Worst dealer story you have heard

[maddog]

Lets have your dealer horror stories



A friend told me of his woes with his early ML diesel

At the 2 year point the glow plugs needed replacing and in the process the cylinder head was damaged and required removal to repair , after the repair he had only driven a few miles and got a strong smell of diesel in the cabin , upon checking one of the glow plugs was very loose and leaking badly so back to the dealer

It was decided the head was faulty and a new one would need to be ordered along with injectors and glowplugs, due to the mileage on the car 60k+ they were unwilling to cover cost of the repair, after much to'ing and fro'ing it was agreed MB would pay for the parts and he would have to cover the labour

The car was away for around 3 weeks and eventually he got the call to go down and collect it one Friday afternoon

When he arrived he was ushered into the Service manager office and told that whilst on road test the car had been written off by driving into the back of an Artic .......he was then given the bill for the engine repair

Funnily enough he drives a Volvo nowdays

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A friend of a friend dropped his Evo at the local Mitsubishi dealer and had his wife drop him off at work , later that morning a collegue came up to him asking him why he was driving like an idiot that morning as his car was seen driving at very high speed and recklessly about 30 minutes after it had been delievered to the dealer, turned out a couple of mechanics fancied a joy ride

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One of my mums collegues had the Police turn up one day at work due to his car being used in a ram raid , as far as he knew it was being serviced at the local Ford dealer , when the Police phoned the dealer they had no idea the car had been stolen but admitted it was their normal proceedure to leave cars on the forecourt with the keys in them!!

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Anyone remember the forum where the mechanic in the states was caught after he admitted thrashing a customers car ??? I have been trying to google it without sucess

 

[W210 Fan]

I dont know if that key and ramraid one is beatable,

 

[SilverSaloon]

One of my mums collegues had the Police turn up one day at work due to his car being used in a ram raid , as far as he knew it was being serviced at the local Ford dealer , when the Police phoned the dealer they had no idea the car had been stolen but admitted it was their normal proceedure to leave cars on the forecourt with the keys in them!!

Always annoys me when i collect a car from the garage and they say, "cheers, your car is parked over there...."..... i ask for the keys and they say....

"in the ignition sir!"



one of the times it was my BMW 7 series when it was worth just over £30,000 - parked outside KwikFit type place on the busy high street with keys in the ignition!

 

[bigyin1]

This isn't MB related, although could be....

The current range of Audi's with the DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) fitted have to go through a certain cycle to burn off the bad gasses in the filter. Problems occur when you do lots of short trips and not enough long ones get get the exhaust temperatures high enough to burn these gases. Upon customers complaining that their DPF light was on and going to Audi to have it fixed, the garage was told by Audi that they had sold the customer the wrong type of car, or that the customer isn't driving it correctly.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall when you tried explaining that one to a customer...

 

[mercboiuk]

My exhaust manifold was cracked on my W124 230E. I noticed this when I was at Uni, so consulted the local Midlands dealer.

The advised me to get it replaced as soon as possible, because there was a chance the down pipe could break away, resulting in the down pipe hitting the floor. The mechanic then informed me that if this happened at speed, the exhaust could dig in a flip the car.
Great tactic for a sale, don't ya think.

I then phoned my MB Specialist and we had a good chuckle!

Darren

 

[davidjpowell]

My exhaust manifold was cracked on my W124 230E. I noticed this when I was at Uni, so consulted the local Midlands dealer.

The advised me to get it replaced as soon as possible, because there was a chance the down pipe could break away, resulting in the down pipe hitting the floor. The mechanic then informed me that if this happened at speed, the exhaust could dig in a flip the car.
Great tactic for a sale, don't ya think.

I then phoned my MB Specialist and we had a good chuckle!

Darren

Something similar happened on a MB which my dad had when we were kids. Pipe snapped while we were on the way back from cornwall, while the car did not overturn, my dad did lose direction control - we ended up on the other side of the road, fortunately not with traffic oncoming.

I did hear of a Toyota dealer in Bristol, where a friend dropped her new Rav4 in for a service. She came back to collect it after a week away to find it rather more dirty, with quite a few more miles, and less fuel. It turned out that the valeter decided to borrow the car. They bought the car back, for the price she paid!

 

[maddog]

This isn't MB related, although could be....

The current range of Audi's with the DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) fitted have to go through a certain cycle to burn off the bad gasses in the filter. Problems occur when you do lots of short trips and not enough long ones get get the exhaust temperatures high enough to burn these gases. Upon customers complaining that their DPF light was on and going to Audi to have it fixed, the garage was told by Audi that they had sold the customer the wrong type of car, or that the customer isn't driving it correctly.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall when you tried explaining that one to a customer...

Same happens on our Skoda not surprisingly as its the same engine but the light has come on twice in the last 38k , Skoda blame faulty sensors they clean and refit them but reckon there is a better fix on the way

 

[Mr E]

Non-MB story, and I can't name the garage.....

We were expecting Mr E Jnr and Mrs E was insisting on a large 4 door car. I bought a motor (Rover 800) quite cheap from a family friend who had looked after it and, seeing as Mr E Snr was on nodding terms with the local garage, I thought I'd pop it in for an oil change.

Next day on the M25 the dash lights up. I pull over onto the hard shoulder and popped the bonnet to see the last of the oil draining out of the sump...

So, recovered to garage who very promptly checked it out and rang back to say it needed a new head, etc. They supplied a pretty crumby car in the interim, and got it fixed in about 10 days.

Had the car back a couple of days when the power steering fails. Mr E Snr looks at car and says that the hydraulic lines had been crimped when the head was put in. Back to garage - they disputed it was their fault but agreed to an independent mechanic (RAC) to look at it and to abide by their decision (with the loser paying the bill). He backed up Mr E Snr's diagnostics and so new rack, pump and pipework installed. Crumby car in the meantime...

So once back, had it for about a week when the car stops in the middle of the road. Doesn't sound too good when trying to start it so phone recovery firm (they're getting to know me quite well now...). Snapped cam belt. Garage deny all responsibility until the recovery guy says "Didn't you change the head on this recently? This is an old cam belt..."

Suffice to say I was not the happiest bunny on the block. Insisted on a nice car while engine is replaced and had a nice new Vx Senator for 6 weeks (delivered with 25 miles on the clock...). Car was now at the main Rover dealer who called me one day to say that they had recommended that the ECU was changed as well, but the garage didn't want to pay for this. They wanted to keep me in the picture.

I pick up the car and drive home - very strong smell of petrol. Open the bonnet, and the sound deadening material is sodden with fuel!! Recovery back to garage where they tighten up the fuel lines.....

So car comes back. The weekend before Jnr is due, the car dies at Tesco. AA come out and diagnose a dead ECU. Recover to Rover garage as they had pre-empted this...

Now many may say that I was too reasonable over this, but the garage had responded perfectly. When they disputed, they agreed to abide by an independent inspection and never, when obviously their fault, hid from theor responsibility.

However, I did pop this time. No car, baby due in two days, live out in the sticks.... The MD came to visit the next day with a large cheque (about 5 times the value of the car), a disclaimer to sign and the keys to his car (7 series) that I could us for up to 4 weeks while looking for a new car.

I still have all the paperwork, hire documents, etc, as plenty don't believe me when I tell them - still brings a smile to my face when I see a copy of the cheque though

 

[Doodle]

A friend of mine had his g/f's brand new CLK ragged by the dealers on the delivery run to his house.

They'd decided to try and keep up with this fast moving Impreza (company car) and gave the CLK a good roasting in the process. It took a few mins before he got a clear view of the plates, at which point he dropped the hammer and disappeared to arrive at the house far enough ahead of them.

Apparently the look on their faces was priceless as they came down the drive and realised they'd been busted

 

[Moylesey]

Went to my local main dealer for a set of MB valve caps and they exploded my car and killed all of my family.

And my dog.

NB: May or may not be true.

 

[Rory]

Dealership I worked at while at college had a car fall off a 2 post lift.

So they dragged it out from between the post and pushed it back onto its wheels, only for it to roll over onto the other side.

Customer was given a new car.

 

[stevesey]

This isn't MB related, although could be....

The current range of Audi's with the DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) fitted have to go through a certain cycle to burn off the bad gasses in the filter. Problems occur when you do lots of short trips and not enough long ones get get the exhaust temperatures high enough to burn these gases. Upon customers complaining that their DPF light was on and going to Audi to have it fixed, the garage was told by Audi that they had sold the customer the wrong type of car, or that the customer isn't driving it correctly.

I'd love to be a fly on the wall when you tried explaining that one to a customer...

VX Zafira's have the same issue with the EGR and the same explaination - car unsuitable for lots for short (school) runs.

 

[stevesey]

.... The MD came to visit the next day with a large cheque (about 5 times the value of the car), a disclaimer to sign and the keys to his car (7 series) that I could us for up to 4 weeks while looking for a new car.

I still have all the paperwork, hire documents, etc, as plenty don't believe me when I tell them - still brings a smile to my face when I see a copy of the cheque though

Wow a £5 cheque.

 

[N/B]

The pages have been removed now, but there were a few truly scary testimonials on This LOTUS CARLTON Owner's site.
Reports of exhaust fitters doughnutting his car until the tyres burst, fellow owners getting their cars back from 'specialists' with all kinds of anomalies, including crash damage.
Most reports were filed under 'The Uglys', and have now been deleted.
Ah, well.

 

[HowardD]

A blast from the past

I had a lotus carlton. Number 0280, or 0286. I cant remember. I was at school when it first came out and it was a childhood dream to own one. It was a truly horrendous pile of misery that just rinsed every penny I earned, and plenty I didn't earn during 18 months of ownership from 2001 to 2003.

For example - Three times the clutch needed replacing - a well known and costly design flaw. One that Mr Clutch couldn't fix either.
Brake pads and discs were replaced twice - discs took six weeks to source and cost £2k. And I am a very conservative driver!

It used to break all the time and it was not unique to my one.

Everything about the car was awful. The only good point - In 2003, it was written off after being hit in the side while parked in the street. It was on an agreed value with the insurance, who paid £18.5k. (and then they sold the car as scrap for £10,000!!)

I was briefly acquainted with the owner of that Lotus Carlton website. Seemed like a decent chap - slightly obsessed with the marque though. It used to really wind up the members of the club when people referred to the cars as Vauxhalls.

 

[Swiss Toni]

Anyone remember the forum where the mechanic in the states was caught after he admitted thrashing a customers car ??? I have been trying to google it without sucess

This one?

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=57398&highlight=Audi+RS4



WARNING! - Dragon Daily Mail quote thread!




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[masher_uk]

How's this for customer service...

A friend of mine and his missus were looking for a 'medium-sized, family car' for her (I won't say which flavour). So the smarmy salesman shows them to the 'approved used' section of the stealership and leaves them to it. Some time later they return to the showroom to find it locked and not a sole around. That wouldn't have been so bad except that their car was now locked in the compound! Upon returning the next day, and explaining that they'd had to get the bus home, the sales manager's comment was "I'm sorry sir, we no longer wish to do business with you and would you kindly leave the premises"!!!

It's times like these that recessions are a Godsend – if there’s any justice, @rseh*les like these will go out of business!

 

[Meldrew2]

I had a lotus carlton........ It was a truly horrendous pile of misery.............

Hence the meaning of the acronym LOTUS.....

L ots
O f
T rouble
U sually
S erious

 

[Uberwagon]

The Lotus Carlton is a sunday best only car, imo it just wasn't developed enough to be a daily driver.

As for prices, they are pretty silly but it doesn't half go well

Dave!

 

[Uberwagon]

As for worst dealer story....

Colleague at work had a lovely white RS500, used to take it to shows, everything standard, pretty much a driveable concours car.

He took it into a paintshop to have the rear spoiler looked at, some paint cracks where the spoiler meets the boot, the next time he saw it they were lifting it out of a dyk with a chain through the windows as it was a complete write off.

Dave!