naadp

I am offically done with Mercedes. For the second time in two years, I went into a Mercedes dealership in Phoenix with the intention of buying a new car. If they had what I was looking for, or made some effort to find it, I would have written a check on the spot for the car. Instead, I got treated like a little kid -- again.



Two years ago when I bought my C32, I went to all three dealers in Phoenix. I knew what car I wanted to buy, but never had such obstacles been placed before me. I went into one dealership, Schumacker, where I spent nearly an hour standing in the showroom and not one sales person even attempted to help me. I went to another one, The Phoenix Motor Company, where the sales guy didn't show really any interest in helping me or making a sale. I was apparently just wasting his time.

The third dealership, Chandler, found a 2003 "demo" with 2k miles on it and tried to screw me over using the line "because of your age, we think you're going to default so you'll have to put X down on the lease." I ended up buying my C32 through a broker who got it for me with 5k less down, and the payment was about $500 less a month. It wasn't even about the money, it was about me knowing they were trying to screw me "because of my age."



Fast forward two years...

There is a group of people who wish me harm, and I have no doubts about their intent. I've pissed some people off in my business -- I think I may have bulldozed their crack house or something. I sold my home in suburbia and moved back into the city for various reasons. I'm living in a building where only 5 other people have the gate code to get anywhere near the elevator to my floor. I've pretty much only been going out to eat lately, I even do a majority of my work from home now. I know in the end it will be worth it financially.

I priced out various options and found that the S-guard is probably one of the more cost effective products. I don't need crazy protection from RPGs or chemical attacks. In between the three phone calls he took in the less than 5 minutes I was in his office, the lardass sales guy suggested I try "Fletcher Jones, in California" rather than even making an effort. I think instead, I'm going to try a level 3 (b4) Suburban I found about 20 miles away.

I wonder how long it'll take for me to get my CL63 deposit check back because I've recently found that the biggest difference between Mercedes and VW is that one actually wants to sell me their cars. end rant.

r3v1ls

That's vey dissapointing to hear but I must agree, MB quality has not only gone done in service but also sales. The whole process of buying one has gone down... Definitelly not something you'd expect when buying a 40k + car

naadp

From my own personal experience, I am shocked at the difference between buying a Mercedes and Audi. Maybe it's a local thing.

King320

I definitely understand where you are coming from. Try getting your car serviced at a dealership where you didnt buy the car as a 20 year old college student. My dealer in Winston Salem is great, but fairly expensive, my dealer in Tennessee is cheaper but will barely give me the time of day. Your situation is more extreme since you're buying them yourself, but my family has 3 MBs and 1 BMW and is soon adding another (not sure which kind yet) and we get really crappy service from a dealer with 4 soon to be 5 cash pumps tied to our family. If you like VW, i'd look at Audi.

naadp

Thankfully, my service advisor has been awesome. As time goes on, more and more people are buying cars off of the internet, just as I ended up doing on the C32. This is especially true for high end cars. The dealerships should realize that they're selling an experience, not a product, before it's too late.

Evil Duffman

this isnt true for all dealerships but i understand and i agree that is unacceptable for mercedes. I never had this problem recently at MB, although in the past my family has endured alot from shady dealerships. Even the upscale MB on Park Ave in NYC offered to help me look for a car in their showroom, one of the sales rep took to look at the new Maybach. You should complain to MBUSA. Good and healthy communication with prospective buyers should be their #1 priority along with better service.

platinumsc

I feel your pain. There have been times I've felt mistreated by the sales people at the local benz dealership here in Broward County, Fl. I remember walking in the showroom in a shirt & tie and being skipped by the greeter to a man coming in behind me. I thought it just a faux paux and ignored it. Then it happened again. Worse, on two ocassions, I was ignored until the black salesmen were available. It was so obvious I know I am not imagining it. That's 4 incidents. Wait, there was a 5th. One salesman tried the old bait and switch game on me. I called about a pre-owned car and was told to come on down, it's still available. Once I saw it I knew something was wrong. The car was in very poor condition, hense the reasonable prive. I said to the salesman, be honest, I know you can't afford to recondition this car and sell it to me for the price quoted. Let's look at something else. The guy felt he had to continue the game instead of admitting it. After an hour and coming back from talking to the mgr he says, I can't sell youi that car at this price. I was so pissed I walked away.
Please don't take this as bragging...I am a black man who is distinguished looking and well dressed. Also fairly intelligent. I've lived my life trying hard to make race issues not be at the fore of my thinking and behavior. I judge by character rather than appearance. I am also very perceptive and know what I felt at AutoHaus Mercedes was racially biased behavior. If I ever buy another benz it won't be from them.

naadp

I put this link into an e-mail to MB's customer relations department (included my vin # on the web form). Maybe someone will read it. Maybe someone will care. But, highly I doubt it.

Trekman

There are a lot of rude people out there! doesnt matter if your buying a car or a t-shirt, they are in customer service and its thier job to give you excelent service! I would talk to the manager and complain. one time I ask this sale guy how much was this Rolex watch he told me it was a lot of money, I told him maybe its a lot of money for him not for me I told him I dont get paid $10 an hour. he turned red....

King320

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHA! Great comeback

King320

I agree 100% Dealers also need to respond to the internet's affect on pricing by lowering theirs and adding some extended warantees to high mileage cars because online sellers pulling the rug out from underneath them sales wise. I bought my clk online and it was a *fairly* good experience, but if i did it again i would definitely prefer a dealership to back up the car (i had to replace alot of things like the rear diff and service a TON of stuff and fix up the paint). But when it comes to service some of MBs prices are just hilariously high, even for their highest end cars. Just because you buy an expensive car doesnt mean you want to buy expensive (and sometimes frequent i might add) service!

Bux

you're life sucks

PTE

You don't have to be a black man to be ignored by those jerks at Autohaus in Broward. I am a white Irishman and had the same experience. In '03 from Catena in NJ. I bought a $107 plane ticket and paid cash. They picked me up at the airport in a limo and spent three hours going through the car with me. I bought my second car at Coggin Osteen in Fort Pierce. They worked with me on the price and wouldn't let me go back to NJ for a new car.
I may be a little rough around the edges but Autohas has forgotten what the color green looks like.

Believe it or not there are some good dealers out there.

Ted Baldwin

.................there was a thread about this a year ago. Mercedes Dealers have no clue about the demographics of their buyers. Some wish for the good old days when the typical buyer was an older white guy in his 60's who had no clue about cars but had a ton of cash. The seem irritated by todays buyers who are younger, more hip and mopre knowledgeable. The world is changing, no matter how much some wish it to be different. Today the two biggest tennis player are a pair of black sisters, the best golf player is a black guy, the best selling rap artist is a white guy..........and yes the typical mercedes Benc buyer is way less than 60. I wish the dealers read these forums. They simply are out of touch.

Ted

r3v1ls

Everytime I go to dealerships with my dad I always walk out thinking I could do such a better job then those sale guys. 90% of the time I know a lot more about the car then the guy, I end up correcting him when he's describing it. But cause of my limited work experience and age I wouldn't be able to work there. Instead they get bunch of middle aged guys who don't give a crap about selling cars, nor have any knowledge about them, it's quite sad.

DiamondK

naadp:

1. Who the hell cares what the dealership salesmen do? Why even go there? As you found out, an auto broker can get you a much better deal without the hassles of dealing with the showroom.

2. Let's see, you make a lot of money, work from home, hardly go out, and have lots of people so pissed at you need a BULLETPROOF CAR.

ARE YOU THE ONE SENDING ALL THAT SPAM?!?!?!? Stop it!

naadp

Anyone need some viagra? :p

I'm doing a construction project in the ghetto. There are some people right now that are very pissed off at me that they are being "forced" from their homes.

I tried my broker. He can only get what's currently sitting on a lot at a dealership.

MarcusF

Just giving up and walking away allows a narrow minded group to 'win'. There are other options.

One option is to go to the MBUSA website, click "build your own", build the car, and follow through with the purchase inquiry screen. You will already have a car with the equipment you want, at an established price, and a dealer will call you to complete the deal.

If you’re looking for a used car, go to the MBUSA website, click Certified Pre-Owned and follow that link. The CPO cars already have their prices listed and where they are located. No haggling is involved and, once again, the dealer will contact you to close the deal.

As for financing, you don’t need a dealer, they need you. Have your bank pre-approve you. Once you've approved of the vehicle, the dealer will fax the bank a purchase order, the bank will transfer funds to the dealer and you can drive home. It takes less than 30 minutes. You can even use an Internet bank. CapitalOneAutoFinance dot com is one example. You go to their website, fill out a form, and they mail you a blank check. You take that check and go car shopping. Find the car you want, fill in the dealer’s name on the check, write in the amount, and Capital One will start billing you monthly. For example, $65K for 72 months will cost you $1076.93 per month. That’s a 5.99% APR. Many times a dealer will beat the Capital One APR, but once again – THEY will be going after YOUR business.

It’s true, brokers can only get vehicles that are on a lot. A good broker will have access to lots that are both local and remote. A good broker can have a car shipped from Los Angeles to the valley of the sun.

When you're buying a car, you're in charge. Everyone on that lot is there working for you.

King320

you are spelling sucks

dammmmm i wish people would learn to use contractions around here!!!

you're = you are (contraction)
your = posessive pronoun

r3v1ls

Would you actually pay the price it says the car is worth ? When buying a car you obviously want to get it below MSRP, not for MSRP. That option would even be worse than going to the dealership!

kickR

no question about it that the service in some dealerships is really crappy

but

maybe you should ask yourself what YOU can do to get what you want. what is so hard to just walk up to a salesperson ... tell him you want to buy a car right here and now and youre also gonna pay for it. tell him what price youre looking for (back it up with research) ... ask him if he can do that, if no, ask him to get the manager ask him the same question. if he also tells you no, then go to the next dealership.

I personally hate it when salesperson are all over you and try to explain you every little detail you already know and try to sell you that one specific car (like they do at our local lexus dealer).

you should go there and get what you want/ for the price you want. and when you have to just walk up to a salesperson and start this whole transaction then so be it. IMO

CE750

I had problems with the PHX area dealers on a few issues, so I posted a complaint... got nothing out of it, but at least you register the complaint.

MB Dealers are bordering on unacceptable service.. let alone poor..

CE750

I've done some looking at down-town revi's and they're hot... PM me with info.. I'd be curious to see what you're doing? (if you can).

ralleyone

Yur not kiddin'

naadp

I called looking for the only sales guy that I liked, and apparently he had quit. He had a patent that he had been waiting on for approval -- I guess he doesn't work any more. So I went in and walked up to the receptionist. I specifically asked for someone who wasn't "90." The guy she wanted to set me up with had left for the day, so I got one of the typical overweight mid-40's dumbasses who seemed to have no desire to do his job. I guess it could have been worse. I could have been set up with "Team Tino" (anyone who's ever dealt with them knows how bad THAT is).

In any case, it shouldn't be this hard. I shouldn't have to make the effort. I shouldn't have to prove anything to them. I shouldn't have to feel like a second class citizen. I don't feel that Mercedes products are so superior to the alternatives that I need to deal with this kind of treatment. The gap is closing rapidly. When every major magazine review I've read places the A8 above the S-class, it's obvious that they can't provide a better product so it's time for the Mercedes dealers to loose the arrogance and provide better service than their competition.