stemags

Its been 2 days since I had my car and I was wondering how the other owners rated their dealers service dept? Besides the usual stuff,their gonna look at a few things for me that I would have only learned about with forum help.,rattle in roof,check alignment(nyc streets),and fog harnesses(bleepin ridiculous).

After driving the c240 for 2 days I can truthfully say,I miss my car.
But the young dude showed up at my house,and they accomodated me rather well,service rep is a real gent(although young and apologetic).But it aint got the sand to step away.
Lets see what the bill will be like,and pass judgement then.To be fair,they are professional and seem interested in pleasing the customer.Their dealership is brand new and comes complete with a deli and breakfast spot.They sit you down on leather couches,not folding chairs like Nissan,and some other unmentionables.And they always have the parts I wanted.

Whatdya think fellas?

GDawgC220

I don't think your gonna get a bill :p unless your doing it outside of FSS. All covered under warranty till 50k or 4 years.

The dealer I use to go to was alright. I got to know the SA pretty well over the years, so he would hook me up on oil changes and cut labor rates off for bigger jobs. Turn around time, decent, a day or two at most. They got those cushion chairs, no leather ones , but free coffee, muffins, munchkins, and TV!

I go to a independent MB dealer now for repairs since my SA left and they raised their labor rates to $100/hour. My independent charges $60/hour, which is pretty good for MB work. They have coffee, tv and magazines, but pretty small dealership/waiting area. I usually just look at the ferrari's, porsche's and MB's they got

stemags

I think you're right Gdawg,,only the state inspection sticker cost me,and the car will be delivered after 0800 tomorrow morning.
I can say that this is hopefully a 3 experience.Fog harnesses were changed to heavier grade wire that wont burn out too quickly.Now Im gonna throw in those crystal bulbs from philips,more xenon in color.
The Porterfield pads I put in are holding up well,which is already double the life of the OEM Pagids.No front end alignment needed either.

Man I miss the car though.

stemags

On the plus side,,no bill,car runs great(did before),polite staff,(except for the filthy mechanics,leaving grease stains on ash interior),and its a benz.

Negatively speaking,why should you have to ask that these parts changers take a small bit of care inside the car?Im not big time **** either,but I wish I would have asked who performed the work so he doesn't get to do any more damage.
I hate to *****,cause life is short,but if that guy was on fire,I wouldnt **** on him.

Happy motoring!

GDawgC220

most places are good about taking care of the interior...but if you are having probs, maybe speak to the SA about it next time or even the service mgr...i mean, it seems your not **** about it, but they should still treat customers car's with care. I'm sure they wouldn't want someone doing that to their interiors of their cars.

stemags

By the way,,congrats on the Super bowl

Im thinking of an ML,3 or 4 yrs old,do you recommend them?How about for a teenager?

GDawgC220

Hehe....Patriots!

Anyways, ML for a teenager, eh? The fact that it's big is good, godforbid if an accident happened, they would be well protected because of the big body but also the ML ranked #1 in crash tests for luxury SUV's in 99 and they are still up there in safety.

It's a great car IMO, minus the problems that they've had (which seems to be some people and some others not). I would recommend probably the 320, lower in power, better fuel economy and gets you from point A to point B and they can haul lots of things in there. I would stay away from first year production (98)...go like 99 or 00. By then, most of the bugs have been worked out.

Now to the ugly part. Problems have plauged the ML for quite some time and this is how MB started their spiral down hill even more. 99 or 00 ML's do use cheaper plastic parts inside. Some problems include door seal (wind noise at higher speeds), ratting from the rear cabin, fuel sender unit (a most common thing), sometimes oil consumption (need a quart every 3-4k miles, but only a few people), cup holder spring, probably a few other things. BUT don't let that turn you away. It's not in every single ML out there...seems to be if you get unlucky, you get one that's just in the shop ALL the time. Some others have had little to no problems.

So far, our 99 has been great to us. Few repairs fuel sender (actually in today for that again), ratting noise, cup holder, oil consumption test. Other than that, its a great vehicle despite it's quirks. Good to haul lots of things around, people mover, V6 is powerful enough, moderate off-roading capabilities and SAFE.

You can find good deals on MY 00's probably now, since they're gettin' a little older. Other than that, it's a solid vehicle, should last a while. I've seen a few ML's over 100k, i'm at 60k right now.

I for one recommend them, pending they've had some of the common things taken care of already (which dealers can pull up service records). Some others may not recommend them, but depending on their experience with the car I guess.
I hope this helps, good luck man!

stemags

Im a Yankee fan,and season tix holder for the Jets.

Sounds like you had very few problems with your car.I cant see how a CPO ML,,,say 00 or 01 could hurt.An extended warranty is also an option(aftermarket,not MB)
How about the ride comfort.Im 6'2" and was considering swiping the car from the kid when I have to work on snowy nites.My E is great ,now that I went to dedicated snows,but was rattling the idea around anyhow.

GDawgC220

I'm 5'10" :p and I a lil "husky" if you will, lol. I fit comfortably in there. Leg room is great, headroom is pretty good and its wide up front.

Definately a extended warranty would be a good idea just incase, you can probably find a good deal on one. I think an 00 or 01 would be the way to go, as they did change some of the parts inside from plastic to better quality stuff.

Ride wise, it's pretty good, but you have to remember that your in a SUV, not a car. But for the most part, it's smooth. Take the bumps pretty well, but not going to be as smooth as your E. Also, I think the 17's on our 430 make the ride a little more bumpy as well, the 320 takes 16's. Handling is car like. Higher speeds, it's pretty good. A lower speeds, handling is a little looser, not as precise, but I think that's due to the speed sensitive steering.

As for NE weather here, we haven't put snows on any of our cars yet. The ML takes it like a champ..once our driveway was covered with 10" of snow...just plow'd her right now with no problems. A little wheel slip, but ESP took care of that I doubt you'll have any probs in the snow with a ML.

As for the rattling, it's still there at times. I think it's a piece of plastic loose in the trunk area, doesn't really bother me as I have the music up anyway. But check for that on a test drive. Turn off the radio and just drive

stemags

Very solid advice all around,and I thank you for your candor.It looks like 00 for about 24-26k.Ill let you know how we do when the time comes.

GDawgC220

yea, definately keep me posted on that. I want pics when it comes time Glad I could be helpful!