Main dealer behaviour with your car

[Felstmiester]

Just read a thread in general that made me think.

I had the c63 serviced at Bishops stortford a while back now. Just a basic oil, filter, diff fluid change. Me being me I reset the mileage as I pulled up.

I was told it would take an hour and a half. I sat in there for close to 3 hours!! When my car was finally ready, I was called and told there was a problem. The problem was the n/s front tyre was leaking air.... The mans words. I said no worries I'll get it looked at. He then produces a large screw and said we have removed this and the tyre is leaking bad. I then said ok repair it then, only to be told they had no one on the premisis to do such a job lol. When I eventually got in the car to drive it to the nearest tyre place there was 14 miles on the clock??

 

[thebig1]

My car was taken over 40 miles to have tracking done but wasnt done as the other dealerships equipment failed on the car before mine. A week they had it and out of all 10 faults, none were fixed!

 

[Felstmiester]

I didn't say anything to the dealer at the time. After sitting in there for nearly 3 hours I just wanted to get out. I just paid and left. It the cost me another £20 + to get a puncture repaired that they more than likely caused because the screw he showed me looked pretty muck like what you'd take out of a splash guard or something!!

 

[stumpy1]

A friend of mine had a 911 fitted with a dashcam. It was shocking what actually went on with it whilst in for a service.

 

[flango]

Strangely enough the high end dealers seem to be the worst had both my Beemer and MB damaged by the dealer the Beemer needed 2.5k of bodywork

The dealer I use for our Volvo's are brilliant and treat the cars with care and respect you even have your own technician who comes to reception and greets and discusses the work with you any issues and he knows the buck stops with him

Never had a problem with these guys in 15 years but would never go anywhere near an MB or BMW dealer in the UK

 

[MCFastybloke]

I tell them no road test,no wash. I have watched the car wash guys behind the dealership,minimum wagw types in hoodies,drop a mit on the floor,pick it up and apply it straight to the panel, another struck the corner of the car with the jet wash lance.
As for the driving my view is, it does not have to be the test drivers fault, they could be pulled out on,struck from behind etc. The fact they "are fully insured" still means a financial loss on your behalf and the chance and inconvience of handling the claim.

I have the same criteria when airport parking if I have to leave the keys I go elsewhere.

In the past I have had damages to my vehicles while in custody of various professionals.

My dealer is Stratstone leeds.

 

[Pitts Pilot]

I took my car to MB Wandsworth for a minor repair.

I arrived at 8.30 am and parked it where I was directed, then left.

At 4.00 pm I phoned to ask if it was ready and was told "Yes", so I jumped in a mini cab and returned to the dealer.


To my surprise my car was in the exact same parking space that I had left it in initially. A coincidence I thought.

It turned out that the part they needed had not arrived in time, so my car spent the entire day just sitting in the car park!

I was furious, and told them so. Why didn't they check they had the part when I booked it in?


Why didn't they phone me as soon as they discovered they couldn't work on it and I would have had it for the latter half of the day, etc, etc

Needless to say I had to waste more time and book the car in AGAIN.


Oddly enough, the representative who dealt with my booking left three weeks later...!

Not MB service as I would normally expect.

Cheers,
Robert

 

[Giantvanman]

The MB dealer I bought from neglected to mention, sorry, lied outright more like, about having a workshop on site. They were a satellite for a branch seven miles away so not only did they not fit the accessories I ordered on site as they said they would, on finally having the vehicle ready for me to take (now with many more than delivery miles on the clock), it also had two brand new, freshly done stone chips on the bonnet. And then tried to say the chips were done during delivery to them, forgetting I was there when it rolled off the transporter and that I inspected the vehicle there and then. Idiots.
More miles to get the bonnet re-sprayed. Guess who didn't get our custom when we bought two more MB's a few months later.

 

[Charles Morgan]

Punctures happen.

Driving the car 14 miles seems rather excessive for the task in hand.

I have all my cars (except the Volvo as it has yet to need a service) done by oily rag garages where I know the owner, I am on first name terms with the guys who do the service and work, and where I am allowed to have a good look under the car, know how many sugars they like in their tea and play with the dog. Much more fun.

 

[bozmandb9]

Punctures happen.

Driving the car 14 miles seems rather excessive for the task in hand.

I have all my cars (except the Volvo as it has yet to need a service) done by oily rag garages where I know the owner, I am on first name terms with the guys who do the service and work, and where I am allowed to have a good look under the car, know how many sugars they like in their tea and play with the dog. Much more fun.

Exactly!

Unless the car is under warranty, why would you want to pay three times the labour rate for an inferior service. If I want a nice coffee in luxurious surroundings I can go to a nice hotel lobby! I don't need to pay an additional £100 per hour for this.

In my view, anybody decent working at a main dealer service department leaves and sets up as a specialist/ independent, which is where we then get their services for a third of the price.

Because they're not target driven on parts, and they know what they're doing, they replace the part which needs to be replaced, rather than every possible part which it could be, seemingly at random.

They are small business people, who value your custom, and want you to come back, so they look after you properly, this just doesn't apply with main dealers.

 

[bozmandb9]

Oh, and in the main, they take pride in their work, and enjoy providing good service, and even saving you money!

 

[christopherwk]

Main dealers seem to like keeping your car in the whole day. When I queried this, they say, the car might need additional work done, and don't want to promise anything (though they will contact me anyway, with an agreed collection time later in the day?), and that they service more than one car at a time...

Unfortunately due to the terms of my lease, I have to get it serviced at a main dealer. With an independent, who knows that I use my car for a living, will get to work on it straight away at soon as they open at 8.30am, and it'll be back by 10.00ish.

I wouldn't be surprised at a main dealer, they don't actually start working on the car until 10am - when all the cars due to be serviced that day are brought in.

 

[markjay]

Main dealers seem to like keeping your car in the whole day. When I queried this, they say, the car might need additional work done, and don't want to promise anything (though they will contact me anyway, with an agreed collection time later in the day?), and that they service more than one car at a time...

Unfortunately due to the terms of my lease, I have to get it serviced at a main dealer. With an independent, who knows that I use my car for a living, will get to work on it straight away at soon as they open at 8.30am, and it'll be back by 10.00ish.

I wouldn't be surprised at a main dealer, they don't actually start working on the car until 10am - when all the cars due to be serviced that day are brought in.

Service A takes under one hour, Service B around two hours.

If they started working on the cars at 9am then by midday they would have finished all of them.

But if they have your car for the day, they can slot it in whenever they have a free lift, sometimes not before 4pm.

This is why they prefer to have it for the day.

And you will often find that when additional work is required, you will be asked to book it in again another day anyway.

When I last had my car serviced at an MB dealer (2009), I insisted on waiting.

Over the years MB closed down all their Central London dealerships, and they are all scattered around Suburbia now meaning a lengthy travel from where I live.

I got my laptop with me so I could work. They were horrified at the idea , and even though the car was booked in at 9am, it was not ready before 1pm. As said, the actual service A takes under one hour...

Specialists (e.g. Olly) on the other hand will usually give you a specific time-slot, much like a GP apointment. Which works much better for me.

 

[automaniaman]

This thread does make a depressing read...It seems customer care and attention to detail is very much a lottery these days.

 

[pi22adough]

Here is my story...its a good one.

Took my c63 for serv B to my closest main dealer(25miles away form home) @8:30 am(earliest appointment).
They asked me when i booked that would i need a loaner,i said yes.
Left my car took theirs.I was told it should be around 2hr job.
i Got the call around 12ish to pick my car up.so i drove back(im clocking 75 miles allready).
Once i got there my car was sitting in a ready to go position just to be told that they cant open the safe where the cars key is.......wwwwttttfff???!!!
Ill said i wait....they replied that a locksmith will have about 4hrs of work to get it opened.
getting annoyed herd i said that i drive back home for the spare key and that they should drop the key wich is in the safe at my offices.
at this point they said everything to me to not do this.
they kept insisting that i should keep use the loaner that day and someone will bring my car to my house(wich they did at 8:30pm by the service manager).
So i drove home.now i been driving all f.....ing day because of them clocking in 100miles just for a bloody service.
once thet dropped the car off i did notice that there was close to 100 miles on the clock as to when i left it there.
so quick maths suggests 50 miles of joyride of some sort....
and thers no way to proove it.
thay can just say that they delivered it thru the long way around as there are several routes in between.
maybe they used my car for a testdrive for a new costumer???!!!
Or just trash it a bit....i will never know

 

[Giantvanman]

Here is my story...its a good one.

Took my c63 for serv B to my closest main dealer(25miles away form home) @8:30 am(earliest appointment).
They asked me when i booked that would i need a loaner,i said yes.
Left my car took theirs.I was told it should be around 2hr job.
i Got the call around 12ish to pick my car up.so i drove back(im clocking 75 miles allready).
Once i got there my car was sitting in a ready to go position just to be told that they cant open the safe where the cars key is.......wwwwttttfff???!!!
Ill said i wait....they replied that a locksmith will have about 4hrs of work to get it opened.
getting annoyed herd i said that i drive back home for the spare key and that they should drop the key wich is in the safe at my offices.
at this point they said everything to me to not do this.
they kept insisting that i should keep use the loaner that day and someone will bring my car to my house(wich they did at 8:30pm by the service manager).
So i drove home.now i been driving all f.....ing day because of them clocking in 100miles just for a bloody service.
once thet dropped the car off i did notice that there was close to 100 miles on the clock as to when i left it there.
so quick maths suggests 50 miles of joyride of some sort....
and thers no way to proove it.
thay can just say that they delivered it thru the long way around as there are several routes in between.
maybe they used my car for a testdrive for a new costumer???!!!
Or just trash it a bit....i will never know

Always take a photograph of the mileage before giving them your keys. And the bodywork and wheels.

 

[pi22adough]

Im absolutely sure that they put 50 miles in it but as i said if i would ask they could just say that they used the longer route(wich is a dual cw.,the shorter is a twisty A road).

 

[Rory]

In my view, anybody decent working at a main dealer service department leaves and sets up as a specialist/ independent, which is where we then get their services for a third of the price.

If only that were true! The ones I tried were near enough the same price for servicing work. I guess / hope there would be a bigger difference on other work.

Not MB, but on our VW, the local recommended indie is actually dearer than the dealer! I'm still going to them though, while I haven't had a problem with the MB dealer I use, I really don't trust the VW dealer.

 

[Andrew W]

After reading these horror stories why are

People so hung up on fmdsh !!

 

[markjay]

Im absolutely sure that they put 50 miles in it but as i said if i would ask they could just say that they used the longer route(wich is a dual cw.,the shorter is a twisty A road).

I would still put it to them. See what they have to say.

You never know... they might 'fess up.

I wouldn't just assume in advance that they will deny it.