Being charged to wait whilst your car is serviced?
Discussion
Good garages also use the service time as a sales opportunity. The salesman I bought Mazdas off always told me to let him know when I'd booked a service so he could sort me a car. New RX8 , 3 or 6 6!MPS, a nice MX-5 and the latest version of my then current CX-7. Whatever he had access to that he thought was nice. A lovely sunny day and there's an immaculate top down MX-5 Special Edition on the forecourt. 'It's yours, tank of fuel, have fun.'
When he spotted my wife picking up a Swift or some such when the car broke down he stopped he went back to service reception and sourced her a nearby new Acensis apologising for not having a Mazda spare.
The result. The car which is a 2007 model and still in the family still gets serviced by them on a service plan he got commission for. There's been a new MX-5 bought from him and a couple of friends have been sent his way.
Only a Mazda but the garage makes you feel that they value you.
Volvo used to do this with my Dad. If he came home in anything less than the latest 760 or whatever it was because he'd asked to try a different model. He bought Volvos for 25 years and even once bought the demo car they'd lent him he liked it so much.
Simple low pressure sales while making the customer feel good and therefore more likely to part with their money.
When he spotted my wife picking up a Swift or some such when the car broke down he stopped he went back to service reception and sourced her a nearby new Acensis apologising for not having a Mazda spare.
The result. The car which is a 2007 model and still in the family still gets serviced by them on a service plan he got commission for. There's been a new MX-5 bought from him and a couple of friends have been sent his way.
Only a Mazda but the garage makes you feel that they value you.
Volvo used to do this with my Dad. If he came home in anything less than the latest 760 or whatever it was because he'd asked to try a different model. He bought Volvos for 25 years and even once bought the demo car they'd lent him he liked it so much.
Simple low pressure sales while making the customer feel good and therefore more likely to part with their money.
My tyre, air conditioning & auto electrician shops all have waiting rooms with complimentary coffee, or will drop you anywhere in town, & bring your car to you when finished.
The Mazda & Ford dealers offer the same or a complementary car. When the Ford dealer wanted my lady's thing for a couple of days they offered a car, but on request dropped me home, 25 kilometres, & picked me up when done.
The Honda dealer, 45 kilometres away, only offers a complimentary car, but that is fine.
If Mercedes want to commit suicide, they should try this trick in Oz.
The Mazda & Ford dealers offer the same or a complementary car. When the Ford dealer wanted my lady's thing for a couple of days they offered a car, but on request dropped me home, 25 kilometres, & picked me up when done.
The Honda dealer, 45 kilometres away, only offers a complimentary car, but that is fine.
If Mercedes want to commit suicide, they should try this trick in Oz.
Wills2 said:
Not sure I like that, my local BMW dealership offer a free loan car (but you need to book further in advance) or pick up or wait in lounge or come and go under your own steam all for the same price.
But I know others that only want you to drop it off and then f**k off until it's ready, so I guess it varies from dealership to dealership depending on the local situation.
Mine seem to have a limited number of while you waits slots so it's easy to let them have for the day and take the free loan car - although if you want to upgrade to a BMW it costs extra.But I know others that only want you to drop it off and then f**k off until it's ready, so I guess it varies from dealership to dealership depending on the local situation.
HTP99 said:
What the first two replys have said.
A colleage has a Mercedes, a year or so ago he was showing me a price list of various service options that where avilable to customers; dropping it and leaving the car there for the day was the cheapest and then there were another two (I think) options available at varying price increases; each one had increased customer service options such as, waiting for it to be serviced, coffee, wifi, food, different waiting areas, courtesy cars, drop off and pick up to work or home etc.
The car itself had the same level of actual servicing.
Which in some cases might involve cleaning the oil filter casing and charging for a new one!A colleage has a Mercedes, a year or so ago he was showing me a price list of various service options that where avilable to customers; dropping it and leaving the car there for the day was the cheapest and then there were another two (I think) options available at varying price increases; each one had increased customer service options such as, waiting for it to be serviced, coffee, wifi, food, different waiting areas, courtesy cars, drop off and pick up to work or home etc.
The car itself had the same level of actual servicing.
Edited by HTP99 on Saturday 25th April 10:12
Thing is I do of course get that if everyone turned up at 8am expecting to wait whilst their car was serviced, it wouldn't work.
Whether the solution there is to charge more to those who want to do so, or whether it's to simply run some kind of (shock horror) first come first served system I'm not sure - I don't know what's involved in running a workshop.
£50 for a loaner or a collection is daylight robbery though if you're already paying the thick end of £500 for the service.
Whether the solution there is to charge more to those who want to do so, or whether it's to simply run some kind of (shock horror) first come first served system I'm not sure - I don't know what's involved in running a workshop.
£50 for a loaner or a collection is daylight robbery though if you're already paying the thick end of £500 for the service.
wildcat45 said:
Good garages also use the service time as a sales opportunity. The salesman I bought Mazdas off always told me to let him know when I'd booked a service so he could sort me a car. New RX8 , 3 or 6 6!MPS, a nice MX-5 and the latest version of my then current CX-7. Whatever he had access to that he thought was nice. A lovely sunny day and there's an immaculate top down MX-5 Special Edition on the forecourt. 'It's yours, tank of fuel, have fun.'
Quite.I had a similar experience at Mazda, I had an afternoon off so went tyre kicking, walked into a Mazda dealer and was looking at the MX-5, chap approached asking if I needed any help and I was perfectly candid and said I was just having an afternoon off - next thing I know I'm thrown a set of keys and told "bring it back in a couple of hours".
Six months later I took delivery of a brand new Boxster, but my mum had a brand new MX-5 because I was that impressed that I told her to go try one.
Similar thing at Lexus, went in several dealers and was offered test drives there and then.
Compare and contrast to spending an hour and a bit at Land Rover waiting whilst they finished servicing my last car.
I'm looking at everything in the showroom because there's only so many times you can read the same free newspaper, yet every single sales person seems far too engrossed in paperwork or chatting up the receptionists to bother to speak to me - it just seems so short sighted.
Still at least they didn't charge me £20 for the cup of tea I had
Driver101 said:
Select the lounge option and make sure you get more than £20 worth of cakes, coffee and coke as you wait.
With the dealer I used to frequent this was the approach. Nice pastries, some fruit a few coffees, £20 covered. New dealer has a few biscuits and a crap coffee machine so that plan is a fail.Most of my work is with the European arm of a well regarded Japanese brand
Looking after customers properly at service time is seen as a fantastic opportunity to talk to the customer, to build the relationship, to do positive things to help retain their business, ultimately, to help them buy another vehicle form the dealer
What Mercedes are doing, is in my opinion seeing a profit opportunity when it should be seen as a customer service and retention opportunity - if done properly, far more profitable than sticking £20 / £50 on the service bill
Short sighted, greedy and tells you a lot about how they see a customer
Looking after customers properly at service time is seen as a fantastic opportunity to talk to the customer, to build the relationship, to do positive things to help retain their business, ultimately, to help them buy another vehicle form the dealer
What Mercedes are doing, is in my opinion seeing a profit opportunity when it should be seen as a customer service and retention opportunity - if done properly, far more profitable than sticking £20 / £50 on the service bill
Short sighted, greedy and tells you a lot about how they see a customer
I don't actually see much of a problem with it, they are being upfront about the prices for the various options and ultimately giving the customer a choice.
Guys, let's get some perspective here, when paying the thick end of £500 for what amounts to a basic service, £20 for coffee and cakes or £50 for a rental is definitely the best value thing you are paying for!
Guys, let's get some perspective here, when paying the thick end of £500 for what amounts to a basic service, £20 for coffee and cakes or £50 for a rental is definitely the best value thing you are paying for!
f1nn said:
I don't actually see much of a problem with it, they are being upfront about the prices for the various options and ultimately giving the customer a choice.
The problem is that choice is somewhat restricted - especially if you wish to maintain the residual value of the car if it's worth a reasonable amount. Regardless of how good some independents are the market still values a car with full dealer history above one without. So in many respects you feel compelled to use the dealer anyway.What it may do, however, is influence future purchasing decisions. I have rejected a Mercedes Benz every time partially on the basis of what I consider to be ridiculously excessive aftermarket costs. Servicing, warranties etc all seem to be a noticeable notch above BMW for no apparent reason. This ridiculous new policy simply adds to that and further reduces the appeal of Mercedes.
Fox- said:
f1nn said:
I don't actually see much of a problem with it, they are being upfront about the prices for the various options and ultimately giving the customer a choice.
The problem is that choice is somewhat restricted - especially if you wish to maintain the residual value of the car if it's worth a reasonable amount. Regardless of how good some independents are the market still values a car with full dealer history above one without. So in many respects you feel compelled to use the dealer anyway.What it may do, however, is influence future purchasing decisions. I have rejected a Mercedes Benz every time partially on the basis of what I consider to be ridiculously excessive aftermarket costs. Servicing, warranties etc all seem to be a noticeable notch above BMW for no apparent reason. This ridiculous new policy simply adds to that and further reduces the appeal of Mercedes.
HTP99 said:
Ive just tapped the details of a Mercedes into a central service and repair booking website, it has come back with 4 options for the same service:
"Drop & Go": "rop off your Mercedes-Benz any time between 8-10am. Collect when it’s ready, from 4.30pm until we close.": £456.94
"Lounge": "Enjoy fixed appointment times, reserved parking and a dedicated service manager whilst experiencing our comfortable lounges.": £476.94
"Drive": "Drop off your Mercedes-Benz between 8-11am, and drive off in a loan car. Return to collect your car by 6pm.": £506.94
"Collect": "We will collect your Mercedes-Benz from your home or work between 8-11am, then deliver it back by 6pm." £506.94
We offer all of the above but for the same price, we aren't Mercedes.
What this is all about is Mercedes wants everyone on ServiceCare, and if you've got that then you don't pay anything whichever option you pick (beyond the monthly fee, obviously)."Drop & Go": "rop off your Mercedes-Benz any time between 8-10am. Collect when it’s ready, from 4.30pm until we close.": £456.94
"Lounge": "Enjoy fixed appointment times, reserved parking and a dedicated service manager whilst experiencing our comfortable lounges.": £476.94
"Drive": "Drop off your Mercedes-Benz between 8-11am, and drive off in a loan car. Return to collect your car by 6pm.": £506.94
"Collect": "We will collect your Mercedes-Benz from your home or work between 8-11am, then deliver it back by 6pm." £506.94
We offer all of the above but for the same price, we aren't Mercedes.
I've never paid anything for a Merc courtesy car (my insurance covers it).
gizlaroc said:
I have always got Mercedes to match local specialist prices when servicing.
I did a B Service which was fluids and brakes along with both filters and we agreed on £340 for the E350. Which was almost £200 cheaper than the list price. So they will negotiate with you.
3 yrs ago mine needed the "big" service inc ATF change and I got a deal I was very happy with. But it's become very difficult to negotiate servicing pricing with the dealers now - I think MB leans on them to hold pricing so ServiceCare looks attractive.I did a B Service which was fluids and brakes along with both filters and we agreed on £340 for the E350. Which was almost £200 cheaper than the list price. So they will negotiate with you.
Edited by Sheepshanks on Sunday 26th April 11:19
Sheepshanks said:
3 yrs ago mine needed the "big" service inc ATF change and I got a deal I was very happy with. But it's become very difficult to negotiate servicing pricing with the dealers now - I think MB leans on them to hold pricing so ServiceCare looks attractive.
I just checked the pricing on say a 4 year old E Class and for a sub 15k user over 3 years it works out at almost £500 a year for routine servicing using ServiceCare.Edited by Sheepshanks on Sunday 26th April 11:19
In 9 years of driving main dealer serviced 5 Series BMW's I have never, ever had a single service which cost as much as £500 and typically the servicing was only due every 18-24 months anyway.
Just what it is about the Mercedes product that makes it so expensive to service? I'm hardly comparing it to a Skoda, surely you don't get a more relevant and sensible comparison than with the 5 Series. Not only is my servicing significantly cheaper but as said previously they'll pick me up, they'll collect it, they'll lend me a half decent car free of charge without question.. perhaps brand loyalty isn't so silly after all!
I really don't see the problem, paying £20 or so to wait for the car to be serviced? Luxury
Last time I took my car for it's MOT & service I ended up underneath an Audi replacing it's clutch and refitting the gearbox to clear the ramp so I could get mine serviced on the same day! I ended up buying the mechanics' lunch for him too...
Last time I took my car for it's MOT & service I ended up underneath an Audi replacing it's clutch and refitting the gearbox to clear the ramp so I could get mine serviced on the same day! I ended up buying the mechanics' lunch for him too...
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