Am I being too fussy ?

[mitchk]

fking furious - took my car to my local Mercedes yesterday to have the alignment checked as I thought it was pulling to hard to the left...

Hour and a half later the car "was out" apparently but is after adjustment I think still its pulling to the left on the way home.

Problem is now I have gained some scratches on my wheels.. my fking blood was boiling when i phoned them and told them I would be in asap on Monday.

Now if I had the car a while I probably wouldn't have noticed as much, but it is 2 weeks old with 700 miles on it - really wish I hadn't have gone there but you live and learn and its my closest dealer also which pisses me off.

So am I being too fussy ?? surely the equipment that they use for this alignment has protection on it to stop any damage to the wheels ?? Tyre replacement as well seems to be a common place to scratch your wheels and is just taken for granted that thats the way it goes..

So is it the equipment or lazy fitters ?

[PumpkinSteve]

I'd have thought a Mercedes garage would have decent equipment so it's probably down to the mechanics. I had mine done with one of those Hunter laser alignment devices and the wheels were unmarked afterwards.

[Baked_bean]

Its fair to be annoyed! Is it just me thats suprised a car with only 700 miles needs wheel alignment though?!

[Cemesis]

I certainly hope you disn't pay for a wheel alignment on your brand new car. Point out the scratches and make it clear that you are a reasonable man but its a very expensive car and you expect better.

[Bonefish Blues]

No you aren't.

They need to sort both issues, end of.

[deltashad]

That's unacceptable. Book the car back in to have the alignment re-done and the wheel repaired. Be firm and expect nothing less.

[Dave Hedgehog]

get a full alignment, it will show you the cars thrust line

[redgriff500]

I wouldn't accept that on a 70,000 mile car.

[VinceFox]

redgriff500 said:

I wouldn't accept that on a 70,000 mile car.

I wouldn't accept it on an 80,000 mile car.

[PH lurker]

VinceFox said:

redgriff500 said:

I wouldn't accept that on a 70,000 mile car.

I wouldn't accept it on an 80,000 mile car.

I wouldn't accept it on an 180,000 mile car.

[VinceFox]

• waits

[mitchk]

What a shame took the car in dinner time and spoke to the technician who did it who explained to me that the wheel clamps go no where near the spokes of the wheel so it couldn't be that that did the damage, also took it on a test drive where he thought it was fine and drove as it should. To be fair he gave me a copy of the printout and also rechecked the car on the alignment unit which was fine.

Spoke to the manager though who took some pictures of the wheels and said that he would contact his chap and if necessary have the car back in so he can send off the 2 damaged wheels as he is not local ? They did say that they would loan me a car but after thinking about it there is no way I want my car left on a ramp for a few days while some geezer has a go at sorting them...

Really not happy with situation as I know 110% that wheels were mint as I wash and polish my car personally.

Just goes to show that a decent dealership can make all the difference to ownership - I have been with BMW Worcester for the last 5 ish years and have had very very good service... I just prefer the new slk to the z4 this time around and fancied a change.

To be honest, I came away from the Mercedes dealer thinking that they thought i was trying it on ? And taking the piss - agreed I might be a few years younger than their regular customers but I own a business and have reasonable access to funds - if I had damaged the wheels I would have got them sorted fair and square - not try and blame it on somebody.

most pissed off

[Ozzie Osmond]

mitchk said:

the technician .... took it on a test drive where he thought it was fine and drove as it should. To be fair he gave me a copy of the printout and also rechecked the car on the alignment unit which was fine.

most pissed off

Yes, it sounds as though you have an attitude problem. Mr Self-Important small businessman getting uppity after spending a few quid on a car.

You'd be better off getting another garage to check the car (how about BMW Worcester) than sounding off on the internet.

[GSP]

Every car with the right tyres on will tramline and feel like its pulling to the left as that's normally the way most roads cambers slightly.

Sounds like you've been fussy, and it's ended up with the car being more damaged... Or maybe it already was and you didn't notice. Or maybe you did it and thought you would get them to look at the blame them for damaging your new car... Who knows, but unless you can 100% prove it your unlikely to get much out of them.

[Nedzilla]

This really pisses me off! Some people just dont seem to understand that when you spend £30k-£40k or even more of your hard earned cash on a car that you expect it to be treated with some care and respect.A new car is usually the second biggest investment of most peoples lives after their home.

If it was me and I had just bought a brand new merc i would take it back and INSIST that the damaged wheels are replaced,not repaired fkING REPLACED and maybe the fking numpties that work there will take a bit more care next time.

[snowdude2910]

why do people keep posting the same thing twice hours apart is it an iphone thing or something?
Also how would you describe yuor build?

[mitchk]

Seems like I'm not the only one that has had an issue with this

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/wheels-tyres/98176-...

http://www.slkworld.com/slk-r171-general-discussio...


No doubt that I'm "camber sensitive" but I feel that a car should drive straight without having to apply a slight pressure to the steering wheel to keep it in a straight line. I have had no problem with my old Z4m, partners A3 or my laguna shed.

Apparently this maybe a common trait with these cars or brand which I have no experience about ? I have no idea, but what I do know is where and how the car has been driven and the more I've driven it the more I have thought it was not quite right...

[crocodile tears]

PH lurker said:

VinceFox said:

redgriff500 said:

I wouldn't accept that on a 70,000 mile car.

I wouldn't accept it on an 80,000 mile car.

I wouldn't accept it on an 180,000 mile car.

I just wouldn't accept it.

[mitchk]

Ozzie Osmond said:

Yes, it sounds as though you have an attitude problem. Mr Self-Important small businessman getting uppity after spending a few quid on a car.

You'd be better off getting another garage to check the car (how about BMW Worcester) than sounding off on the internet.

You're right mate - I do have an attitude, I'm spending a lot of my hard earned cash and I expect my property to be looked after - nothing more i haven't blamed anybody or pointed any fingers just hoped it would be nipped in the bud.

Probably wouldn't have taken it to BMW as would be a bit odd I think - but as it has warranty I took it to main dealer

[OldSkoolRS]

mitchk said:

You're right mate - I do have an attitude, I'm spending a lot of my hard earned cash and I expect my property to be looked after - nothing more i haven't blamed anybody or pointed any fingers just hoped it would be nipped in the bud.

Probably wouldn't have taken it to BMW as would be a bit odd I think - but as it has warranty I took it to main dealer

Not sure why the vitriol towards you about this matter as I too would be pd off if my wheels got scratched on a 700 mile car. I hope they don't treat you as if you are trying it on rather than accept that they have caused the damage. I've had cars serviced that have come back with scratches on the paintwork that I spot afterwards due to the usual rush at collection. This annoyed me even though they were company cars as to me it's poor service, especially when they go over their courtesy car in great detail incase you have put a mark on it.