Rant alert - Utter intelligence insulting rubbish from Mercedes Benz?

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Palfrem

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 11, 2005
Messages
2,965
Location
Solihull, near Birmingham
Car
W124 E36 AMG, G 300 GEL his, SLK 200 hers
At a recent get-together (Brooklands) I met one of the previous owners of my W124 E36.

He told me that my car was originally a MB press car when it was first registered in the UK.

On the strength of this, I wrote to MB and asked if they could confirm if that was indeed the case. All I want to know is if it was a press car and any prep it may have had..

They have just responded to me as follows


"Thank you for contacting Mercedes-Benz Customer Service.

Regarding your enquiry as to the previous ownership of the above mentioned vehicle and if it was originally a press office vehicle. We are unable to divulge any information like this, due to data protection rules.

Should you have any further requirements please do not hesitate to contact me or any of my colleagues.

So we can be as responsive as possible, be so kind as to approve your contact details at ..................

And please let us know how we’re doing so we can continue to improve how we serve you: www.dccac.net/qm/ukencsw (reference number: >>>>>>>>>>>>>>)


Yours sincerely

Angela Bleus
Customer Service UK"

I despair!

What data protection rules? I don't want to know the names of any non-MB owners, just if it was a press car.

Customer Service my ar5e, get a grip you tossers! It's a long time MB customer (and paid up member of the MB Club) enquiring about the provenance of an "oldtimer" car he really likes and cherishes.

I can't believe I am off to Stuttgart in 4 weeks with the sole intent of visiting to the MB Museum.

Am I being unreasonable?
 
The bullsh!t with mb obviously comes from the top.
 
More than likely a stock answer as it will take one of their employees a large amount of time to research their records, which will no doubt result in other questions/open the floodgates for other requests and id imaging they only have a tiny team working on the email requests 1 or 2 people max.

Until recently I worked for the council were we constantly had Freedom of Information Requests. nearly half my job ended up being taken over by compiling information for newspapers, students and random busy bodies (not saying you are one!).
 
More than likely a stock answer as it will take one of their employees a large amount of time to research their records, which will no doubt result in other questions/open the floodgates for other requests and id imaging they only have a tiny team working on the email requests 1 or 2 people max.

Until recently I worked for the council were we constantly had Freedom of Information Requests. nearly half my job ended up being taken over by compiling information for newspapers, students and random busy bodies (not saying you are one!).

I get your drift, but they could have just said "No" :dk:
 
More than likely a stock answer as it will take one of their employees a large amount of time to research their records, which will no doubt result in other questions/open the floodgates for other requests and id imaging they only have a tiny team working on the email requests 1 or 2 people max.

^^^^ This.

The DPA and H&S are a God send to all jobsworths nationwide.
 
I get your drift, but they could have just said "No" :dk:

That would be a lie is the answer is really "yes".

I would guess that either, as mentioned above, they can't be bothered, or they think you'll claim the car was mis-sold or that MB is liable for some issue with the car.
 
This extract is from the Benzworld Forum, courtesy of Mercedes Enthusiast Magazine:

"The W124 E36 Coupe was imported into the UK between 1993 and 1997 ??? :confused: in very small numbers. It had the best performance figures for the right hand drive W124 E class and was equivalent to the E420 (only available in LHD like the E500).

Official imports: Coupe = 24, Cabriolet = 14, Estate = 7 and the Saloon = 12.

All reached 155mph except the Estate (149mph). The Coupe reached 0-62 in 7secs, the cabriolet/Estate, 7.2secs.

Further stats for the Coupe: Engine 3,604cc straight-six, Power 268bhp@5,750rpm, Torque 284lb/ft@3,750rpm, Transmission 4-speed auto, Weight 1.540kg."

and
http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=98939
 
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If it was a press car it probably has loads of pictures in the motoring press from its day of registration. I know it heaps work on you but may be worth a shot. An Autocar from that era may help.
 
I understand that for £5 I can get a list of all the previous owners from DVLA.

Might speculate a Fiver.
 
I understand that for £5 I can get a list of all the previous owners from DVLA.
^ That's where I'd start. If it was first registered as an MB UK car you can then make further enquiries armed with that knowledge.
 
I understand that for £5 I can get a list of all the previous owners from DVLA.

Might speculate a Fiver.

Not too sure where you got this information?

When I was tracking down my E-Class, I rang the DVLA and they would not divulge any information so I really don't see how they would just pass on details of previous owners for a fiver. Ended up using getting a copy of the MOT certificate and finding it through the garage which did it. Guess it would be harder in this case.

While I can understand the frustrations about not being given the answer you were looking for, at least they had the courtesy to reply. As someone else has said, your best option is probably to look for photos of the vehicle online and in magazines from the time etc.
 
Not too sure where you got this information?

When I was tracking down my E-Class, I rang the DVLA and they would not divulge any information so I really don't see how they would just pass on details of previous owners for a fiver. Ended up using getting a copy of the MOT certificate and finding it through the garage which did it. Guess it would be harder in this case.

While I can understand the frustrations about not being given the answer you were looking for, at least they had the courtesy to reply. As someone else has said, your best option is probably to look for photos of the vehicle online and in magazines from the time etc.
https://www.gov.uk/request-information-from-dvla
I've not done it - you need to provide grounds for wanting the info on previous owners - I don't know how rigorously DVLA scrutinises such requests
 
I had the same problem with a request for service history on my now current car, they would not tell me anything without proof of ownership, I explained that I wanted to know if it had a full history to enable me to go ahead with the purchase. They would not tell me anything unless I had the express permission of the current owner. They put all this down to ''data protection'' I said I didn't want to know anything about the owner, just if the car had a full history! When I quized them on it, they just said it is MB policy, end of! Utterly useless!
 
a nice thread on the W124 that includes some e36 pictures.

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Mercedes W124 turns 30 | GermanCarForum
 
I've got a list of all the owners of my Triumph Stag ,I paid £5 and it was from the dvla .. It was a long time ago and I can't remember what I had to do,but they did it then. Maybe if you contact a classic car club they can tell you what to do.
 
I imagine you need a fairly good reason. They point blank told me no when I asked for information to track the car down.

Have you been into a MB dealership? Might be worth a go if you get an old timer salesman who's into his mercs.
 
I had the same problem with a request for service history on my now current car, they would not tell me anything without proof of ownership, I explained that I wanted to know if it had a full history to enable me to go ahead with the purchase. They would not tell me anything unless I had the express permission of the current owner. They put all this down to ''data protection'' I said I didn't want to know anything about the owner, just if the car had a full history! When I quized them on it, they just said it is MB policy, end of! Utterly useless!

It was put slightly more succinctly to me by someone in a Surrey dealership that they weren't in the business of providing information to help people sell cars outside of the network (and it wasn't Guildford).
 
Businesses tend to interpret any regulation in different ways.

MB seem to take a tight view on DPA which is their privilege.

Asking if it's unreasonable to get upset about this on MBCLUB is almost guaranteed to receive a sympathetic response.
 

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