MichaelDilbert
Member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2007
- Messages
- 14
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Middlesex, UK
- Your Mercedes
- E 350 CDI Sports Cabriolet Blue Efficiency (207)
Hello everyone this is my first posting on the MB owners forum.
I own a wonderful E 350 CDI Blue Efficiency Sports Cabriolet - my annual mileage is only some 4,000 miles and the car is always serviced by MB and is kept in superb condition. However I recently had the car serviced and was surprised at 3 notes resulting from the 'visual health check'. They were: that the soft top compartment hinge was broken (est cost for repair £306), a sat nav map update was required (est cost £133.60) and the right front seat switch was broken (set cost £172.56).
The switch fault surprised me because the switch worked perfectly. What had happened was the horizontal plastic cover had come off the actuator mechanism. I think it may have caught on an item of clothing or something similar. BUT it was in no way broken and it took me 1 min 20 seconds to carefully leverage the plastic cover back onto the switch mechanism. It seems to me that the technician probably took at least 15 minutes to report this fault instead of fixing it!
Although I could update the sat nav map, it is not as good as my TomTom which has a lifetime map upgrade service, so I will pass on that offer unless I can buy the latest CD at a more realistic price.
The broken soft top compartment hinge is my real worry. I have looked at the 'broken hinge' and found out that it is NOT the hinge itself but a plastic part which once attached to the top of the hinge. At a replacement cost of £306 this seems to be an extraordinarily high cost. Does anyone know the purpose of this plastic part and whether it can be obtained? Alternatively does anyone know where a complete assembly can be purchased and whether it is a complex process to replace? Incidentally the hood mechanism operates well, although it does make a bit of a clunk when closing as it always has done.
On a more serious issue I have noticed how authorised Mercedes and BMW servicing franchises now like to distance their service technicians from their customers. Basically as you probably all know you are invited to consume a pretty naff coffee while seated in the customer reception area, while waiting for the arrival of the customer liaison service manager. All well and good, but when I ask the customer liaison manager about any technical issue that the technician has identified, the manager always seem to claim ignorance of any additional detail.
I also own a boat with twin Volvo Penta engines and have seen the same process starting in that industry. I suspect that this new process is a cunning way to extract more money from their customers and wonder if the technicians are incentivised to identify very marginal faults.
I own a wonderful E 350 CDI Blue Efficiency Sports Cabriolet - my annual mileage is only some 4,000 miles and the car is always serviced by MB and is kept in superb condition. However I recently had the car serviced and was surprised at 3 notes resulting from the 'visual health check'. They were: that the soft top compartment hinge was broken (est cost for repair £306), a sat nav map update was required (est cost £133.60) and the right front seat switch was broken (set cost £172.56).
The switch fault surprised me because the switch worked perfectly. What had happened was the horizontal plastic cover had come off the actuator mechanism. I think it may have caught on an item of clothing or something similar. BUT it was in no way broken and it took me 1 min 20 seconds to carefully leverage the plastic cover back onto the switch mechanism. It seems to me that the technician probably took at least 15 minutes to report this fault instead of fixing it!
Although I could update the sat nav map, it is not as good as my TomTom which has a lifetime map upgrade service, so I will pass on that offer unless I can buy the latest CD at a more realistic price.
The broken soft top compartment hinge is my real worry. I have looked at the 'broken hinge' and found out that it is NOT the hinge itself but a plastic part which once attached to the top of the hinge. At a replacement cost of £306 this seems to be an extraordinarily high cost. Does anyone know the purpose of this plastic part and whether it can be obtained? Alternatively does anyone know where a complete assembly can be purchased and whether it is a complex process to replace? Incidentally the hood mechanism operates well, although it does make a bit of a clunk when closing as it always has done.
On a more serious issue I have noticed how authorised Mercedes and BMW servicing franchises now like to distance their service technicians from their customers. Basically as you probably all know you are invited to consume a pretty naff coffee while seated in the customer reception area, while waiting for the arrival of the customer liaison service manager. All well and good, but when I ask the customer liaison manager about any technical issue that the technician has identified, the manager always seem to claim ignorance of any additional detail.
I also own a boat with twin Volvo Penta engines and have seen the same process starting in that industry. I suspect that this new process is a cunning way to extract more money from their customers and wonder if the technicians are incentivised to identify very marginal faults.
