After taking my car a few times to Sovereign motorcars in brooklyn,ny i was shocked to hear that on my upcoming appointment they will be charging me a discounted rate of $25 per day for a loaner car. They say that since i got the car from a third party leasing company, (although from this particular dealership) they are enforcing new rules and they will not give me a loaner for free.
im sorry to say this but mbusa has hit a new low. i always gave the benefit of the doubt sadly i was looking into a new slk, but i might be looking elsewhere for my next new car

This is actually quite typical of most places. If you didn't buy the car from that dealership they will not provide a free loaner. This is true with other dealers such as BMW and Lexus as well. This is one of their marketed "perks" during the car buying process.

I got the same letter in Virginia Beach VA last week. It's cheesy and Mercedes-Benz just lost quite a bit of their luster in my eyes.

I had been really seriously considering a 03' CL500 from the local dealer, but am now looking at other vehicles instead. For now, I'll be using a european specialist shop rather than their service for anything non-warranty. The 40 dollar cost of a rental there will be more than offset by the 300 dollars savings on a 700 dollar maintenance. /shrug A decent loaner is why many of us were willing to pay dealership service center prices. This move shows a general unwillingness to stand behind the product as a whole. BMW, Cadillac and even the New Volvo C70 coupe just moved up the list.

So really, if their goal is to save a buck, all they've managed to do instead is cost themselves money. First, they've alienated the customers who had cars needing more servicing that was being paid for by the customer as opposed to Mercedes or the dealership. Second, they'll save the 5K wear and tear on their loaner, and probably lose 20-30k a year in business at the dealership from other people as turned off by this as I am.

Dumb.

Regards,
-Bouncer-

every dealership has a different policy. call around your area and find a dealership that'll give you a free loaner.

bro that sux i got 2 words for u Ray Catena, they are the absolute best for service and they literally go out of there way to please u..even though u got ur car from a 3rd party that shouldent matter it doesnt hurt to try them and there not that far from bk

I agree with versaceboy54. Ray Catena is highly recommended, I traded in my clk 350 and got a slk 55 amg from them and in fact took delivery this past weekend.

You should check them out.

Technically, i did get the car from their dealership, only through a private leasing agency (that saved me roughly 150 a month if not more) it is rediculous but i need the car to be serviced, i will not pay them i will borrow somebodys car, wow i am losing my faith in MB i love them but, bottom line is that they dont care about the customer as much anymore.. i am literally debating a new benz, but i dont know what to think right now.

I have never had and issue going to any MB dealership to have my car serviced and get a FREE loaner. While I was still living in the east cost, I was getting my car fixed from 3 different MB dealership all never gave me a hard time (just only 1 really sucked at servicing my car, always had to return the car to get it fixed again after getting it fixed!)

Now that I moved to CA, I still was able to get a free loaner when I took my car in for it's last service b4 warranty ran out!

I guess it depends on the dealership, and I guess I haven't ran into that issue.

Same here, my car is from a dealership in socal and they gave me a loaner just yesterday when I took it in for service.

Try a different service advisor, it might make a difference.

On another note, I've driven BMW's for 7 of the last 8 years, and they have ALWAYS provided me a free loaner. Granted many times it is a used Toyota or something other than a BMW, but its always still be a late model car and pretty nice.

Thats pretty lame if MB wont give you a loaner.

Don't be suprise, that they do this. My MB dealer had a plaque in the service advisor area stating they do not give loaner car those who did not purchase their MB from this dealer, but they would offer a courtesy ride. I know how it would sucked if I got my MB from somewhere else. Since the free loaner car varies from each independent dealer, since it's not really part of MB warranty, since it does not say anywhere in the service manual for that.

i can understand if i didnt get the car from them, but my car is from that dealership.... they are only singling me out because i used a leasing agency!

1. MB Dealerships do not have to provide a loan car at all, it is their choice to offer you something to drive. No matter where your car came from. Any loan car should be appreciated.

2. Wouldnt you be pissed off if you DID purchase your car from said dealership, you arrive for your appointment for service, and as you are walking in to get your loan car, some guy who chose to save a few dollars gets the last loaner --- then because YOU did spend the extra money - you get a shuttle ride?

3. As much as you may want this to be about "you" , its not, it's likely more about the client that did purchase the car from the dealership. What it takes to make that person happy, after all, they spent the "extra" money for that dealership experience... why should someone trying to save some money get all the perks with out buying in?

As a MB owner, I know I chose to buy at the best dealership here, knowing I was paying more than if I went to a leasing company or even another MB dealership, but I also know I get premium treatment when I go in.

A

p.s. I also rate the dealership excellent when the survey cards come in, in the long run, costing them money by rating them low only makes it less likely that I would get assistance if needed in the future... You get a lot farther by dealing with the dealership themselves - then taking it up with MBUSA.... < getting off soap box >

Your car is from the leasing company. They purchased it from the dealership... not the same thing. It's the same as buying it used from another person, then expecting the same treatment as if you bought it new from them... it just is not the same thing.

A

Sorry ALPHA but I have to say your commenst are crazy - let me put it this way:
Mercedes worldwide are trying to imporove there customer service and get back what they lost with bad service and badly built cars. I bet you if the top bods in germany got to know of dealerships anywhere in the world being so stingy and ruining the MB name they would be upset! Here in the Uk is a typical example - Ive had MB's for years - around my way there were 2 dealerships - absolutely awful when it came to customer service! and I also had the loan car prob with one of them - never had one when my car was being serviced. I wrote (along with many others it seems) to Mercedes UK and after a year the two dealerships got stripped of there franchise! Now we have a dealerhsip that covers about 4 sites - and I NEVER have a prob with getting a loaner when my car is in for servicing. And its not just here - when I was in germany with a prob they gave me a loaner there! hell my car was a UK merc , yet the customer service was still there.

So your point that dealerships can do what they want and if you dont buy the car from them then thats what you get is totally contradictory from what Mercedes WANTS the customer experiance to be like! And to be quiet honest, if the dealership wants to play it that way then they should NOT be a Merc dealer - maybe they should look into selling Fords or something. All I know is , if it was me then id be saying goodbye to that dealership, find myself one where I am treated as a king (which is what I expect from a big name like Mercedes) and writing to MBUSA about the dealership. Its disgraceful, not the Mercedes way and cheap - not what I and many expect from a top brand car make!

alpha,
you have valid points, but they have given me a loaner on 5 different occassions, and now decide to change their rules. its the sudden change that i am a little upset about, if they told me this since day one i would not mind dropping my car off and getting a ride (they have no shuttle service as far as i know)

I agree with you as well, that they should have grandfather'd you in... I mean they set the expectations.

Another example would be that what if you purchased your car elsewhere and moved to the city.. you didn't have the choice, right?

I'm not saying its not going to upset some people, but there should be a better way of handling it.

< Shrug >

A

I am not sure what's so crazy. If MB is soooo concerned about their reputation, then they need to start providing the dealership the cars for FREE... until then its up to the dealer principle who gets what. I mean he's the one paying for the loaner right?

By the way, Ford does not provide loan cars either, you may get lucky and get a rental car. When I took the Viper in to Dodge, I was lucky to get a ride... much less a loaner.

Another observation..... why is it that you do not see this topic in the S-class forums? I mean even the E-class forums seem void of this topic...

Do they just get it? Do they not care and the c-class owners do?

Bottom line - Its up to the Dealership - if you do not like it... goto another dealer OR buy your car there.. then you have a leg to stand on!

A

Oh and you and your letter writing buddies did not get a dealerships franchise pulled simply because you did not get a MB loaner... It had to go much deeper than that...

A

I don't understand how it's goes through a leasing agency, doesn't have to do with anything with the dealer.

that's poor dealer service...what's that got to do with mbusa?

MBUSA provides the car to XYZ Dealership to sell ( MBUSA's client ) the leasing company comes along and negotiates special pricing if they promise to purchase as many MB's from XYZ dealership they can. Leasing company then sells car to you... YOU did not buy the car from XYZ delaership - you purchased the car from the leasing company. They did not buy it "for you " from the dealership. The leasing company becomes the middle man, so to speak, which when you look at it, is where you loose the perks.... they got a lower price, because XYZ dealership knows it does not have to spend money on loan cars, free car washes, free fluid top offs, etc... the leasing company could send the car anywhere. AND if the car happens to stay locally... well .. these "rules" they have in place come in to play.

D&M leasing actually makes the promise to provide a loan car when you buy a car from them. They also, would make it so you drop the car off with them, they will take it to the service department and deal with it for you....

Poor customer service? Which is worse: Not providing a car for a client who paid more to buy a car from them or telling someone who saved a buck to take a shuttle?

A

PKB

You found a way to save yourself some cash
Dealers are looking for ways to save themselves cash on customers that cost them potential sales

You saved $150/mn, you can afford the $25 loaner fee, suck it up.

if the fee has been there since day one, then i wouldnt mind it... and they might be saving cash but losing customers at the same time. i know numerous people who decided against buying a MB because they have to pay for oil changes and whatnot.

Dealers are allowed to change their policies whenever they see fit. I'm sure it's in the fine writing somewhere. Is it lame? Sure it is.

The "free" oil changes that BMW offers aren't exactly free. They're just rolled into the cost of the car. It's like having an escrow account for property taxes. You either pay prior and pay nothing when it's time for them to collect or you pay when the bill comes. There's nothing really "free" nowadays.