Advice on Complaining over New SLK Order

[jdl]

All,

Just after some advice on my current complaint with MB on my wife's new SLK 200 order, the story is as follows :

Wife decides to order new SLK200 (£33K post her trip around the option list), we had dealt with a specific salesman at the North Manchester main dealer from the outset. Called him to make sure he was in on 8th May to place the order 'yes I am' was the reply! Arrive at showroom, no it is his day off, can you call back in the week - no chance as dealer is only open until 7pm during the week and I can't get back from the office in time. Receptionist then suggests calling back another weekend, not an option as we are away or busy for the remaining weekends.

Reluctantly they ask another salesman to complete the sale, he is totally un-interested (presumably as he is not getting any cash from the sale), he doesn't listen to what my wife and I tell him about wanting the car until Sept 1st (ready for the new reg) asking twice 'why don't you want it early I can get it early'. I asked do you have any info on factory collection 'No' was the reply ! Well can you get me any 'No speak to your salesman'!!!

When I asked for a trade-in value on my wifes 3 year old MX-5 sport I thought he was going to throw me out, 'well I could do, but don't you want to sell it privately' yes but I would also like you to value it !!!

Once the £1K deposit had been paid I asked for a proper receipt rather than the switch till one - we can post you one if you like (nothing has arrived 5 weeks later)

End result was a rather upset wife who was now not sure why she had purchased a so called 'premuim brand' I then have to convince her not to cancel as the product is worth it even if the sales pitch is not. But I will speak to MB customer services and advise them of our experience.

Speak to MB the next day, yes complaint will be passed on etc etc and what do I expect from MB to put this right. I state I don't expect anything ie money/freebies just an apology, three days later the dealer sales manager rings to let me know the personal collection leaflet is at the depot and he talks me 'through' a personal collection but never mentions the earlier incident. MB customer service calls me two days later to confirm all is well and that my wide is happy with the apology, I state no as no apology was given and the least I would expect is that she would receive a written apology.

MB customer service very sorry they will re-contact the dealer and sort out. One week later another call to confirm all ok, still no letter and they will get onto it right away.

Yep you guessed it, five weeks later no verbal or written apology - I often receive better service spending £3.00 on a pint never mind £33K on an SLK. If the product on offer wasn't so good we would have cancelled the order and bought something else.

My question to you the 'experts' is when I call MB in the next couple of days should I now press for some kind of compensation/freebie extra's as I believe that the service we have had is not a reflection of the money we are spending and the 'premium brand' we are buying. I didn't push for any discount/extra's at the point of order as I felt it was a wasted task due to the waiting list.

Many thanks and apologies for the length of this post !!

John

 

[pascal]

I understand how you feel John, but I'd say forget about it.

Just go and collect your new car with Mrs John. If you and her dwell to much on it, it may affect yor enjoyment of the car itself.

BTW. What colour is she getting? AUTO? Leather?

 

[Myros]

take the option of going to Stuttgart to fetch it

BA do a daily flight from Manchester to Stuttgart for reasonable cost (MB will only stump up for one of you to go), and you can have a shufti around the MB museum, and you might find that the main office set-up of MB treat you a little bit better than you have been so far. You can tour back through some of the nicer scenery in europe, and some of the nicer, faster roads as well.

 

[The Editor]

John,

As Myros says, there is a flight to Stuttgart daily - although MB only stump up for one person to go (in liew of the delivery charge) this does include business class flight, hotel and evening meal plus transfers to/from airport/hotel/factory etc. If you want additional people to go with you (like Mrs John) then MB can arrange all this (even get you on the same flight !! ) for a package price of £310. Again that includes business class flight, hotel, meals etc, etc. When you compare that to any deal you can get on the internet I think you'll find you won't be able to get anywhere near that price. (Obviously MB push a lot of business towards BA and so they get a hefty corporate discount - same goes gor Stuttgart Marriot !!)

Just my two pennyworth.... Since you're not picking up your car till Sept you may still have a chance to say "I wanna pick it up from Germany Thankyouverymuch...."

cheers


Mark

 

[jberks]

I think you guys are too easy going. I would ring them and ask for their dealer principle to call you and at least explain how you feel you have been treated. 33k is a hell of a lot of money, you don't do this every week, and the whole buying experience should be not just tolerable but really enjoyable. This way at least you can be sure they will look after you from here on in.

Unfortunately its all too common. I bought my wife a 20k Audi a few years ago - Sept 1 delivery (1st new car we'd ever had - midnight delivery etc) all gleaming - 2 hours later, parked at the side of the road with a blown engine.
The dealer said Audi was very embarresed and had promised to pull out all the stops to get us a replacement and advised they had sourced one in Germany and it was on the next boat over. So, figuring that there are daily deliveries, I expected to have it in a week or so.

3 weeks later and still no car. Eventually I gave up being nice and got but stroppy, politely balling out the salesman over the phone. He finally admitted that it was parked in a compound only 40 miles away but he didn't know when the next routine delivery was due - So much for 'all the stops and special treatment!'. The Jeckle and hyde routine seemed to work though - it was on my drive the next night! Odd what they can achive when motivated!

 

[Mike&Jan]

Dealer complaint

John,
Sounds like the dealers in the UK aren't much different than those here in the US. Forget being nice. Go as far up the ladder as you can, grab the family jewels and twist HARD! Youv'e got to make someone with a cushy job uncomfortable befoe anything gets done. I've worked at a few dealerships in the past, both as a mechanic and as service writer. Priority #1 is sales, #2 is not being bothered. Go to Edmunds.com to read of a writer going undercover as a salesman at two dealers. Very enlightening.
Good Luck.

 

[SLinKyjoe]

1st. go to another dealer and explain the entire situation in full, calmly. if the order has been made with MB, they can have the car put onto their system instead of the one it is on at present. they should then be very happy to go thru the personal collection with you and hope you are happy with their service and get your car serviced with them.

2nd. once you have established this, go back and demand, nicely, your deposit back from your original dealers. they cannot keep this deposit and you also know the car is being sourced by the other dealer. so this dealer loses both ways....

MB will not go for discount for bad service. it is the dealer you have the problem with not MB. write them a letter stating you are disapointed with the service this dealer gave you and you think it reflects badly on MB as a whole and you intend to tell all your friends about this. add that they have done nothing about it to your satisfaction either. just facts, no emotion. Blunt points.

Plus, as the new SLK commands a premium you could suggest you will offload it on delivery and keep the £1000-1500 you make to put towards a BMW.

it is the dealers who need to know this kind of thing goes on. I suggest everyone who reads this threads goes and tells their local dealer that this is happening and report back here. word of mouth is powerful thing.

 

[Tony]

This is par for the course I'm afraid. The dealers are atrocious, and I've tried several. The first thing you need to realise is that this is a buyer's market. Car sales are flat and the new SLK is not selling as Mercedes had hoped. The huge waiting lists of the R170 are very much a thing of the past. Next, £33k for 1.8 litre 4 pot two seater is basically taking the micky. You can get a Boxster for this price! With the Euro on the way down the plughole you should take a hard line with the dealer particularly when they're uncooperative. I bought and SLK320 in 2001, one of the early face-lift ones, and I got £3k off the list. You should be able to do the same. If he won't accept this offer, go to another dealer. I'll be very surprised if you can't get about 10% off, and if you can't at least your salesman with have lost his commission if you buy from another dealer.

 

[DC_insider]

Car sales are flat and the new SLK is not selling as Mercedes had hoped. The huge waiting lists of the R170 are very much a thing of the past.

The current SLK is in very high demand and there is a waiting list.

I'll be very surprised if you can't get about 10% off, and if you can't at least your salesman with have lost his commission if you buy from another dealer.

The dealer margin is only 8% so the dealer will have to supply the car to you at a loss if you ask for a 10% discount. Also, with a waiting list the dealer can get list price for every SLK they can get from the factory.

 

[S2Tigger]

Sorry to here you had a bad experience, I have had the exact opposite. The dealer in Bath was very helpful, I had their SLK200 demonstrator for a day. I have been back a few times to discuss options and I have to say everyone in the dealship has been helpful.....

I have since decided on personal collection, they filled out the forms for me, and to save me going into the dealership to sign forms, faxed them to me to I could sign and fax onto MB personal collection service.

I have chosen to collect between 21-31 August and have asked the dealer to register the car on 1st September so I get the 55 plate!

All in all, a good dealer..or was it because we purchased a ML270 back in September last year from them?!!

I would recommend anyone to go the the Bath dealership, speak to Jonathan, he is the sales guy I have been dealing with... :grin:

On another note...Tellur or Iridium? I've only got to 30th June to sort out my spec!! :grin:

Darren

 

[Copiertech]

thats sad to hear,buying a premium car should be a pleasurable experience, as it is the ultimate in unnecesarry purchases, your spending what you can still buy a house for in some areas on a car. go speak to another dealer and speak to merc cust svc again and tell your original dealer to go ram it. remind them how bmw dealers treat their customers. when my mum bought a used 316 they bent over backwards to please her, even gave her a bunch of flowers and some sweets when she picked up the car. doesn`t cost much but made her feel really good. thats what its all about, reassuring you that you made the right choice.when me and my better half went to the merc stealer to get her an A class we got treated like crap too, so we told them to go do one. went to an independant and got a nearly new one for a much better deal.

 

[Tony]

The current SLK is in very high demand and there is a waiting list.

There's always a waiting list according to the dealers. As for a dealer margin of 8% I find that hard to believe. Like I said I bought a new SLK from a Merc dealer in 2001 and got about £3k off list which was about 10%.

 

[DC_insider]

There's always a waiting list according to the dealers. As for a dealer margin of 8% I find that hard to believe. Like I said I bought a new SLK from a Merc dealer in 2001 and got about £3k off list which was about 10%.

There is not always a waiting list - for example you could get a C-Class or E-Class from stock. The SLK however, is very popular and you would have to wait.

Dealer margin on all MB cars is 8% - trust me I see the invoices every day.

The dealer margin in 2001 was higher and there may have been additional incentives from the manufacturer. Usually these are only available on run out models or to clear a stockpile of old cars. The other options are that the dealer needed to sell a handful of additional cars to hit a large volume bonus, the dealer received a large commission on finance or they took leave of their senses and sold the car at a loss.

 

[MOHDW211]

If dealer margin is only 8% then why are What car target prices of 2-2.5K off list on new E class. Targets are more lucrative and volume sales thru extra customers via What car ensures a decent profit.

 

[DC_insider]

If dealer margin is only 8% then why are What car target prices of 2-2.5K off list on new E class. Targets are more lucrative and volume sales thru extra customers via What car ensures a decent profit.

At an 8% margin, £2.5k off a £35k car would still give the dealer a profit albeit a small one.

There are bonuses available for hitting the dealer target so they may gamble and sell the car at a loss in order to hit the volume target.

There are also additional incentives from the manufacturer to shift cars with engines that are about to be replaced (270 diesel, 320 diesel, 240 petrol, 320 petrol).

 

[Tony]

Considering that Daimler Chrysler have bought most of the dealerships (virtually all of them in the South East) the quoted dealer margin is basically just accounting sleight of hand. It can be set to any figure they like to minimise taxes. The actual discount that can be given before they're selling at a loss is exceedingly difficult to work out and you can bet your life it's much more than 8%. As for the waiting list, no dealer is going to tell you that there isn't a waiting list on the SLK, because it's a useful tool for jacking up prices, but with the exception of the SLK55 I'm pretty sure you could get any spec you wanted within 3 months which is basically the build time.

 

[DC_insider]

Considering that Daimler Chrysler have bought most of the dealerships (virtually all of them in the South East) the quoted dealer margin is basically just accounting sleight of hand. It can be set to any figure they like to minimise taxes. The actual discount that can be given before they're selling at a loss is exceedingly difficult to work out and you can bet your life it's much more than 8%. As for the waiting list, no dealer is going to tell you that there isn't a waiting list on the SLK, because it's a useful tool for jacking up prices, but with the exception of the SLK55 I'm pretty sure you could get any spec you wanted within 3 months which is basically the build time.

DC own about 25-30% of the dealer network and the only ones they own in the south east are in London. The dealer margin for DC owned dealers is the same as any other dealer. DC cannot supply cars to these dealers at lower prices.

There is a waiting list for SLKs due to its current popularity. If a dealer has any allocation left (they may have already sold all the cars that are going to be made this year) you could place an order now for delivery in about 6 months time which is the actual build time.

If you are very lucky you could get a cancelled order but depending on how close it is to production you may not be able to spec it to your requirement.

 

[The Editor]

Is there a larger mark up on options (COMAND, Heated seats, Parktronic etc)?

i.e should I be looking to get 8% discount off the base price of the car then more off the goodies or is it only likely they will discount the car itself and stick to their guns on toys ??

Thanks

Mark

 

[DC_insider]

The 8% margin applies to the whole price of the car including factory fit options (such as COMAND, etc).

Dealer fit accessories have different margins.

 

[The Editor]

Yes I know about dealer fit options !!

Had 'Park Assist' fitted to the wifes A-Class when we bought it - Was quoted £600 !!.. After lots of talking it came down as far as £195 (which I assumed was cost price inc fitting)!!!!... ended up getting it for free!!!