pjdough

I have had my '99 E55 and '05 SL65 serviced by the AMG Performance Center at MB of Arlington (VA). The Service Staff has been friendly and prompt when my cars needed servicing. That said, I want to summarize several issues I've had with them and their responses and get your opinion on my experiences:

1. When I purchased the SL65 (used), it wouldn't pass VA emissions. I was told to "drive the car for 60-100 miles to reset the O2 sensors." I drove it the recommended distances several times with no luck. I then left it with MB of Arlington for their diagnosis. After a week or so, I was told it must be a faulty ECU. The service techs inspected the ECU closely for any possible damage / tampering and concluded it was not. Luckily, my Fidelity Platinum Warranty covered the replacement to the tune of ~$4k. When I picked the car up it had been driven 534 miles since I dropped it off. Yes, 534 miles!!! Roughly the distance from Washington DC and Portland ME or San Francisco to San Diego! As you can imagine I was livid. When I brought the matter up to the Service Rep (Mr. Hugh M.)both verbally (phone) and in writing (email) he seemed annoyed I would mention it. When I asked to see the log of who drove the car and when he recommended I contact the Service Mgr (Mr. Dave S.). I did so and was given the Heisman (i.e., scoffed at); I was never able to find out what exactly happened to my dream car.

2. I took the SL65 in for alignment. When I picked it up, and after the attendant obviously adjusted the driver's seat, I went to adjust the seat by touching the "1" setting - well, the seat elevated and pinned me between the steering wheel and seat. In fact, all the electronic settings appeared to have been zero'd out and my $2K+ AL Priority Laser System was showing a fault. I immediately called the service rep (Mr. Hugh M.) from my car on the way home and left a message (he was there but didn't answer). When I called the next day to discuss, he said he spoke with the alignment tech (Brian) who assured him all was fine when he test drove the car. Mr. Hugh M. referred to Mr. Dave B (the Service Floor Mgr). I'm uncertain what vine Mr. Dave B. swung-in on; however, he acted like a real JERK! To begin, he said he didn't know what my issue was (this is after he and Mr. Hugh M. spoke about it). Ok, I played his game and reiterated what happened. He shared his technical expertise by stating an alignment did not require any changes to or disconnecting a power device (i.e., battery). I agreed. He then reminded me that I "didn't have my car serviced there regularly." Which is true - I told him I would never have my cars serviced there regularly after the 524 miles that were unaccounted for the first time I brought the car there. The conversation ended shortly thereafter as it was apparent MB management could care less. NEVER ONCE DID ANYONE FROM MB OF ARLINGTON (VA) "AMG PERFORMANCE CENTER" OFFER TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE CAR AND SEE IF THEY COULD DETERMINE WHAT OCCURRED. Instead, they implied I was lying to them...

As a retired U.S. Navy officer and current employee of the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), I find it impossible to believe service centers of this caliber remain viable. What else occurs there that other owners aren't aware of? If this the level of accountability expected from Arlington's staff what does this say about MB dealerships in general and this particular "AMG Performance Center" in particular?

Thanks for letting me vent. Your thoughts?

Topp1SG

As a retired First Sergeant I would tell them to F@@@ Off and never go there again, post your experience on Yelp and anywhere else you can to prevent someone else from going to their crooked shop!!!! And thanks for your service

Viper98912

Yea, you're probably not going to get anything. Only thing you can do is post as many negative reviews as you can all over the internet. While you won't get anything, if it makes you happy, it'll potentially lose them some business.

I would assume that a tech took your car home and let their wife drive it for a while.

BlownV8

Call MBUSA and lodge a complaint. Odds are nothing will happen but if enough people do complain then MB could yank their dealership. MB is big on customer satisfaction surveys but just not sure they do much about the negative ones.

Given your military and government connections, you have lots more leverage than you think. I'm certain someone in your office is tight with a state or US senator and, of course, they know the right governmental watchdogs to call in this situation. A call to a few of the right people in the right governmental agencies will scare them into doing the right thing. I had to do it to MBUSA years ago on a denied warranty claim and it got their attention very quickly and they changed their mind about denying my claim to fix their defect.

V12TTenthusiast

I haven't dealt with the AMG Performance Center, but I do take my S and E there and I have not anything to complain about, I bought my E at MB of Owing Mills and I hated the service there, and long time ago use to go to MB of Tyson's Corner when it was HBL and the service there was crap too. My service adviser at MB of Arlington has always been very helpful, always addressed any problems that were needed inline to what my indie would advise. Maybe its the AMG techs but overall MB of Arlington has been good to me.

I have also dealt with MB of Chantilly but that's too far for me, and I've heard good things about Euro Motorcars in Germantown not sure about Bethesda but I would assume it would have to be just as good.

PJ did you stop taking your car to Benz Elite? I remember seeing your car there when I use to take my car there for service.