then newly launched CLK 270CDI and came out, about an hour later, from the Audi garage after ordering an A4 2.5TDI cabriolet, such was the useless service from the Mercedes dealer. ;)

That's a different matter entirely. If you'd particularly wanted to buy an MB I'm sure you'd have been capable of working out which one you wanted without having to rely on a salesman.

Back in 2003 I made an implulse purchase of my own - dropped my A-Class in for a service, looked around the used car section and bought my first SLK the same day. Didn't need anyone to drive me home in it to make that decision.
 
Does it really matter what they use to drive you home - assuming it's a fairly short drive?
 
I would have thought taking customers home in a better car than they currently have would be an up-sell opportunity. Rather than using the cheapest options..

Maybe they take you in the smart so when you get back in your rusty merc with dodgy electrics you think, its not so bad afterall! ;)
 
I worked for an independent dealer a few years ago who sold new and nearly new prestige and sports cars. I usually used one of their cars for my daily journey so could have been a Ferrari one day or a Porsche the next, but mainly Mercs and BMWs. One day the most convenient car to take home was a Smart that had been taken in Part Ex. As usual I stopped on my way home to collect my wife, but as soon as she saw the Smart she said she'd prefer to walk!
 
Does it really matter what they use to drive you home - assuming it's a fairly short drive?

Not at all but some people like to have the red carpet rolled out for them.
 

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