I expected better from Andy Gayle

[zephyr]

I've just had some of the worst customer service I've ever experienced from Andy Gayle. I chose to take my 1990 500SL to Andy Gayle?s after reading some favourable posts on this very forum.

I asked to have a misfire investigated, the air con checked (since it quickly drained the last time it was recharged) and I wanted a new bonnet catch (the one on the car was very rusty, but worked). Oh and there?s a fault that randomly drains the battery.

After what seemed like a long time and a bill for over £900, I got the car back complete with a new battery. The drive home showed that the air con wasn?t working, the bonnet now wouldn?t release and the remote central locking wasn?t working. I complained and got nowhere until I threatened to cancel my credit card payment. My car was picked up and a courtesy car was left parked near my house. I couldn?t have the courtesy car though, because ?there?s a charge for that.?

Andy explained that the air con is leaking, which is why it?s now empty. He offered to replace about £700+VAT worth of parts to fix this, so I declined. He sorted out the bonnet catch and the remote central locking.

I?ve just had the car brought back and it gets a load worse. I live just around a blind corner on a main A-road used by a lot of HGVs who regularly cut the corner across the drive. When returned, the car was parked right on the edge of the drive. I took the keys and moved another car so I could get the Merc out of harms way. The Merc wouldn?t start. There was no petrol. By now the driver had gone so I called Andy. He reckoned that if the car was on my drive then they?d done they?re job. Even though it was empty of petrol, blocking the drive so I couldn?t get out in another car. Fortunately I managed to borrow some petrol from a neighbour and get the car started. But the misfire is back now.

Frankly I?m at a loss as to what to do now. I?ve tried all the local Merc franchised stealers and now I?ve tried an independent with a good reputation and found them to be just as expensive, but providing an even worse service. It would seem that I?ve had to get cross twice, do without my car for a couple of weeks and spend £900 and all I?ve got to show for it is a shinier bonnet catch!

Is there a competent, honest mechanic anywhere?

 

[talbir]

Doesn't sound like Andy at all - I'd like to hear his side of things.

I have only used Andy once to convert my 500SEC aircon from r12 to r134a in 2002 - and he did the job within the day while I waited and it was supreme. To this day, that aircon is working superbly.

I'm sure 1%-2% of jobs don't reach the high standards he has - no-one is 100% perfect.

I don't think air-con fixing can always be done very quickly - slow leaks take time to show up. You can do pressure/vacuum leaks which suggest all is ok, but something like a compressor seal can take months. That's why you need to fill it and add UV dye and wait.

Seems incredible that they managed to park the car up and next time you went to start it there was no fuel - that would be immpeccable judgement....or just an unfortunate coincidence.

Knowing Andy as I do, I don't think he'd respond to threats of non-payment either - he'll respond if he feels it neccesary. Not sure a credit card payment can be cancelled so easily either.

I do all my mechanical work myself....but if I ever have a technical query I giv him a call and he ALWAYS makes time. And I probably only ever chat to him once or twice a year ! So it's not like he listens because I bring him business or I'm a friend. He genuinely makes time for MB owners.

That's why I'm surprised by this event. And worth taking into account that Andy isn't at the garage at all times - staff can let the place down sometimes at any organisation.

I do hope you can reach a successful conclusion to the problems on the car.

 

[zephyr]

You're trying to make it sound like I'm making this up? Why would I do that? I've only taken the car to Andy Gayle once, so I can't judge whether I'm in a 1-2% of people. Frankly all I wanted was for the work to be done on my car.

I'd love to hear Andy Gayle's side of things.

Speaking to another ex-Andy Gayle customer, it seems that it used to be Andy and one other guy operating out of a small unit. Now they're much bigger and the service has suffered.

I called my credit card company - they said if the service recieved is unsatisfactory they will cancel the payment. They have a whole department that deals with this kind of thing. I'd left two prior messages and was promised a call back both times. On the third occasion I mentioned the cancelling the payment and was immediately called by by Andy Gayle.

As for judging the fuel left, my drive slopes a little so the petrol presumably ran to one side of the tank.

 

[GregE240]

I've got a man in Coventry who looks after my SL (R129, 1990) - any good to you?

He is ex MB Coventry. I've tried to PM you, but you won't accept PMs?

Greg

 

[zephyr]

I don't qualify for personal messaging yet......

Coventry would suit me fine. I'll switch my email on for a while.

Many thanks,

Gary

 

[GregE240]

Still can't PM you mate.

Fire me a quick mail.

Cheers,
Greg

 

[classicsl]

WDM cars, birmingham

0121 331 1066 ask for Wayne

Good no nonsense service, keeps you informed on potential issues with cars, good rates, always had excellent service from them

 

[turnipsock]

The battery draining problem is related to the central locking.

 

[squealinneil]

How much petrol was in the car when you gave it to Andy Gayle and how many miles did the mechanics drive it?

 

[zephyr]

There probably wasn?t enough fuel in the car for a return journey. I?m not accusing Andy?s mechanics of driving the car around unnecessarily. It?s just poor service to have a car returned without enough fuel in it to move across a driveway.

You could argue that I should have made sure there was more than enough petrol for the return journey, but since this journey was to get shoddy work put right and Andy volunteered to collect and return the car I?d have thought Andy could have stuck a £10 or £20 quid?s worth of petrol in if necessary. If he?d called and asked I?d have agreed to pay him for the petrol, but he didn?t. Running a car dry of petrol when you profess to being a professional mechanic doesn?t sound too clever either.

You guys on this forum seem to have a very high opinion of Andy Gayle. Because of that, I?ve taken my car to him and I?ve had utterly rubbish service. I?m just telling it like it is.

Classicsl, thanks for the details.

 

[nicky]

There probably wasn?t enough fuel in the car for a return journey. I?m not accusing Andy?s mechanics of driving the car around unnecessarily. It?s just poor service to have a car returned without enough fuel in it to move across a driveway.

You could argue that I should have made sure there was more than enough petrol for the return journey, but since this journey was to get shoddy work put right and Andy volunteered to collect and return the car I?d have thought Andy could have stuck a £10 or £20 quid?s worth of petrol in if necessary. If he?d called and asked I?d have agreed to pay him for the petrol, but he didn?t. Running a car dry of petrol when you profess to being a professional mechanic doesn?t sound too clever either.

You guys on this forum seem to have a very high opinion of Andy Gayle. Because of that, I?ve taken my car to him and I?ve had utterly rubbish service. I?m just telling it like it is.

Classicsl, thanks for the details.

If you leave a car in to be repaired the garage should not be responsible for filling it with fuel for you......This is up to you.....There should have been enough fuel for him to test the car and return it.......At least he had enough fuel to return it to you,,,

 

[mjtray]

Hi, do you use your 500 regulary?....the only reason I ask, is that I had an 500E with the same M119 engine and I left it for a couple of weeks, got in it and it started to misfire quite badly.

Took it to my Indi, and he took the distributor caps off + rotors, and cleaned them out and everything was back to normal....it turns out that the M119 is quite susseptable to moisture building up in the caps....there are now redesigned caps that stop this.

All in all the job took 10 minutes and the car was back to normal and firing on all cylinders.

It could obviously be a host of other things, such as failing MAF sensors...normally shows up with flat acceleration or could be one of the coil packs failing, which again is quite common due to the amount of underbody heat generated by the engine.

If its anything like my 500E you can't just pull off an ECU code to tell you whats wrong as the technology at the time did not allow this.

 

[nicky]

I think we need to hear Andys side of this story,I think it will be quite different....

 

[SJMaxson]

I've used Andy Gayle a number of times, including for an air con problem (gas leaking away). I've always been very impressed with the service and the prices. The air con problem did include expensive parts (a new condenser unit), but it solved the problem, and the air con is still working efficiently 3 1/2 years later.

 

[sgregory124]

I concur with most other people on here, since i've owned my C36 i've had it serviced at MB of Leicester once, and since the monumental charges, Andy Gayle have looked after the car since then (2 years+) based on a recommendation from this forum.

I've had each service done there, gearbox oil, brakes, 4 wheel alignment, you name it, i've had it done and each time with absolutely impeccable service and far far LESS than MB charge for parts and labour.

You tell me how many dealers actually stay after 5:30pm, take the time out to explain to you exactly what was wrong with your car, how they fixed it and why it may have cost what it did?.....all in their own time? I'd say you don't even need the fingers of one hand.....

Its going back there in fact on Wednesday for a maintenance service and a couple of other bits and I wouldn't dream of going anywhere else these days, even though its 35 miles from my house.

Sorry but I find this very hard to believe.....

 

[SJMaxson]

I wouldn't dream of going anywhere else these days, even though its 35 miles from my house

35 miles? I take my car there from North East Lincs - well over 100 miles!

 

[SLinKyjoe]

we do need andy gayles response to this for fairness. of course we could interpret his non response as a sign of guilt on his part if we so choose.

the point we need here, is that to have issues like this brought up is what the forum is. it could be an unfortunate one off, it could be a sign of things to come.

so to everyone who reads this, we need all comments, good and bad about all MB dealers whether franchised or independant. it is the only way this forum can offer valuable help to members. this is why the forum is here.


for your info. all credit card firms hold money for 60days in the event of queries such as the above, this allows them to refund you and not pay out. this however, is not the case with debit cards. you have been warned.

 

[davidsl500]

we do need andy gayles response to this for fairness. of course we could interpret his non response as a sign of guilt on his part if we so choose.

Joe, To be fair to Andy he hasnt posted on the Forum for well over a year and so I think the non response is because he just doesnt come on here anymore !

I should also point out that I havent yet had any dealings with him but I have just e mailed regarding some work I need to doing - on the basis of all the good reports that have been posted on the Forum.

I also accept that there will always be the occasional job that goes wrong or one that doesnt meet the customers expectations. When this happens, the sign of a good company is one that will respond positively to the problem and put it right. Sometime the second attempt goes badly as well - sh*t happens ! and at this point it is best to get both parties together and work on a satisfactory conclusion. Sometimes you get there and sometimes you dont.

We have only heard one side of the story of course, and since none of us was there we cant judge whether the information provided is accurate or not. There are always two sides to the argument and maybe someone should contact him so he is aware of the post and give his side to the story. I still think that the best method is to call him and arrange an appointment to see him and calmly work it out.

Unfortunately, the problem with running a successful business is that to cope with demand you have to employ staff and rarely do paid employees have the same high standards or see the customer in the same light as the owner of the business - been there (actually still there) and got the T Shirt.

I hope you reach a successful conclusion anyway.

 

[SLinKyjoe]

Joe, To be fair to Andy he hasnt posted on the Forum for well over a year and so I think the non response is because he just doesnt come on here anymore !

I should also point out that I havent yet had any dealings with him but I have just e mailed regarding some work I need to doing - on the basis of all the good reports that have been posted on the Forum.

I also accept that there will always be the occasional job that goes wrong or one that doesnt meet the customers expectations. When this happens, the sign of a good company is one that will respond positively to the problem and put it right. Sometime the second attempt goes badly as well - sh*t happens ! and at this point it is best to get both parties together and work on a satisfactory conclusion. Sometimes you get there and sometimes you dont.

We have only heard one side of the story of course, and since none of us was there we cant judge whether the information provided is accurate or not. There are always two sides to the argument and maybe someone should contact him so he is aware of the post and give his side to the story. I still think that the best method is to call him and arrange an appointment to see him and calmly work it out.

Unfortunately, the problem with running a successful business is that to cope with demand you have to employ staff and rarely do paid employees have the same high standards or see the customer in the same light as the owner of the business - been there (actually still there) and got the T Shirt.

I hope you reach a successful conclusion anyway.

i agree with your points totally.

he is probably too busy to read info on here. i have only noticed good points about him and he does advertise in the mercedes owners magazine. but if anyone does have other dealings that go wrong lets hope they post them up so we can be aware. (Sounds to me like a dodgy mechy and not the full blown response)

lets hope we get a decent solution somewhere.

 

[zephyr]

Think I should clarify a few things here.

Fuel: I collected the car from Andy and drove it back home to Oxfordshire. There was fuel in it, no low fuel light. I didn't drive the car again and I've no idea how much fuel was in it. Someone from Andy Gayle came and collected the car. They were happy to take it away the way it was. Like I say, I would have begrudgingly paid for the fuel. Dumping an empty car on my drive is not acceptable.

Air con: I told them it had been re-charged and had drained immediately. I was told the air con had been fixed. They didn't say "we've spent £150 of yours just to see if it still leaks."

Misfire: I was told that water had leaked into one of the distributors and that both caps and both rotor arms should be replaced. I said OK and the items were replaced: £87.62 for each cap and £42.78 for each rotor - £260+VAT in total. The car still misfires. Of course that could be because it's been run dry and one of the injectors is now clogged with the sediment from the bottom of the tank....

I appreciate that things sometimes go wrong. They went wrong first time, which is why the car ended up being collected to have the work sorted out. I would have thought extra care would have been taken not to mess things up twice?

My biggest complaint is the attitude. The fact that I had to threaten to cancel the credit card payment in order to get the car back in for work that should have been a no-brainer like the bonnet catch. And then the "we've returned the car to your drive, we've done our bit" response when the car came back devoid of fuel.

I owned a string of BMWs prior to the SL and found that BMW's service was impeccable. Mercedes dealers on the other hand, well you all know only too well what they're like (I've tried two, both said I needed a head gasket change, one wanted £3,500 the other £6,000 - I've done 80,000 trouble free miles since then). All I want is to find a good garage to look after my car. I wanted Andy Gayle to be good or even just satisfactory. He wasn't this time. You'd rather I kept that to myself?