Nightmare at MB dealer!

[digisatman]

Hi all,

My MB e270cdi w211 was in for a ball joints recall at MB dealer yesterday, also told them to check why handbrake icon not lighting up on dash when handbrake is down, they quoted me £130 + vat for fixing a damaged wire, i told them to leave it, but still had to pay for gettin it checked. I went to get it picked up today, and while driving off, the auto door lock engages, but fails, as the passenger door lock keeps repeating up and down a few times.

Took it back straight away to MB, and was told it something wrong inside the lock and basically trying to fob me off, shifting the blame from MB. Service manager would not admit fault, and says he needs to talk to the technincan who done the recall first.

Any advice on what i should say if he calls tomorrow without a good answer?

Thanks,

Digi:sad:

 

[Parrot of Doom]

You have a right to have your car returned in the same condition as you left it.

Don't accept anything less than a free repair. And a courtesy car would be nice.

 

[type49]

The ball joints will be the front lower swivols, which will not have anything to do with the central locking. The handbrake wiring fault is very unlikely to be in the area of the NSF door. This is a difficult one. It's natural to suspect they've left something off or loose but it could just be a coincidence. I renewed a broken headlight lens whilst the customer waited & when finished it would'nt start! The EIS switch ( ignition ) had packed up, making the car totally immobile for 3 days while we waited for a new one. sometimes these things happen.

P.S. Have a good whine at them anyway, it makes you feel better.

 

[jberks]

Id have to agree with type49. It's normal to assume they are related but as he says, it's hard to think of a way that they could have caused the problem.
Frustrating but I'd have to agree - co-incidence.
That said, keep to your guns and at the very least, you may get a low cost repair!

 

[digisatman]

@ jberks, co-incidence...possiblly, but that co-incidence was under MB's care... I was returned a car which does not lock on first try...It shouldnt be a blaming game, but what would you do?

cheers,

digi

 

[television]

I am not saying that this applies here for I have had many stories like Type49 described ,in the sevice trade these things do happen.

When I had my shop in the 60's someone would come in and ask to have new batteries fitted to their portable, after fitting the batteries the radio did not work, and the customer shouts out, "you have broken my radio" we never fitted batteries after that.

please Digisatman if you are what your signiture indicates you must have had some of these things happen to you.

If it was not for the money and love of the job, I would rather sell toffee's

Excuse me, i bought htese toffees last year and they do not taste very good,will you change them.


Malcolm

 

[digisatman]

@television: i wouldnt do anyone a penny, it was working fine when i left it at the garage, not working when i was given car back, simple as that.

 

[television]

@television: i wouldnt do anyone a penny, it was working fine when i left it at the garage, not working when i was given car back, simple as that.

I know that, I was just trying to get the other side accross. servicing can be a nightmare at times.

Sadly in your case it was an electrical problem,and one wrong move from the guy doing it gave you some more problems.

They should fix it free,if the guy doing it is capable, I would have done, they earn enough to cover these things, good luck, and I was not blaiming you.

Malcolm

 

[eric242340]

nightmare at MB dealer

Very strange sort of MB dealer, we are an indipendant and when checking a car in the service assistant checks all the cars equipment for operation. He/she then records all faults and scratches etc on the job sheet. And all this before the car can enter the workshop, after the owner signs to agree. As Television said things can and, unfortunately, do go wrong. With this system what was ok when it came in, must be ok when it goes out. Even if the garage has to pay to put it right. Why did they not inspect your car when it came in. Now its your word against theirs, maybe thats the way they want it?

 

[television]

Very strange sort of MB dealer, we are an indipendant and when checking a car in the service assistant checks all the cars equipment for operation. He/she then records all faults and scratches etc on the job sheet. And all this before the car can enter the workshop, after the owner signs to agree. As Television said things can and, unfortunately, do go wrong. With this system what was ok when it came in, must be ok when it goes out. Even if the garage has to pay to put it right. Why did they not inspect your car when it came in. Now its your word against theirs, maybe thats the way they want it?

I agree Eric on checking the car for scratches and wheels etc when the car goes in for a repair or servive, to go through all of the menu in mine to check it all would take hours, and that would take an experianced operator to know what all the functions did and how they worked.
I do not think that it is a major problem and most dealers would fix.

Lets take the case of an intermitant CLK that had a fault on the rear SAM you drive it to MB for a service and say nothing, and when they ring you say "oh no its been fine,never had a problem" this does happen and I say again this has no bearing on the man who put this thread up, we are talking hypotheticaly.

Malcolm

 

[jberks]

@ jberks, co-incidence...possiblly, but that co-incidence was under MB's care... I was returned a car which does not lock on first try...It shouldnt be a blaming game, but what would you do?

It's a no win. To be honest I'd do as you are doing and blame the dealer. However, I'd be pretty sure in my own mind that it wasn't their fault, but most people know a lot less about cars than we do and would believe it was, I'd play the same game.
This is why I often get my wife to do the complaining. By her own admission, in these situations, she deliberatley plays the 'dumb female' and it works more often than not. If I go in, the guy behind the counter will assume I understand far more (as my wife does in reality) and I won't get half as far! I guess male chauvanism works both ways!

Very strange sort of MB dealer, we are an indipendant and when checking a car in the service assistant checks all the cars equipment for operation. He/she then records all faults and scratches etc on the job sheet. And all this before the car can enter the workshop, after the owner signs to agree.

I guess a cursory check would be possible, but there are that many gadgets and gizmos on cars these days that to check everything would add an hour to every job and be economically unviable. On the body front, in the UK it's normally raining and the cars are filthy (as the dealer washes it anyway, I won't bother that week) so to find a scratch or ding on a wet dirty car is borderline impossible.

 

[digisatman]

Got a phone from MBtoday, decided to carry out all work FOC.

thanks all for advice,

 

[television]

Got a phone from MBtoday, decided to carry out all work FOC.

thanks all for advice,

So pleased for and good luck.

Malcolm

 

[D3Less]

Result !
The other point is that it will probably not cost them too much and if they can keep you as a customer then they will win in the long run.

 

[eric242340]

I am disapointed to hear all this. I am trying to educate workshops to work to a sensible norm. If UK dealers dont have a service assistant oriented system, with a car check system, then something is wrong. As car owners dont you agree?

 

[type49]

Good to see you got a result. I must admit though, to fully check a car in could take ages, depending on equiptment etc but surely they should at least check for damage & record mileage, thus unlocking/locking the doors. Maybe they didnt even do that.

 

[jberks]

Good to see you got a result. I must admit though, to fully check a car in could take ages, depending on equiptment etc but surely they should at least check for damage & record mileage, thus unlocking/locking the doors. Maybe they didnt even do that.

The point is that even if they did check, it was probably ok at the time.
Case in point - When bought my first merc. The car had the normal 'signature' check. The salesman went off with the key and brought it round for me. I started it up and drove it to my old car so I could transfer my stuff and then restared again it to drive home. Once home, I went to go out again and couldn't turn the key - the barrel had failed. I could have shouted about the 100 point inspection etc, but, at the end of the day, things can 'just go'.

 

[Shambolic]

I get this when I fix central heating boilers too.Never forget fitting a pump in a cylinder cupboard upstairs and as I was packing up The ceiling in the lounge came down
I checked all my connections etc which were all fine!!!!
It turned out to be a drain on an ensuite WC miles from where I was working that coincidently had been leaking for a while....try convincing the customer of that though!!

 

[zaplutus]

Coincidence!

Checked E Class in for service and was sitting in front passenger seat when mechanic started engine (was dropping me off at front gate on way to workshop) and battery light showed!. Never happened before! Turned out the alternator had packed up at that moment - these thing sometimes happen!