LSUCounsel

Weather's pretty bad in DC today - will try to get a few pics this weekend...since I obviously won't be driving anywhere (inauguration).

xxGenericSNxx

Well, I guess I'm glad this is finally resolved. Shame the dealer was such a hassle.

Such is life in the car dealer game. The buying experience almost always sucks which is why if I have a good experience I try and become loyal to that particular salesman. Unfortunately, it's hard to find that one good salesman out of the bunch.

moerbeck

Simple solution would be to give it to you as it was without the warmers. Buy retrofit from another dealer and have it installed yourself...

I do agree the button looks hideous... Sorry for your horrible experience.

xxGenericSNxx

No dealer is educated enough to sell anyone a true OEM retrofit kit. Hence why we have guys like Steve who knows what they're doing after the car's already been built. That is simply not a feasible solution in practice, although in theory it makes sense.

And besides, how was the OP supposed to know his wasn't OEM? The sales person lied and told him it'd be OEM and he ended up with junk.

moerbeck

Agreed... I'm not a Benz owner, yet. Hopefully, I pick my C-class tomorrow. However, I had the same issues with the Bluetooth retrofit from BMW and I actually was able to get a quote for a full retrofit that I finally decide to give up on ($800 for bluetooth seemed ridiculous).

This is the kind of issue that give car salesman such a bad name. Why wouldn't the guy just say the truth and tell the customer - listen, we can get something like it but not OEM. I feel the customer could have made an educated choice then.

Something else to consider in this case and because this is not a high claim it to sue the dealership through Small Claims court. Usually, those claims have a ceiling of $5K, but that's enough compensation for what he is going through. No need for a lawyer and judges are very reasonable regarding the type of proof you need to bring to win the claim.

Also, definitely call BBB and report the dealer. Something, large business like dealership receive incentives from the government and a bad BBB rating will eliminate those incentives. That's why you always report cell phone companies to the BBB if you want to get something done regarding them.

Best of luck for the owner with his claim. This type of issue really take the wind our of anyone's sails... really lame to have to deal with this on a brand new car

xxGenericSNxx

He already got the issue taken care of. The dealer swapped his car out for another one on the lot with heated seats from the factory, albeit he had to pay $500 more to change cars due to the higher level of equipment on the new one.

Ron Jr

Should have just purchased new with the options you wanted.

UCSD_C350

Disagree ^ The C-Class loses so much resale value in the first year that I wish I had saved the 10k and just bought one used like I had originally intended.

bigben320e

FTFY.

Ron Jr

I only keep cars two maybe three years. Like having new the way I want it and to not have to compromise and buy whatever is on the lot.

eric1848

Congrats you finally got swap the silver. with Fully loaded. enjoy the ride everyday

livestrong191

YO!! no pic still

hdsalinas

I want pics too!

I must say that even if it is just a switch, i would have been a torture staring at that button everyday you get in the car.

I would have also asked for 100% stock look, but it they could not deliver it, al least they should have told you before installing the buttons, perhaps you would have been willing to have them installed in a more inconspicuous place

C300Kid

The button was gross as someone above so accurately said.

Sorry the dealer sucked, in the end you win because black is a PITA anyway, silver is better. Post some pics!

C300Kid

Kinda irrelevant to the topic at hand, right?

chikoo

so they cut the center stack and put in black buttons?? LOL. What hackers.

for my own sake, I had to search up how the factory switches look like, and here they are:

LSUCounsel

It's been a little less than a month since I've swapped rides, and so far I'm loving the silver C250. Haven't done any mods and honestly, the only thing I'm planning are new 18" rims, and swapping the grille for the luxury grille.

The last pic is of the OEM heated seats. So glad to see this button instead of the aftermarket every morning.

kevink2

That's the worst part of this, that you felt some fault, when you had clearly told them, with your roommate there, exactly what you wanted, and you got this confirmation that he / they understood what you had asked for:

" He proceeded to tell me the dealership can install, it'll look EXACTLY like it would if it came from the factory. "

And when you knew it looked like a lousy DIY mod, they offered you the ability to look at that bird poop on your dash forever, and get a free service next time. Thanks a lot !!

You felt fault. It's a bit like going to a doctor, I always feel that he has some special knowledge in his field, and I loose my normal logical analysis of a proposed treatment, and I get talked into it and then suffer as I had anticipated, because of that same special power your dealersip tries to hold over you. You did great in not accepting the first offer. I didn't stay firm on my medical problem and suffered because of it.

Another way they make you fell wrong is when this exchange happened after they finished the redo: "two salesmen asked to look at it (apparently my story made the rounds) and all said "Gosh that looks great!"

You did a great job on getting what you wantedd in the end. I think part of your problem is being forced to go to a dealer near the undisputed center of incompetence, the Federal Government.


Competent service is a wonderful experience, when it rarely happens. It was not to be found when my Mom's AC suffered from multiple failures over the last 4 years in her Florida house. I started to analize it on Easter 2012 during a family gathering, when it failed again. I had to get nasty on the phone with her contrator to get it fixed before everyone had arrived, with 85 deg humid air in the house. They had miswired the blower motor so it ran at slow speed only, freezing the indoor coil for the kill. It took me 1 day to find the problem and 3 months of phone calls to tell them what had to be done and how to do it.

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