ChuckinTucson

Is there an official Mercedes Benz policy as to when they provide a loaner car when you're having warranty work done? I would imagine that it would be something like if the repair(s) are going to take longer than X amount of time, a car would be provided.

Can anyone clarify this for me?

Thanks!

djamer

Interesting question. I have experienced couple of different scenarios. Two years ago, i bought my CL at a MB dealer, and the car was being serviced under warranty, there was no charge for the loaner.

When I bought my SL from an independant dealer, and took it for warranty work to a MB dealer, they provided one free day for the rental. Reminder I was responsible for. But fortunately my extended warranty covered the reminder days. So i lucked out.

I have heard from others here in the DC area, that most dealers are now being very cheap and providing a rental for one day for warranty repairs. If the work exceeds one day, customer is responsible for rental costs.

W203E35

Even if they are going to keep it overnight they will give you a loaner.

I got a loaner for 2 days.

Also it doesn't matter if you buy your car private or dealer they still give you the loaner. As long as it's MB warranty. Some people get an extended warranty through another company and their loaner policy is different. But if you have FULL Bumper to Bumper through MB they will give you a loaner even if it's for 1 day FOR FREE.

krisv420

make sure you drive the **** out of the loaner as in SHREDDING TIRES !

But not all dealerships give loaners... I know for a fact that the Carlsbad dealership will only give you a FREE loaner if you bought your BENZ from them!

Now Escondido Dealership i hear gives them out for any service! I haven't been there to buy anything or get any service done so i dunno.

mleskovar

There's been a couple of threads about loaners over the years and if I remember correctly it's up to the individual dealers whether they want to provide loaners or not. It's not a Mercedes Benz policy though.

pawe

Dealerships here in AZ charge $12/day for the loaners even if you are under warranty or bringing in your car for an extended warranty work. I think the $12 is for the gas so you wont have to fill it up when you return it.

W203E35

That makes sense. When I got a loaner they said you have to bring it back "half way full" and I put gas but they never checked for that. Waste of 20 bucks lol

Onizuka

I get a loaner every time when I take my car to service. My uncle works there.
Even if there's no cars available, they would rent us a car.

My friends and me used to take loaners to go off road and it was hella fun. Even C240 can go off road!!!

krisv420

AHAHAHA that sounds like the jeep i took off roading from enterprise LOL.. The car was spot less on the outside but inside the motor was a different story

ffejalink

I've never understood why people feel the need to trash anything that isn't theirs.

The policy varies by dealerships. MB Escondido provides MB loaners for any service. You pay a $15 fee and receive the car with about 3/4 tank of gas that you don't have to refill before returning. MB Wilsonville provides non-MB loaners based on multiple criteria (purchase from them/not, in warranty period/not).

pawe

Im not bashing anyone here but sometimes it just shows you what kind of character you have with how you take care of your and other people's property.
Why trash something that other people will buy in the future, will cost the dealership money for repairs or simply will just make it harder for everyone. It's probably the destructive nature of human beings.

ChuckinTucson

Thanks for all your feedback. I'm in Tucson so have to deal with the only dealership in town. I think Phoenix has 3-4 MB dealerships if I remember correctly so maybe there's a little more competition among them for service work.

The boyfriend took the car in this morning (I'm out of town) to have the front brakes replaced. It was listed on an email of things needing done the last time I took it in. They also recommended changing the transmission fluid and changing the brake fluid, which I'll get done next visit. They are not providing a loaner, but they said they'll get it done in about an hour and a half, which is no big deal.

I got the email from them, they estimated the price of changing the front pads and rotors are around $500, which seems like a fair price; however, my regular service advisor wasn't there today (they rotate Saturday duty), and the advisor that was there gave an estimate of $675. I was on the phone with the boyfriend when I heard this, and said, "No, they said $500 in their email." He relayed this to the advisor which put that figure down on the written estimate which bf signed.

If I'm not mistaken, don't they have to be within 10% of this estimate without calling you, i.e., in this instance, the total can't be more than $550 with maybe some miscellaneous stuff like taxes, environmental fee, etc.?

krisv420

Everyone knows NOT to buy a rental car no matter what!!! Its a known fact that everyone beats rentals! Why because its not your car to worry about. So have a little fun you know.. My car gets treated better then my gf (sometimes) =D i baby my car

ChuckinTucson

Got the car back with the new brakes. They noticed that the battery wasn't charging correctly (it's been sitting in the garage for the last month while I've been gone) and put a new one in under the warranty. The new front brake pads and rotors came to $531.

However, when coming to a stop, when you get to the last 5 or so mph, there seems to be a bit of a griding feel/sound. I'm assuming this shouldn't be the case and will have to car taken back in on Monday. There isn't a such thing as the pads needing some kind of "break-in" period is there?

krisv420

There is a break in period wait for glyn to tell you more about it =D or another member because i don't know it on the top of my head.

mleskovar

Yes, I think it's extremely important to bed in new pads.
http://www.stoptech.com/tech_info/wp...contents.shtml

ChrisBrown

Schumacher in Scottsdale (Phoenix area) gives you a loaner for any service, if they are available, which they usually are. There's just a gas fee, which is pretty typical. It also helps to have a good relationship with your service advisor. If you just walk in demanding things, well you aren't going to get treated very well. Get to know your rep: who they are, if they have a family, what they like to do, etc. Care about them, be reasonable with them, and they will treat you well. I can call my rep now if I have an issue, or just need an oil change, and he will usually just say "bring it in when you can and I'll get you in a car."

If the dealership in Tucson isn't treating you well: 1)Become friends with your rep. 2)If you still get crappy service, I would consider making a day trip up to Phoenix for service. We have wonderful dealers up here. They also tend to all have service deals every month, including service coupons. I've taken advantage of a couple of 15% off deals at Schumacher a couple of times.

ChuckinTucson

mleskovar, thank you very much for the link. It's got some great information in it that I didn't know before.

I just want to say that no matter what problem or perceived problem I've asked about on this board, somebody has come up with an answer. It is very much appreciated to everyone who has responded over the year or so I've owned this car.

Thank you.

Note to Chris: I understand what you're saying about the dealer service reps. I do know mine pretty well, but in this particular instance, he wasn't on duty on the day the car was brought in (they rotate Saturday's), and I wasn't the one bringing in the car. However, in general I get along very well with the rep and have no complaints. Regarding the service coupons, I need to get on Schumacher's mailing list, as I'm about due for a B service, plus changing the brake fluid and transmission fluid/filter. Thanks for the suggestions.

ChrisBrown

My sister is in Tucson, and sometimes she doesn't really get great service. Sometimes she will drive up to Schumacher in Scottsdale for service.

Make sure your regular service rep makes a good handoff to a fill in when it happens to you. Get to know the fill in and start a secondary relationship if you have to. That way you can request them to help you if you know that regular guy isn't in that day.

It's all about the relationship.

MW_ATL

The dealer I use in Atlanta has free loaners, of course they expect it to come back full. If you purchased your car from them, you get a MB, usually a C class sport package; if you did not purchase from them you get another brand, they used to be a Taurus. I know the others local have loaners, but not sure the criteria.

edrinker

Mercedes Benz of Portland always provides a loaner free of charge. My car is a 2005 and out of warranty. I did not even purchase the car from them and they still give me a brand new Merc to drive while the CLK is in the shop.

BlkBenz8

It all really depends how long your car is staying, im a loaner manager for an MB dealer so i know how our policy works.

kirax2

back in the days when I bring my car to Smythe they gave me a Volvo station wagon

BlkBenz8

What the??! Hahaha that's random, my whole fleet is 2013' C250s and GLKs

tommy

That's not true of my dealership. You have to be the original owner to receive a loaner. Otherwise, Enterprise is your option. No exceptions, at least as far as I know. Bring in an SLS, and I'm sure they'd make an exception.