Stealer Advice Please

[baxta]

Took my E200 into main dealer because last weekend the seat belt tensioners activated as I went over a speed bump doing less than 10mph in a car park.
They carried out a brief inspection but want the car for a couple of days as they could not find out the cause without apparently stripping the centre consul out.
Their initial inspection took half an hour. The4y found nothing. They want to charge me £65 for finding nothing then another £? for stripping it to actually diagnose the problem.
I told them to go whistle for the £65 as, even though its not under warranty (four years old) it is a safety issue and should be carried out FOC, especially as the air bags did not deploy. Had there actually been an accident there is now some doubt as wether they would have.
Am I in the right for demanding this be carried out at no cost to me?

As alway7s, many thanks in advance.

 

[hawk20]

Having your brakes relined is a safety issue, as are many things on cars, but you won't get them done free. You could e-mail Customer Service at Mercedes via their website and hope for either good advice or a goodwill gesture.

 

[l5foye]

Are the seat belt tensioners linked to the airbags? I would have thought not. What I mean is- just because the tensioners came on, it does not mean the airbags should deploy. I know in my car I can make the tensioners come on by going up or down a steep hill quickly. It takes an impact of a certain amount of force to activate the airbags.

 

[baxta]

The actual firing mechanism in the seat belt mechanism has activated meaning the whole belt has to be replaced...............as if it HAD been in an accident but it wasnt. It didnt just tension up it fired the cartridges.

 

[glojo]

How old is the car and where did you buy it from?

John

 

[baxta]

The car is about four years old and I bought it from a garage in Norwich

 

[Flash]

The way that MB Stealers work is that they charge by the hour for diagnosis or go by a fixed cost as per MB "book" gudielines i.e. a ceiling rpic eis set to carry out certain work/repairs regardless to the time being exceeded. Enquire about this fixed/ceiling price.

IF a fault is found then you can possibly claim for the £65 charged for failing to initially find the fault...

If it is a DC UK Stealership and not a private franchise group then DC UK Cus Services may be able to negotiate something otherwise if it is a franchise group than it is down to their discretion.

 

[glojo]

The car is about four years old and I bought it from a garage in Norwich

If the garage you bought the car from is a Mercedes-Benz main dealer then it should have a second-hand warranty or Signature and hopefully this might be fixed under the warranty.

If you did not buy it from a Mercedes-Benz main dealer then why are you expecting them to carry out free work on your vehicle?

I am simply curious and not critical.

Regards,
John the curious

 

[Ian B Walker]

Mercedes Preston are having my car tomorrow to Bootstrap the ECU. Total cost..........nil. It always pays to be friendly with these people. Ok get all my important spares there, but even so I would have thought that there would have been a charge.

 

[BonzoDog]

When I start to read a complaint that starts out by referring to the other party as Stealer, I am less inclined to be sympathetic.
This piece of argot is funny once but not, in my opinion, long term.
It cannot be that we have a bunch of Mercedes fans who support this continual way of referring to the Dealers. I accept that in UK, there might be a problem but by recollection much of this is about charges and nobody can be such a virgin to say that it is a surprise that Mercedes support is expensive. These guys are in business and they make their money by selling their time, skills and knowledge.

 

[Parrot of Doom]

When dealers (in general) offer superior service to that given by back street independants, then I'll stop calling them stealers.

Their prices do not reflect their worth. They do however reflect the perceived value of the product they sell.

The critisism is entirely valid IMO. Glass walls, aluminium ceilings, marble tiled floors, fancy desks, nobody needs these things. People just want a nice car, and good service, and the only time I hear of good service from any dealer is from people who don't know much about what goes on under the bonnet.

All IMO.

 

[BonzoDog]

Personally I rather like glass walls and the rest - it fits the image. On the other hand I have nothing at all against small independents and have used them extensively in my time, usually out of preference, as I can talk to them, see what they are doing and cost wise, there is often a significant difference. I like to talk to them as, in my time, I have dismantled and reassembled many blocks, carburettors, ignition systems, brake systems, top ends and cooling systems. The blocks include side valves, straights and V's but no diesels. I have also in my time dismantled and rebuilt a number of cars, mostly old bangers, belonging to myself and friends. I know enough to know that I don't know much but I have a wee suspicion of what goes on under the bonnet. When my cars are older I shall also consider using independents.
That reminds me of possibly my favourite film 'My Cousin Vinny' when Marisa Tomei is put on the stand as an expert car witness. The prosecution is a little sceptical regarding her abilities.
What all that has to do with the pejorative use of the word Stealers I don't know. As I said I know some people have had some real problems but it is a long, long way from my experience and insufficient grounds to generalise all Dealers under this heading. After all , if that is the way they behave in one area I would have considerable doubts about their abilities in other areas, such as their general ability to build cars. Thus I would call into question why anybody using the term Stealers buys this marque of car.

 

[prprandall51]

To steal is to take without permission against the wishes of the owner.
I would also call them stealers is I had no option about whether to use them or not. Fortunately, it's a free country and I can go to an independent if I prefer. Therefore, nobody can realistically call them stealers since you only go there by choice.

 

[Flash]

To steal is to take without permission against the wishes of the owner.
I would also call them stealers is I had no option about whether to use them or not. Fortunately, it's a free country and I can go to an independent if I prefer. Therefore, nobody can realistically call them stealers since you only go there by choice.

Depending on the nature of the fault you have to use the Stealers sometimes without choice.

Well, if something is covered under warranty and they try to invoice/bill you then what would you call them…? This has happened to myself with the Sprinter and I had to pay to release the vehicle from their cutsody BUT after a long “battle” with DC UK Cus Services I got reimbursed which they were very reluctant to assist with.

 

[Dieselman]

When I start to read a complaint that starts out by referring to the other party as Stealer, I am less inclined to be sympathetic.
This piece of argot is funny once but not, in my opinion, long term.
It cannot be that we have a bunch of Mercedes fans who support this continual way of referring to the Dealers. I accept that in UK, there might be a problem but by recollection much of this is about charges and nobody can be such a virgin to say that it is a surprise that Mercedes support is expensive. These guys are in business and they make their money by selling their time, skills and knowledge.

I think the term is overused as most transactions are fair to the point that the quoted work is done.
What you probably don't see in Luxemburg is the eye watering labour rates. The average UK dealer labour charge is £100 per hour + vat. Correct me if I'm wrong but the labour rates in Luxemburg are probably nearer £80 Euros + vat.
With an exchange rate at 1 euro + £0.65 that makes 80 euros worth £52.

This is the problem.

 

[DC_insider]

The critisism is entirely valid IMO. Glass walls, aluminium ceilings, marble tiled floors, fancy desks, nobody needs these things.

Your criticism is misplaced. Dealers have no say in this. Manufacturers set the minimum standards for Dealerships and Dealers must meet them irrespective of whether they feel that they help to sell cars/provide a better service or not.

 

[baxta]

When I start to read a complaint that starts out by referring to the other party as Stealer, I am less inclined to be sympathetic.
This piece of argot is funny once but not, in my opinion, long term.
It cannot be that we have a bunch of Mercedes fans who support this continual way of referring to the Dealers. I accept that in UK, there might be a problem but by recollection much of this is about charges and nobody can be such a virgin to say that it is a surprise that Mercedes support is expensive. These guys are in business and they make their money by selling their time, skills and knowledge.

I apologise if I caused offence but I was merely following in the footsteps of others on here and I believed it to be how one reffered to main dealers when addressing them on this forum

 

[BonzoDog]

I think the term is overused as most transactions are fair to the point that the quoted work is done.
What you probably don't see in Luxemburg is the eye watering labour rates. The average UK dealer labour charge is £100 per hour + vat. Correct me if I'm wrong but the labour rates in Luxemburg are probably nearer £80 Euros + vat.
With an exchange rate at 1 euro + £0.65 that makes 80 euros worth £52.

This is the problem.

My friends and colleagues with Murky B's all wince at the service bills but I have never noticed the actual labour rate. I have a C service coming up in the next couple of weeks and will check.
Nobody complains about the end product though.
I am so impressed that when I get into an occassional discussion about marketing, I use my local Dealer as an example of how decent service, respect for the customer, positive interest and follow up, builds confidence and leads to follow on business.

 

[BonzoDog]

I apologise if I caused offence but I was merely following in the footsteps of others on here and I believed it to be how one reffered to main dealers when addressing them on this forum

Baxta I should have seen that you were relatively new and I got onto one of my hobby horses a little too quickly perhaps.
The reports indicate that people are unhappy with some Dealers but, in my view, this should not tarnish all of them, especially those who do a good job.
I see companies as an end to end operation and a failure at one point can affect the whole system. Conversely I see the Service point as a marketing opportunity - trat the customer properly, give him confidence in the organisation and he will stay with the system. It would seem that MB are falling down at some point.
Good luck , enjoy the forum as you will get some excellent advice.