AS you know, you have light up warnings for the brake wear on the dash, and there is plenty of wear remaining when this light first comes on - several thousand miles.
In all the time I have driven Mercedes and at all the many dealers I have used, I have never been told I must chnage the pads, until I have been ready to do so. They just say pads are x% worn; may need changing in the next y,000 miles, or just in the near future. If they ever tried to force me when the brakes were not fully worn, I would report them to MB at Milton Keynes.
My dealer even gave me a box of chocolates last time I had the car serviced. How times have changed.
If your dealer says your brakes are 80% worn, do you go home and check? How do you know when they tell you they need replaced that they are being entirely honest?
I've already posted that they claimed my fronts were 20% worn when I changed them myself 100miles before the service. That leads me to believe they have a quick look & make up the percentage worn figure to suit themselves, or have they ever stated how many mm were actually left?
As for the chocolates, your dealer must read this forum! :smile:
Russ
If your dealer says your brakes are 80% worn, do you go home and check? How do you know when they tell you they need replaced that they are being entirely honest?
I've already posted that they claimed my fronts were 20% worn when I changed them myself 100miles before the service. That leads me to believe they have a quick look & make up the percentage worn figure to suit themselves, or have they ever stated how many mm were actually left?
As for the chocolates, your dealer must read this forum! :smile:
Russ
You are as cynical as me!! All borne out of personal xeperience!
My dealer even gave me a box of chocolates last time I had the car serviced. How times have changed.
First, I know from long experience roughly how far I can go on a set of pads and if I was told they needed renewing much earlier than normal, then Yes I would check. Having stripped and rebuilt engines on cars and motorbikes in the past, I don't find checking pads that difficult despite TV's dig. And if I did not know how to check, there are many places where you can get free brake checks just to make sure. My local ATS and Kwikfit are examples. But I've never been told I needed pads in under at least 30k miles, so not been a problem.
My dealer offers to collect and return, or provide a loan car, and they valet the car before returning it, and we can talk to technical people before the service if we want to, and afterwards the service manager usually manges to talk to each customer and make sure they are happy. The box of chocolates is a recent innovation but a nice touch. They are light years ahead of a few years ago, when I was not anywhere near so happy with the level of service offered. I am not claiming for one moment that they are typical. Just reporting how they are now. I have had plenty of lousy dealers in the past.
You write a glowing review of your dealer... Are you on their payroll or maybe the board Hawk ??
No just a happy customer of a much improved service. Is that allowed on this forum?
Certainly, but the only people I know who are exceedingly happy with their main dealers are ones who know nothing about what actually goes on behind their backs or under their hoods. You don't seem to fit that category, yet no MB workshop provides value for money, so it is a confusing situation for me as to why you always sing their praises, unless you have that much money that dealer servicing means nothing to you.
Russ
hawk20 certainly does seem to have an almost unique dealer. I've never had chocolates (or mints) off my dealer.
I'm amused by the dealer workshop ratings that MB publishes - the scores are astonishing, generally over 90%. Apparently they base the score on one question - "would you recommend this repairer to a friend". Let's face it, it would take a lot for customers to go so far as to answer "no".
Funnily enough, after my first visit and survey, I've never been surveyed since!
Funnily enough, after my first visit and survey, I've never been surveyed since!
'and £5 + VAT for the screenwash to my bill to cover them!!'...
Still pushing that one.!