Main Dealer Experience - Am I being reasonable?

[Deleted member 6183]

A lot of dealers have poor processes and procedures, this includes all brands.

I wonder if you expected MB to be different?

In the past there might have been a difference but, sadly, MB are just another volume brand and, because of this, I wouldn't expect them to behave any better or worse than any other mainstream dealer.

 

[andym2]

A few years ago now I had the tyres changed at my MB dealer. When I got it home I noticed that one of the tyres was the wrong size; a 205 instead of a 225. Apparently they had the same sort of tyres to put on a C class the same day and the fitter had taken one off the wrong pile. I do them myself now. It doesn't save that much money, maybe £10-20/tyre, but it's easier than I expected and gives me a chance to clean the wheels properly.

 

[thebiglad]

I am starting to get frustrated with my local MB garage based on the following experiences - am I being reasonable or is this normal?


1) I get a tyre replaced and within minutes of driving away, I get a warning on the dashboard. It didn’t seem to be causing any problems but I had to get it fixed to pass the next MOT (£300 ish).

I was annoyed but thought "it’s just part of car ownership - these things happen".


2) I later find out that I have something called MOT protection which should have covered the sensor replacement. It would have been nice if they’d told me that (I admit that I should also have made myself aware of it, as it will be mentioned in my paperwork somewhere).


3) I book in for some more tyres to be replaced. Within 10 miles of driving away, I get a coolant warning telling me to switch the engine off. So now I’m thinking that’s the second time they’ve had my car in, and the second time it’s come away with a fault it didn’t have before. To my mind, once is unfortunate, twice is suspicious.


4) They seem to take ages completing work. When I book my car in for 9am to get a tyre replaced, I expect the mechanic to be ready and waiting with his spanners (and I always arrive 10 minutes early to ensure they're not waiting on me). It took them just under 3 hours to replace 2 tyres which seems absolutely ridiculous to me. I would understand if I had just turned up with no warning, but in fact if you do that they will send you away with a booking 7 days later at the earliest. I could see a doctor quicker than that. Bearing in mind my car also came away with a fault, I'm wondering what they were actually doing to my car in these 3 hours....


5) When my car was getting serviced they identified some work to be done. I was given the impression it was fairly urgent and they gave me a quote for it. They said come back in six months to get it checked. Well, I returned almost a year later to have it checked and all of a sudden, it’s not so urgent. And they gave me a quote for it again, but this time, the number of labour hours for the job had doubled. So now I’m thinking they just pluck these numbers out of thin air.


6) I have asked them at least 3 times to update my email address. It seems that even a simple task such as this is beyond them, as it still has not been done.


7) The email address listed on their website does not seem to exist. Whenever you send a message to it, it bounces back. In my opinion, this is pathetically unprofessional.



So am I being reasonable to get annoyed and mistrust them, or are these things just an annoying part of car ownership?

I feel like I spend half of my life in the place.

Hi the Cclass, I must admit that I'm confused. In my opinion you have been messed about not just once but over an extended period of time - and yet you don't appear to be able to decide for yourself that you are not happy with the crappy "service" you are getting from this MB garage ??

YOU are the customer and you are the person paying their wages and yet you seem incapable of saying enough is bloody well enough ?

Find another MB garage, tell them that you want MB quality service and don't pay until you get it. Don't put up with rubbish. To be honest I would be more concerned about what they should have done and didn't do. Give 'em the sack !!!!

 

[ash59fifty-uk]

Sounds like Northampton Mercedes the cowboys

 

[anderoo]

I've mentioned my dealership experiences on here before so won't repeat myself, but no you're not being unreasonable. I'm happy to repeat that it in my case it was the one in Oxford.

I'm equally happy to repeat that this made me go out and find a good independent garage and have been a customer of STAR motors in Reading ever since.

 

[Deleted member 6183]

Hi the Cclass, I must admit that I'm confused. In my opinion you have been messed about not just once but over an extended period of time - and yet you don't appear to be able to decide for yourself that you are not happy with the crappy "service" you are getting from this MB garage ??

YOU are the customer and you are the person paying their wages and yet you seem incapable of saying enough is bloody well enough ?

Find another MB garage, tell them that you want MB quality service and don't pay until you get it. Don't put up with rubbish. To be honest I would be more concerned about what they should have done and didn't do. Give 'em the sack !!!!

What is MB quality service?

 

[Deletedmember130310]

What is MB quality service?

you will know when you see it as it looks like a unicorn....

 

[esscee]

Just name them, if nothing else it might prevent other MB owners getting caught out by them in the future!

 

[Deleted member 134751]

"...I don't really want my account here to be personally identifiable."

Simply telling us the city, town or area you live in isn't really going to identify you personally. You need not worry.

Unless, of course, you believe the ridiculous, absurd rumours that actually, despite the apparently reasonable nature of our posts, we're mostly also obsessive, demented stalker types, just waiting for you to tell us where you live so one of us can come and lurk in your attic unknown to you. I say 'mostly', because the rest of us are members of the secret MB UK Customer Service Complaints Resolution Team - also known as The Terminators...

OOOPs. Sorry guys; I've let the cat out of the bag again...

It's not forum users I'm 'hiding' from! I don't want my local MB dealer linking this account with me!

 

[Deleted member 134751]

The problems you have experienced are pretty common for main dealers no matter who the manufacturer is, unfortunately. Time taken to do work, "essential, urgent" repairs, incompetent admin are complaints you hear of all the time. If you can be bothered you could list your complaints and send to the dealer principal- you'll probably get a grovelling letter of apology ("not up to our normal standard" etc), but don't expect anything to change. Sad but the price of having to deal with these companies.
If it's any consolation I spoke to a guy recently who buys a new high end AMG every year, sometimes 2 a year, and the service he gets has been the same as your experience.

Thank you - that's pretty much the reply to this thread I was expecting.

if it was Aproved Used then I beieve it would have a 12 month MB used car warranty

I'm well past 12 months, unfortunately!

A few years ago now I had the tyres changed at my MB dealer. When I got it home I noticed that one of the tyres was the wrong size; a 205 instead of a 225. Apparently they had the same sort of tyres to put on a C class the same day and the fitter had taken one off the wrong pile. I do them myself now. It doesn't save that much money, maybe £10-20/tyre, but it's easier than I expected and gives me a chance to clean the wheels properly.

See I'd like to do these things myself as well but I have no idea how to get the tyre (the rubber thing) onto the alloy (the round metal wheel thing).

Hi the Cclass, I must admit that I'm confused. In my opinion you have been messed about not just once but over an extended period of time - and yet you don't appear to be able to decide for yourself that you are not happy with the crappy "service" you are getting from this MB garage ??

YOU are the customer and you are the person paying their wages and yet you seem incapable of saying enough is bloody well enough ?

Find another MB garage, tell them that you want MB quality service and don't pay until you get it. Don't put up with rubbish. To be honest I would be more concerned about what they should have done and didn't do. Give 'em the sack !!!!

Oh I have absolutely decided that I am not happy. I just wanted to know if this is normal because I expected better from a main dealer and better from a supposedly premium/luxury brand like Mercedes. I would like to take my business elsewhere but don't know any better alternatives that are close enough to me. I'm also the sort of person that just wants a quiet and easy life - I'm not really one for complaints/confrontation as I (like to think) have better things to do with my time!

I've mentioned my dealership experiences on here before so won't repeat myself, but no you're not being unreasonable. I'm happy to repeat that it in my case it was the one in Oxford.

Thank you!

 

[rf065]

I would like to take my business elsewhere but don't know any better alternatives that are close enough to me.

Tell me where you are and I'll see if anyone recomended is near you? There are some good independants specialising in Mercedes cars.

 

[Smart320]

Well you can only speak as you find and my experience with Sinclair's MB dealer in Swansea has been excellent over the last four and a half years, had a w211 E class, Smart Convertible, ML and now my SLK in for servicing, warranty and non warranty work and have always been very impressed with the service

 

[flowrider]

Put you postcode into the link below and see if anyone comes up and then ask for members experiences.

Welcome to the Mercedes Specialist Finder website

 

[John]

I wouldn't say you are being unreasonable.

That's enough of a poor service / mess ups to stop me using a dealer and find another... or better still find a decent independent who cares.

Probably cultural in that business.

 

[kianok]

It's not forum users I'm 'hiding' from! I don't want my local MB dealer linking this account with me!

Why does it matter if they do, you’re not going to use them again anyway!

 

[Deleted member 134751]

Tell me where you are and I'll see if anyone recomended is near you? There are some good independants specialising in Mercedes cars.

Thanks - I am in central Scotland.

 

[Craig010]

As most have said, it's completely reasonable to expect a good quality of service from any main dealer, let alone a premium brand.

You're totally justified in your expectations, and fingers crossed you find somewhere that'll look after you better going forward, as it sounds like you've given your current dealer enough of your hard earned!!

 

[Deleted member 134751]

Why does it matter if they do, you’re not going to use them again anyway!

Well it's certainly looking that way. I've just been quoted £120 to diagnose a coolant issue that only appeared after they spent 3 hours fitting 2 tyres. They insist a coolant warning wouldn't be related to fitting tyres, and usually I'd agree, but it's an extraordinary coincidence that this is the second time they've given me the car back with warnings that I had never seen before.

And the winner is ....

Could be Arnold Clark perhaps?

It's Mercedes Benz Grangemouth.

 

[pmcgsmurf]

Thanks - I am in central Scotland.

We have Arnold in Grangemouth and Perth and to be honest I wouldn't buy a bulb off them or let them change a wiper blade.
Once had the service manager comment that I knew more about the cars than he did, at that point I decided I was out.

Edinburgh Newbridge though would be my choice but not for tyres, prefer these done locally at a tyre fitter.

 

[Deleted member 134751]

Edinburgh Newbridge though would be my choice but not for tyres, prefer these done locally at a tyre fitter.

Never used them before but I think I will give them a shout for my next service.