Clarkson wrote a column a couple of weeks ago about how bad Mercedes dealerships are. It was the usual over the top stuff, but there was also a lot of truth in it. He said Mercedes make good cars and as long as you don’t need to interact with their dealers too often you’ll be OK. If you need the services of the dealers you’ll quickly realise that they hate you.
Last week I heard the dreaded rattle that indicates the cat had disintegrated. I took it down to Mercedes at Harpenden. (They’re not very local but I’ve already scrubbed Colindale and Watford off my list because of previous bad experiences). The mechanic confirmed that it needed a new cat so I booked it in. A week before the booking I phoned up and asked if they could confirm that they had the parts. They assured me they had. (I did this because I’ve already been caught with the trick where they don’t do the job because they haven’t got the parts, having previously told you that they have). I took the car in at 8am and asked them to get it ready by lunch time if possible. (It takes less than 2 hours to replace a cat). I phoned at lunch time and was told they were still working on it, but they’d ring me back when it was done. I phoned again at 2.30 pm. (Phoning a Mercedes dealer is always a pain because they take ages to answer the phone and you always have to get put through to someone else who is usually unavailable, so you have to phone again). This time they said the car was ready. However, when I went to pick it up the guy said that they’d checked the car out and I needed a new cat, which they’d have to order. At this point I went completely ballistic. The service rep retreated to find out what had gone wrong. When he returned he said that they did have the parts but there had been confusion over the booking. I would have to book the car in again and they didn’t have a slot available for two weeks. To cut a long story short I had words with the service manager and they did the job a couple of days later.
But it’s the second time I’ve had this problem. The whole episode was a catalogue of incompetence. Why did no one phone back? Why was I told they were working on it when they weren’t. Why do mechanics have to go on extended test drives to check a cat problem? Why do they have to alter every setting in the car and set the radio to Radio 1 at high volume? Why can’t they use their computer systems properly? Why do I get the impression none of them is really very bothered about the shoddy service (with the possible exception of the service manager).
I’ve recently been getting loads of bananas through the letterbox about how Mercedes are changing their dealerships. “The people will be the same but you’ll have a different experience” etc. Wrong. It’s possibly getting worse. There’s all this stuff about having teams of mechanics with a team leader, so that when you phone up you’ll be able to talk to someone who knows exactly what’s being done on your car. Wrong again.
In my extended chat with the service manager he said two things that were interesting – one wrong and one right. He said that Mercedes have a “captive market” – i.e. there are people out their who’ll buy a Merc no matter how badly they’re treated, presumably because of badge snobbery. Well that doesn’t include me. My next car will not be a Merc. He also said the problem is that a few years ago they were selling 25,000 cars a year. They’re now selling 100,000 and the dealer network is no larger. That’s why you can’t park when you take it to the dealer for a service, and why you wait for ages to get served. They could soon be back to 25,000 if they don’t sharpen up.
Edited for content by Shude
Last week I heard the dreaded rattle that indicates the cat had disintegrated. I took it down to Mercedes at Harpenden. (They’re not very local but I’ve already scrubbed Colindale and Watford off my list because of previous bad experiences). The mechanic confirmed that it needed a new cat so I booked it in. A week before the booking I phoned up and asked if they could confirm that they had the parts. They assured me they had. (I did this because I’ve already been caught with the trick where they don’t do the job because they haven’t got the parts, having previously told you that they have). I took the car in at 8am and asked them to get it ready by lunch time if possible. (It takes less than 2 hours to replace a cat). I phoned at lunch time and was told they were still working on it, but they’d ring me back when it was done. I phoned again at 2.30 pm. (Phoning a Mercedes dealer is always a pain because they take ages to answer the phone and you always have to get put through to someone else who is usually unavailable, so you have to phone again). This time they said the car was ready. However, when I went to pick it up the guy said that they’d checked the car out and I needed a new cat, which they’d have to order. At this point I went completely ballistic. The service rep retreated to find out what had gone wrong. When he returned he said that they did have the parts but there had been confusion over the booking. I would have to book the car in again and they didn’t have a slot available for two weeks. To cut a long story short I had words with the service manager and they did the job a couple of days later.
But it’s the second time I’ve had this problem. The whole episode was a catalogue of incompetence. Why did no one phone back? Why was I told they were working on it when they weren’t. Why do mechanics have to go on extended test drives to check a cat problem? Why do they have to alter every setting in the car and set the radio to Radio 1 at high volume? Why can’t they use their computer systems properly? Why do I get the impression none of them is really very bothered about the shoddy service (with the possible exception of the service manager).
I’ve recently been getting loads of bananas through the letterbox about how Mercedes are changing their dealerships. “The people will be the same but you’ll have a different experience” etc. Wrong. It’s possibly getting worse. There’s all this stuff about having teams of mechanics with a team leader, so that when you phone up you’ll be able to talk to someone who knows exactly what’s being done on your car. Wrong again.
In my extended chat with the service manager he said two things that were interesting – one wrong and one right. He said that Mercedes have a “captive market” – i.e. there are people out their who’ll buy a Merc no matter how badly they’re treated, presumably because of badge snobbery. Well that doesn’t include me. My next car will not be a Merc. He also said the problem is that a few years ago they were selling 25,000 cars a year. They’re now selling 100,000 and the dealer network is no larger. That’s why you can’t park when you take it to the dealer for a service, and why you wait for ages to get served. They could soon be back to 25,000 if they don’t sharpen up.
Edited for content by Shude
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