MB Teesside (Syntner)

[peterdh]

I'm not too happy with the levels of service my current MB dealer offers and am considering going to MB Teesside for service etc. I have a service plan and the next service will be a B.

Would anyone care to comment (good or bad) on this dealerships service department and management? All views would be very welcome as would any thoughts on the overall nature of how the dealership functions and your personal experiences there. This my fourth Merc but I have yet to have any dealings with these guys.

 

[Abb]

Hi, I have used them on more than one occasion, to give them the benefit of the doubt. The service dept I would describe as being completely inept and clueless!
I had several issues with my CLS 55 which they either failed to diagnose or mis diagnosed, at one point telling me nigh on the whole rear part of the airmatic system needed replacing to the tune of £4k, yet when it went in about a week later for another diagnosis, no fault could be found!

However, the parts dept are absolutely brilliant and I continue to use them on a frequent basis!

 

[Wighty]

Hi, I have used them on more than one occasion, to give them the benefit of the doubt. The service dept I would describe as being completely inept and clueless!
I had several issues with my CLS 55 which they either failed to diagnose or mis diagnosed, at one point telling me nigh on the whole rear part of the airmatic system needed replacing to the tune of £4k, yet when it went in about a week later for another diagnosis, no fault could be found!

However, the parts dept are absolutely brilliant and I continue to use them on a frequent basis!

That sounds like you wouldn't recommend them, if I'm reading it right

 

[Abb]

Well the OP did ask. For the avoidance of doubt, NO I would not recommend them for servicing or repairs.

 

[peterdh]

Thanks for your observations Abb. I maybe need to think again about this one. Is there a dealer you have used that you could give the nod to? I'm south of you and on the coast so wherever I go I have to travel at least 40 miles so a few extra miles one way or the other really makes no difference.

 

[Abb]

Hi Peter, I use an independent MB garage, namely MB Darlington. Have had nothing but positive experiences with them, however in the balance of fairness I have heard of others who haven't.

 

[C350Carl]

I'm the opposite of Abb.

When I lived in North Yorkshire they were the dealer I used. Never had any issues with servicing or warranty work. The only sort of 'issue' I had was when I knew I had a bad battery. They at first tested it after keeping the car for 24hrs and charging it and said all was ok.

I took my own battery tester with me and showed them that it was saying the battery was faulty. The service manager came with a 'senior technician' and both said it was odd.

They asked me to drive home (a journey of 50mins) and test again and send them a pic of the reading. I went one better and facetimed the service manager. As a result, as it still failed and I was having still having issues related to the battery they took the car back in for a week. I ended up with:

New main battery
New consumer battery
New gear selector
New gearbox electronic control mechanism
New gearbox software

When i got the car back it was a completely differnet car. The gearbox responded properly, no longer had issue of being unable to select a gear when starting up (requiring multiple restarts to get it to work), no warning on the dash about voltage being low (despite being charged up overnight) and no sudden jerks when trying to manual shift with the paddles.

So I personally can't fault them.

 

[peterdh]

Thanks C350Carl for your alternative view.

Could I ask how long it is since you used them? I must admit that I have only read mostly good reports about them so far but hoped for a better response from Members so as to help me decide what to do.

It sounds as though I'll need to 'suck it and see' at the end of the day though.

 

[C350Carl]

The last time I used them was Mar 2017. I’ve been in the Middle East since and my car stays in the northwest so goes to MB dealer in Warrington as it’s the closest to where the car is.

 

[ToonArmyMick]

MB Sunderland, another 25 mins or so up the A19 from Teeside, have been fantastic with me when I've used them, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

 

[533rockape]

I was there today, service was very good. Fault diagnosed and part ordered from Germany. Never had any cause for complaint from buying my car from there, or with servicing. Everyone has always been polite and helpful throughout.

 

[peterdh]

I've been away on holiday so haven't had chance till now to thank the most recent poster for their views. So thanks very much. I think I'll give them a go and so see what is what there.

 

[peterdh]

Just an update on MB Teesside.

Booked the car in last week for a B service. Was impresses from start to finish with all the staff I dealt with before and during my visit. I was asked, a first for me with any MB Dealer, whether I would like an A, C or E for the day (assuming availability of course). I ended up with my choice of an E. Very happy as my back much prefers the comfort an E brings. On arrival guided into an available parking space by someone who knew why I was there and, being my first visit, pointed me in the right direction and went to find the Service Advisor who was to look after me. Very professional so far. In addition to the service I asked them to look at the eco stop/start which wasn't working. They did this later in the day and concluded that the battery was preventing it working so gave it a full charge but advised me go back to them should further problems by encountered. So far so good.

Synter also provide a video clip of the free health check which they email to you after it has been done. A little bit of nonsense really but a pleasant suprise to receive anyway. To summarise - dealings with them so far are a vast improvement on my previous dealer and I will certainly be using them again. Thanks to all who responded to my question.

 

[L John]

I used to go there but they lost me as a customer after three strikes.

1. They wanted to charge £90 for greasing brake pipes whilst I had a service plan with them.
2. They did charge me around £100 for sorting an engine management light issue that was wires shorting to the engine block. They said even though only they had worked on the car since they sold it to me, it was wear and tear, not a problem that should have been spotted sooner even though the wires were rubbing against the engine block.
3. Dash cam showed the car being driven at high speed on winter tyres (97mph as mentioned on another thread at the time).

I got the brake pipes sorted during an MOT at another place. No charge said the tester as it only took 2 minutes. I gave him a tenner.
Other than the above points, I found the dealership excellent, especially the purchasing of the car, the salesman and the manager.
8/10