Courtesy cars

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SomebodyCalledJ

Active Member
Joined
Jun 23, 2016
Messages
61
Car
W204 Facelift C250 Estate
My car is soon to be booked in for some warranty work at my local stealer and was just advised my courtesy car options were a VW Up or Polo... Was a bit surprised to here I wasn't being offered an MB, maybe I have been spoiled in the past by other manufacturers, but made me wonder what other MB owners have been given by MB dealers?

Am I right to push for an MB? I'll have to live with the replacement for at least 2 weeks, maybe over a month (full body re-spray on my car).
 
Last time mine was in I got an e class cab, time before that an slk. You need to push harder I think.
 
A Mercedes main dealer giving you a VW as a courtesy car?
 
A Mercedes main dealer giving you a VW as a courtesy car?
Yes, I thought that too. Never had anything other than merc personally. Some times an a class, but always a merc.
 
I've usually been given an equivalent, either a C or E-class.
 
Yep those were the two options given to me, the Group that own the franchised dealership sell many other brands, but I have red a few times that people have had MBs and this is a warranty case, not a customer fault...

I'm glad to hear I'm not being snobby! Plus dependant on the time period I have this courtesy car, going from a well used estate car to a very small city car is going to be very hard to live with!
 
(full body re-spray on my car).

So you're getting the bodyshop,s standard basic courtesy car, rather than one from the Mercedes dealership.

As it's a Mercedes warranty job, I'd have expected a Mercedes, but I have no idea if that expectation is realistic.
 
I'm generally not too snobby about courtesy cars. But that's when I have them for a day...

I'd expect something more akin to my own car for 2-4 weeks.
 
Well I spoke to the general manager at this particular dealership and looks like I'll have no option other than to accept their biggest courtesy car from their fleet, which happens to be the VW Polo...

There reasons being the timescale of work (couldn't justify a demonstrator being booked out, too much of a hit to the sales department), their pool of courtesy cars (VW Polo and UP only) and that most of their body shop work is done though insurance companies who provide hire cars to their customers, therefore this motoring group do not want to have a pool of expensive cars, when they're not used all the time.

Feel deflated now, I have an estate for a reason and a small city car in replacement for a month doesn't quite make me feel valued as a customer :(

Wish I could go to another dealer, but it's already taken me 4 and a half months to get to this point...
 
No harm in giving MBUK customer services a call, explaining the need for an estate?
 
No harm in giving MBUK customer services a call, explaining the need for an estate?
^ This.

There's no point in being sniffy about whether it's a Mercedes-Benz or not, but if you own a mid-sized estate car, then it's reasonable to ask for something of equivalent size bearing in mind the length of time involved. Politely point out that you can reorganise your life for a day or two to use a smaller car, but not for up to four weeks.
 
As this work is being done under warranty, and the choice of body shop is being made by the dealer,then i would expect the dealer,not the body shop to supply a suitable replacement vehicle. An estate may be difficult for the dealer but a c or e class could be found. Given the length of time maybe even MB UK could source a car

Push harder and suggest thst
 
I actually said to them when discussing the courtesy car, that it wasn't the brand that was my concern, it was the size and usability of the car that was the issue. Still got nothing from them.

I have sent an email to their head office, probably won't get much other than it's just policy, but did say I would be talking to MBUK to see how they felt about their customer service (not just the courtesy car).

Will have to phone MBUK anyway and see if they have a solution. Brand and snobbery are not my aim here people, just usability!
 
It should have nothing with snobbery but common sense. Otherwise you could spend 2-4 in Dacia MPV which is an estate.
 
MB Guildford used to put me in a Dodge Caliber for any bodywork. Classy
 
I suppose you could always rent something that suits your needs if the free car offered doesn't fit the bill.
 
Well I spoke to the general manager at this particular dealership and looks like I'll have no option other than to accept their biggest courtesy car from their fleet, which happens to be the VW Polo...

There reasons being the timescale of work (couldn't justify a demonstrator being booked out, too much of a hit to the sales department), their pool of courtesy cars (VW Polo and UP only) and that most of their body shop work is done though insurance companies who provide hire cars to their customers, therefore this motoring group do not want to have a pool of expensive cars, when they're not used all the time.

They seem to have out the Service department - they would have a number of Mercedes courtesy car, surely? On a warranty job I would expect Service to be providing the car.

The demo cars will belong to sales and the VWs to the bodyshop.
 
Sounds like the body shop is supplying the courtesy car rather than the main dealer.

If you need a bigger car, ask for a bigger car, but speak to your contact at the main dealer first before contacting MB Customer Sevices to avoid the, thinking you went behind their back because you weren't happy with their response.

You don't say why it needs a full respray under warranty, and this is just a hunch, but I don't think this is being done under warranty, I think it is being done as a goodwill repair, and that's why the body shop is supplying the car rather than charge back to MB.

Mercedes don't like bodywork related warranty work because it sets all sorts of precedents, and so everything ends up being goodwill, even if not declared to the owner as being such.
 

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