Gutted!

[BigSilverEstate]

Just received an email from MB retail used cars suggesting if I had bought my car this weekend rather than 2 weeks ago I would have got a free 42" 3DTV, instead of the £150 off paint protection which was the extent of what my pathetic negotiating was able to achieve!

 

[trapperjohn]

That's just the sort of luck I get too.

 

[TDE1]

Hells bells. How big IS the centre console in a 2011 E class?!!

 

[st4]

Hells bells. How big IS the centre console in a 2011 E class?!!

Big.

 

[BigSilverEstate]

Chortle

 

[Simon_M]

Bummer, but remember you were happy at the time when you did your deal.

 

[BigSilverEstate]

Yes and even more happy now I've driven it a bit

 

[davethemus]

phone them up and explain that as you're spending alot of money you want the TV aswell, otherwise you'll cancel the car. That's what I would do.

 

[jonnyMercUK]

phone them up and explain that as you're spending alot of money you want the TV aswell, otherwise you'll cancel the car. That's what I would do.

I would probably do this as well :bannana:

 

[A-AvantGarde]

I would probably do this as well :bannana:

+1 - no harm trying...

 

[W2--]

Don't need a telly, go out and enough your car more! hehe

But worth trying though, since you didn't get money off the sticker price. Be firm, as you can return the car within a month, no question ask, and you feel you are not getting a fair deal.

 

[bpsorrel]

As the old saying goes - "nothing ventured, nothing gained!"

Gotta be worth a try!!

 

[BigSilverEstate]

Thanks for the advice everyone. Afraid I bottled it after assessing my position i.e. having paid cash for the car and driven it around for the past 2-3 weeks. got a telly anyway.

Now additionally gutted to have spent time this week lovingly putting on the pro rack 'whispbar' roof bars to carry my bike on holiday this week, only to have said bike (locked) stolen from on top of the car in broad daylight outside my house in the 15 minutes it was left while we packed up our things ready to set off. Can report that they are very quiet roof bars on the motorway however.

 

[trapperjohn]

Result on the TV. Not so good on the push bike.

 

[BigSilverEstate]

For the avoidance of confusion and in case anyone else is in a similar position: MB Retail Used Cars did not make an exception for me on their TV promotion this weekend. I couldn't bring myself to ask. However I do have a perfectly good telly already and a very nice car so I will live.

Highly recommend the people at Devon Cycle Hire in Okehampton who saved the day IRO the bike situation. Rang them while cruising down the M4, they were at our holiday accommodation within half an hour of our arrival with a choice of bikes, no less, both much nicer than the one some criminal mastermind is enjoying back home this evening!

 

[John]

It would probably have been some el-cheapo tat anyway...

 

[MB-BTurbo]

Were they offering the car for £500 more back then? I would be surprised if they a were actually offering something for nothing. The probably thought that £500 would sound better by adding it to the cars price and throwing in a 'free TV'.

As for the email why did Mercedes send that in the first place? I would have emailed back for an explanation as to why they are filling their customers with feelings of regret? they should be more careful.

 

[WillDeBeest]

...spent time this week lovingly putting on the pro rack 'whispbar' roof bars .... Can report that they are very quiet roof bars on the motorway however.

Bad luck with the bike, BSE; I can imagine the frustration. Did the thief manage to unlock it from the carrier?

More positively, I've been looking at Whispbars too for my S211, so I'm interested in your experience. Did you go for the long ones that fit across the top of the rails, or (as I'm thinking) the shorter ones that fit lower and in between?

 

[BigSilverEstate]

Thanks. The theives had forced the bike out of the clamp on the bike rack without unlocking it. They had also spattered rusty oily stuff over the roof.

I got the lower profile ones you describe that fit between the rails. Here they are minus bike rack. I think they look pretty discreet. Other than messing around with the rubber strip down the centre to cut a slot for the bike rack, they were very easy to fit and remove so they will be coming off when not in use.


They are indeed very quiet. I was aware of a whistle whilst off the motorway but this was coming from the (empty) bike rack not the roofbars.

 

[BigSilverEstate]

As for the email why did Mercedes send that in the first place? I would have emailed back for an explanation as to why they are filling their customers with feelings of regret? they should be more careful.

I agree it was pretty tactless - it was a promotional deal on all AU vehicles bought this weekend across their network, presumably to drive volumes. Hard to say what the price impact is, though no doubt will help deter buyers from seeking large discounts on the ticket price. Overall I found them no more than average on the customer experience side, so it does not surprise me they went for the global mailshot!