George frazer

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KLP 92

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 28, 2003
Messages
2,671
Location
London
Car
Mercedes S600, SL600, C250TD
Hi,

I myself booked in to George frazer. My car, a 500sl 83 model, had the folowing problems:

1) Boot seal leaks
2) Indicator does not switch off when steeriing is turned back in left direction
3) Boot lock sometimes doesn open without key
4) Gearbox when put into 3 goes down to 2 and when put in 2 selects 1 gear. Drives fine in D though.
5)Window seals need replacing

Took the car in, promised it back in the evening but was not ready for a further 2 days!
Charged me £400 BUT

1) New boot seal not glued in properly and leaks more than my old one
2)New comination switch for indiactor at £80 but still has original problem AND NOW my cruise control doesn't work.
3) Boot lock replaced but still doesn't open with central locking.
4) Apparently i need a new gearbox so he hasn't done it. Even though the car drives fine in D with no harsh changes! Only problem in my opinion is the linkage is out. Well £1200 to rectify according to him.
5) window seals not replaced and not charged for though.

I think George is an excellent chap, but i feel this service i recieved was below average. Its booked in next week to rectify so fingers crossed.

But does anyone have advice on my gearbox problem?? It drives fine in D, kicks down as it should, but only when i put it down in 3 or 2 it goes down to 2 and 1. Looks like something needs adjusting. The car has only done 70k geuine.
 
I used George for the last two services on my Benz, each time I had problems. I actually wrote a long letter to him and listed everything, I had a phone call one evening from him very appoligetic and offering to credit me in some way.

Like you say, George is a very nice guy and knows a vast amount about the Benz fleet, however I feel that his staff dont take the time or have the commitment to their work and this effects the quality that is passed onto the customer.

Yes he saves us money over stealer prices but in my eyes there is no excuse for bad workmanship on what ever brand of motor vehicle you drive.

Good Luck...
 
I think if you have problems regarding quality of service, then as Wheelie has done, make George aware of them, hopefully he will offer a satisfactory way to resolve the problem, like money off the bill or a revisit. His outfit seem to get busier and busier as time goes on.

As for your gearbox problem, it sounds like you have play in the linkage, i.e. the mechanical linkage that translates your stick position to a switch position at the gearbox. I'm by no means an expert but that would be my guess. Or maybe the the master switch/valve on the box is having a few problems.

S.
 
Steve,
I feel that the qoute of £1200 for the gearbox is a joke asif its driving fine in D then the internals of the box are working fine. I presumed its the linkage, but for that price i rather drive it in D!
I can have a rebuilt box with the same guareentee as his fitted for £750! But all mechanics i've spoken to have said its not the box, and even at worce its losing pressure in the back which is a £200-300 at tops repair at worse.
I felt for the time he had the car that the job was poor. I was told to collect at 9am on Saturday. When i got their he still had the boot seal in its original packaging let alone on the vehicle. I asked him firdt if my indicaor switch needed adjustment and he said it was the switch. Cost 80 quid but problem still there. Same with the boot lock, cost £85 and still the same problem. Also the steering wheel is an inch out to the left as they had to take it off for the indicator. This in my opinion is poor workmanship. Don't they check their work? I'm dissappointed as it costs me £15 in petrol each way!
 
KLP,

A great shame, you should put all that to George and see what he does. As for checking their work...yes they should but I'm afraid that the pressure to get the volume of work through maybe taking greater priority? :(

I've known George for the last 11 to 12 years and for me his quality of work has always been excellent but lately there have been some who haven't been as impressed as I have. The price of popularity... too much to do and not enough time me thinks.

S.
 
Yes Same experience with me. He is extremely knowledgable but his staff just arent anywhere near as good.

In this months mercedes enthusiast, they quote him as the best place to get your mb serviced independently. They really do praise him quite a lot.

He will sort it out, just makesure he gives it his own personal attention if possible.

jay
 
I've seen him at work. He is so busy! He does try his best to oversee everything buthow much can 1 person do? he needs to tell his staff to pull their socks up as he's a nice chap and i would love to trade with him in future. But i cannot afford the time to chase up little niggles, sending the car back and forth to get a simple job done.
To be fair they were all simple jobs except the gearbox. there really should be no excuses for the other 4 faults. I've been charged for a new combination indicator switch and a new boot lock when i didn't need them as the problems still there. And the fact he had the car for 3 days when he stated 1 day and still did not complete the car when i arrived.
But like you say, he's a top mechanic but his staff are letting him down.
 
I've lost confidence in George too.... I think he is good himself but after seeng a 16 year old lad being let loose on my car with nothing but a pair of mole grips I have decided I'd be better off not even getting the car serviced at all than continuing with that.

To top it all off, after the last service I noticed that there was no coolent in the system, just 100% water.

I am off all the way up to Andy in Birmingham ( www.mercedesservicing.com ) on Friday for my next service. Hardly local but if the job gets done right then maybe its worth the day off work. I'm getting very close now to just doing the damned work myself like I used to in my destitute student days as I'll at least know for sure the jobs been done exactly right. I've always done work myself on motorcycles for this reason as there's no worse a feeling than belting along at 150+ thinking 'I wonder if that mechanic peened the rivets over on my new chain correctly?' . It certainly used to make me back off a little. :mad:

It just goes to show how few and far between good workshops are these days.
 
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I can service these mercs myself. My grandad was a merc specialist but as i'm an osteopath & i don't have the time to get my hands dirty! Working 9-6 the weekends are my only days off and i've got other things to do! Its just those odd jobs like seals and combination switches that require patience that i can't be bothered with. Moral of the day is if you want something done, do it yourself.
AND ALSO THE GUY HAS SPLATTERED THE SEAL GLUE ON BOTH REAR 3/4 PANELS THAT TOOK 2 HOURS OF POLISHING TO GET OUT!!! AND STILL THERE PATCHES!!!
 
KLP

gearbox problems are a mare, mine was working fine then all of a sudden it went into limp mode and that was that... new gearbox time, £!600 for a new one + labour!

if you want a 2nd opinion ring prestige car specialist on 07831348015
 
Car is at Georges place. I was told to pick the vehicle up at 5pm. When i rang to double check at 4pm i was told that they hadn't started on the car as of yet. But a courtesy car was given so i'll let you know tomorrow how things went.
 
I have met George twice at our GTGs. He seems a very nice guy and very knowledgeable.

But the evidence is his standards his garage as a whole is providing are slipping. If you find this acceptable you guys must have really been wronged by some garages previously. There are plenty of other garages out there that provide good service - yes they are hard to find and many are rip offs - but come on, fall out the trance and go somewhere that deserves your money.
 
Well boys its been 3 days now. I had a 300 se for 2 days ans now he's upgraded me to a 93 300sl. On;y cos the 300se kept cutting out on me!
Still seeing if it will be finished off tomoorow, after all its not a major problem, just a few minor ones that should have been put right in the first place!
I think he's a top bloke but is understaffed for the amount of work on his hands. Well i'm hoping he'll sort out all the problems now as its a 50 minute journey to see him.
Also it would be nice if he could ring to tell you that the car is not ready as i've wasted 2 trips this week already. Thats unnacceptable. (and who's gonna pay my £30 petrol!!!)
 
Car came back on Monday. And NOTHING HAS BEEN FIXED!!!!!!!! And to top things his courtesy car broke down, TWICE. I was not charged for the timing chain tensioner and labour for it BUT the other 4 problems are still there. What was he doing eith the car for a week??? He still has got to sort the other problems out as they were paid for the first time i went but not repaired properly. A NIGHTMARE
 
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You lads, stop listening to the music, get some cotton wool in your ears and choose your own garage.
 
i agree with graham, time to move on, George is good,but he is busy! and i dont rate his workers at all.

If George done all the work himself id be a regular, but he takes too much on to do that!

why not try some of the pother merc specialists in your area, there are loads out there, and there will be some good ones too!

see the section in the forum!
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