Help please if you can.
Discussion
Okay, this is partially on behalf of my dad, but also because i'm annoyed people can get away with this, I thought it was just an Audi thing.
Dads car goes in for its first service this morning, my dad being the proud man, spent all day yesterday, cleaning inside and out etc his pride and joy (very high spec Merc). Up to this point Mercedes have been really good to him, niggles dealt with and plenty of free juice for the car, considering the cash he spent.
So he drops it off at 8:00 am this morning, fills out the paper work and collects a very nice courtesy car for the day, leaves around 8:30am. Arrives at work half hour later to 3 miss calls from Merc. The jist of the tale being, "we've just found an irrepairable (spellings terrible) puncture in a tyre and we need to replace said tyre". so he phones the guy back but keeps getting answer machine.
Around lunch time, my mother contacts my father and announces, Mercedes tried to ring you this morning, said you had a puncture, said they had to replace the tyre. My dad realising what's going on contacts Mercedes, after an hour or too being sent from pillar to post he speaks to 'his customer agent'. The guy tells him he had a slow puncture so they had to replace the tyre straight away. My father thinks, fair enough, "can I see the tyre when I pick the car up", as he's a little puzzled as to how that happened. "not a problem Mr XXXXX" he gets told.
Roll on a few hours and my dad returns to this particular Mercedes dealership in Warrington, asks to see the tyre, and low and behold, he gets this reply "sorry our Waste collector arrives monday am and has taken your tyre as we changed it this morning".
End result being my dad has around £500 added to his servicing bill for a new tyre, for a punctured tyre he didn't know he had.
So, additional notes, its two miles to the dealership, he may have drove over something giving him a puncture which is fair enough, incidentally this is the same route he uses to go to his office anyway, and the same route he'd have used for the last 8 months he has had the car. My dad is a very particular man, when he cleans the car, he cleans every inch, he will clean the alloy and tyre of every wheel for every inch. in at least the last 12 years of owning BMWS MERCS and AUDI'S (i know that info if irrelevant) he has curbed one wheel (half an inch) thanks to moving out of the way of a ambulance. Irrelevant that may seem but he's very very concious of the condition of his cars. So he may have hit a nail and genuinely had a puncture, but why would Mercedes be so reluctant to show him this?
Reading over this, it would seem i'm already of the opinion my father has been hard done by, I understand this. but to me, as his son, I feel he has been pinched of a tyre change he didn't need, or hasn't been given enough proof that it was needed. My father paid the bill and will take this further, BUT has anyone had a similar experience, or has a better idea as to why Mercedes would be so reluctant to prove this necessary tyre change @ £500.
PH.... am I just being blinkered, is there a simple explanation, is there something else my father can do. Your help is required in every way. Either i'm being stupid, or possibly my dad may have been stung, and if so what could he do next.
Thanks in advance
Dads car goes in for its first service this morning, my dad being the proud man, spent all day yesterday, cleaning inside and out etc his pride and joy (very high spec Merc). Up to this point Mercedes have been really good to him, niggles dealt with and plenty of free juice for the car, considering the cash he spent.
So he drops it off at 8:00 am this morning, fills out the paper work and collects a very nice courtesy car for the day, leaves around 8:30am. Arrives at work half hour later to 3 miss calls from Merc. The jist of the tale being, "we've just found an irrepairable (spellings terrible) puncture in a tyre and we need to replace said tyre". so he phones the guy back but keeps getting answer machine.
Around lunch time, my mother contacts my father and announces, Mercedes tried to ring you this morning, said you had a puncture, said they had to replace the tyre. My dad realising what's going on contacts Mercedes, after an hour or too being sent from pillar to post he speaks to 'his customer agent'. The guy tells him he had a slow puncture so they had to replace the tyre straight away. My father thinks, fair enough, "can I see the tyre when I pick the car up", as he's a little puzzled as to how that happened. "not a problem Mr XXXXX" he gets told.
Roll on a few hours and my dad returns to this particular Mercedes dealership in Warrington, asks to see the tyre, and low and behold, he gets this reply "sorry our Waste collector arrives monday am and has taken your tyre as we changed it this morning".
End result being my dad has around £500 added to his servicing bill for a new tyre, for a punctured tyre he didn't know he had.
So, additional notes, its two miles to the dealership, he may have drove over something giving him a puncture which is fair enough, incidentally this is the same route he uses to go to his office anyway, and the same route he'd have used for the last 8 months he has had the car. My dad is a very particular man, when he cleans the car, he cleans every inch, he will clean the alloy and tyre of every wheel for every inch. in at least the last 12 years of owning BMWS MERCS and AUDI'S (i know that info if irrelevant) he has curbed one wheel (half an inch) thanks to moving out of the way of a ambulance. Irrelevant that may seem but he's very very concious of the condition of his cars. So he may have hit a nail and genuinely had a puncture, but why would Mercedes be so reluctant to show him this?
Reading over this, it would seem i'm already of the opinion my father has been hard done by, I understand this. but to me, as his son, I feel he has been pinched of a tyre change he didn't need, or hasn't been given enough proof that it was needed. My father paid the bill and will take this further, BUT has anyone had a similar experience, or has a better idea as to why Mercedes would be so reluctant to prove this necessary tyre change @ £500.
PH.... am I just being blinkered, is there a simple explanation, is there something else my father can do. Your help is required in every way. Either i'm being stupid, or possibly my dad may have been stung, and if so what could he do next.
Thanks in advance
Doesn't sound right. Get a quote from somewhere else for the same size and make of tyre, including fitting, see what the difference is.
Naughty to 'throw away' the offending tyre. I'd be cross to say the least.
Though my MB dealer was cheaper than everyone else last time I got some tyres....
Naughty to 'throw away' the offending tyre. I'd be cross to say the least.
Though my MB dealer was cheaper than everyone else last time I got some tyres....
amg master said:
also if they didnt get confirmation from your dad to change it he could just say i never told you to change it and i think they would not be able to charge him
C63 granted I said 500 turns out its slightly less, but including balancing and fitting it isn't far off, also this is the route he's going down. After my father left, they rang his mobile which was in his brief case, so he didn't check it until he got to the office. So they rang my mothers company and left a voicemail with her to inform her again that they had to change it as soon as.My dad has told me since, the day he collected his car (nice hand over nice hotel etc) he was pestered, to take there 'alloy insurance' and there 'tyre insurance' when he declined they kicked up a fuss with him,
subsequently he complained to MBUK about there attitude, as in the build up to the order and almost taking delivery he felt like a king the way they treated him, and from that moment on they lost significant interest.
This sounds a bit familiar.
Whenever my car went to the dealer it seemed to come back with new faults in related areas. For example it went in to have the headlight adjuster fixed, and somehow the washers packed up while they had it. Also, when in for something else I had them fit a new rear wheel I had bought having heavily curbed it a while back. When I asked for the old wheel it had been 'disposed of'. Yeah right, refurbed and sold on more like.
I'm not saying this is definite proof of anything, hence not mentioning which dealer, suffice to say I don't use them any more.
Whenever my car went to the dealer it seemed to come back with new faults in related areas. For example it went in to have the headlight adjuster fixed, and somehow the washers packed up while they had it. Also, when in for something else I had them fit a new rear wheel I had bought having heavily curbed it a while back. When I asked for the old wheel it had been 'disposed of'. Yeah right, refurbed and sold on more like.
I'm not saying this is definite proof of anything, hence not mentioning which dealer, suffice to say I don't use them any more.
Edited by dougt on Tuesday 13th April 09:40
Just typical it seems
I called for a "B Service" price
I was quoted:
£383
then told I would also require:
Air filters £67 I got a genuine set from a MB dealer £32
Cabin Filter £70 Genuine cost me £30
Brake fluid change £47 to do but they did this on the previous service
spark plugs change £128 I got the exact plugs delivered for £45
Fuel treatment £27 Free with the Mobil one I got
Air-conditioning sanitizer £38 £8 from Halfords
Plus it needed two new front tyres x2 fitted locally £221
since last service the car had done just 2k miles
and when they had it in the broke the engine cover(i found this when I got home)
left oil all over one side of the engine requiring steam cleaning off.
So my total came to £400 inc 10 litres of Mobil one and genuine oil filter
their total £1000 approx inc tyres
Rip off, poor service so Sod them.
I called for a "B Service" price
I was quoted:
£383
then told I would also require:
Air filters £67 I got a genuine set from a MB dealer £32
Cabin Filter £70 Genuine cost me £30
Brake fluid change £47 to do but they did this on the previous service
spark plugs change £128 I got the exact plugs delivered for £45
Fuel treatment £27 Free with the Mobil one I got
Air-conditioning sanitizer £38 £8 from Halfords
Plus it needed two new front tyres x2 fitted locally £221
since last service the car had done just 2k miles
and when they had it in the broke the engine cover(i found this when I got home)
left oil all over one side of the engine requiring steam cleaning off.
So my total came to £400 inc 10 litres of Mobil one and genuine oil filter
their total £1000 approx inc tyres
Rip off, poor service so Sod them.
Edited by white90 on Thursday 15th April 05:13
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