Terrible dealer service... 2 of them!

[luke.harrigan]

All

Is anyone else having any issues with dealers as i think we should name and shame! As for the head office of Mercedes UK i spoke to the most incompetent useless waste of human existence this morning!

Story in short
Ordered C Class - Car delivered not to the spec i ordered
Dealer apologised and agreed to fix by replacing all the interior trim - They told me it would take them 3 hours but i would not be charged (obviously).
I then spoke to another dealer about having either the AUX socket fitted (not in my car) or the iPOD integration kit fitted. They said it would take 3 hours as they have to take of the interior trim (sound familiar?). When i pointed out that i needed that done anyway they said well it takes 2 mins to fit the cable and the 3 hours is to take off and replace the trim.

So i contacted the garage i just spend 23k with who are replacing the trim and asked them "while the dashboard is off can you please fit either the AUX socket or the iPOD kit" to which they replied... "that will take 3 hours as we need to take off the trim" when i pointed out that he was being a numpty and they were doing that anyway he made a phone call then said... "actually it only takes 30mins to take off and replace the trim we are told by Merc HQ to charge 3 hours anyway (@ £85 + VAT) so they will charge me 2.5 hours to fit the kit.

So now it was obvious they were talking out there behind and had no idea what they were doing and even admitted to lying about the time taken to remove the dash i called Merc HQ to ask them for there assistance to which the response was "i don't understand your issue, you have brought a Mercedes so you should be able to afford the 3 hours labour and the part. Yes we tell the dealers to overcharge on hours to make sure we cover our costs"

So sorry for the story but had to share this...

 

[Richard Moakes]

So now it was obvious they were talking out there behind and had no idea what they were doing and even admitted to lying about the time taken to remove the dash i called Merc HQ to ask them for there assistance to which the response was "i don't understand your issue, you have brought a Mercedes so you should be able to afford the 3 hours labour and the part. Yes we tell the dealers to overcharge on hours to make sure we cover our costs"

I can't believe they are stupid enough to admit this.

Surely they leave themselves open to legal action, you can't charge 3 hours for a job, knowing full well it only takes 30 mins?

We need a legal eagle to comment on this? Anyone?

Richard

 

[ddentrec]

Welcome to the 'World Of Mercedes-Benz' where the three-pointed star entitles you to be s*****d by the stealer.

I am surprised you opted for the trim-swap. Mind you the dealer may to a better job than the factory and eliminate the trim rattles/squeeks/buzzing that I have had (and still have).

Best of luck.

 

[ddentrec]

I can't believe they are stupid enough to admit this.

Surely they leave themselves open to legal action, you can't charge 3 hours for a job, knowing full well it only takes 30 mins?

We need a legal eagle to comment on this? Anyone?

Richard

Why not? They charge £450 for a B-Service, that uses £150 of consumables and takes around 90 minutes. That equates to a labour charge of £200 per hour when the advertised rate is £60.

 

[jberks]

Sounds ridiculous. I agree, to swap trim is a 30 min job.no more and to fit the cable at the same time is no effort whatsoever.

I suspect the problem here is that you are dealing with a bloke on the service desk that knows bugger all about bugger all - 'just following orders'.
On the odd occasion I have been in similar situations, I have gone straight to the management. Every time, the manager has agreed that the situation is daft and authorised the bods on the desk to do whatever is necessary.

I would also have a chat with the sales manager and point out that all this stupidity is destroying his attempt to put a bad job good, and making him look like a prat. Being egotistical salesmen, they generally don't like that!

Not the same, but i once tried to return a still boxed 6 week old £100 TV to a retailer. It was part of a £2k order but as it turned out, didn't need the tv after all. I figured that as they were still selling them and it was untouched as delivered it was of more use to them than it was to me. Shop refused as it was over 4 weeks. Customer services refused for the same reason. One call to the area manager and a return was instantly authorised. The next step would have been the MD and so on. In reality you just have to find someone high enough up the food chain to be allowed to make a decision, the rest are just cannon fodder and have to follow rules so there's no point arguing.

It sounds to me like the cutomer services bod agrees with you but can't say it, else why the honesty?

If all else fails a quick chat with trading standards regarding overcharging, though the threat should suffice.

 

[zephyr]

Mate of mine dropped his car off at a dealer for a service. He happened to be driven past the dealership an hour later, but couldn't stop (he was helping his parents move some furniture) and noticed his car parked outside, all clean and shiny and presumably ready for collection. Upon his return later that day he was presented with a bill that included 3 hours labour. He asked how many mechanics work on a service like this and was told just one. So he asked how his car could have been washed and valetted and sitting outside in just one hour. The dealer took the invoice back and said they'd given him the wrong invoice (even though it had his name and the correct reg on it) and he was charged for just the one hour.

 

[paulcallender]

You could try the Retail Motor Industry Federation, www.rmif.co.uk if the garage is a member.

 

[luke.harrigan]

I had an a-class for my wife on order aswell... just cancelled it... 18k they won't get.

Its stupid and now i am just going to look in the yellow pages and find myself a good ice specialist to do it for me...

Morons!

 

[paulcallender]

Car delivered not to the spec i ordered
Dealer apologised and agreed to fix by replacing all the interior trim

.........

Aluminium Trim (not usually an option on Classic)

Sorry, but my ears have pricked up already. If you order something that doesn't exist, then it seems weird the dealer will "create" that combination. The other options would be to cancel the order with a refund, or to give you back the differential cost. I know the car seems special to you, but a C-Class Merc in Classic trim is buttons to the car manufacturer.

Presumably you checked the car and signed for it on delivery??????

My previous post regarding RMI relates to dealers charging for 3 hours work on a 1 hour job. Maybe this is common practice, perhaps they are simply going 'by the book' and some 3 hour jobs actually take 5 hours. Or 3h01m. Or 2h59m. etc. If the mechanic makes a cup of tea during the job, and the kettle is full of water, does he charge you more? What about the next mechanic who comes along and finds water in the kettle, which has already boiled? Does his customer receive a slightly lower bill because his job took 2h59m? Is that much fairer???

 

[julie Martin]

right you have accepted deilvery of a veh that wasnt to the spec you requested and signed for..........really if you went to the supermarket and they gave you a turkey role instead of a lovely fresh free range turkey would you accept it!??!?! I dont think so....so my question to you is why the hell did you accept delivery of a product that you didnt want!?!?!?! Once you take it you have signed your vehs own deth warrant! the dllr are a business and of course they will tell you anything to keep the sale and the custom!! My msg is if you are handed something you didnt originally want DONT for one min accept it..........if you do, your doomed to 'fitting this' and 'that' and 'oh we forgot you wanted this.... parts not available we will probably fit it next year!'?!!!

And I cant believe Mb HQ said they tell dllrs to overbook the amount of hours it takes to do a retrofit or repair, there are time estimates set by techs for services, repairs and retrofits the person you spoke to probably hadnt a clue!

Plus I cant believe Customer Service at HQ didnt contact the dllr on your behalf and see what they hell they were on about!?!

Just one oppinion!

 

[jberks]

Quoting time is always difficult. I am always being asked to quote how long something will take. I usually come up with a rough idea and then double it to allow for snags and problems. All too often I end up doing something in 2 hours that I quoted 2 days for. The job just went better than I expected. I have also spent a week on something that I thought would take a day. You can never really tell.

As there are loads of dealers, and to avoid the customer bouncing around the network looking for someone who thinks they can do it quicker and cheaper, or says they can only to find they can't, manufacturers have a menu of pricing. So in the book, it probably says 3 hours to strip the trim.
However
1) they are already doing it
2) The 3 hours probably includes other work that the person writing the menu expected to be done too.
The point is that one size does not fit all.
So the menu is a good starting point, but everything including service costs are negotiable.

Some jobs do take longer than the menu says, perhaps due to a rusted bolt or the mechanic being given the wrong part and spending 30 mins trying to get it to fit. We don't see increased prices as a result, but the service manager will generally be happy to deviate from the menu and charge on a time and materials basis if you are happy to pay on that basis or in other words take on the risk. In this case I would.

In terms of accepting the car, snags happen and I assume you were quite happy with the trim as compensation, or you would have refused the car, so I don't see a problem here.

 

[Richard Moakes]

My worry is as follows:

A job should take as long as it takes, and should be either fixed price or variable, this should be agreed up front.

If I receive an invoice saying 3hrs labour, and it only took 30 mins, then surely it is fraud?

If the invoice simply said, perform job <blah> £150 pounds then there is no issue, but surely they can't charge/invoice for what they have not done?

Richard

 

[paulcallender]

http://www.autodata.ltd.uk/pages/rtm-8000.htm

If they took the 3 hour figure from this book, then it would seem perfectly reasonable. If the particular mechanic took 30 mins to do a 3 hour job, then he's either really good (does he change wheels for F1 teams too, on a Sunday?) or he missed something.

If, however, the book says its a 30 minute job......of course, you'd need to look in the book......

 

[evobike]

over charge

yeh, my dealership wanted to charge me 85 quid to change 4 spark plugs, i brought them for 30 quid and changed them in 30minutes, including a cup of coffee, i make that £110 per hour service charge.

now if i can get a slk manual, i'll be well away.

not bad eh.

 

[OlafMaxwell]

Welcome to customer service Mercedes style.

The cars are great to drive but the service seems to be still bad as ever. I looked at the new R class with some thought but then my mind wanders back to the problems I had wit hthe E class and the quality issues that are well documented and I thoguht no way. My partner decided against Mercedes too and is buying a Lexus LS430......after all who but Mercedes would charge ?11,000 to repair the badly designed suspension on a slightly over 2 year old S class with 45k because it's wear and tear? The worst was the man paid them too.

 

[jberks]

The worst was the man paid them too.

I'm not sure I'd want to be in business with anyone that went along with for that one!

 

[paulcallender]

I'm not sure I'd want to be in business with anyone that went along with for that one!

I think its more a reflection on our society, than a reasoned judgement.

Cars have become more complicated and thus, whilst there are some independents who possess the necessary electronic diagnostic equipment, there has become a greater proportion of smaller garages and home mechanics who cannot properly take on all the work on a Mercedes.

This combines with a 'perception' that a car which has not been serviced by a main dealer (even if its been looked at by a fully equipped independent) could be worth less, or have its warranty compromised (the latter is in fact not true, but the perception is there).

So, owners of newer, more complicated, Mercedes' are at the mercy of their dealer for ay least a couple of years. The dealers know this, part of their elevated cost is because they have the complete tooling, knowledge backup, etc from the manufacturer and part is simply good business sense (they are after all, a commercial operation).

When you take a broader view, its difficult to say this is unfair, becuase there are literally thousands of makes and models of cars out there (of all ages and price brackets) and its a consumer's market - you can simply choose to not own a new Mercedes, but instead choose Audi, BMW, Lexus, older Merc, VW, Vauxhall, Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Citroen, Peugeot, Suzuki, Land Rover, Jaguar, Renault, etc etc.

 

[The Editor]

Good points Paul !!

The Americans have learnt to vote with their business/wallet... Unfortunately the Brits are still to 'nice' to do this and put up with all kinds of c*ap! :-x :-x

We will learn.... One Day !!! (Maybe... :? )