Paculdo

At the dealership, new SA said i need to replace tires. I called Michelin re: 30k warranty in tires (not purchased from dealership but from discount tire). Since car is still at dealership, I asked SA if he can assist to call Michelin and tell them the condition of the tires and why it needs replacement but SA said it should be my responsibility to do warranty claims since tires were not purchaesed there.

My point is that they have the info on the current state of the tires (printed in the inspection sheet handed to me when I picked up the car). Took me 2 minutes to contact Michelin and could've started warranty claim process with those info. I could've purchased replacement from dealership (as SA recommended to install kit to improve alignment in the front).

I was upset and sent a letter to the customer service dept but was eventually told that the SA was right to refuse such assistance as it was my job to do the claim.

With that, I'm not going back there. Such a shame that a 2
minutes phone call could've made a difference.. OR was I being too sensitive/demanding for expecting a better customer service? Its not like I'm asking for something ridiculous no?

Sorry for the rant.. good/bad response are welcome

SaphGreyC63

They should have helped you, especially since they would have
a) made a customer happy (God forbid a dealer ever do that right?)
b) earned a long time customer which = money for them
c) sold a set of tires on the spot as well as installation..

All in all, they ended up losing a customer. Their loss.

abcut973

I do think it is not their responsibility to do the warranty claim since you didn't buy the tires from them.
But as probably a long time customer at this dealership they should have taken all the possible actions to make you a happy one! Particularly when they were the one suggesting you a tire change!
Do you really need new tires? If yes take your car to where you bought them from and get your warranty claim and new rubber
Change SA/dealership next time you need to service your car.

Paculdo

not sure how much $$$ they get from me (or from MB) when I go there for warranty work. but i do pay for other stuff like schedule maintenance service, misc items (update nav, even replacing a bulb geez!).. anyways, they may not miss one unsatisfied customer going there in the last 3 yrs or so.. they'll get some more.

Paculdo

been going there for about 3 yrs or so.. the customer service mngr called this morning and said that they'll talk to the SA and if possible, assign me to another one.. what pisses me off is that when they called me back - the mngr confirmed that its not the SA job to do it for me, and just ended it there (.. have a good day) and i'm thinking more of ".. good riddance" not even 'exploring' with the earlier thought of changing SA (sigh)

PkB2014

Doesn't seem like their responsibility to me. And I could see if Michelin rejected the claim how some customers would come back trying to blame MB or the SA. Like you said, it's a 2 minute call for you, and you can only blame yourself and/or Michelin if the claim is denied. I could see if you spend a ton of money in there frequently they might make an exception, but it seems like high risk low reward for them otherwise.

balthaser

For tire job and especially the Michelin warranty claim, just go to America's Tire/Discount Tire. Even if you didn't buy the tires from them (but I see you do, which makes it even easier), as long as you bring the invoice for the current set of tire with you, they'll help you settle everything. They have cooperation with Michelin and will always handle this mileage warranty much more smoothly.

There's really no need to visit a dealership's service department for tires. That's looking for trouble and waste of money.

Paculdo

i won't be upset if the warranty is denied.. as a customer, i'll appreciate the assistance more than anything else (i'm in the tech/customer service field as well).. I'm not looking and/or expecting a big return for any warranty but just wanting to see if I can use it (I see no harm on that)..

Yes.. at times I'm willing to be 'raped' even paying for a bulb replacement - mainly because the car is there (for service) and sometimes I'll pay for convenience than doing it myself (or I'm just plain lazy)

I agree its high risk low reward for them.. I bet they can easily find 5 more people willing to be raped with dealership rates

Sidv22

so what was the outcome after calling Michelin? Do they really honor warranty for C63's?

sinape62

The SA is not obligated to actually call or talk to Michelin again since they didn't install them... However this is not to say the SA written report could be used to support your warranty claim. But again, the purchase of the tires is a binding transaction between you and Michelin. Not MB.

A good explanation is a situation where I had an Independent shop do a brake job on my wife's C230k. The Indy shop did such shoddy work but they insist the work was done right. I disagreed and had the car towed to the MB dealership. I told the SA the issue told them the car was unsafe, etc. they understood my situation and I instructed them to make the car servicanke and safe, and to document what they find. Long story short, they often re-do work done by other shops and document findings to help their customers. However I asked of they would be willing to talk to the Indy shop if they still insisted nothing was wrong... Again on the premise that MB is the authority on their own product. The SA said they will not speak directly to the Indy shop because it becomes a pissin match. However if I were to take the Indy shop to claims court or of someone was injured due to their work, the MB mechanic, SA could get subpoena... Again if it got to the point if I sued the Indy shop. I used the MB documatation and told the Indy shop to reimburse me the cost of the MB work, which they did.

Jasonoff

Coles notes (how I read it): You wanted the dealership to handle communication on a warranty claim for a product they did not sell you. Just because they noticed it was faulty (with a written report stating so) and the vehicle was in their possession.

Food for thought... If it were some other after market part would you have expected the same treatment?

Ingenieur

why would MB insert themselves in the middle of that?
unrealistic sense of entitlement imo
what if the warranty is denied? do you blame MB? probably, since you already are mad they won't get involved...

in fact, iirc, when you buy a new car, the warranty info says to contact the tire mfg, not MB, although in this case they may intercede on YOUR behalf...

you are mistaken if you think another dealer would do more
it's most likely policy
if you get bad gas and it damages your car do you expect MB to seek remedy on your behalf?

you should have went to a tire dealer since most mfgs require an authorized dealer to inspect them anyways before a claim can be processed.

Guilty

This is just plain stupid because:

1. You didn't it from them
2. Your dealership is not a Michelin Dealer
3. Michelin wouldn't accept their inspection, they will ask you to go to a dealer.

Paculdo

no.. not entitlement..

i wasn't expecting MB dealer to settle the warranty. Since the SA has info already of the condition of the tire, Michelin wanted to get that info from them (not from me since SA advised tires are shot). as said, it (the assistance) could've started the process (if that's how it's suppose to be - again, not sure how or if Michelin would eventually honor such warranty).

i'm not asking SA to sweep the floor and roll the red carpet when i come in.

Paculdo

.. but i do appreciate the input/remarks. gives me a different perspective.

and how do you say it? '.. it's my bad'.

WhyAskWhy

You are asking the SA to make a 5 minute phone call. That's it. That request is reasonable and should not be a big deal. Having said that, I'm sure plenty of dealerships would have done the same thing. So I try to avoid dealerships when at all possible.

Ingenieur

he is asking the dealer to get involved in a legal matter
a warranty is a contract of sorts
the OP was making a claim against Michelin
he asked the dealer, a party with no standing, to give testimony on his behalf
why would anyone get involved?

he should have taken the car to a Michelin dealer, preferably where he bought the tires...he could have taken the MB dealers report to support his claim

I can possibly see asking the MB dealer to extend himself (I would never do it), but I can't see being upset when they decline to involve themselves in a matter for which they have absolutely no interest in

people in general take things too personally (comes down to ego, I'm soooo important, lol)
this is a business relationship, they would treat everyone the same (except for perhaps the guy who buys a few cars a year or something)
it's not like asking a relative or friend fo a favor

roadtalontsi

5minutes phone call... he may have gotten lucky this time. Service writers get stuck on hold for hours dealing with aftermarket extended warranties. SA's work off of commission so why would they waste a possible endless amount of time with no gain. SA's also dont make jack off of tires it's all parts. The only time they get anything more than a dollar or two is if the tire company is running some kind of promition of a gift card with a set of 4.

WhyAskWhy

There are a couple of separate issues here:

1. The SA could be placed on hold for a long time. If that happens, nobody would blame him for giving up after 5 minutes or so. Paculdo said, "i wasn't expecting MB dealer to settle the warranty. Since the SA has info already of the condition of the tire, Michelin wanted to get that info from them (not from me since SA advised tires are shot). as said, it (the assistance) could've started the process." And the SA could get some paperwork done while he's on hold.

2. Getting involved in a legal issue. Nobody is asking the SA to testify in court as an expert witness or supply affidavits with detailed analysis. If Michelin denies the claim or does not accept what the SA says for whatever reason, so be it. But at least he tried. And if Michelin accepts what the SA says and grants the warranty, the tires could be replaced on the spot.

3. Tires aren't a high margin item, so the SA isn't motivated to get involved. Well, much/most of what the dealership does is high margin. They can do some work that isn't highly profitable once in a while to take a care of a customer. And it's not free, they would still make a profit, just a small one on the tires. This would keep the customer happy and coming back, so the dealership could make plenty of money on high margin services.

4. The SA doesn't get paid specifically for making a phone call to help a customer, so nobody should blame him if he refuses. Well, I think this is part of the package of customer service. We have become so accustomed to terrible customer service that we now tend to think of a business not trying to help us as normal. Let me paint a different scenario. 70 year old woman in the hospital. Her doctor is rounding and explains what is going on. The woman only kind of understands, and she asks the doctor to call her daughter on her cell phone and repeat what he said to her. What would your opinion of the doctor be if he had the 5 minutes and refused?

I'm not going to start debating this; we all are entitled to our opinion. I just wanted to share mine and the reasoning behind it.

Jasonoff

Thread Summary:

Paculdo and WhyAskWhy believe they deserve special treatment at their dealership...

Paculdo

if your paying money (well.. not this time but most of the time), don't you expect some sort of 'special service' when you get in?

Paculdo

i appreciate the comments.. but don't rush on judging people with big ego.. not everyone is like you, and not everyone is like me.. but again, as said.. i may be in the wrong in this situation.. i move on..

and i think you are over thinking this too much..

Paculdo

i got about $180 credit towards purchasing a new set.