The ultimate Mercedes purchase experience: how to lose a deal.

[Deleted member 65149]

The service from Mercedes dealers is awful.

Surely you mean that the service from the Mercedes dealers that you've experienced has been awful. Not all employees of all dealers are the same. Just as not all Mercedes drivers are phenomenal!

 

[boxbrownie]

Háve you got nothing better to do with your life??

What? It's your kind of comments and reactions which lets these forums go down the pan...........you had better clear up your toys before bedtime.

 

[55NF]

In all my 28 years of buying cars (28 or so) I have to say that I've recently experienced the shoddiest service of all. This occurred in a Mercedes Benz dealership in which the lower-end staff were devoid of any moral obligation to resolve the issues which were handed to them from the DP.

I've had Mercedes from various dealers in the past & the service has been excellent.

I usually buy new cars on contract hire or PCP, this time I bought used.

Maybe it's buying 'used' that isn't such an attractive proposition?

 

[fab1975]

Not excusing the OP's experience with a salesman at all but if some of the people spent a day in the salesmans shoes they'd understand a bit more why so many don't seem to give a ****; high staff turnover, demanding customers, pressuring management etc etc not to mention those complete time wasters who spend hours tyre-kicking and test driving then go away and order online.

I see your point and that is exactly why I have been trying more than once to get some attention from MB in Cheshire.
Having been in sales myself many years ago, I am always very respectful of any salesman's time, which is why I tend to give tangible signs that I am really interested, such as sharing all my contact details, personal situation and any other information that can prove that I am not a tyre kicker. My current car is exactly in the same segment of the new C class, which again was a further indication that I was a genuine potential customer. I was definitely wearing a suit but I do not remember if my shoes had been polished properly on that day ;-)
The only thing that I did not do was to put a briefcase full of cash / gold / Halfords vouchers on the receptionist's desk, as I guess it might have come across in the wrong way

 

[Deleted member 37751]

What? It's your kind of comments and reactions which lets these forums go down the pan...........you had better clear up your toys before bedtime.

I'm going to have a bash and say that what he was suggesting was that you go to your local dealer with absolutely no intention of buying a car from them but letting on you *might*, just so you can get a test drive.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I see your point and that is exactly why I have been trying more than once to get some attention from MB in Cheshire.

Sadly it seems as though it's the luck of the draw whether you get a salesman that's switched on, but in a sense I can't really blame them; they are there to earn a living and the amount of time wasters they'll deal with in a single day can only be disheartening and make them blasé.

 

[mgooda]

No, Peterborough. But part of the same group: Robinsons

Robinsons Norwich, absolutely first class. Same salesman last 3 cars. Couldn't fault him or the dealer.

 

[WDB124066]

Robinsons Norwich, absolutely first class. Same salesman last 3 cars. Couldn't fault him or the dealer.

Nice when you get them isn't it....

Thing is with sales even though you may think you have wasted your time on a potential purchaser often that person will remember the experience and come back years later - I know this has happened with me, at the time I was 12 or 13 and a MB salesman was chatting to me about cars and things just because I was looking at one in a show room while waiting for a bus. Years later I bought one. Sometimes it is a long term investment.

 

[mat8n]

I went to look at a car with no intention of buying as I can't afford it yet(i'd never sat in the model but wanted to know I actually liked it), I told this to the salesman at the time(Craig), He spent a good hour with me showing me the facilities of the dealership, and chatting about my job,finances,family etc. He 'wasted' his own time on that day, must have been a quiet day!.....but I know when I am in a position to buy my next car I will go to him to source me one.

 

[stevehg]

What? It's your kind of comments and reactions which lets these forums go down the pan...........you had better clear up your toys before bedtime.

I'm not sure what you are trying to state. Maybe via PM you can fully explain yourself and what your issue is exactly??

In this thread, I have merely commented that there are easy pain free ways to order a new MB, if the dealer network is too frustrating. The comment came back that this was no fun. My response was simply that the car arriving is the fun part for me and the buying a hassle, I also added an appreciation that some people like that and that its personal choice.

You then post...

Yes, and no test drive either.........well its only £40K+

To which I replied...

Well that's not hard either, you can book that online, or phone or even better ask to have one for the day.

To which you replied...

From a broker? Really? Not ever heard that before......

Now, personally, I'm still of the opinion that its obvious what I meant, but you seem to have some axe to grind. I can only assume you feel that it's not correct to contact MB via their website to request a test drive. Naturally MB puts you in touch with their local representative.

I see no reason why it's wrong to take a test drive from a local dealer, order through an approved MB dealer,introduced via an online broker like dtd. By the way, that MB dealer may also be your local dealer, as there is no way to know until your order is placed. Statistically, for some it is both.

You then posted this...

Now, to me, the above post of yours comes across as derogatory. I think it's reasonable of me to ask if you've got nothing better to do than post derogatory responses on the forum. Yet you claim it's my responses that let forums like this 'go down the pan' and for acting like a juvenile.

Well I'll apologise to you and to all members here for taking this thread of the topic and for reacting to your broker response, as I could tell that you just wanted either to make point or create a confrontation. I could, and should, have acted like a grown up and ignored your post. So again sorry to everyone.

cheers, Steve

 

[meeeb]

Sadly it seems as though it's the luck of the draw whether you get a salesman that's switched on, but in a sense I can't really blame them; they are there to earn a living and the amount of time wasters they'll deal with in a single day can only be disheartening and make them blasé.

So what would your tactic be if, as I am at the moment and as explained previously, you were in the process of deciding which of three marques to buy?

Two salesmen are going to be disappointed.

Or to put it another way, two of them are going to regard me as a tyre kicker.

Their job is to sell cars and this will not infrequently lead to them spending time with people who ultimately decide against their marque. For most people it's a big purchase, the second biggest next to buying a house, so nobody with the requisite number of brain cells is going to walk into a dealership and buy the first car they fall over. It's not like going into a shop for a Mars Bar.

What else would they do with their time, play pocket billiards all day?

You used the term 'earn a living'. That's what they have to do; earn it.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

Sadly it seems as though it's the luck of the draw whether you get a salesman that's switched on, but in a sense I can't really blame them; they are there to earn a living and the amount of time wasters they'll deal with in a single day can only be disheartening and make them blasé.

Or it could be that on that particular day at that particular time things aren't going well. They may have just had a boll***ing from their boss for wasting too much time with unlikely customers. They may have just got a touch of the runs and needed to dash to the loo. There's a whole host of things that may have been the reason for them not performing as they should at that time. If you're getting bad treatment from everyone at the dealership then yes, it's best to keep well clear. But if it's just one person on one occasion then it's no reason to bite off your nose to spite your face and travel even further out of your way in an attempt to find the perfect customer service. Unless that's what you like doing.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

So what would your tactic be if, as I am at the moment and as explained previously, you were in the process of deciding which of three marques to buy?

Two salesmen are going to be disappointed.

Or to put it another way, two of them are going to regard me as a tyre kicker.

Their job is to sell cars and this will not infrequently lead to them spending time with people who ultimately decide against their marque. For most people it's a big purchase, the second biggest next to buying a house, so nobody with the requisite number of brain cells is going to walk into a dealership and buy the first car they fall over. It's not like going into a shop for a Mars Bar.

What else would they do with their time, play pocket billiards all day?

You used the term 'earn a living'. That's what they have to do; earn it.

Any salesman worth his salt knows the difference between a tyre kicking dreamer and a genuine customer.

Maybe I'm different, I don't know, but whenever I walk into any sort of showroom and a salesman introduces himself I tell him straight up what I'm doing; either killing time, looking at my options or ready to buy that day. I don't ever recall having a bad experience when I use this approach; I know that time wasters are sort of in the job discription but some of the doughnuts you'd meet could make a saint cry.

 

[Dryce]

Any salesman worth his salt knows the difference between a tyre kicking dreamer and a genuine customer.

How?

If I enter a dealership then it's late on in the buying decision process befor I start to consume my time and theirs in the process. So at best for them it's down to specifics of the deal - at worst it's sorting out the final decision on which marque/model.

So no tyre kicking. It's all final lap of acquisition or actually approaching the finish line.

But.

Experience over the last few years has been that even at this stage 50% of dealers will waste my time - either misleading on the phone as to car availability - or messing about with the price.

Why?

Well how do they appear to define a tyre-kicker? Basically in simple terms with the 50% that fail it's a person who fall outside *their process*. Now their process wastes my time also quite significantly wastes their time and resource too - particularly if the sale fails.

This isn't an entirely new problem IME. But I think it's got worse as the some of the chains of dealers try and commoditise their sales force and homogenise their sales process by setting out how they qualify and engage with the customer.

 

[Meldrew2]

I'm a bit confused. Is a test drive of a new car really essential?

You can check the driving position for comfort in the showroom - does a test drive really show much more? After all, there are plenty of car reviews that would highlight poor handling, noise etc that are written after a longer test than just once "round the block".

There is a good argument for test driving used cars - to ensure their condition is ok - but with a new car, what's the reason - especially as the demonstrator may well be different engine / trim / suspension.

I'm not picking fault - just genuinely interested. I've bought a few cars without test driving and I've been happy with each of them. Maybe I'm just undemanding - or maybe I've been lucky.

 

[Hillbillybenz]

Robinsons Norwich, absolutely first class. Same salesman last 3 cars. Couldn't fault him or the dealer.

+1 can't fault them, sales guy this time was a little short on technical knowledge but he had not long started with Mercedes and I prob ask more involved tech questions than most coz I'm a geek

 

[Hudsonn]

Personally I don't see any issue with going in to dealers and getting test drives before you are ready to buy. I couldn't possibly begin to decide what car I wanted without sitting behind the wheel - how else are you supposed to drive one unless you just happen to have a mate who owns one?

Before christmas I went and test drove an A45, I walked in and told the dealer I wanted a new car but had no idea what I wanted and I was going round a few dealers test driving various things. They didn't mind at all, took me out for a test drive, accepted my opinion when I told them I didn't like it and was going to go and buy a Cayman instead. Very quickly fell out of love with that choice and back to Mercedes 2 months later I bought a C63 but that's a different story.

The point is they treated me well even though I told them I was testing loads of different cars, as they should. That's their job isn't it? Persuade me that the car they have is the best option, not just turn me away because I haven't walked in waving a cheque in their face.

 

[Dryce]

I'm a bit confused. Is a test drive of a new car really essential?

Yes.

You can check the driving position for comfort in the showroom - does a test drive really show much more? After all, there are plenty of car reviews that would highlight poor handling, noise etc that are written after a longer test than just once "round the block".

Reviews are typically 'diplomatic' because journalists don't like to p*ss off the big marques.

Also skewing things is the way journalists typically get given top spec engines and trim and loads of options. That isn't just to show off - it also conveniently gives them loads of stuff to write about on stuff the majority of customers won't experience.

Then there are the locations. Reviewing some sporty little number on some of the better roads in Corsica or in the Italian alps isn't necessarily going to be relevant to the likely experience somebody commuting to Birmingham in winter.

So the average review in the motoring press is a useful starting point but not as useful as it might appear to be. The car they are driving is not likely to be the same as the ones the majority of customers buy.

 

[meeeb]

Any salesman worth his salt knows the difference between a tyre kicking dreamer and a genuine customer.

Maybe I'm different, I don't know, but whenever I walk into any sort of showroom and a salesman introduces himself I tell him straight up what I'm doing; either killing time, looking at my options or ready to buy that day. I don't ever recall having a bad experience when I use this approach; I know that time wasters are sort of in the job discription but some of the doughnuts you'd meet could make a saint cry.

It seems to me then that many salesman are not 'worth their salt'.

I was 'straight up' with the Audi salesman and as soon as he realised I wasn't going to buy a car that day, that at that stage it was just part of a process of elimination, I could see the shutters come down over his eyes. He could have said, "come back when you want to buy and I'll help you, but not until", but he didn't have to, it was in his body language. What he should have done is engaged his brain and told himself that if he could be ar*ed, he could maybe swing a deal.

Proper salesmen should be experienced, patient and skilful enough to deal with 'doughnuts'; some people do it all day long.

At the moment all I'm doing it seems, is eliminating dealerships, not cars.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

It seems to me then that many salesman are not 'worth their salt'.

I was 'straight up' with the Audi salesman and as soon as he realised I wasn't going to buy a car that day, that at that stage it was just part of a process of elimination, I could see the shutters come down over his eyes. He could have said, "come back when you want to buy and I'll help you, but not until", but he didn't have to, it was in his body language. What he should have done is engaged his brain and told himself that if he could be ar*ed, he could maybe swing a deal.

Proper salesmen should be experienced, patient and skilful enough to deal with 'doughnuts'; some people do it all day long.

At the moment all I'm doing it seems, is eliminating dealerships, not cars.

Listen, I'm not going to defend the attitude you've encountered, it's not good at all, it's quite possible that he needed to make his numbers up for the month end and sell some cars and the thought of following you about while you make your mind up was a waste of time for him.

This isn't to excuse it, moreso explain it.

Like I say, I've never suffered a poor attitude from a salesman, maybe that's a reflection of my laid back attitude, who knows.

Can I ask, what do you do for a living?