Rant - Mercedes-Benz

[AmithS]

I have to let everyone know how terrible after service is from Merc.

My father has a 220 CDI merc that is out of maintenance plan. He purchased this vehicle brand new from merc and he still takes it to merc for a service and pays like R10 000 a pop.

Last week Wednesday he took it for a service and they did some work on the Diesel system seals. On Friday on our way to visit my sisters new born baby girl we broke down on the N1 @ 19h00. On opening the bonnet no surprise the engine covers are loose and diesel is all over the place.

After a battle we got hold of the McCarthy hotline and explained our problem, they then got a technician to call us from the dealership that we serviced the car at.

He calls us asks what the problem is and says he will get back to us. When he eventually calls he laughs and says that the car is not on maintenance plan so he cannot come out. After re explaining that this is definitely a result of the service he says that if he comes out he will have to charge +-R1000. So my father says fine do you have a credit card machine for payment. No I don't, you have to have cash or I cannot come out. R1000 cash? sitting on the N1 - I definitely didn't see any ATMs on the highway.

Eventually they did not come out. So I used my AA membership to get the car towed home - Lucky for that. Only got to my sisters place at 22h00 that night.

Saturday& Sunday - Dealership service department closed!

Today - Monday technician who worked on the car comes home to have a look.

Oooops, The main diesel line into the engine was not connected back properly and came off!!!!!!

So much for taking care of your loyal customers Mercedes-Benz!

[Dave A]

So how much is your father going to claim from them in damages?

[AmithS]

Well he is going to try and claim for the car he had to rent to get around on the weekend and to work on Monday.

Not sure what else he can claim for?

Ideas are always welcome

[tec0]

If I may, you can do the following, register a case at the main branch and make a note that they were indeed in error and that they refused to aid you when there mechanic was actually to blame. Then register a case at the local consumer council.

Also demand the mechanic's qualifications. You have the right to see them. Only after you have done all the above take car to the AA and have it inspected. Then the mechanic in question's qualification can be added along with the AA's findings. This can then make its way back to the main branch AND consumer council. If you show constant interest they normally start to take you seriously.

R10000 in my book is expensive, thus you expect only the best. They didn't deliver and the fact is they made a mistake and they laughed at you! I would say go for gold.

[AmithS]

Thanks, Will pass onto my dad.

Just a note: My AA membership covered the towing so unfortunately no claim on that

[asamdrew]

Blog about it, tweet about it, put a complaint on hello peter (very NB!); and Mercedes will contact you and try and offer you something. It will probably be a cash rebate, and free service for a year or so. Basically you have huge power as a consumer and you need to flex those muscles!

[Mark Atkinson]

Did my post get deleted or did I just not post it in the first place?

[twinscythe12332]

They are very much an image-based company, so drag it through the mud enough and they'll start listening.
stuff to focus on would be their inflexibility in payment options, bad attitude and "you'll never buy another mercedes again!!!" (that's just added for fluff, but hey)

[Dave A]

Did my post get deleted or did I just not post it in the first place?

Seems it never made it to the server

When it comes to other ideas, I can't help thinking of those "priceless" credit card ads.

What price tag can you attach to really bad service?
And here it's not so much the fuel line fault I'm thinking of - it's their response to the breakdown that Friday evening.

If there was some abject grovelling and sincere apologies, that would be enough for me personally. But if they're going to brazen it out and pretend it was OK...

Be kinda cool to know the exact dealership so that the bill can start adding up in the right direction.

[AmithS]

Hi Dave,

Can I post the exact dealership on here?

I wasn't sure if its against the rules of not!

[Dave A]

Can I post the exact dealership on here?

I wasn't sure if its against the rules of not!

I certainly don't have any objection.

I'd better link to this discussion on defamation just to help you protect your ass a bit too. The meat starts on page 2.

Kinda maps out what's safe to say and what isn't.

[mother]

Oooops, The main diesel line into the engine was not connected back properly and came off!!!!!!

No f&$%#king way!!! I would have lost it completely... Was it twinscythe who mentioned elsewhere that you only come to your senses as you stand over someone's (lifeless) body? (Okay, okay, a bit of my creative license added here). Point is, I would have been beyond angry.

And regarding his claim: I would throw in the AA towing as well. Since YOU are the member (not your dad), I suggest you bill your dad for the towing (plus an "agent's commission" for yourself, or whatever you want to call it). Then, of course, that WAS an expense your dad incurred as a result of the mechanic's STUPIDITY and ARROGANCE.

[Blurock]

Have you reported McCarthy to the MB head office? Surely they must have a customer service dept. Although lately the customer service department is usually a call centre in some obscure location. What happened to good the good old days when the boss still attended to customer complaints personally?

[KimH]

Hopefully Merc are a little more customer conscious than Audi.

I had waterpump and cambelt changed on my TT about 2 years ago - 13k later Driving home the car sounded like it had a boost leak - stripped down the cover plates in the engine bay when I got home and found that they had forgotten to fit the boost pipe!! This was also late on a friday and I could only get hold of the dealership on monday, the DP's attitude was not what I would expect from a company like Audi so I lodged a complaint with Audi SA as well. I didn't get any freebies though, just an undertaking that if anything went wrong with the engine or turbo - Audi would cover the full cost of any repairs. Fortunately nothing went wrong.

I agree, let the head office know about the incident as well.

[murdock]

well the scary thing is my son works as an appy at a motor dealership...very well known one...he is a first year appy...and i would love to share some of his experiences...but need to protect his job for now...i will wait till he qualifies or leaves the company...good thing they make so much money like someone mentioned about doctors rates...they need to cover up for all the f&*^ ups.

something i have learnt...dealing with a company which is registered with this and that doesnt always mean you are getting the best person for the job it mearly means they are better protected than the others who are not...my company for example is not registered with anyone but i am passionate about what i do...there are not a whole lot of shareholders down my back every month wanting to know how much money i made...i dont have a workshop full of people who are just there for the pay check every week and watch the clock for tea times...lunch times and home time.

i use take my bike to a mechnic who was very passionate about his work...only because i had to trust him with my life..if he made a mistake...the result could be death...he employed his son who just didnt want to be there...and all he had to do was change a back tyre which i replaced every month...no big deal....or so i thought it had been done 15 times before...took the off ramp and applied brakes...he hadnt tightned the bolts back into the brake caliper and they fell out...lucky i had front brakes and it seemed like the vehicles at the robot realised that i couldnt stop so they paused and i managed to come to a stand still in the middle of the intersection...my point...no matter where you take it...the person working on the vehicle will determine how you get it back and how quickly they respond to their ooops is just as important...sounds like you need to change the place you service your vehicle.