george fraser

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8holealloy

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Aug 12, 2003
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as mentioned in another thread i will be collecting my first mercedes, a '91 190E 2.0 auto, later this week.

i have already booked it in for a service at george fraser, and as some others have already alluded to, he seems to be a little cagey when it comes to quoting actual prices for a service, in particular the parts prices.

so far i have read mixed reviews about mr.fraser, but since overall the reports have been positive i went ahead and booked the car in. is there anything i should be wary of??

thanks

8-hole
 
Originally posted by Wheelie
Nothing in my eyes, he's a genuine hard worrkin very knowledgeable guy who knows Benz's inside out and backwards!!!

I agree 100% with Wheelie.

S.
 
thanks for the v.swift response guys, much appreciated. i'll let you know how everything goes
 
well i finally had the "fraser experience" today:

they got off to a great start after the driver arrived earlier than expected to pick the car up from my place.

i wasn't really contactable for most of the day but when i did call george up to ask about how my car was doing i always got to speak to him and received informative updates as to what was happening, how much things were going to cost, etc. (luckily it turned out my car is in pretty good shape)

the driver then returned my newly serviced and valeted 190E earlier than expected too!!! what more could i ask for??

in the end, a lubrication service, full valet (which i would definitely recommend - the car is now pristine), new fuel gauge sender unit plus a couple of other sundries set me back just over £300 inc vat - not bad at all.

however i think that next time i'll take my own oil - i can buy castrol magnatec for much less than the £23 george charged me for some duckhams qxr (i didn't even know that that stuff was still being made.....)

anyway thanks for the recommendations that led me to george - i shall definitely be going back

8-hole
 
I had rather unfortunate experiense. Spent 4 saturdays to get sensor in my previous C180 diagnosed correctly. After all George offered change bushes as it was some squeacking and staff. Changed bushes and one sensor. Charged me 800 quid (said sensor costs 300). But this is not a worse thing.

The worse thing - in 2 month I suddenly found out that left front tyre has gone. Exactly where GF was changing one bush. Obviously - alighnment hadnt been done after bush change and I never been told I need one. So - tyre becomes to be cone in shape. And back (second) bush start to squeak again!! WTF!!! :mad:

Bought 2 new cheapest tyres at KwikFit, got it alighned and put the car to sell.

Bought E-Class with 12 month MB warranty. :devil:
 
Used him for several years, never had a problem. Really nice chap, honest and reliable.
You have to remember they are human as well, awkward problems can sometimes be misdiagnosed. Name me one mechanic that hasn't misdiagnosed something before.
 
I'll stand by what KLP said. Actually had one of my cars with him last week, and another car will go to him next week.

Whats best of all, is that he is 100% hands on in his business, and looks after his customers on a 1 to 1 basis. If there is a problem, he'll get involved himself.

From my other thread, you'll see i'm having issues with Mercs Only, which isn't too far away from GF. Completely useless, and still haven't sorted out the problems on my car, and all run by a guy in a suit who is too scared to get his hands dirty! A complete contrast to George!
 
Suki at PCS is the same hands on approach, but often too busy for his own good!
 
8holealloy said:
however i think that next time i'll take my own oil - i can buy castrol magnatec for much less than the £23 george charged me for some duckhams qxr (i didn't even know that that stuff was still being made.....)

Duckhams is supposed to be good stuff but only problem with it is that when topping up inbetween oil/filter changes it does not mix too well with other brands.
 
I'll also back what KLP has said. I've taken a few cars into him as have some friends of mine (based entireley upon my recommendation).

As other's have said he is 100% hands on regarding his business and looks after his customers on a 1 to 1 basis. If there is a problem, he'll get involved himself. Not many places these days where the boss is on the shop floor & can do the job himself. People to make mistakes, it's natural, the art is in how you deal with things that go wrong, I belive George Fraser has that skill.
 
I use GF and on the one occasion that there was a problem, GF sorted it all out. My car was trailered back to the workshop, a car loaned to me and the problem was diagnosed and corrected - no quibbling or BS - just sorted and not charged for. When the fuel filter was changed, one of the rubber bits wasn't quite on properly and air was getting into the fuel line..and the car wouldn't start. Yes, something did go wrong, but its only in these situations that you find out if the 'service' is really up to scratch.
Rgds
Les
 
B service at GF

Booked my car in on Saturday morning about 10am for a B service. George said the car would be ready by 3. So dropped my keys off and left.

Came back around 3:15 to pick the car up. I ended up hanging about until 4:30! I was not happy at all as the car was done, as I saw no one around it for 30ish mins. I waited over an hour for the car to be driven out of the garage.

I had to ask the receptionist 3 times for someone to get my car, for her to start shouting at someone because I had been waiting so long. The roller shutter came down for at least 15 minutes as well?!

I appreciate that it may of been a busy day, but surely it doesn't take an hour and 15 minutes to back out a car? Also, I called up 3 times for someone to get back to me for a minor niggle to get sorted, but no one called, so I'm still getting annoyed by something that should of been sorted.

Had to drive 100 miles home and ended up 15 minutes late for an appointment because of this.

Overall I was not impressed with the customer service/organisational skills of the staff.

On the plus side, the car does seem a lot more responsive and fuel efficient. Just under half a tank to get there, and about a quater tank coming back... Just a shame the day was marred by the lack of organisation.

I think I'll be sticking to my local stealer from now on, plus I'll save £40 on fuel just getting to GF.

EDIT: Also, it didn't even get a quick blast with a pressure washer. :(

Alex
 
Last edited:
Madferrit said:
Completely useless, and still haven't sorted out the problems on my car, and all run by a guy in a suit who is too scared to get his hands dirty! A complete contrast to George!

I heard Mercs Only was owned by a woman?
 
Never used GF, but heard he is better than most. However, 8-Hole, I would be interested in knowing why you did not service the car yourself. The 190's are very easy to DIY. Even if you are a novice, you can still pick things up quickly, and you can always get a friend to help/advice if need be.
 

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