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2017 Mercedes-Benz AMG C63 Cabriolet, 2014 Ducati Multistrada 1200 S
Poor dealer prep on pre-owned cars
I'm always surprised by how poor a job my local Mercedes-Benz dealerships do at prepping a CPO car for sale. I bought a 2017 C63 Convertible with 16k miles on it on Saturday and while the exterior was reasonably clean the interior was not. They vacuumed the carpets but that's about it. The area where the front seat leg support extends out was full of crumbs and who knows what else (driver and passenger seats). The dash had what I can only imagine is dried spit from the previous owner coughing or sneezing on it, the windshield wasn't very clean and the center console looked like it hadn't been wiped down ever. All the seating surfaces needed some attention as did the door sills and the tops of the door cards. The AMG exhaust tips were badly blackened due to exhaust and it took me about 30 minutes with chrome polish to get them looking new again. The wheel center caps were coated with brake dust and needed a detailed cleaning. The wheels look okay but they really could use a detail too.
This isn't the first time either, my wife and I have purchased a couple other CPO Mercedes over the years and this seems to be par for the course. The attention to detail is just not there. I guess, just like all dealerships, they just want to move inventory but I think it would excite customers more if these things were as perfect as they could get them for prospective buyers. Especially an AMG model.
I spent about 2 hours yesterday making my new-to-me car less disgusting.
3 years ago, that was my job! I worked at a Mercedes dealership in Ohio detailing used cars. At the place I worked, the cars were spotless when we finished. However, I've noticed most dealerships are not like this at all. I just bought a new BMW M5 on Saturday. The windows were so bad I could hardly see on the way home, paint feels like sandpaper, wheels were dirty. I spent 4 hours cleaning/claying it on Sunday and it still needs work. Maybe try another dealership? I'm surprised the salesmen don't push back and have them clean better. We had salesmen that would literally scream at us if there was a water spot on the gas cap or one smudge anywhere on the car. Most cars would come in pretty clean and get 4-6 hours of hard work with 1-2 people. Every car got clay, polish and sealant.
Last edited by gpdriver177; Oct 7, 2019 at 05:15 PM.
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