rant : fletcher jones mercedes fremont, ca
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Joined: Sep 2006
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2007 MBZ C230
rant : fletcher jones mercedes fremont, ca
This morning I had a service appointment with Fletcher Jones Mercedes at 8am, I arrived a little late 9:21 am to be exact, and I phoned in ahead of time alerting the service clerks that I am running late and is it still possible to get the car back before 2 because I had class at 4, and school is an hour away. So I drop my car at Fletcher Jones thsi morning and I tell my service advisor that I am here for an alignment and that I have a coupon which states that this service is for $99.95 and i clearly asked him before even sitting down that he is 100% sure I will get my car back around 2pm and he confidently says yes. All is well and I wait for my friend to pick me up and then about 2 hours later i get a call that both my right & left camber / castor's need to be replaced. Me not knowing much about alignments I go ahead with what the technicans observed and i awknoladge the new estimate to 235$, I then again asked him - will the car be ready at 2? and now his answer changed to, we will try our best. So I get there before him calling me back and he says oh my technicans almost done, give me 15 min, give me 30, give me another 30, and by the time he was done it was 4:30pm, I was very annoyed by this as I was late to my class, and I tried getting a loaner car but he stated I had to be 21. As for know, what do you guys recommend me doing? Calling the service manager and trying to pull something out of them? Well..I ended up paying 233.45$ and I will NOT recommend Fletcher Jones Mercedes to anyone of my friends / family, and the board please dont waste your time, I should have just stuck iwth my primary dealer -- Mercedes of Oakland. please advise.
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From: 38° 52′ 51″ N || 94° 48′ 11″ W
'01 C320 || '14 Honda Pilot EX-L
What exactly do you want from them? You approved the additional work, which would result in a higher bill and more time to repair. You also stated that you would not recommend them, but what have they really done other than making you late for class??
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Joined: Sep 2006
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2007 MBZ C230
well even with the additional repairs he promised the car at two and when i got there he kept delaying he would say oh its guna take 15 min promise, and then he would keep adding time to it a freee detail would be nice 
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My honest opinion:
You showed up almost an hour and a half late. Their mechanics dont get paid while working on cars, they get paid while at work. If one mechanic is sitting around for an hour and a half waiting for you to show up, Mercedes still has to pay him. If anything you should be happy they didnt charge you some kind of fee for showing up late.
Also, why should the service advisor, or anyone else there, show you the courtesy of returning your car at the promised time when 1) You showed up late so they have less time to work on your car, and 2) There was an unexpected repair that you wanted them to squeeze into their already tight timeline?
You have to see it from both sides. They're trying to run and business and some customers end up costing them money.
You showed up almost an hour and a half late. Their mechanics dont get paid while working on cars, they get paid while at work. If one mechanic is sitting around for an hour and a half waiting for you to show up, Mercedes still has to pay him. If anything you should be happy they didnt charge you some kind of fee for showing up late.
Also, why should the service advisor, or anyone else there, show you the courtesy of returning your car at the promised time when 1) You showed up late so they have less time to work on your car, and 2) There was an unexpected repair that you wanted them to squeeze into their already tight timeline?
You have to see it from both sides. They're trying to run and business and some customers end up costing them money.
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2008
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From: South Fla.
06' C230SS
Yeah.. honestly if you're an hour and a half late for the appointment... Even if everything went wrong and everything took the same course... if you weren't late, you would of had a half an hour to spare and make it to class :-\
I'm not saying they didn't take their sweet time! But come on, you were not only 20 minutes late lol... 
I'm not saying they didn't take their sweet time! But come on, you were not only 20 minutes late lol...
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Joined: Jan 2007
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From: Boston
2003 C240
One thing I've come to learn is that when dealing with any sort of car place, is that patience and planning are a necessity. Think about it, why rush someone who is working on YOUR car. I just rear ended someone. I have a mercedes collision place doing the work, and they work together with my insurance. I asked him how long this type of repair takes. He said about a week. I've hounded places in the past, and you can tell they get aggravated, its just not worth it.
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Joined: Jun 2002
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From: So. Oregon Coast
C230 Sport Coup + 2006 W164 ML350 + 99 Ford Escort RIP
Alignment only applies for the 1st...something thousand miles.
Consult your warranty for details.
He was late, he had a coupon.
But he was absolutely told it could be done ontime and underbudget.
Sounds like gov. work to me.
Point being, don't make promises you can't keep.
Period!
I been doing service type work with customers for years.
I always OVER estimate the time, that way I'm a hero when
I get it done early, and or, it allows time for unexpected sh-t.
The SA fupped up.
No sympathy for the dealer.
You got screwed.
Don't let any guilt for being late, undo the fact you got blanked.
At the very least, they should've stuck to the 99 dollar alignment deal.
The only thing I will say though, is that the only place you'll ever get a proper alignment is the dealer. Well, hopefully.
Did they put in the required bolts? If not, there's little chance they could effect caster or camber.
How many mile on your car?
Oakland, GAVE me an oil cap, when I went in to try to get a new gasket
(which BTW is something you should do every once in a while, along with the coolant gasket)
The parts guy just took off and left me there, so they gave me the cap.
Consult your warranty for details.
He was late, he had a coupon.
But he was absolutely told it could be done ontime and underbudget.
Sounds like gov. work to me.
Point being, don't make promises you can't keep.
Period!
I been doing service type work with customers for years.
I always OVER estimate the time, that way I'm a hero when
I get it done early, and or, it allows time for unexpected sh-t.
The SA fupped up.
No sympathy for the dealer.
You got screwed.
Don't let any guilt for being late, undo the fact you got blanked.
At the very least, they should've stuck to the 99 dollar alignment deal.
The only thing I will say though, is that the only place you'll ever get a proper alignment is the dealer. Well, hopefully.
Did they put in the required bolts? If not, there's little chance they could effect caster or camber.
How many mile on your car?
Oakland, GAVE me an oil cap, when I went in to try to get a new gasket
(which BTW is something you should do every once in a while, along with the coolant gasket)
The parts guy just took off and left me there, so they gave me the cap.
Last edited by C230 Sport Coup; Feb 5, 2008 at 12:26 AM.
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Joined: Nov 2007
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From: SoCal & Toronto
Fun car: 1964 Fiat 500 D
The problem here is that you approved the additional work. They did not spring the bill on you when you picked the car up. I do agree that the price you paid is way too much for any alignment. For that kind of money you normally get a corner balance as well (race car stuff). Unfortunately I don't think there really is much you can hassle the dealership for. Sure you got the car a little late, but then again it went in late. I guess it's just one of those crappy live and learn things 
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From: MA
E90 M3
...just dont show up late for your detail and blame it on them again
