Dealer first visit / service report (longish)

[Rory]

So I took my C270Cdi Estate for its first ever trip to my local dealer (MB Chester) – the cars an Oct 04 vehicle that I bought in March 05 from MB Direct with 6000 miles.
I only really use the car for long motorway journeys, and it’s shown service A at approx 18,500 miles for some time.

I booked it in a couple of wks ago and was assigned my own service advisor, who turned out to be ‘Service Team Manager’. The day after booking it in the service changed to a B – bugger! I messed around with ASSYST (looking for the oil type it was set on) and somehow managed to reset it – so it showed 13000 miles to service A.

In view of the cars type of use and its age, I decided to stick with the A service. I expected a bit of hassle about this, and it was mentioned, but didn’t seem to be an issue. The cars been reset to now show 13,000 miles to B Service.

I supplied my own oil, which surprisingly (in view of their lost profit) the dealer was very happy about. I bought Motul MB specific 229.5 5W30 from Opie Oils at £52 for 10L. The dealer uses Castrol SLX at £12.95L (+ VAT, I assume). So this made the service cost £161 (plus my cost for the oil, which I still have 3.5L of), rather than the £254 I’d originally been quoted. (It still works out £6 or so more than it should have been if you subtract the oil cost, but I didn’t quibble).

As well as the service, there were also ‘checks’ (I think like recalls, but less serious) to be done on the AGW (Audio Gateway) and the fuel system. A query about the detail of these checks was met with a blank look.

I also queried ‘the roundabout error’ on my V2.0 nav DVD. They upgraded it – to V2.2!! Bugger again – I was hoping for at least V4.

I asked them (somewhat tongue in cheek) to set the mirrors to auto-fold – I told them it could be done by ‘upgrade or something’ to Star Diagnose. The guy looked blank, but said he would ask the technician. When he handed the car back he said it can’t be done on my car – but I got the impression this is because my car was never meant to do it, not necessarily that it couldn’t be done.

They also kindly provided a quote for 2 new Michelin rear tyres (they fit on the premises, not contracted out) - £167 each. I said surely that’s a typo – you mean £107? But no, £167 it was. They’re £100 in Costco, and £110-£120 in most other places. They knew about Mercedes Option versions, but didn’t know what it meant!

I waited at the dealership while the car was serviced. Somewhat dismayed they didn’t have wireless internet (‘what’s that’ the female service booker said, when I asked) but at least the lack of access enabled me to do some proper work for once! It was noticeable that there was no sense of urgency – they made a couple of guys wait 45mins for lifts, and my car was outside and ready for 20mins before the ‘Service Team Manager’ could be found to discharge me. I was dismayed that he hadn’t already done the paperwork, but he said he couldn’t do it until the technician released the car.

All in all, not too bad an experience. They didn’t damage my alloys, they didn’t try to get me to have the pads and disks changed. I took the car in very clean and told them not to wash it – seeing their washing arrangements as I was leaving made me glad I’d done that. I would have preferred to have dealt with someone who had some idea about the technical details – but these days I’m sure ‘Service Team Leader’ is an admin job.

 

[Flash]

Nice write up...

I never used to let the Stealer wash any of the cars either.

It is worrying that some staff at Stealerships lack knowledge/common sense. Greenoaks printed a set of number plates for me and the Parts Dept guy handed them over to me without any of the pre drilled holes. When I requested for the holes to be drilled he claimed that they could not do it... (funny becasue they supplied the car with the pre drilled holes ) and when I "contested" and made him get w/shop to do the driling he said that "different models have different templates". I corrected him as that is a load of "bull" and that MBs right back from the W123/W126/124 generation to the present range have the drilled holes in the same place/template (except the M Class that has the spare wheel mounted option on the bootlid).

 

[ddentrec]

Try a warranty repair at an MB dealer: half the time they do not do the work they said they did.

When my 2003 C-Class went in for the door seals to be replaced I marked them with a biro. When I collected the car they said that the seals had been replaced-but the biro marks were still on the seals.

Another occasion some trim had to be replaced under warranty: car went in, came out with an 'All ready, sir!' and the same parts were still on the car.

Car went in for a black smoke problem on start up. Two days later car was ready-still with black smoke. Queried further to find that all they did was reset the fault log and to be told 'they all do that, sir'. Took car elsewhere and problem was fixed properly.

God only knows what they do with pollen filters and the like. Franchised dealers: I don't trust them.

 

[Robbo]

Our local franchised dealer did an excellent job of diagnosing and handling the warranty repair on our W169. They have improved their processes over the last year and I would say the customer service is very good too.

Its the luck of the draw as to whether your dealer is any good I guess.

 

[Flash]

Our local franchised dealer did an excellent job of diagnosing and handling the warranty repair on our W169. They have improved their processes over the last year and I would say the customer service is very good too.

Its the luck of the draw as to whether your dealer is any good I guess.

If it Greenoaks you are referring to then I find that very hard to believe....

Your a "brave" man for taking your car to them in teh first place...

 

[Rory]

Try a warranty repair at an MB dealer: half the time they do not do the work they said they did.

(snipped other stuff)

God only knows what they do with pollen filters and the like. Franchised dealers: I don't trust them.

I can't really comment on warranty repairs, as (here's a big fate tempter) nothing's gone wrong with my car, unless you count the sat nav error. I am a bit miffed to have been given such an old disk, but the timing is awkward anyway because the TMC enabled version isn't out yet. So this gives me the opportunity to complain next time, which wouldn't have existed if they'd given me the latest disk!

Personally, I wish cars could be sealed for life and never had to go near the dealer. The nearest alternative is some sort of maintenance package, so at least you don't have to be concerned about the cost. However on the Merc, the price of that was stupid (nearly put me off buying the car).

 

[ddentrec]

If it Greenoaks you are referring to then I find that very hard to believe....

Your a "brave" man for taking your car to them in teh first place...

Flash: I have heard some horror stories about Greenoaks. But maybe I should try them...that way it will make my local MB dealer seem almost perfect in comparison and I will be happy. Strange paradox.....

 

[Robbo]

If it Greenoaks you are referring to then I find that very hard to believe....

Your a "brave" man for taking your car to them in teh first place...

Let me tell you a story about two dealers I recently have had contact with (long!).

Part one : Dealer A.

The A class from new was making quite a rattly engine noise at 2500 rpm which was audible from inside the cabin. After 300 miles, I decided to drop into a well rated dealer (dealer A) and asked them to take a listen. The guy dutifully came out and we had a listen. He decided that there did seem to be a problem, and he took the car inside to put it on the ramps for a closer inspection. So far so good. After a few munutes he came out and said that they couldnt really locate it but it sounded like it was coming from the exhaust area. They wanted to book it in and the guy would swap the catalyst and other parts from some forecourt cars to see if the noise went away (not really my idea of troubleshooting). I made an appointment with the service manager and I then took the car home. Before leaving, in the dealers car park, I noticed a patch of white on the rear bumper which seemed to be some kind of paint (this was not there before). It was as if the car had been reversed into something. Fortunately, It wiped off with a bit of effort and there was no paintwork damage. Later that day (after garage closed), I noticed that there was a scratch on the drivers door about 2" long, going through to the primer. This was not there before. As you can imagine I was not a happy bunny.

Being busy at work, I could not contact the dealer for a few days. During this time I received a letter from the dealer confirming my service appointment. It was 3 weeks later than our agreed time. I rang the service writer and register my unhappiness about the damage (and to cancel my appointment). To be honest I was not expecting anything from the dealer as I didnt really have any evidence that they had done it so they could easily weasel out. I also didnt want the panel to be resprayed as since the car was silver it would stand out like sore thumb. I just wanted to discuss what had happened. The service girl cancelled my appointment (which was scheduled on a different day to the original agreed date and the postal confirmation - go figure). She then put me through to her supervisor who was the guy I had dealt with before.

I discussed what had happened with him, and all of a sudden, he became quite rude and aggressive. It was if he was using stock tactics to get out of admitting damage liability. He told me that the car was dirty when it came in so it could have been scratched before without me knowing. This was a lie as the the car was clean (just washed) and he had never even seen the car as he was sat in service reception. He then said in an accusatory tone why I had left it a few days before contacting him, and said that there was no way they could have made any damage and intimating that I was trying pin the blame on them. Disgusted at his attitude, I told him and his people to be more respectful with peoples cars and decided that there was no way they were getting any more of my business (I was intending to book the C class in for a B service).

This kind of wide boy attitude and disorganisation is exactly the kind of thing that makes my blood boil when it comes to dealers.

End of part one.

 

[BarryS]

Robbo,
Name and shame the dealers - otherwise (a) they will never improve and (b) others will fall into their clutches.
I tried Greenoaks Bracknell (I think they call it Ascot) but they never call back to even make the service appointment. Used Greenoaks Reading for my first service and experience was very good.
Barry

 

[Robbo]

Part Two : Dealer B

OK, so as I was disgusted at dealer A's attitude, I then took the car to dealer B.

Went in during a lunchtime and asked someone to have a listen. The service writer asked a tech team leader to come out, and he was with me within 5 minutes. We had a listen to the car and he also said it sounded too noisy. We went to another car with the same engine and tried that one which was a lot quieter. As they had not dealt with any new A classes before, rather than randomly swapping parts (as dealer A was planning), he said he would contact MB technical guys at head office to check if there was any known issues in the knowledge base. I went away and a couple of hours later I got a phone call saying that they had discussed the problem and wanted to book the car in for repair to replace a part (which needed to be ordered). I booked the car in for a few days later.

On bringing the car in, a service team leader greeted me and went through what was planned - they were going to change the timing chain tensioner (a big piece of work, an engine out job?). He said the part was a P number which meant it was a modified part and possibly a recall. He went out with me to the car and we both looked it over for damage, signing a form to say it had been inspected, and marking on any damaged areas prior to them working on the car. I went away and later that day received a phone call to say that the work was completed. Picked up the car which had been cleaned and valeted and we inspected the car for damage, no problems. I started the car up and it was immediately much better, it seems this was the problem. The work had been done fine and the car was perfect.

Next day, I got a call from the service head to ask questions about their performance and to ask me if anything could be improved. I said I was happy with the service received.

So, in the light of the above, which dealer would people prefer to take their cars to in the future, dealer A or B? I know who I prefer. I'll leave you to guess the dealers in question.

 

[Robbo]

I'll narrow it down a little bit, the two dealers in question were Greenoaks Bracknell and Tony Purslow Guildford. But which was which? You may be surprised.

 

[Flash]

Robert,

Thank you for the detailed write up. I'm gald that you got your problem resloved and am sorry to hear about Deal A's experince.

At first, I used to think that the sun used to shine out of Greenaoks backside until they kerbed my brand new car's alloy wheel and tried to blame me for it. They like Dealer A in your post were very rude, defensive and I only got a so called "refurb" out of them that was done very poorly (they sent the wheel off to their sub contracted bodyshop and only painted the outside face of the wheel... I had to get the wheel redone again...

Then my Dad's car went into to Greenoaks and they put spin marks on to all of the AMG alloys from the gun and some how placed old rusty wheel bolts/lock nuts from another car onto our one... There are several horror stories/bad experiences that myself/family have had with Greenoaks...

Please can you "name & shame" Stealer A so that none of our fellow forum members have damage done to their cars or at least hint who it is i.e. location wise...?

 

[Robbo]

see post above!

 

[Flash]

Flash: I have heard some horror stories about Greenoaks. But maybe I should try them...that way it will make my local MB dealer seem almost perfect in comparison and I will be happy. Strange paradox.....

 

[Flash]

I'll narrow it down a little bit, the two dealers in question were Greenoaks Bracknell and Tony Purslow Guildford. But which was which? You may be surprised.

Rite... EVERYBODY AVOID TONY PURSLOW IF GUILDORD...

 

[Robbo]

Yep, Dealer A was Tony Purslows in Guildford.

 

[Flash]

Robbo,
Used Greenoaks Reading for my first service and experience was very good.

Watch out for Richard Bernard - he used to be the Service Manager for Slough and was very incompetent. His now the Service Manager at Reading (his a right to$$er...)