Stopped in the stealership today...still outrageous!!
12-22-2009, 02:31 AM
#51
MBWorld Fanatic!
Some of these techs are completely stupid!!!!
How many times I took my car because my oil light came on. 5-6 times I took it in. Finally got fed up took it to another dealer. They did an oil consumption test and said it was fine (you can find this info on my oil consumption thread). Then luckly before my warranty was out (couple of weeks) I found oil leaking behind the engine where the cam plugs are. The previous dealer changed them...the new dealer that I took my car said that there was a bad application of silicon which let oil leak
. They cleaned it put new silicon and they steam washed the are and kept it for a day and drove around. No more oil leak. It's been many miles and I kept on checking and guess what no leak. I had to find out where the leak was 
Not to mention My sunroof wasn't closing well then a week later the cover (slider) was loose that daily driving made it slide open which I had the dealer fix again.
Complete morons. I'm glad I still had warranty because I would have been pissed about the whole ordeal. Also I took it in many times for the 7G tranny and all they would say is it's fine it adapts. Then took it in again they reflashed it. Finally when it got worse and I kept complaining they finally changed the Valve Body.
I can't wait to get my SDS/DAS hooked up and fix most of my problems.
All these noobs would do is reflash the ECU/TCU looool
I guess reflashing is the cure for most problems ehh?
"I'm loosing oil..Oil light keeps coming on"
"We reflashed the ECU..come back in a week"
The fist dealer I took it you know how they did an oil consumption test?
Topped off oil and told me to come back in a certain mile. When I did he looked at dipstick and said it was fine (no recorded and no documented)
I luckly had the WIS program and found the right procedure to do an oil consumption test. Which is still stupid because there is no way to get all the oil out
Let's assume a car doesn't consume oil at all.
First time you pull out oil and second I can guarantee you there will be a significant difference thus getting wrong numbers for the oil consumption test.
I hope you MB Techs aren't idiots that I have dealt with in the past.
How many times I took my car because my oil light came on. 5-6 times I took it in. Finally got fed up took it to another dealer. They did an oil consumption test and said it was fine (you can find this info on my oil consumption thread). Then luckly before my warranty was out (couple of weeks) I found oil leaking behind the engine where the cam plugs are. The previous dealer changed them...the new dealer that I took my car said that there was a bad application of silicon which let oil leak
. They cleaned it put new silicon and they steam washed the are and kept it for a day and drove around. No more oil leak. It's been many miles and I kept on checking and guess what no leak. I had to find out where the leak was Not to mention My sunroof wasn't closing well then a week later the cover (slider) was loose that daily driving made it slide open
which I had the dealer fix again.Complete morons. I'm glad I still had warranty because I would have been pissed about the whole ordeal. Also I took it in many times for the 7G tranny and all they would say is it's fine it adapts. Then took it in again they reflashed it. Finally when it got worse and I kept complaining they finally changed the Valve Body.
I can't wait to get my SDS/DAS hooked up and fix most of my problems.
All these noobs would do is reflash the ECU/TCU looool
I guess reflashing is the cure for most problems ehh?
"I'm loosing oil..Oil light keeps coming on"
"We reflashed the ECU..come back in a week"
The fist dealer I took it you know how they did an oil consumption test?
Topped off oil and told me to come back in a certain mile. When I did he looked at dipstick and said it was fine (no recorded and no documented)
I luckly had the WIS program and found the right procedure to do an oil consumption test. Which is still stupid because there is no way to get all the oil out
Let's assume a car doesn't consume oil at all.
First time you pull out oil and second I can guarantee you there will be a significant difference thus getting wrong numbers for the oil consumption test.
I hope you MB Techs aren't idiots that I have dealt with in the past.
12-22-2009, 06:03 AM
#52
Administrator
12-22-2009, 07:13 AM
#53
Super Moderator
It is not very difficult to know more than a MB certified mechanic. They are only trained up to a point & not exposed to a lot of what goes on in the MB empire. Like many - much is learned by experience on the job. Some learn better than others. Some are good & some are useless. This goes for most things in life.
Good staff require the right attitude & aptitude. People in life that think they know it all are usually ignorant. People that try to learn something new every day nevermind age or experience are the wise ones.
Thank God in South Africa - Mercedes Benz own all the major dealerships. Most have fine Service Managers like my SM, Stanley. His attitude is when you buy a Merc from them you own a few bricks in the walls of the dealership. You are welcome in the workshops as long as you stay behind yellow demarcated lines for safety reasons & so the mechanics don't fall over you. You are welcome to ask questions & discuss problems. They have no problem with you raising a TSB that might only have gone out in the US or whatever. The result - you pay the bill with a smile & you know exactly what was done. This applies to cars that are worked on overnight for those that can't be without their cars during the day & the one & a half hour express service lane without cleaning for those that want a quick turnaround A service.
The other day some vandal pulled the "C" off of my bootlid. I went to the spares department & they can't sell you the C on it's own - only the C240 badge complete for nearly US$100. My service manager said " That's BS " Took me to the body & paint shop & intructed them to fit a new "C" - free of charge.
That's what I call a decent dealer!
Good staff require the right attitude & aptitude. People in life that think they know it all are usually ignorant. People that try to learn something new every day nevermind age or experience are the wise ones.
Thank God in South Africa - Mercedes Benz own all the major dealerships. Most have fine Service Managers like my SM, Stanley. His attitude is when you buy a Merc from them you own a few bricks in the walls of the dealership. You are welcome in the workshops as long as you stay behind yellow demarcated lines for safety reasons & so the mechanics don't fall over you. You are welcome to ask questions & discuss problems. They have no problem with you raising a TSB that might only have gone out in the US or whatever. The result - you pay the bill with a smile & you know exactly what was done. This applies to cars that are worked on overnight for those that can't be without their cars during the day & the one & a half hour express service lane without cleaning for those that want a quick turnaround A service.
The other day some vandal pulled the "C" off of my bootlid. I went to the spares department & they can't sell you the C on it's own - only the C240 badge complete for nearly US$100. My service manager said " That's BS " Took me to the body & paint shop & intructed them to fit a new "C" - free of charge.
That's what I call a decent dealer!
12-22-2009, 07:50 AM
#54
MBWorld Fanatic!
Some very good posts here. Glynn, Karo, acr2001, amdeutsch have very valid points.
I think a misunderstanding on a few things are in the mix, it's not about what part of charges a tech sees, it's about the bill overall. The blatant overcharge, the lies, and bs that some dealerships tell their customers. Example, one dealership tells me $800, another dealer $250 for the same damn service (actually happened to me). What the hell is that?
Macbook and motioneffects no disrespect, I understand where you are coming from but these guys have some solid points, no one likes to be shafted. It's not the tech's fault in some cases, in some it is. It varies as to how much the dealer wants to screw it's customers and/or tech's for that matter. One of the reason's why MB techs go independent and people start going to indie shops or DIY.
To sum up, I don't mind paying for quality service that fixes the damn problem when I take the car in. However, don't shaft me. That's the bottom line of what most are saying. Don't charge me $200 for a 5 minute fix. I don't have a SDS, but at times I damn sure get interested in getting one.
I don't care about showing up a tech, I do not think that is the intent of anyone on this forum, but when a tech/dealership/sa/sm does not listen, has their head up their collective butts, and thinks money is on tap from the customer is when these problems arise. No one wants to keep going back to a shop for the same damn problem every week.
I think a misunderstanding on a few things are in the mix, it's not about what part of charges a tech sees, it's about the bill overall. The blatant overcharge, the lies, and bs that some dealerships tell their customers. Example, one dealership tells me $800, another dealer $250 for the same damn service (actually happened to me). What the hell is that?
Macbook and motioneffects no disrespect, I understand where you are coming from but these guys have some solid points, no one likes to be shafted. It's not the tech's fault in some cases, in some it is. It varies as to how much the dealer wants to screw it's customers and/or tech's for that matter. One of the reason's why MB techs go independent and people start going to indie shops or DIY.
To sum up, I don't mind paying for quality service that fixes the damn problem when I take the car in. However, don't shaft me. That's the bottom line of what most are saying. Don't charge me $200 for a 5 minute fix. I don't have a SDS, but at times I damn sure get interested in getting one.
I don't care about showing up a tech, I do not think that is the intent of anyone on this forum, but when a tech/dealership/sa/sm does not listen, has their head up their collective butts, and thinks money is on tap from the customer is when these problems arise. No one wants to keep going back to a shop for the same damn problem every week.
12-22-2009, 07:52 AM
#55
Administrator
^
Yes, there are good and bad on both sides of the fence. The ones that treat you with respect, are willing to learn from you, etc. are the ones that seem to prosper. The ones that treat you as just a number that will help filling their pocketbook are the ones left behind. These are also the first ones to complain about treatment.
A comment from above: I work X hrs to find a problem for which I don't get paid other than the Y mins it took to fix the issue. No word on how many times X hrs are being paid for Y mins of actual problem fixing: i.e. as reported on MBW: having to fix part of the engine. Everything is billed individually but when taken together hrs are saved because of the interrelationship of those parts.
Yes, there are good and bad on both sides of the fence. The ones that treat you with respect, are willing to learn from you, etc. are the ones that seem to prosper. The ones that treat you as just a number that will help filling their pocketbook are the ones left behind. These are also the first ones to complain about treatment.
A comment from above: I work X hrs to find a problem for which I don't get paid other than the Y mins it took to fix the issue. No word on how many times X hrs are being paid for Y mins of actual problem fixing: i.e. as reported on MBW: having to fix part of the engine. Everything is billed individually but when taken together hrs are saved because of the interrelationship of those parts.
12-22-2009, 08:20 AM
#56
Super Moderator
^ So true all immediate above.
Our cars here are sold with service plans. You would expect the dealer to try & chisel you. 6 months before my plan ran out recently the service manager said to me. Let's go and give your car a good looking over. Now is the time to complain while Benz is paying. All we could find was slightly cracked but not yet leaking castor bushes & a very minor fluid weep on the transmission plug. They were replaced FOC along with the full service. My transmission enjoyed an unexpected fluid change. We did not flush so I will still be doing the 60,000Km flush & filter.
I sometimes think things work better here because Benz owns the entire value chain. This could also be abused but is not. Will I buy another Benz - damn right - we have a 204 in the family now & when my car has done a few more Kilometres I won't even look at another brand.
So true all immediate above.Our cars here are sold with service plans. You would expect the dealer to try & chisel you. 6 months before my plan ran out recently the service manager said to me. Let's go and give your car a good looking over. Now is the time to complain while Benz is paying. All we could find was slightly cracked but not yet leaking castor bushes & a very minor fluid weep on the transmission plug. They were replaced FOC along with the full service. My transmission enjoyed an unexpected fluid change. We did not flush so I will still be doing the 60,000Km flush & filter.
I sometimes think things work better here because Benz owns the entire value chain. This could also be abused but is not. Will I buy another Benz - damn right - we have a 204 in the family now & when my car has done a few more Kilometres I won't even look at another brand.
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; 12-22-2009 at 08:26 AM.
12-22-2009, 11:26 AM
#57
MBWorld Fanatic!
I think you're right. You are perceived as a future customer rather than a piggy bank. What you just described would never happen here today. Never. It would be viewed as a waste of billable time.
12-22-2009, 11:42 AM
#58
Super Moderator
Yep! a satisfied customer is a loyal customer. Even if things go wrong - if handled correctly it is an opportunity to impress the customer. Sales sell the first unit & service sell the rest.
Oh crap! I sound as if I'm on a soapbox talking to our staff around the world - I'll shut up!
Oh crap! I sound as if I'm on a soapbox talking to our staff around the world - I'll shut up!
