Everyone's nightmare. You bring your car in for a service to the dealer (in my case an A service after 3 years of ownership) and a few minutes after you leave with a loaner you get a call to come back because the dealer has damaged your car.
That's what happened to me yesterday.
The car has less than 3600 miles and was absolutely pristine.
What do you think the dealer should do to make it right? (The dealer shall remain nameless for the time being.)
The service manager said they'd flatbed the GT to their repair shop in Beverly Hills, which I knew of and approved. He said they'd buy a new front bumper, and they'd paint it to match perfectly. (The red paint is not a metallic and the car is garaged, so it shouldn't be hard to match.)
They offered me a loaner but I told them I didn't want or need one. (Learning how to drive new Mercedes' models takes some time for an old geezer and it's too hot to drive the roadster right now anyway. I'm happy driving my Audi GT.)
I told them I wanted the full A service to be done free of charge. They agreed.
I told them I wanted them to pay the lease payment for August, and they agreed. (The lease ends in September and I've already made arrangements with M-B Financial to buy the car. The August payment is the final one.)
I told them I wanted to visit the body shop before the car was released to approve the work. They agreed.
This escapade is going to cost the dealership at least $7,500.
Although I wasn't happy, I wanted to be fair with them and thought that would make me whole. A younger me would have been angry, but as you get older you realize that there are f**kups everywhere and that we all have to just do the best we can. (In other words, my lawyer mode was turned off. It was a Saturday.)
Everyone's nightmare. That's what happened to me yesterday.
Horrible. I empathize.
At the very least, Dealership should cover full repair expenses and give you a GT level loaner (S Class, New SL, etc) while in the shop.
I would not let them pick the shop.
Highly recommend Beverly Coachcraft in West LA - they are most knowledgeable in MB OEM paint and repair work, they even corrected mistakes made by Mercedes Vehicle Prep Center in Long Beach.
They did elective work for me that was exceptional.
The service manager said they'd flatbed the GT to their repair shop in Beverly Hills, which I knew of and approved. He said they'd buy a new front bumper, and they'd paint it to match perfectly. (The red paint is not a metallic and the car is garaged, so it shouldn't be hard to match.)
They offered me a loaner but I told them I didn't want or need one. (Learning how to drive new Mercedes' models takes some time for an old geezer and it's too hot to drive the roadster right now anyway. I'm happy driving my Audi GT.)
I told them I wanted the full A service to be done free of charge. They agreed.
I told them I wanted them to pay the lease payment for August, and they agreed. (The lease ends in September and I've already made arrangements with M-B Financial to buy the car. The August payment is the final one.)
I told them I wanted to visit the body shop before the car was released to approve the work. They agreed.
This escapade is going to cost the dealership at least $7,500.
Although I wasn't happy, I wanted to be fair with them and thought that would make me whole. A younger me would have been angry, but as you get older you realize that there are f**kups everywhere and that we all have to just do the best we can. (In other words, my lawyer mode was turned off. It was a Saturday.)
The service manager said they'd flatbed the GT to their repair shop in Beverly Hills, which I knew of and approved. He said they'd buy a new front bumper, and they'd paint it to match perfectly. (The red paint is not a metallic and the car is garaged, so it shouldn't be hard to match.)
They offered me a loaner but I told them I didn't want or need one. (Learning how to drive new Mercedes' models takes some time for an old geezer and it's too hot to drive the roadster right now anyway. I'm happy driving my Audi GT.)
I told them I wanted the full A service to be done free of charge. They agreed.
I told them I wanted them to pay the lease payment for August, and they agreed. (The lease ends in September and I've already made arrangements with M-B Financial to buy the car. The August payment is the final one.)
I told them I wanted to visit the body shop before the car was released to approve the work. They agreed.
This escapade is going to cost the dealership at least $7,500.
Although I wasn't happy, I wanted to be fair with them and thought that would make me whole. A younger me would have been angry, but as you get older you realize that there are f**kups everywhere and that we all have to just do the best we can. (In other words, my lawyer mode was turned off. It was a Saturday.)
Well negotiated. While individually expensive the dealer probably won’t claim this on their insurance. Technician/porter will be chastised or shown the door.
The service manager said they'd flatbed the GT to their repair shop in Beverly Hills, which I knew of and approved. He said they'd buy a new front bumper, and they'd paint it to match perfectly. (The red paint is not a metallic and the car is garaged, so it shouldn't be hard to match.)
They offered me a loaner but I told them I didn't want or need one. (Learning how to drive new Mercedes' models takes some time for an old geezer and it's too hot to drive the roadster right now anyway. I'm happy driving my Audi GT.)
I told them I wanted the full A service to be done free of charge. They agreed.
I told them I wanted them to pay the lease payment for August, and they agreed. (The lease ends in September and I've already made arrangements with M-B Financial to buy the car. The August payment is the final one.)
I told them I wanted to visit the body shop before the car was released to approve the work. They agreed.
This escapade is going to cost the dealership at least $7,500.
Although I wasn't happy, I wanted to be fair with them and thought that would make me whole. A younger me would have been angry, but as you get older you realize that there are f**kups everywhere and that we all have to just do the best we can. (In other words, my lawyer mode was turned off. It was a Saturday.)
Scott:
I am very sorry to hear about your loss.
I think you are wise to handle the issue in a calm professional manner. As we get older we discover that better resolutions are attained without a lot of conflict.
SUGGESTION: Make sure the repair is run though on a internal ticket and not reported to CARFAX.
Also, don’t forget diminished value on the buy out.
Thats aweful. Something similar happened to me with my GT C Roadster. In my case it was just the front lip with no damage to the painted bumper. The dealer ordered and replaced the part.. what they still haven't gotten right is the oil fill level. At each of 2 services I get an oil overfill light and have to return to drain some oil!
Jerry nailed it. Make sure that diminished value is taken into account. Pristine vehicle that shows damage on a Carfax loses at least 10-15%. One suggestion would be to have the entire process well documented so that the next buyer can plainly see the extent of the damage and the process by which it was repaired. More photographs are more helpful.
I have instructed the dealer and the repair shop not to make a report to CarFax. If one is made I will be seeking additional compensation. When I made the deal that I discuss above I did not give the dealership a release. If the dealership (or its agent, the repair shop) does me further damage, I will seek further compensation. I hope they follow my instructions.
I will add that as I was driving over, formulating my demand, I thought about asking for an extended warranty for 3 years when mine expires. But I thought that was a little too greedy.
I have instructed the dealer and the repair shop not to make a report to CarFax. If one is made I will be seeking additional compensation. When I made the deal that I discuss above I did not give the dealership a release. If the dealership (or its agent, the repair shop) does me further damage, I will seek further compensation. I hope they follow my instructions.
I will add that as I was driving over, formulating my demand, I thought about asking for an extended warranty for 3 years when mine expires. But I thought that was a little too greedy.
While you're at it ask for the porters first born and a reach around too..
LOL, you fanboys are acting like he lost his whole family in a fire. First world problems, I think he has it handled,poor porter had to damage a lawyer's car of all people,lol
LOL, you fanboys are acting like he lost his whole family in a fire. First world problems, I think he has it handled,poor porter had to damage a lawyer's car of all people,lol
Not so much that but respect and appreciation to a long time member/contributor to the forum and knowledge on how to handle an incident like that if it ever happens to any of us. These are pricey things and most dealerships are not your "friend'...they wont go out of their way to make you whole...
Scott, hope it all gets fixed and remedied as agreed.
Gotta say you had me scratching my head with the title of the post tho LOL
"2020 AMG GTA"
My SA wont let anyone move my GT besides himself or the tech. I was a porter many centuries ago when i was 18 and i gotta say we dont make the best decisions but I was lucky and never damaged anyone's car.
I have instructed the dealer and the repair shop not to make a report to CarFax. If one is made I will be seeking additional compensation. When I made the deal that I discuss above I did not give the dealership a release. If the dealership (or its agent, the repair shop) does me further damage, I will seek further compensation. I hope they follow my instructions.
I will add that as I was driving over, formulating my demand, I thought about asking for an extended warranty for 3 years when mine expires. But I thought that was a little too greedy.
All they can say is NO on the extended maintenance.
That's great they'll get a whole new bumper.....and paint it too. I'd be happy with that and not a repaired bumper. Wonder what kind of hell the one who damaged it caught?
I have instructed the dealer and the repair shop not to make a report to CarFax. If one is made I will be seeking additional compensation. When I made the deal that I discuss above I did not give the dealership a release. If the dealership (or its agent, the repair shop) does me further damage, I will seek further compensation. I hope they follow my instructions.
I will add that as I was driving over, formulating my demand, I thought about asking for an extended warranty for 3 years when mine expires. But I thought that was a little too greedy.
Getting additional 3yr warranty at cost wouldn't be bad to ask for. Good point about the Carfax reporting, I'll have to keep that in mind if this ever happens to me.
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