Are Mercedes dealers universally useless
Discussion
I’ve been trying to buy a Mercedes A250 lately.
I’ve visited three showrooms around my area.
Called in to dealer one (walk in), spoke to the girl at the desk and asked if anyone was available. She went and spoke to four guys stood around nattering and I could see her point over to me. They carried on talking and laughing for 20 minutes, whereupon I gave up and left.
Then tried a second dealership. Emailed them to arrange a test drive of an A250, nothing. Telephoned instead and made an appointment to test drive the car. On arrival, I waited, nobody was quite sure who was supposed to be dealing with me. When I eventually got to speak to someone, I was told that a 1.8 diesel was waiting outside ‘but it’ll feel the same’. After pointing out that I had driven a fair distance and a diesel was nothing like the same, he said someone had called me to let me know a car wasn’t available. Totally untrue. Tried to arrange another date but salesman never replied
Third dealership. Used the Mercedes website to book a drive in an A220/250. Telephone call three days before to confirm a car was definitely available. ‘We’ve got both to try’. Turned up and..they don’t have any 220/250s. Nobody bothered to call or email to say they couldn’t provide the test drive.
I’ve never experienced such piss poor service and from a supposed premium brand. If it’s this difficult to buy a car, how crap will they be if something goes wrong with it. I was pretty set on the 250 and was even swaying to an A35. Fair to say Mercedes are well and truly scratched off the list
I’ve visited three showrooms around my area.
Called in to dealer one (walk in), spoke to the girl at the desk and asked if anyone was available. She went and spoke to four guys stood around nattering and I could see her point over to me. They carried on talking and laughing for 20 minutes, whereupon I gave up and left.
Then tried a second dealership. Emailed them to arrange a test drive of an A250, nothing. Telephoned instead and made an appointment to test drive the car. On arrival, I waited, nobody was quite sure who was supposed to be dealing with me. When I eventually got to speak to someone, I was told that a 1.8 diesel was waiting outside ‘but it’ll feel the same’. After pointing out that I had driven a fair distance and a diesel was nothing like the same, he said someone had called me to let me know a car wasn’t available. Totally untrue. Tried to arrange another date but salesman never replied
Third dealership. Used the Mercedes website to book a drive in an A220/250. Telephone call three days before to confirm a car was definitely available. ‘We’ve got both to try’. Turned up and..they don’t have any 220/250s. Nobody bothered to call or email to say they couldn’t provide the test drive.
I’ve never experienced such piss poor service and from a supposed premium brand. If it’s this difficult to buy a car, how crap will they be if something goes wrong with it. I was pretty set on the 250 and was even swaying to an A35. Fair to say Mercedes are well and truly scratched off the list
Elroy Blue said:
how crap will they be if something goes wrong with it.
Very, in my experience. I used to have to deal with them for an old MD who only bought S Class cars from them. Truly awful and frequent experiences, a lot went wrong with them all and always over a grand minimum each time.Honda was good customer service at the dealership although their 'mechanics' weren't the most competent. Honda UK, however, were awful.
ninjag said:
Elroy Blue said:
how crap will they be if something goes wrong with it.
Very, in my experience. I used to have to deal with them for an old MD who only bought S Class cars from them. Truly awful and frequent experiences, a lot went wrong with them all and always over a grand minimum each time.Honda was good customer service at the dealership although their 'mechanics' weren't the most competent. Honda UK, however, were awful.
And this is a tradesman van full of tools that might know a thing or two, God alone knows what you might be told if you fit a bigger sucker profile.
If you want an A250 with a nicer interior (they're the same but Infiniti has leather & more of it too) AWD & excellent customer take a look at your local Infiniti dealer.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/new...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/new...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/infiniti/q30/hatchbac...
I have to say the guys I deal with in Blackpool & Reading are spot on but I've found lots of dealers from all makes can be useless (Infiniti Mill Hill/BMW Chelmsford etc) it just sounds like you're surrounded by incompetence.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/new...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/new...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/infiniti/q30/hatchbac...
I have to say the guys I deal with in Blackpool & Reading are spot on but I've found lots of dealers from all makes can be useless (Infiniti Mill Hill/BMW Chelmsford etc) it just sounds like you're surrounded by incompetence.
You just have to accept the fact they don't want your business as they don't need it. Harsh, and flies in the face of all usual business but car dealers are a strange breed.
I guess the only thing you could do would be to call or write to the dealer principal (if the buck stops with them as it used to?) and put your case to them.
I recently tried to buy a car from a local Audi main dealer - they didn't want to know so I just moved on. Spent my £26k with someone else.
Your experience is the opposite of mine. I contacted two MB dealers for to enquire about a used C class. Both made personalised videos for me and emailed them over. Both arranged test drives and after test driving them both, I bought one of the cars. I was treated very well when I did the test drives and there was zero pressure to buy.
When I went to pick up my car, I was treated as if I had bought a brand new S class even though it was a 2 year old C class.
They were as lovely to deal with as the Lexus dealers I used many years ago.
When I went to pick up my car, I was treated as if I had bought a brand new S class even though it was a 2 year old C class.
They were as lovely to deal with as the Lexus dealers I used many years ago.
raspy said:
Your experience is the opposite of mine. I contacted two MB dealers for to enquire about a used C class. Both made personalised videos for me and emailed them over. Both arranged test drives and after test driving them both, I bought one of the cars. I was treated very well when I did the test drives and there was zero pressure to buy.
When I went to pick up my car, I was treated as if I had bought a brand new S class even though it was a 2 year old C class.
They were as lovely to deal with as the Lexus dealers I used many years ago.
Which two dealerships were they? Might be useful to others to name and priase them.When I went to pick up my car, I was treated as if I had bought a brand new S class even though it was a 2 year old C class.
They were as lovely to deal with as the Lexus dealers I used many years ago.
Elroy Blue said:
and from a supposed premium brand.
Some, myself included, would say those days are behind us... much the same way that shopping in Sainsburys in the 1990s used to warrant "ooh, aren't you posh!" but now they jostle with Asda and Tescos rather than Waitrose and M&S Food. Sigh. Not to say they aren't good cars, mind, but I think their days of being an "aspirational" brand are gone.
I went in one about two weeks ago to look at an E43 estate. I was with my son, so gave all my details including giving them authorisation to get a settlement figure on my current car, and the guy said he’d email me some figures.
Nothing. I’d have gone for it as well, nice car.
I’ve also been trying to book my current car, a bmw in for a service, three different dealers were supposed to be calling me back with confirmation of the cost of the service pack. Nothing.
Been on holiday this week, so need to get back on it next week. So frustrating though.
Nothing. I’d have gone for it as well, nice car.
I’ve also been trying to book my current car, a bmw in for a service, three different dealers were supposed to be calling me back with confirmation of the cost of the service pack. Nothing.
Been on holiday this week, so need to get back on it next week. So frustrating though.
Both service and parts dept's at the local one in Weston-s-Mare are worse than useless from experience.
Parts dept at the Bristol centre is excellent, no experience of sales at either dealership but the stories of clients who have purchased from them makes you wonder how they are still in business!
From experience the Japanese brands seem to go about things in the right way from a customer service point of view, and you are treated as you'd expect to be treated, however they aren't 'volume' brands like the German's!
cheers,
Chris
Parts dept at the Bristol centre is excellent, no experience of sales at either dealership but the stories of clients who have purchased from them makes you wonder how they are still in business!
From experience the Japanese brands seem to go about things in the right way from a customer service point of view, and you are treated as you'd expect to be treated, however they aren't 'volume' brands like the German's!
cheers,
Chris
Had a similar experience from the new MB dealership in Coventry, went in to look at a 17 plate E Class I saw online, took about an hour before the used sales rep actually came out of his office to speak to me.
The car had damage on the front and rear bumpers, it was 10 o’clock in the morning and I asked if the damage could be sorted today and I’ll buy the car, the sales rep spoke with his repair team and said we could collect the car at 6pm fully prepped, however they’d phone half an hour before to let me know to confirm the pick up, no call was received, I had to phone myself and left messages for the rep but still didn’t get anything back, eventually I just went down and the car was parked at the front of the dealership with the damage to the bumpers still there, I let the reception know I was there but the sales rep didn’t come and see me for about an hour and a half.
Booked the repairs in for a week later and agreed another collection time, that day arrived and I didn’t receive a call to let me know it was ready, although I left messages with the sales rep multiple times that day. Eventually a couple days later the sales rep called to confirm it was ready and we arranged for him to swap the cars over at my work, however I wasn’t there at the time.
I noticed that the front splitter was hanging off and only secured on one side, I would have tried to clip it back on myself but didn’t want to cause any damage. Booked the car back in for repair to fix the splitter and an issue with the auto stop/start, same scenario in that I had to chase multiple times to find out when my car would be ready for collection.
A colleague has had a similar experience from the same dealership, it’s truly awful for a brand like MB.
The car had damage on the front and rear bumpers, it was 10 o’clock in the morning and I asked if the damage could be sorted today and I’ll buy the car, the sales rep spoke with his repair team and said we could collect the car at 6pm fully prepped, however they’d phone half an hour before to let me know to confirm the pick up, no call was received, I had to phone myself and left messages for the rep but still didn’t get anything back, eventually I just went down and the car was parked at the front of the dealership with the damage to the bumpers still there, I let the reception know I was there but the sales rep didn’t come and see me for about an hour and a half.
Booked the repairs in for a week later and agreed another collection time, that day arrived and I didn’t receive a call to let me know it was ready, although I left messages with the sales rep multiple times that day. Eventually a couple days later the sales rep called to confirm it was ready and we arranged for him to swap the cars over at my work, however I wasn’t there at the time.
I noticed that the front splitter was hanging off and only secured on one side, I would have tried to clip it back on myself but didn’t want to cause any damage. Booked the car back in for repair to fix the splitter and an issue with the auto stop/start, same scenario in that I had to chase multiple times to find out when my car would be ready for collection.
A colleague has had a similar experience from the same dealership, it’s truly awful for a brand like MB.
I got a CLS through one MB garage in 2015 on 3 year contract. As the end of the contract approached they kept calling me but never came back with prices for a replacement.
MB Epsom though never put a foot wrong when servicing the CLS and were a pleasure to deal with even after I’d told them I’d be replacing it from a different manufacturer.
MB Epsom though never put a foot wrong when servicing the CLS and were a pleasure to deal with even after I’d told them I’d be replacing it from a different manufacturer.
Similar issues at MB Stratford upon Avon. Called to test a C43 and couldn’t get a new version for weeks, ok so not the end of the world but why can’t they get one in sooner for the day if I’m thinking of buying?
Went in store to try the A35 instead, waited at the front desk for 15 minutes before someone acknowledged me, dealer was not at all busy. Was eventually taken to a second hand A35 outside, person then left immediately to go back inside without any talk through about the car / key features etc.
I had bought 2 new cars from them previously, experience was a lot better back then.
Went in store to try the A35 instead, waited at the front desk for 15 minutes before someone acknowledged me, dealer was not at all busy. Was eventually taken to a second hand A35 outside, person then left immediately to go back inside without any talk through about the car / key features etc.
I had bought 2 new cars from them previously, experience was a lot better back then.
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