New member looking for advice - about to give up on MB for good

[anton1]

Couldn't agree more Micman.
Using a main dealer is ridiculous. If you use an approved independent, you get genuine Mercedes parts, keep the factory warranty and normally get better expertise and service.

I have owned numerous mercs and have always taken them to TMMotors in West Molesey, Surrey. Over 35 years experience for 50 pounds an hour. Sure beats paying main dealer prices to have a spotty apprentice work on your car.

 

[hawk20]

Well there are two schools of thought on this. Most main dealers give discounts of 20% off for cars over 3 years old and some give 40% off for cars over 6 years old.

Our local dealer is excellent and the technical back-up including access to MB Technical for tricky problems can be invaluable.

And you get all the updates free (essential IMO in the first three years and still goes on up to 6 years). And there are 'goodwill' contributions from MB for cars in the fourth year (service record is taken into account) in the event of repairs being needed.

BTW I have learnt from experience that there are nearly always two sides to most stories. Nobody pays £300 just for simple wheel alignment.

 

[MarkCL]

After having quickly read through most of this I can only say that most of what I would say has already been said. The main mistakes in this case were buying a 2002 model car in the first place and then keeping it serviced by main dealer stealers You were unfortunate to have bought a car at the dodgy end of MB's build quality issues after the Chrysler acquisition in the first place really but then those issues aren't really common knowledge outside MB circles I suppose.

The only thing I can say is don't let this bad experience put you off MBs - if you get a newer one now as a replacement I'm pretty sure you'll find you get a much better car now.

If you are going to sell up and go buy something Japanese though then I guess that Toyota, Honda or Lexus would be the best three to look at. I personally have had Toyotas on and off for years and have always found them to be solid and reliable to say the least

As Malcolm has mentioned before though, since you've had all this work done I very much doubt anything else significant will go pear shaped with the car now so you may well be better off just hanging on to it - just find yourself a good local independant and ditch that main dealer a.s.a.p!

Cheers,
Mark

 

[television]

Well there are two schools of thought on this. Most main dealers give discounts of 20% off for cars over 3 years old and some give 40% off for cars over 6 years old.

Our local dealer is excellent and the technical back-up including access to MB Technical for tricky problems can be invaluable.

And you get all the updates free (essential IMO in the first three years and still goes on up to 6 years). And there are 'goodwill' contributions from MB for cars in the fourth year (service record is taken into account) in the event of repairs being needed.

BTW I have learnt from experience that there are nearly always two sides to most stories. Nobody pays £300 just for simple wheel alignment.

There are so many threads running with a similar theme, where so many people are upset with MB service side of things. I thought that my outfit near me where good till I heard the way that they tried to palm a guy off with on a 2 year old SL who had to unlock the car with the key, as the battery has so flat, they tried to tell him to go home and charge it, unbelievable after a 1300 mile run, I did put guy straight and they took the car in.

One reads so often where 1 injector has failed, so do they replace that one ?? No, they change them all, and that will be £2k thank you very much, next.

 

[Andrew Rymer]

Sorry to here about your experience......I had problems with my local main dealer in Liverpool. Bottom line is that the so called "technicians" do not have the faintest idea about how the cars they sell work!! I have changed to indies but have got to tell you that even they are having trouble getting to the bottom of my problems. At least they dont cost anyway near the stealerships. I have spent too much on mine to walk away from it as I suspect you have. I like you will be changing brands soon!! Hope you arrive at a satisfactory solution.

Regards

Andrew

 

[Dosco]

Where to next...

...this post has been an eye opener given that I am ruminating and cogitating at the moment whether or not to change from the current 'no frills but rust' barge to a newer 'pre-owned' E class (note the use of politically correct phrases) or stick with what I have which is economical as far as current annual running costs go.

Apart from having to convince the present Mrs A I also have to convince myself that 'going where others have gone before' might just be a 'Bridge to Far'

OR should I take up an offer that came through the post this morning and get £2000 scrap allowance + £1500 cash back AND £200 FREE FUEL offer - good or what! now the down side I would need to purchase a new Citroen thingy, hard decision really, two seconds later - decision made

 

[television]

...

OR should I take up an offer that came through the post this morning and get £2000 scarp allowance + £1500 cash back AND £200 FREE FUEL offer - good or what! now the down side I would need to purchase a new Citroen thingy, hard decision really, two seconds later - decision made

I do hope that you will be happy in the Citroen

 

[Gurmot]

Hi there,

I'm sorry to hear your troubles but I can't help feeling the main reason you racked up such huge costs was the fact you used a main dealer for all the repair work!!

The car was already 4 years old when you got it and yet you continued to use the main dealer for servicing and associated repair work as and when needed.

I notice one thing in particular, you say £300 for wheel alignment. Hate to tell you this but I had a four wheel alignment on my car carried out for £30.00 at a local independent garage.

Whatever car you change too, be it Japanese or otherwise - Don't use the main dealer for repairs then wonder why your wallet is being bled dry.
Main dealers equal big bills - FACT.

Hi,

I've come to realise this for myself but in there are two factors in my defence:

1 - I thought MB were reliable and therefore repairs would be rare (I was proved very wrong on this count).

2 - I don't know any independent MB specialists in my area.

Also, this has been an accumulation of troubles and each one has been tackled with the hope that it MUST SURELY BE THE LAST!! It's taken me too long to wake-up and I've paid a very high price but the last problem (Catalysts replacement x2) was approxe 1/3 of the cost and is only really one problem although Merc garage made a complete farse of the the repair and it took them over two months and several visits to finally sort it.

The odd thing is that the last straw was a £10 repair to marked paint that MB caused and yet wouldn't accept responsiblity for. This is where their "customer care" really fell down as they made me drive to 3 different dealers (approx 70 miles), took my details on Mobilo, did an "investigation" and then told me it wasn't their fault. Any one of the 3 could have shown a little goodwill and polished out the problem - but they didn't.

The money is one thing (and believe me I can't afford it) but the biggest problem is the total disregard for how the customer feels when forced to grind through their corporate procedures and then to hung-out to dry whilst they conduct short-sighted profit preservation measures. Very sad.

I sincerely hope that none of the good folks on this forum ever have to suffer the way I have.

I may have been foolish, but my biggest fault was to trust in a set of brand values which I had wrongly associated with the brand that is Mercedes Benz.

 

[Gurmot]

Just found this. I guess I'm not alone!

http://www.mercedes-benz-usa.com/c_class.php

 

[hawk20]

There are so many threads running with a similar theme, where so many people are upset with MB service side of things. I thought that my outfit near me where good till I heard the way that they tried to palm a guy off with on a 2 year old SL who had to unlock the car with the key, as the battery has so flat, they tried to tell him to go home and charge it, unbelievable after a 1300 mile run, I did put guy straight and they took the car in.

One reads so often where 1 injector has failed, so do they replace that one ?? No, they change them all, and that will be £2k thank you very much, next.

Equally I've heard of people who have been to an 'indie' and told they needed a gearbox overhaul when all they needed was the proper MB software update free from any MB dealer. Works both ways.

 

[television]

Equally I've heard of people who have been to an 'indie' and told they needed a gearbox overhaul when all they needed was the proper MB software update free from any MB dealer. Works both ways.

MB cant even manage to change all of the fluid in their own gearboxes, so the poor punter goes to MB for a fluid change and he gets a 50% change for £300 where as an indie can change it all for £150.

I told the engineer at MB how he could change all of the fluid, and he said that it is not in the book so I cannot do it that way.

You will find a bad indie in life in any trade, but there are no where near as many bad indies as there are bad MB workshops.

You should take off your rose coloured specs and read some of the technical pages here.

 

[Micman]

Just found this. I guess I'm not alone!

You're not alone, I've had my share of Mercedes issues, believe me. The thing is knowing when to use the main dealer and when to shop around.

My A-class problems - too numerous to list!!!

My biggest C-class problem was a head gasket failure at 33 months old with 27k miles on clock!!! Fortunately for me and my wallet, the car was 3 months inside it's 3 year warranty so Merc replaced it all. phew.

It has to be said though, in the years I've owned Mercs they've never left me stranded at the side of the road or failed to start - unlike every other make of car i've had.

:lol:

 

[hawk20]

You should take off your rose coloured specs and read some of the technical pages here.

No need to be abusive. How many involve my local dealer in Southampton? None that I can recall.

And there are many other people who are also happy with their MB dealer.

And Tony Purslow at Guildford seems to get a fair share of praise too, on both main forums.

A recent survey of independents showed 7 out of 10 not using synthetic oil despite claiming that they did. It is not all one way. There are good and bad apples in all fields.

 

[television]

No need to be abusive. How many involve my local dealer in Southampton? None that I can recall.

And there are many other people who are also happy with their MB dealer.

And Tony Purslow at Guildford seems to get a fair share of praise too, on both main forums.

A recent survey of independents showed 7 out of 10 not using synthetic oil despite claiming that they did. It is not all one way. There are good and bad apples in all fields.

The terminology "rose coloured specs" is not abusive .. it is an expression used to ask you to try and look at things from another prospective, I get PMs asking if you are for real the way you praise all MB outlets.

I know of 3 MB indies who have just started out on their own, they are up to their eyes in work within weeks of starting up, and I know many MB engineers on the scrap heap as the work diminishes.

The R2RC was brought out to stop this monopoly, further more this forum and many others would not exist if the sun shone every day

It is just that there are alternatives to MB service, and some very good ones at that

 

[Gurmot]

Well there are two schools of thought on this. Most main dealers give discounts of 20% off for cars over 3 years old and some give 40% off for cars over 6 years old.

This is true and these discounts were applied on many of the invoices I paid. The prices quoted INCLUDE older car discounts. It's good of you to defend the official outlets (someone has to) but imagine what I would have spent if these discounts had not applied!! More like £6k or £7k in under the 3 years I guess.

BTW I have learnt from experience that there are nearly always two sides to most stories. Nobody pays £300 just for simple wheel alignment.

You are right again. I had summarised each of the invoices for everyone's sake but as you raise this particular example, i'll give you more details.

The actual work done included replacement of all brake discs & pads and included a goodwill contribution from MB for some of this work. Good of them huh? Well no actually, when I bought the car from the same dealer, the salesman assured me that the car would undergo a full service, including replacement of all discs / pads before I collected the car for the 1st time. I took it on good faith that this work had been carried out but I only learned later that this was not done as they had measured the wear and later decided that they didn't need replacing yet. Convenient for them, expensive for me. Oh, and they forgot to tell me.

So to answer your question, the £300 wasn't just for realigning the wheels (that part was £70 according to the invoice) but thanks for raising this. As you say, two sides to each story.

 

[Dosco]

Had a letter on Friday telling me my local MB garage was closing and the business was transferring to the Northampton center.

As means of retaining business they are offering a 'health check' sort of MOT I gather on the car. A/C service (evac flush and recharge + leak test, add dye to the system and discharge something into the car which will remove bacteria from the A/C system!) and a complimentary wash and interior clean of the car, all for £49.00.

Asked for their rates for the A & B service, A = £199.99 inclusive of parts and B = £299.99 inclusive.

So the question is: how does the above sound to all you knowledgeable punters and purists out there?

 

[Gurmot]

Had a letter on Friday telling me my local MB garage was closing and the business was transferring to the Northampton center.

As means of retaining business they are offering a 'health check' sort of MOT I gather on the car. A/C service (evac flush and recharge + leak test, add dye to the system and discharge something into the car which will remove bacteria from the A/C system!) and a complimentary wash and interior clean of the car, all for £49.00.

Asked for their rates for the A & B service, A = £199.99 inclusive of parts and B = £299.99 inclusive.

So the question is: how does the above sound to all you knowledgeable punters and purists out there?

My recent B service at Taunton cost me £275 (as per written quote) but they tried to charge me £350 plus parts when I collected the car. I pointed out their error and they finally charged me £275 flat.

My advice is to get everything in writing 1st, whatever you think they've told you.

 

[Dringo]

Mercs run and run, but the servicing at main dealers is a pain. Add to that that I simply don't trust that they do all the little checks on the A and B services that are on the list.

You must be at the point where you think you have spent so much on the car you don't want to let it go (money down the drain) - I've been there too, but it gets to the point where you have to cut and run and maybe you just had a unlucky car.

I've always done main dealer servicing at least once a year, just to get the stamp and be able to say 'FMBSH', but for any repairs or diagnosed work and MOTs I use an Indie or my trusted local. Actually, they have messed up a couple of times come to think of it - so a good MB Indie is prob best, although when I last got a quote from one they were NO cheaper than MB which was a surprise.

 

[4572]

help please my merc 300sl k reg convertiable top will not go up or down, does any one know how i can fix this problem

 

[BrianM]

Hello everyone.

I'd like to introduce myself and to let you know why I'm here. My name is Simon and I'm fairly average family guy from Somerset. I own a C220 CDI which I bought as an MB approved used car almost 3 years ago and it's one of the nicest cars I've owned.

The reason I'm here is that I've just about run out of patience with MB and I'm about to sell my car and walk away from the brand for good but I thought I'd share (vent) my experiences and seek input from other owners before throwing in the towel.

My car was 1st registered in 2002 but I bought it with 77k miles in 2006. I bought it from an authorised dealer in Somerset as a approved used car and I was smitten from the start. This was my 1st Merc and the buying experience and early ownership certainly lived up to expectations. I was a happy.

Things started to go wrong at the 1st service, 1 year later when I was given my 1st unexpected bill. This was for £500 to reline the brakes (something which the salesman had assured me would be done before I purchased the car). I grumbled but paid it and tried to forget about it.

And then things hit a roll.....

Rear axle failed (warranty)

Alternator failed - £624

Aircon failed - £619

Aircon failed again - £342

Parking brake failed - £100

Bodywork penetration noticed - £200 (I had to make a contribution to MB "goodwill" for 30 year bodywork "warranty")

Starter motor failed - £535

Signal acquisition module failed - £270

Wheel alignment - £300

Injectors & middle catalyst - £800

Back catalyst (1 month later!) - £500

So in less than 3 years I've spent almost £5000 on repairs on a car which came from MB and has been serviced by them since.

The last straw was that whilst the car was collected from the dealer after the most recent fault (mid catalyst) I noticed marks to the paintwork caused by bird droppings or "bird-lime" as it seems to be called in thre trade. The dealer is in Weston Super Mare and I'm sure it was the victim of an assault by local sea-gulls. The problem was that the paint seemed to have been burned by the bird-lime and several large streaks were clearly visible on the driver's door. I pointed this out to the service manager, who sought advice from the bosyshop manager, who told be it was due to defective paint. Fast forward to the dealer who had recently resprayed the door as part of the anti-corrosion warranty, who told me to take it up with his supplier (MB approved body shop) who then told me there was nothing wrong and I should have washed my car sooner!

A call to MB customer service was made and I asked them to bang heads together to get one of the dealers to take responsbility and sort out the burned paint. I received a phone call from MB customer services a few days later to be informed that they had conducted an investigation and that there was no fault with the paint and further the marks were already present when the car was taken to them. I was fuming, and told them so but they would not listen!!!

So I took the car to a local bodyshop where the marks were polished out within 10 minutes for £10!! Now why couldn't either of the 2 dealers have done this or their approved body shop?

The last straw has been applied and my back is broken. I've decided to sell the car and buy something Japanese.

Now if you are still with me, perhaps you could offer some insight.

Is this normal? Is it me?

Thanks for your time, I hope you have more luck than I have with MB.

Simon

This won't help with the problems you've had but if you do continue with MB then I really would consider a service plus contract when the manufacturers warranty runs out. I did it for my 2004 E320 CDI. Costs £78/month, which is expensive but covers all servicing and repairs (other than tyres). Have had quite a bit of work done on mine including an expensive COMAND repair and broken front suspension. It is expensive but buys peace of mind. However it is ridiculous that we need it in the first place i.e. worried about the integrity and longevity of a so called 'quality car' !