Mercedes Basingstoke review - you won't believe it

[Rpp999]

Can I ask why you are still putting yourself through all this stress and hassle. Tell them to keep the car and to refund your money. Life’s too short.

 

[Nat]

Can I ask why you are still putting yourself through all this stress and hassle. Tell them to keep the car and to refund your money. Life’s too short.

Do this.

 

[Deleted member 113659]

Can I ask why you are still putting yourself through all this stress and hassle. Tell them to keep the car and to refund your money. Life’s too short.

I know this is an option and seems an obvious way to go but once you come across a used car after lots of searching you want to hold onto it. Handing it back just means starting the search all over again.

A similar thing happened to us last September. We’d spent months searching for a certain spec. Once found we were reluctant to let it go. Disappointed that we had to sort a few issues out at our own expense but now it’s perfect and we love it.

 

[markjay]

I thought under the Consumer protection laws, a supplier has only 1 chance of putting defects right, and then only if this does not entail great inconvenience to the customer. If that is the case I'd be chucking this at them. They are clearly having a laugh at your expense.

Yes, but this is an odd one - the domino effect.... it seems that each time they had the car in and fixed one damage, the made new damage....

 

[Rpp999]

I know this is an option and seems an obvious way to go but once you come across a used car after lots of searching you want to hold onto it. Handing it back just means starting the search all over again.

A similar thing happened to us last September. We’d spent months searching for a certain spec. Once found we were reluctant to let it go. Disappointed that we had to sort a few issues out at our own expense but now it’s perfect and we love it.

I agree that when you find your perfect car after a long search your heart can over ride your mind in making a sound decision to the cost and time in fixing a few little niggles to bring to your exacting standards. But, in this case I believe the OP will never be satisfied with the end result because of the four months of anguish the dealer has put him through. Call it a day and walk away.

 

[markjay]

The potential issue with rejecting the car at this stage is that the currently outstanding issues have all been caused after the OP bought the car (albeit caused by the dealer). It is definitely worth a try, though.

 

[brokenyute]

The potential issue with rejecting the car at this stage is that the currently outstanding issues have all been caused after the OP bought the car (albeit caused by the dealer). It is definitely worth a try, though.

Yes exactly. The original defects have been fixed. These are new defects so arguably do not give me an automatic right per say to reject the car. If the original fixes were not satisfactory then I could have easily rejected. It is an uphill struggle with any dealer to go through this route and the way Basingstoke have acted it will probably take forever to sort. The best they will do is probably offer to buy the car back off me minus depreciation etc.

Plus I need access to a car due to work and I have not seen a car with similar specs near me. Leaving with me to only claim for compensation. I will be contacting the motoring ombudsman to take it further.

 

[oldguy57]

Yes exactly. The original defects have been fixed. These are new defects so arguably do not give me an automatic right per say to reject the car. If the original fixes were not satisfactory then I could have easily rejected. It is an uphill struggle with any dealer to go through this route and the way Basingstoke have acted it will probably take forever to sort. The best they will do is probably offer to buy the car back off me minus depreciation etc.

Plus I need access to a car due to work and I have not seen a car with similar specs near me. Leaving with me to only claim for compensation. I will be contacting the motoring ombudsman to take it further.

Personally I would not be accepting any deduction for depreciation, on the basis that the inconvenience the dealer has put you through more than offsets such issues.

 

[Nat]

What good will the motoring ombudsman be? Another long drawn out affairs of he said, she said. Dealer dragging their feet with the same old and maybe some new excuses?

If I were you, you have two options. Carry on fudging about with a dealership you have absolutely no faith in. The second been to get a quote from an independent/other company to make good the car. Once you have that quote send Merc B'stoke a letter before action along with the quote (copy) asking them to settle that bill. If they don't reply or oblige within the time scale you've given them (7, 14, 21, 28 days or whatever) then chase the money through your local County Court on the time scale day you've chosen. It really is an easy procedure to follow. You need to calculate your losses to date and the amount to reflect in an accurate manner.

Basingstoke Mercedes really haven't handled this well from your version of events. For your info and in the case you weren't aware, there are two other good companies in the area for servicing. Hampshire Service Centre nr Hartley Witney and Tim Purslow on the A30 nr the Basingstoke Country Hotel, nr Hook.

 

[Fastcar155]

Hi , MB UK are aware of their good and bad dealers.However , all car manufactures want dealers that can "move the metal".I believe that nothing else matters.

If a dealer group moves let's say as a figure of 1000 units per month is MB really want to upset the dealer.

I doubt it.

But from my understanding MB are taking a different route to market in the near future.

You therefore have a potential that car dealerships who make small margins at best on car sales may have nothing to sell.If that is the case a business that has a good book value today could be valueless in the near future.

I would suggest all dealers with MB have a finite term contract with MB and of notice has been given by either party to terminate contract staff would not be happy.

Citroen years had service centres in the UK where new car sales centres could not be warranted.

These dealers have have built up a greater market share for MB and now want to exploit the position.

It does not give the consumer choice when let's say as as MD do in that they bunch dealers together from the same group.

BMW in the early years (1980s) were represented by Wadham Stringer in the UK.

They were so successful that BMW set up an operation in the UK but gave WS extra cars to sell as a thank you.

 

[SarahAnn200]

Yes I agree. A classic example is the relatively new MB Stockport whose Chinese owners allegedly spent £60m on it. The place is full of 20 something Cheshire housewife types as front of house staff all dressed in uniform. You can order your drink from the bar, and watch the fountain in the car park whilst sales/parts/service personnel remain totally elusive. Clearly the Chinese consider this approach is what UK car buyers want. Impressed? not me.

LSH autos. I bought my c43 in 2019 from their Tamworth site. They were still building the plush site in Stockport which seemed quite extreme just to sell cars. Their prices were good when I bought mine but I'd hate to think how they are going to recoup the money for that new site

 

[oldguy57]

Hi , MB UK are aware of their good and bad dealers.However , all car manufactures want dealers that can "move the metal".I believe that nothing else matters.

If a dealer group moves let's say as a figure of 1000 units per month is MB really want to upset the dealer.

I doubt it.

But from my understanding MB are taking a different route to market in the near future.

You therefore have a potential that car dealerships who make small margins at best on car sales may have nothing to sell.If that is the case a business that has a good book value today could be valueless in the near future.

I would suggest all dealers with MB have a finite term contract with MB and of notice has been given by either party to terminate contract staff would not be happy.

Citroen years had service centres in the UK where new car sales centres could not be warranted.

These dealers have have built up a greater market share for MB and now want to exploit the position.

It does not give the consumer choice when let's say as as MD do in that they bunch dealers together from the same group.

BMW in the early years (1980s) were represented by Wadham Stringer in the UK.

They were so successful that BMW set up an operation in the UK but gave WS extra cars to sell as a thank you.

Yep moving metal is all that matters. The odd (or several) problem doesn't matter in the long term, since the days of customer loyalty are largely long gone. It's not confined to car manufacturers either - all large businesses seem to take the same view.