Good dealerships versus the others. Results

[Alfie]

Following on from my earlier thread last week concerning what I did to source the right car.....

For those who didnt follow that thread, basically I emailed every dealer in the country, with the exception of Northern Ireland, Jersey and the Isle of Man. I sent my email on a Sunday morning stating very clearly what I was looking for, how much I wanted to spend and what my trade-in was. What follows are the responses I got.

Alan in Kings Norton called me within 30 minutes. Brian Horton - Boston called a few minutes later as did Mark of Mansfield. All were very courteous, took me seriously and were keen to do a deal.

The next day the following people called me up on the telephone;

Anna - Stratford
Paola - Hampstead
Karen - Milton Keynes
Mick - Sheffield
Steve - Shrewsbury
Graham - Worcester
Jay - Stafford
Andrew - Edinburgh
Richard - Birmingham
Peter - Hitchin
Kerri - Peterborough
Richard - Grimsby
Steve - Birmingham
John - Canterbury
Clive - Loughborough

A few others sent back a standard email saying they were looking into the av ailability of cars. A few more called that week, some as much as a week after the email was sent. AN AWFUL LOT OF DEALERS DIDNT BOTHER. You draw your own conclusions from the dealers not listed above.

As it was I ended up doing a very good deal with Clive Smith of Loughborough. He was professional, courteous and accomodating. I have to make a special mention of Mark at Mansfield who went to great lengths to show me a car, driving several hours. Alan at Kings Norton was also particularly dilligent. He followed up calls when he said he would and generally treated me very well. Ditto Brian in Boston. Karen in Milton Keynes was also very attentive and professional. Tony Purslow which is my local dealer sent an email.

I would happily recommend any of the above named people to anyone seeking a new or used car from within the Mercedes franchise/dealer network.

If anyone would like the list of email addresses, then pm me. Ditto if you want the sample email I sent.

P.S just as I finished composing this post, David East from Mercedes Loughborough customer service called to make sure I was happy with everything.

 

[Brian WH]

Just shows you not all dealers are bad.

 

[pammy]

MB Harrogate were great for me. I found a car in Chesterfierld and sent them to buy it for me

 

[Brett]

I've always thought that the measure of good service is how things are dealt with when they go wrong. I'm having a bit of a time of it trying to resolve the issues with my W220 S-Class. I'll reserve judgement until there is a resolution and then post my thoughts, but I'm not particularly impressed so far.

Good to know that you had a good experience though!

 

[wallingd]

Good old Gwimsby !

 

[zishan03]

Surprise surprise, not a good result for dealers in London.

Zishan

 

[Brushy]

MB Manchester Central were great to buy from, then it all went wrong suffice to say that if l'd been pulled on the day my car was delivered l could of had 9 points on my license plus the three that l already have it would be Arriva bus here l come

 

[Brett]

I've always thought that the measure of good service is how things are dealt with when they go wrong. I'm having a bit of a time of it trying to resolve the issues with my W220 S-Class. I'll reserve judgement until there is a resolution and then post my thoughts, but I'm not particularly impressed so far.

Good to know that you had a good experience though!

Got a call from the MB dealership that supplied the car. They've had confirmation from local servicing department in Edinburgh that the car is probably a rogue and have agreed to swap it out. They will be in touch with what they intend to offer in exchange.

I said I'd reserve judgement - Western in Edinburgh have consistently done a great job and tried to do "what's right for the customer". Five star treatment. The supplying dealer appear to finally accept that there is likely to be an issue with my car, and their judgement will be based on how they take things from here.

Fingers crossed and all that!

 

[pammy]

that's sounding promising tho Brett - a step forward at least

 

[Dave Kerr]

I have dealt with Worcester MB quite a lot since they are my nearest dealership and have to admit I am impressed with them.
No pressure take the demo and come back when your ready, again no pressure from the sales team.
Did everything they could to get me the right car just recently, turned up when it was supposed to, bunch of flowers for my wife (good move) they have things just right.
Even the parts dept seem to be a good bunch.

So a very satisfied customer.

Dave

 

[Rory]

The North Western dealers (mostly Road Range, but others too) don't appear to have bothered at all.

 

[Anil]

Last April we purchased my wife's A Class from MB Direct in Kingston-Upon-Thames. We were not impressed with the service we received when the car had to go back a couple of times to get faults rectified.

I appreciate that the MB Direct is their high volume outlet, but this should not mean that customer service should differ to any other MB dealership.

 

[Rory]

Last April we purchased my wife's A Class from MB Direct in Kingston-Upon-Thames. We were not impressed with the service we received when the car had to go back a couple of times to get faults rectified.

I appreciate that the MB Direct is their high volume outlet, but this should not mean that customer service should differ to any other MB dealership.

I got my C270 estate from MB Direct Birmingham (Erdington branch). I was impressed by how keen they were to sell me a car (compared to local dealers - the fact that none from the NW responded to Alfie doesn't surprise me).
I'm happy with the car and the price I paid, but it was perfectly obvious that they wanted to do the deal, hand over the money and drive off in the car - it was a pretty 'raw' process.
Follow up emails and calls to MB Direct 'Support' have been useless.

 

[Alfie]

Further to my experiences with Mercedes Benz of Loughborough.......

I had a small issue with part of the car. Clive Smith (Loughborough) had someone come down with a trailer, pick the car up and take it back to Loughborough. That was yesterday. Car has just been returned to me by trailer with all the work completed. Thats a round trip of over 300 miles!

Impressed.

 

[lil.smartie]

Not surprised by the lack of replies from the SW either. Buying a Smart Forfour last year I went to Bristol, Southampton, Exeter and Birmingham.
Only Exeter were any good, I think that had a lot to do with the entire mgt team knowing us by name and face after the problems we have had in the past! But they got the deal and have been pretty much faultless ever since!

Kate

 

[Fais]

Last April we purchased my wife's A Class from MB Direct in Kingston-Upon-Thames. We were not impressed with the service we received when the car had to go back a couple of times to get faults rectified.

I appreciate that the MB Direct is their high volume outlet, but this should not mean that customer service should differ to any other MB dealership.

AGREED!!! never ever will i buy a car from MB direct . Dealt with both Kingston-Upon-Thames and the Caterham Branch. AVOID them like the plague. after i purchased a 1999 E-class for my father, they never ever bothered to return a single call. Faults which they were responsible for were never rectified, and unless you live near them, they will not help to fix the problem while you wait They stamped the service book, but when i took it to my local Park Royal dealer recently, he said quietly that the service they claimed to have carried out was NEVER done.

To top it off, 9 months later, after part exchanging an old car, they had not completed the tranfer properly when they sold my old car.... got loads of fines etc sent to my home. can continue on with this rant... but hey, lesson learned!


btw... wrote complaints etc... none were responded to, nor were they dealt with by MB head office! you've got a better chance buying an unseen car from ebay!

 

[MichaelE211]

Point of interest, which Tong Purslow garage do you use, and what do you think of their servicing standards and cost?

 

[Alfie]

Point of interest, which Tong Purslow garage do you use, and what do you think of their servicing standards and cost?

I used the Guildford branch and found them to be very good. I've read/heard lots of good things about Tony Purslow and only one negative point from a member of this forum.