Mercedes now charging to sit down!

[John Laidlaw]

What I wonder John are they trying to achieve with this? Are MB customers really taken in and persuaded to buy? Or is it that I'm just too old to see what's going on ? You occasionally see the sneers and daggers looks from girlfriends when said staff are chatting to boyfriends - funny.

I think in general it seems MB are targeting the younger (possibly) maybe more gullible customers - PCP deals etc etc....its not just MB of course but they have to sell metal. I have no issues looking but of course all comes at a price!

 

[John Laidlaw]

according to the website you do loose it, see below:
the whole attitude this seems to be imparting to the customer is just madness to me.

View attachment 40840

There is the answer then!
Makes it more and more tempting to step away and make your own arrangements doesnt it?

 

[Cleck]

I always phone to book and the first time I did, they tried to tell me it was £50 for a courtesy car, to which I replied 'Fair enough, I won't be coming to you for the service'. All of a sudden the loan car was free and they were happy to negotiate the service cost.

To be fair, I had the same issue with VW 5 years ago and they ended up giving me a letter saying 'this customer doesn't pay for loan cars'.

Like all businesses, they try it on, but I can't help but feel it puts a lot of people off even owning a MB. I leased a 5 series about 10 years ago through work and when it went back they tried to charge over £800 for valeting and unnecessary repairs (paint chips etc.). We never paid it and I've never looked at BMW since. Sharp practices are not what you want to be known for.

 

[nicholas15]

My insurer quotes £160 for European (incl. UK) Breakdown cover so I reckon thats equivalent to Mobilo.
Free Drop & Go, go outside, come back then wander round the showroom while waiting for car to be ready.

 

[Wighty]

My insurer quotes £160 for European (incl. UK) Breakdown cover so I reckon thats equivalent to Mobilo.
Free Drop & Go, go outside, come back then wander round the showroom while waiting for car to be ready.

nationwide do an account that you can have as a joint one , that gives "free uk/European " cover provided you meet certain balance /pay in targets .

 

[AMGeed]

^ That 722.9 ATF change is £200 at an indy!

 

[Yugguy]

I wonder if they'd charge if you stood outside the showroom.

 

[Andy.M]

Those chairs ‘n’ that coffee don’t come free yanno!

That’s outrageous. Next they’ll charge extra to be seen by the top level hottie on reception.

“£15 to be greeted by a 10 score brunette, or for free our homely mousetrap blonde”...

What will the £50 option be - yes please

 

[Wighty]

^ That 722.9 ATF change is £200 at an indy!

Exactly !! And that includes the Torque converter as well , which some main dealers don't forget if there is not a TC drain plug .

 

[Wighty]

What will the £50 option be - yes please

£50 buddy , I'll park round back and make myself "available "

 

[flowrider]

With a value service you do lose Mobilo but you will lose that anyway depending on age of your car. The charging model has been around for quite a while, thats why when you ask for a service price thay ask if you want a loan car, pickup and drop off, etc, its so they charge the correct price.

 

[C350Carl]

nationwide do an account that you can have as a joint one , that gives "free uk/European " cover provided you meet certain balance /pay in targets .

It's not technically free though. You have to pay monthly for the account (my folks have the same acct).

I have free cover amongst other benefits with my bank acct. But i do pay a monthly premium for the acct.

 

[Rory]

That’s shocking! What a marketing faux pas
I’m equally shocked they will charge you £50 for a day’s car hire, and equally £50 for the collect option.
This will put a huge smile on the Independants faces when they see this!
So glad I got a service plan- wonder how much effort they’ll make in trying to push me to ‘drop and go’?

Getting people to buy service plans is exactly the "scam" behind these absurd costs - it makes the plan look like a good deal. I can't replicate this now so I might have messed up somehow, but I checked the B Service price on a 2yr old GLC 250d for someone and it was over £900.

To be fair, when I used MB Chester (before the moved to Cheshire Oaks) I have never paid for a courtesy car as the charge always used to be just for the insurance excess and my own insurance covers me. But last time I went they put it on their insurance free and said they'd done away with excess.

They were also pretty good at negotiating prices although as the car got older the prices they listed (bear in mind MyService can have different prices for every dealer) were pretty attractive - my last B service base cost was £249.

Interesting point about indie pricing - these charges have been in place for years, they're not new. It's my impression that indies have moved up their service pricing in response. Not just MB, I've seen it on our VW as well - indeed the VW indie is dearer on a lot of routine jobs such as service and cam belt changes than the dealer. However I wouldn't use VW Chester if they did it free.

 

[dry run]

I hope Cole's not watching this thread - I've got my car booked in with him on Monday and this might be giving him ideas

 

[Wighty]

It's not technically free though. You have to pay monthly for the account (my folks have the same acct).

I have free cover amongst other benefits with my bank acct. But i do pay a monthly premium for the acct.

True , it's not ( I had put the free bit in inverted commas ) but all charges considered I found it the cheapest way for me to cover European and Uk breakdown .
You are right there is a monthly fee , but the account interest offsets this somewhat and with the family holiday travel cover as well it is worth looking at .

 

[C350Carl]

True , it's not ( I had put the free bit in inverted commas ) but all charges considered I found it the cheapest way for me to cover European and Uk breakdown .
You are right there is a monthly fee , but the account interest offsets this somewhat and with the family holiday travel cover as well it is worth looking at .

Sorry i wasn't meaning to sound obtuse. I have a Natwest Black account and with all the benefits i get with that it's well worth the monthly fee.

 

[Craiglxviii]

Sorry i wasn't meaning to sound obtuse. I have a Natwest Black account and with all the benefits i get with that it's well worth the monthly fee.

Pull the other one, it’s got bells on!

 

[C350Carl]

Im not always a Charlie Uniform November Tango!

 

[Wighty]

Sorry i wasn't meaning to sound obtuse. I have a Natwest Black account and with all the benefits i get with that it's well worth the monthly fee.

I will take a look at that Natwest account , I have no loyalty to the Nationwide account it was just the best at the time when I left Mobilio and wanted a European cover .
Always looking for good Uk/EU breakdown cover that doesn't break the bank . ( Might start a seperate Thread ? )

 

[Wighty]

Sorry i wasn't meaning to sound obtuse. I have a Natwest Black account and with all the benefits i get with that it's well worth the monthly fee.

Mother of God !!! Just read the account entry requirements , if I had that money I wouldn't need to "shop around "