Why were MB so bad and BMW so good???

[PJayUK]

I so wanted the experience of going to an MB dealer with nearly £20,000 in cash to buy a used car to be better than it was. I didn’t expect to be left waiting for nearly 20 minutes to be seen by a sales person and then told that the car that I had called last night about was not actually on site, even though I had arrived at the agreed time. Nor did I expect that the “MB experience” would include being looked at like I had asked if I could urinate on the back seat when I said I wanted to fit two infant seats in the back of the car for the test drive….. The W164 I drove was indeed a nice car miles better than our current W163 that we are looking to replace.. But somehow after the service we had received it was rather uninspiring. I was also staggered at the lack of flexibility and lack of interest demonstrated when I pointed out that I could pay for the car in full today but I wanted a discount. I was offered £1,000 and set of tailored mats in a rather “count yourself lucky” tone….

We left the Mercedes dealership at this point and went to look at the second car we had arranged to view…

I so wanted the experience of going to a BMW dealer with nearly £20,000 in cash to buy a used X5 to be WORSE than it was! We noticed the freshly valeted 3.0D X5 parked prominently on the forecourt. I really didn’t want the attitude of the sales staff to be so efficient and friendly and I certainly didn’t expect to see a file on the desk with all of my details immediately to hand. I really had hoped that I wasn’t given help and assistance in getting the car seats in the back of the car and then given some friendly advice to familiarise us on the controls of the car. I also really didn’t want BMW to offer me a free first service, new set of mats to transfer my wife’s private registration FOC, refurb one of the wheels which has a slight scuff on it and give me a grand off the cost. And I never expected to like driving a BMW so much….

So I am sorry Mercedes Benz but today BMW made you look like a bunch of amateurs.

We are going to buy the X5

 

[The Boss]

I so wanted the experience of going to an MB dealer with nearly £20,000 in cash to buy a used car to be better than it was. I didn’t expect to be left waiting for nearly 20 minutes to be seen by a sales person and then told that the car that I had called last night about was not actually on site, even though I had arrived at the agreed time. Nor did I expect that the “MB experience” would include being looked at like I had asked if I could urinate on the back seat when I said I wanted to fit two infant seats in the back of the car for the test drive….. The W164 I drove was indeed a nice car miles better than our current W163 that we are looking to replace.. But somehow after the service we had received it was rather uninspiring. I was also staggered at the lack of flexibility and lack of interest demonstrated when I pointed out that I could pay for the car in full today but I wanted a discount. I was offered £1,000 and set of tailored mats in a rather “count yourself lucky” tone….

We left the Mercedes dealership at this point and went to look at the second car we had arranged to view…
I so wanted the experience of going to a BMW dealer with nearly £20,000 in cash to buy a used X5 to be WORSE than it was! We noticed the freshly valeted 3.0D X5 parked prominently on the forecourt. I really didn’t want the attitude of the sales staff to be so efficient and friendly and I certainly didn’t expect to see a file on the desk with all of my details immediately to hand. I really had hoped that I wasn’t given help and assistance in getting the car seats in the back of the car and then given some friendly advice to familiarise us on the controls of the car. I also really didn’t want BMW to offer me a free first service, new set of mats to transfer my wife’s private registration FOC, refurb one of the wheels which has a slight scuff on it and give me a grand off the cost. And I never expected to like driving a BMW so much….

So I am sorry Mercedes Benz but today BMW made you look like a bunch of amateurs.

So I think we going to buy an X5!!!

well congrats..

i cant say i blame you.. there recently has been a negative vibe i get from many individuals who work at some of the london dealers....

x5 in my opinion is one of the better cars out there...

enjoy

some pics would be good..

im sure no one will sabotage the pic.. dont worrk

 

[BlackC55]

How much forthe ML?

 

[Pappilo]

Same experience I got from London dealers. They leave you waiting even though you have booked an appointment, do not call you back and do not move on prices. I think they get a lot of business and couldnt be bothered about losing 1 or 2 potential customers. I found the experience at MB South Wales to be extremely pleasant.

Can anyone recommend a dealer I can do my servcing with in Essex. Not any inside or just outside the M25

 

[The Boss]

Same experience I got from London dealers. They leave you waiting even though you have booked an appointment, do not call you back and do not move on prices. I think they get a lot of business and couldnt be bothered about losing 1 or 2 potential customers. I found the experience at MB South Wales to be extremely pleasant.

Can anyone recommend a dealer I can do my servcing with in Essex. Not any inside or just outside the M25

even servicing is significantly cheaper outside London..

london rate is nearly 1.5 times higher per hour than say Milton Keynes

 

[Apial]

So how much is the servicing rate?

 

[corned]

Don't forget to drive your new X5 round to the DP at the MB dealership to show it off. "Look what you have just negotiated off your sales figures this month".

 

[The Boss]

So how much is the servicing rate?

well from what i remember, Milton quoted me £105 and London something near £150-£160 (per hour)

some one here might know exactly what they are though..

 

[219]

Some lessons to be learned there , in these hard economic times .

 

[st4]

You must have liked the X5 enough to choose it over the ML.

To be fair I can see why you went for the BMW but I do not know if I had my heart set on a particular car whether I'd choose another just because of cr4p sales staff. I'd find another similar car at a garage that wanted to do business.

The X5 is a lovely piece of kit. Is it the new shape one. They are massive, but very luxurious. Enjoy it

 

[jeremytaylor]

Any clues as to who the offending dealer was, PJayUK?

 

[PhiliusM]

I totally agree. It seems as though it’s sometimes too much trouble for staff in the Portsmouth MB dealership to serve you. I had to wait 20 minutes for the salesman to turn up once when I had phoned him 10 minutes earlier to check whether he was available. Very friendly chap when you can get hold of him, as much use as **** on a frog. The only guy who is really helpful is in the parts department. He inhabits a little cubby hole at the back of the dealership. I thought it was because I had a SMART car that I was being treated like the poor relation. I was wrong, they’re just the same when you have an SLK.

I’m much happier with the Volvo dealership. One morning the brakes on my S40 were making an horrendous noise. Rang the dealership, bring it straight round they said. They were busy but managed to squeeze me in, made me a cup of tea. The service reception guy said he thought it would be a stone behind the back plate. The salesman, who sold the car to me the year before, spotted me and was very concerned that there was an issue with the car. He even remembered my name. A short time later the car was out of the workshop all better. It turned out that there was indeed a stone lodged between the brake disk and the back plate. What was the charge for this excellent service? Absolutely free. It made my week. The big downside to Volvo is that they don’t make an equivalent to the SLKL

I love the SLK hate the dealership.

 

[trapperjohn]

How do you get to be an MB Sales person? Do you work your way up from say, Ford or are MB salesperson's working their way down to oblivion (and taking the company with them) It certainly sounds like it.

I really would love to sell MB's and be so proud of the product and really serve the customer. Infact do what the BMW staff did, but better. Can it be that difficult to get it right.

I assume there is a training course MB salespersons must pass.

Tell you what, the episode at MB showroom would make a great Monty Python sketch. Can you just hear John Cleese saying. "What only 20,000 to spend aaaand you want to put child seats in it" Good Lord no, the BMW garage is just down the road if you want that sort of thing"

 

[st4]

Yes I'd also love to sell MB's for a living, it wouldn't seem like "work" to me and I'd give it my all, rather than turn up just because I have to. Hopefully MB HQ reads these boards and rethinks who it hires as staff.

True car enthusiasts make good car sales people as they genuinely are interested in what they sell and know about cars.

The fella who sold me my car was really good, transpires the fella was a complete car nut with an M3, E55 etc. He lived, sleeped and ate car driving. Thats the sort MB should have more of.

 

[Satch]

How do you get to be an MB Sales person? Do you work your way up from say, Ford or are MB salesperson's working their way down to oblivion (and taking the company with them) It certainly sounds like it.

"

Well here is one way to express your displeasure:

Car dealership customer service stinks! | Motor Trade Insider

 

[Adam230K]

As much as I agree with your thoughts on this, I still wouldn't have chosen another car over the MB for that reason, I would've just counted myself lucky that I didn't buy from that particularly crap dealership and find another better MB dealership with more customer focus and buy the car I want from them. That way at least you have a better chance of having a more positive ownership experience, with a car you actually wanted.

Now you have a second choice car from a first choice dealership, ok you might have a positive experience (sincerely hope you do by the way), but you will still think about that W164... and you know it!

 

[pugilist]

Interesting read folks. I am a BMW owner and my daughter has the MB. I look after both cars. I am sorry to say that the MB comes nowhere near the BMW in any department. However, with regard to the MB dealership I found the staff at Cambridge MB dealership a delight. They are very efficient, courteous and helpful. They even offered trade discount on the parts I purchased without even asking.

PJAYUK enjoy your new drive buddy and welcome to 'Joy'

 

[Will]

I agree with Adam to an extent - we all know that most MB dealers are pretty poor these days but I wouldn't go and buy a Lexus (for example) just because the dealers are good. Even some of the reliability issues, rust etc that we know about doesn't stop us buying Mercedes-Benz because we like the cars, and the brand

Annoying that they can still manage to sell thousands of cars to people even though the service is that bad - it's easy to see why the BMW 3-series does (or did) outsell the Ford Mondeo.

I have to say, that I have found BMW and Lexus to have very good service in their dealerships - whereas Mercedes (sales) were terrible and Audi were not all that great either.

Fingers crossed you like the new car - it sounds as though it should do you nicely

Will

 

[Niks]

Question, how comes the Audi Q7 isnt ever bought up in conversations when compared to the ML or the X5?

 

[MBK]

I've been looking for a family car now for the last few months and have visited the German dealerships in and around the west side of london (MB, VW and BMW) I have to say that BMW Dealers came out on top and I actually think my next car will be a BMW 5 series (and i did try different dealerships of the same brand) All i want from my new car is a nice drive and reliability, also after service which is trouble free, and after reading of the horror stories some of the guys on here are having with MB dealers its really putting me off the brand (dont worry though as i will keep my W124 till the end)

K