perowneje

I am very frustrated with my local dealer. Firstly the chap promised me he could locate me a car with my spec that was already in the country. He said I would only have to wait 2 weeks until he found me one. So I gave him my deposit. Anyway, as I expected it was an empty promise and I was told I had to wait for the April build. This was in January. I didn’t mind so much as this was the build date for the whole of the UK. (I think)

Anyway, I received a phone call yesterday form the dealer asking if I had placed an order for a CLK. The chap had apparently been sacked last month, and they found my order in his desk when they were clearing it out. My order hadn’t been processed. I now had to wait for the June build, or they had a silver CLK which I could have. Being impatient – I’m taking the silver one, it isn’t the colour, interior or wheels I wanted but at least it will be delivered to me in 5 days. I hope I haven’t made a mistake – I know deep down I should wait a little longer to get the car I really want. (black, avantgarde, 5 spoke alloys)

This is my first (ish) post, so I would like to say hello to everyone, and ill tell you what I think of my new silver car soon – with pictures.

Michael T

I would be less passive. You had relied upon your contact at this dealership, he had misrepresented the dealership, and now you are left in the cold. If you are willing to take a different car then you ordered the least they can do is give you a discount. I would threaten to report them to the Mercdes Benz UK.

I wish you good luck.

new clk owner

Hi Perowneje,

I notice that your IP address puts you from West London. Well, there are interesting things happening in London right now. The dealerships in London have been historically extremely poor (as you've experienced). So, about a year ago, Mrecedes took the decision to get rid of dealerships within the M25 and take the garages back into direct Mercedes ownership. For example, the Canary Wharf shop is directly owned and there is no dealership affiliation at all. Seems like a much better model.

Now, you might be able to play this one to your advantage. If your 'dealership' is actually one owned directly by Mercedes, you might be able to press the Mercedes group rather than stay local.

If you're not dealing direct as it were, you might be worth contacting one of the other dealerships and asking them what they can do as they'll have access to the whole order book and might be better placed to help.

Either way, you'll find that Mercedes in the UK is not the customer focussed bunch that we might like, but heck, their cars are amazing.

Keep beating them up!

Michael.

perowneje

thanks for your responses.

I am sick of dealing with my dealer - constant phone calls and visits. They have promised me a car in a few days. I cant be bothered to complain and kick up a fuss now. When it comes, it comes. The whole process has stressed me out. All I want is a CLK, so i will give them one last chance to deliver me a car. It will all be worth it when it arrives.

new clk owner

Ah - almost forgot the most obvious thing of all. Make sure that you negotiate your substantial discount (anything above two thousand pounds brings respect at this stage, below 500 brings shame and dishonour) about a minute before you hand over the cash - make sure that the dealer has invested money in this one by doing some prep work on the car.

Let us know how you get on!

Michael.

Silver_Lana

Sorry to hear about your misadventures. I would speak to a manger about the problems you have had especially since as a representative of MB or the dealer, he supposedly ordered a car for you. If I were you, I wouldnt take the silver CLK. The reason is that in the near future, you will probably end up getting the one you want later anyway at a signifcant cost to you.
Be patient and wait for it.
If you do decide to get the silver CLK, make sure they give you a worthwhile discount and maybe throw in some accessories too.
Cheers!