Mercedes Dealer Has Ruined My Car

[Dave Brooker]

In 2010 the technology should be there for every manufacturer to do this not just manufacturers from the far east !!!!!

The long warrenty thing is just a ploy to gain market share.

They may not make any profit from the cars...

 

[thebeard]

The long warrenty thing is just a ploy to gain market share.

They may not make any profit from the cars...

Mercedes started doing a SAAB ie "charging twice the price for parts" in the mid 2000's a complete wing mirror for an ML cost around a £1,000 there's no way that's the right price it's Mercedes trying to make money from parts to make up for small margins on the cars.

And that policy has cost MB sales because once stung we'll never go back we'll be with BMW Audi or Even Citroen.

If a Japanese firm did a Lexus only with some design flair I think the German's would cack their trousers so far Lexus has made cars which look bland even the IS looks like a jelly mould Mondeo !

The future is pay X £ a month inclusive of servicing only with tyres to pay for.

There is so much mistrust around warranty and servicing the best way to gain market share and sell cars is to offer complete simple packages I think 90% of buyers are like me they just want a basic car and a simple process to getting that car.

There's a million options and financing deals just makes my head spin and makes me want to keep my current car NOT buy a new one even though I've got the money !

 

[dieselman]

The long warrenty thing is just a ploy to gain market share.

They may not make any profit from the cars...

The reality is that aren't having warranty claims, so a five year warranty is just a piece of paper to them, but a good safeguard for the customer.

 

[thebeard]

The reality is that aren't having warranty claims, so a five year warranty is just a piece of paper to them, but a good safeguard for the customer.

100% agree

Which is why I can't understand Porsche with a pokey 2 year warranty.

But then again from my experience they probably would have plenty of claims so it's really no surprise.

 

[Dave Brooker]

Mercedes started doing a SAAB ie "charging twice the price for parts" in the mid 2000's a complete wing mirror for an ML cost around a £1,000 there's no way that's the right price it's Mercedes trying to make money from parts to make up for small margins on the cars.

Mercedes parts are very cheap in comparison with most other makes.

 

[dieselman]

Mercedes parts are very cheap in comparison with most other makes.

Not any more, they have increased their prices significantly.

 

[thebeard]

Mercedes parts are very cheap in comparison with most other makes.

That's true of the w124 and w210 models but newer cars are pretty expensive even when compared.

 

[Pontoneer]

Mercedes parts are very cheap in comparison with most other makes.

It varies according to what you're buying - I bought an oil filter from the dealer this morning for the tidy sum of £6 , most service items are reasonably priced since they have a reasonable turnover .

A back box for the 190E 2,6 was about £80 ; water pump not much more .

Prices have increased in recent years : keys were £11 or so for more years than I can remember - then DOUBLED in price a couple of years ago - I was shocked to be asked for £21 for a key for my W126 - exactly the same type of key I had paid £11 a few months earlier for a 190 - I asked if the price was bumped up because it was an S Class but was told it was an increase . Glad I don't have silly electronic keys .

The real shockers come when you're looking at the older cars :

a quarter bumper section for a Ponton has a silly price tag of around THREE GRAND - but then it will be hand made by a craftsman in the oldtimer centre , as would body panels for the older cars - nothing is kept in stock any more , but can be fabricated on a one off basis - at a price !

I also read somewhere that the door switch assembly for the hydraulic windows on a 600 is SEVEN GRAND - just for a 'switch' !!!

 

[Pontoneer]

Mercedes started doing a SAAB ie "charging twice the price for parts" in the mid 2000's a complete wing mirror for an ML cost around a £1,000 there's no way that's the right price it's Mercedes trying to make money from parts to make up for small margins on the cars.

In the early 1980's a complete door mirror for a W114 was £130 ( I paid that for a passenger side mirror as my 280E only had one on the driver's side when I bought the car ) - that was a lot of money back then when a tankful of petrol was £20 odds for the same car !

Since a tank of fuel can easily be £100+ now , that mirror equated to say six tanks of fuel or something like £600 in today's money .

Given that it was a simple mechanical mirror with a chrome casing and lever adjustment from inside the car ,the grand for an ML mirror with probably electric adjustment , electric swivel in , heated glass and indicator repeater built in - the £1000 does not seem so bad .

 

[thebeard]

Mercedes of all brands is the one, which should have bucked the trend; instead they followed all the others.

They dropped quality across the entire range they made the A class "total crud mobile!" and the B Class even more crud and made other poorly engineered rust prone cars.

They pumped up their spare part prices and went thin on the paint finish and thin on the quality of materials used on the interiors.

Where they could have taken a more upmarket route delivered a more upmarket brand and experience they followed every other volume manufacturer.

Many parts are made by the same companies, which make for Audi Saab Volvo BMW etc. that’s not necessarily a bad thing if MB ask for higher spec but they don’t.

The only thing, which marks a difference between MB and Renault, is probably the body design and the slightly higher quality interior though that varies from model to model where some Renaults are much better.

MB is just a brand with a design department and engineering department who are slightly ahead of the competition it’s only a matter of time before they are just a design department, with all the engineering done by others.

MB has already lost huge market share and is digging a deeper hole day by day.

MB C class BMW 3 series and Audi A4
The quality is identical and the reliability is too the only difference is the design and the ride and handling which is slight.

After all that is the service and costs.

And MB service is shocking because it’s the same as Audi and BMW

It’s very very very average.

Having said all that currently I’d probably still buy a C class because of the image but that is in spite of the quality and service they are hanging on by a design thread, the moment I can get quality design from a Japanese or Italian company then I will be taking my money there.

Because of the increase in quality from all manufacturers I can’t wait for Alfa Romeo Maserati Jaguar to come out with something, which will do the job.

I think It’s only a few years away if I was MD of MB I’d be very worried because you can’t easily get MB back to what is was and every other car company is pretty much up to where Mercedes and dropped too “relatively” Today.

The future is pretty bleak the heyday is a distant memory they are failing to hang onto even the slimmest memory of a glorious past.

 

[thebeard]

In the early 1980's a complete door mirror for a W114 was £130 ( I paid that for a passenger side mirror as my 280E only had one on the driver's side when I bought the car ) - that was a lot of money back then when a tankful of petrol was £20 odds for the same car !

Since a tank of fuel can easily be £100+ now , that mirror equated to say six tanks of fuel or something like £600 in today's money .

Given that it was a simple mechanical mirror with a chrome casing and lever adjustment from inside the car ,the grand for an ML mirror with probably electric adjustment , electric swivel in , heated glass and indicator repeater built in - the £1000 does not seem so bad .

You're joking ????

What are you are saying?

For 25 door mirrors you could buy an entire brand new C Class !!!!!!!

That's £25,000

Now I understand why they can get away with selling parts at mad prices !!!

It probably costs them £150 and they selll them for £1000.



Bonkers!!!!!

 

[dieselman]

A back box for the 190E 2,6 was about £80 ; water pump not much more .

Prices have increased in recent years :

Not half. !

Yesterday I asked for the price of a front exhaust section...£685+vat.

The really annoying bit is that the costly bit is made from stainless with a mild steel tube welded on. Guess which bit rots through...the £10 steel tube.

I've also found that MB exhausts don't last as well as quality after-market ones, which are well under half the price.

It's getting a baked bean tin while I decide what to do..

 

[Dave Brooker]

Not any more, they have increased their prices significantly.

Somethings are cheaper.

Suspension pumps and legs for W220 are now much cheaper than they were.

Basic mirror for an ML £202, not a massive sum.

 

[Dave Brooker]

That's true of the w124 and w210 models but newer cars are pretty expensive even when compared.

204 mirror glass £54 124 mirror glass £82

 

[Pontoneer]

Not half. !

Yesterday I asked for the price of a front exhaust section...£685+vat.

The really annoying bit is that the costly bit is made from stainless with a mild steel tube welded on. Guess which bit rots through...the £10 steel tube.

I've also found that MB exhausts don't last as well as quality after-market ones, which are well under half the price.

It's getting a baked bean tin while I decide what to do..

Those prices were not so long ago , maybe 18 months to two years ago .

Yes it is odd about the exhausts lifespans - the original factory exhausts always seem to last well , then so called 'genuine' replacements seem to only last a few years .

That's why I'm about to have a stainless system fitted to my 126 at a cost of 2/3 the price MB want for the 'genuine' system .

 

[dieselman]

Those prices were not so long ago , maybe 18 months to two years ago .

Yes it is odd about the exhausts lifespans - the original factory exhausts always seem to last well , then so called 'genuine' replacements seem to only last a few years .

That's why I'm about to have a stainless system fitted to my 126 at a cost of 2/3 the price MB want for the 'genuine' system .

parts prices at MB have shot up in the last year, a lot of stuff has doubled in price in only a couple of years.

The factory fit exhaust didn't last well on my car, the rear section rusted right through at the lead into the silencer after only a few years. It was welded up but eventuallyy the whole thing was U/s so was replaced with a Bosal, which appears to be lasting much better.

I have wondered about having a SS exhaust or section welded on, which is why I'm deliberating at present.

 

[television]

I have used MB Exeter and have never had a good result, the electronics guy is not good.

It all reminds me of a guy I met outside with a 2 year old 230 SL where the owner had to unlock the car with the key after 2 days, and was told this was normal, I went in with him and got the techie out and had a chat with him and told him what to do, they took the car back and fixed it, the customer rang me and thanked me.

They did a poor job on my struts and had to go beck 3 times.

The joke is that this chain was voted 2nd best in the UK

 

[thebeard]

Somethings are cheaper.

Suspension pumps and legs for W220 are now much cheaper than they were.

Basic mirror for an ML £202, not a massive sum.

Yes JUST the mirror is £202 .

BUT if a passing van hits the wing mirror 4 parts get damaged .

indicator lens.
mirror casing.
motorised arm.
and
headed dimming mirror

All those parts costs around a £1000 !

+ fitting. !!!!!!!!!

Oh and Painting !!

It's happened to me twice !

 

[Alex M Grieve]

Yes JUST the mirror is £202 .

mirror casing.
All those parts costs around a £1000 !

+ fitting. !!!!!!!!!

Oh and Painting !!

Top tip. If you are unlucky enough for this to happen to you, try to retrieve the mirror casing, especially if it is "colour coded" to the rest of the vehicle.

Having a new one painted to match is very expensive, and in my experience the cover did not suffer any significant damage.

Reusing the old one will save lots of money - and you may be able to do the rest of the work yourself.

 

[thebeard]

Top tip. If you are unlucky enough for this to happen to you, try to retrieve the mirror casing, especially if it is "colour coded" to the rest of the vehicle.

Having a new one painted to match is very expensive, and in my experience the cover did not suffer any significant damage.

Reusing the old one will save lots of money - and you may be able to do the rest of the work yourself.

I'm still living with a scratch damaged casing to save the painting and cost of new casing.

Anyhow.


My point in this thread is to show that Mercedes are charging excessive amounts for parts and making unreasonable margins.

I think the example of 25 mirrors coming to the same price as a brand new C class ie £25,000. Shows the nonsense.

I you added up the cost of all the parts bought from the parts counter at your local dealer

I think to build a C class would possibly costly you £75,0000 maybe more!!





In my view Mercedes made a very poor decision on parts prices and it will lead to owners leaving the brand as I am.



In the days of the W124 Mercedes parts had a small 5-10% profit now the parts business is a great profit centre for Mercedes and margins are between 200% and on smaller items as much as 1000% yes 1000%.

In the old days a Mercedes dealer would give you for free a screw or a plastic clip because those items were expected to last the life of the car.

Now we pay for every little item I paid £2.75 for a tiny seatbelt button on a car, which is 6 years old and has done 45,000miles in the old days the dealer would have given me and fitted it for FREE!


Mercedes is now like Renault or Fiat only they charge more, I admit the design and Image are better but in every other way they are just these days average in every department.


I don't know how we as customers can let Mercedes know about how disgusted with the change it's a change which has left us without the Brand we had all grown to love and be happy with.

It's an end of an era and era of excellent service and engineered "but expensive" products it's why I've had a dozen Mercedes cars over the years.






I'm gutted that I've got an average engineered car at a cheaper price with poor service and very expensive parts.




I feel ripped off at having to pay ridiculous amounts to keep my car on the road and I have no choice but to get my parts from the rip off Mercedes main dealer network.




They know they’ve got us but the short and curlies.



And they don't care.