Kojack

After searching this forum for awhile I have come to believe that all MB dealers (service centers) cannot be trusted. I would like to take my 05 C230k in for an alignment (common drifting to right problem) and would like to go to a dealer with a reputable service center.

Bought my car from Smythe in SJ but live in San Ramon. Its too far for a service and I didn't have a great buying experience from them anyways. Is it true if you take your car any other place then where you bought it you won't get a loaner? Can anyone let me know of a good dealer to go to? Perhaps Walnut Creek Stead or Pleasanton MB?

vyruz

stead motors sucks my ***... althought a service advisor names wayne is hella cool there.

i dont believe any MB dealership does alignment...

i also live in san ramon.... whereare you? i live on crow canyon..

btw, an AWESOME place for alignment is in milpitas, called auto innovations

408-956-8004

ask for orlando, tell him cyrus, andrew sent you there... they guy with the black hre rims on the black c class.. he should remember me.. i just went there last week...

ggong5150

I was just at Auto Innovations on Monday! They do great work!

BrabusW203

Topline Automobile

& if you must visit a dealership

Autobahn in Belmont. David Sands or anyone else there is uber-cool.

vyruz

topline ans zim charge way too much... zim just overpries his ****... plus he is pretty far away...

auto innovations are cool, like what ggong said

Kojack

Ya, kinda got the same feeling when I went in Stead. The place was crawling with people all picking up and dropping their cars off. This was at 4:00 on a Thursday when I went to get a license plate frame. I tried to talk to a service manager to get a feel for the place and introduce myself but they were all busy with people. Cant see stead really caring for your car anymore than another MB dealer but I could be wrong.

I read you get a free service ( alignmnet if needed) before 6000 miles. Your saying I should skip the free service and just pay to have it done? I wanted to just get in good with one dealer and stick with them. And anyone know about the loaner?

Kojack

Sorry for the repost.....off Bollinger

vyruz

its ur call, i personally would probably get alignment from MB first...

do you plan on getting rims or changing your rims anytime soon?

Kojack

No not for awhile, all my $ went to the car. So whats with new C230's pulling to the right? I have heard numerous stories about this and have also heard that dealers/service tech's are so fed up with this problem, they'll half *** the job and the problem isnt fixed for the customer. Anyone have this experience? My car pulls to the right and I want to have this problem fixed properly and done only ONCE! So would I have a better bet going with a private shop? It isn't an expensive problem.

josha

i made the mistake of going to stead motors 2x. the first time, they fixed the problem without incident (coil in the steering wheel had gone bad causing the airbag light to come on). the 2nd time was for the "my first service," and my cd player was having issues. they flat out refused to replace the CD player (despite at first saying they would), and 2 days later, after talking to their general manager + mbusa, i finally had a new cd player. basically, they insisted that the problem was my cds and not the player. best feeling of vindication was getting into the car with the service manager and new cd player, poking play, and hearing my cds come to life (and having no problems with my cds since then). from my own experiences as well as talking to others, they really are slimy and incompotent at stead, and you'd be better off elsewhere. i was thinking of giving oakland mercedes a shot next time, as i've heard a few good things about them.

Justinius7

Autobauhn motors seemed to be pretty helpful, although... they are fairly tight on lending out loaner cars.

But i've taken my car in 3 times for odd little petty warantee crap, and they do not seem to get annoyed. I've been to m-benz dealers that are just complete "knobs" before.

Blake P

I had a much better experience at Autobahn for Service B than I had at Smythe for Service A. Smythe took a week to perform the service, alignment, and a couple other minor fixes and gave me a Camry as a loaner. Autobahn was done in 1 day and gave me an E320. I will never go back to Smythe.

Moxxon

My '05 C230 was drifting to the right also, and I took it to Stead in Walnut Creek. I think your experience at Stead just like any other dealer, depends upon what service advisor you get. My advisor, Wayne, is first class. He has been VERY understanding and helpful. His service team installed a camber kit on my car and now the allignment is perfect.

Saprissa

Moxxon, was the camber kit install covered under warranty, or did they charge it as a service item ?

My Coupe needs an alignment, which I know I will have to pay for out-of-pocket because I have an aftermarket suspension set up, but wanted to know how much the camber kit may cost, if that is a needed fix.

Carlos

Saprissa@aol.com

Kojack

Good question......also, did you purchase your car at Stead or somewhere else? Did Stead offer a loaner?

Moxxon

I purchased my car at Stead and yes, my SA did offer me a loaner. The camber kit was installed under warranty, so I do not know how much it cost.

Saprissa

I just found out that AUGUST EUROPEAN will do the alignment on my Coupé for $86 !
That's $150 less than the dealer !
Although it looks like my problem may just be a tire issue. So we're going to swap tires on the front temporarily to see if it leans the other way.
That way we'll know if it's the alignment that is off, or if it's the tires (good ol' MICHELIN Pilot Sports).

Carlos

Saprissa@aol.com

SoFresh&SoClean

Sorry, my first post...

I've just lowered my car with H&R Sport springs(2 days ago), and will need to get an alignment soon, as it is already pulling to the right, but am waiting until after I switch the rear pad from a #2 to a #4 and for the springs to settle. My car is under warranty, but will the alignment service, not be covered under warranty, as assumed from the comment above??? BTW, I usually go to Stead and Wayne is my SA.

Also, my rear tires are "butterflying"...is there anything I can do about this?

Thanks to all! This forum is not only very informative, but entertaining at times, as well...

Blake P

I had alignment, including camber adjustment, done for free during my first service just after lowering. I didn't mention that the car was lowered and just asked for alignment, which is free (or used to be before '05) within the first 12k miles. They installed camber bolts (available for the front only, I think), which are used to correct the "butterflying". The rears should be less noticeable after changing spring pads and the only fix I know of is to purchase adjustable camber arms. I think forum member GGong5150 bought them from Harris, but not positive. Maybe someone else can better explain.