konigstiger

To one and all, I'm looking for dealership experiences (USA nationwide) good & bad, fair and unfair, serious and petty, as it pertains to both the purchasing / trading aspect and repair / service aspect (first time, follow-up, and additional). Also, please include if your dealership is corporate owned or privately owned. Dealership name is optional but please include specific state location. We need one central forum for dealership isuues, matters, and concerns inclusive of any sub category matters. Let this forum be it. Thanks.

bmms8

well first of all, good idea, but you just cant start your own forum Mercedes-Benz of Escondido in San Diego, CA has treated us with the best respect, and they were very fair. i know our salesman on a personal level, and hes a great guy. good service too, only loans out MB's, and you get a loaner every time. used to have E-classes, but the C-class drivers never returned the car, and opted for the better car, sounds dumb, but its true. They loan out C's and ML's. big dealer, mostly everytyhing is stock.

konigstiger

Meant thread. Sorry.

lig

Kudos to Phil Smart M-B in Seattle. Sales and service have both been first rate. I'm happy to be able to say that.

Just had Schedule B maintenance done - on time and they fixed all of the little stuff that was bugging me (except for the HK radio... after the software update it hasn't cut out on me but it seems to have more static on FM...)

No bs "we'll detail your car for free" in exchange for a perfect score on the surveys etc...

I'd recommend them without reservation.

etenn

Outstanding service at Barrier Motors in Bellevue (Seattle). Have taken care of everything I have asked for.
Did not buy the car at this dealership.

DWP

Bought our '03 E500 in September of this year from M-B of El Dorado Hills (California, near Sacramento). The salesman is a likeable chap; I specifically looked him up for this purchase because he had shown us an E320 in 1996; we didn't buy an M-B then but he was very helpful and courteous.

The purchase experience was generally very smooth and pleasant; I paid too much but that's my fault - I'm a sorry negotiator because I've never much liked arguing about money. I wasn't raised that way.

The one part I didn't like was that the salesman felt the need to play the "good salesman, bad sales manager" game with us. You know what I mean - the salesman leads you to believe that you have a deal, except that he has to clear it with the sales manager. Of course, the salesman comes back a few minutes late with a hangdog face (probably after stepping out for smoke) to inform you that, gosh gee whiz, the sales manager won't go for the deal but if you would just come up $xxxx, maybe the sales manager would go for it - etc., etc., for as many rounds as the salesman thinks you can be gulled into playing. That's the kind of tactic a Sacramento-area car buyer might except from a Toyota or Ford dealer on Florin Road (an auto dealership strip notorious for sleazeball sales practices) but it seems somehow unworthy of an M-B dealership. Does anyone have any thoughts on whether M-B dealers tend to be more straightforward and less "tricky" with their customers than, say, Hyundai dealers, or are all car dealers about the same when it comes to playing price-negotiation games with the customer?

abhansali

MarcusBenz of House of Imports in LA. Having been on this forum, I knew the deal I wanted on the '04 E500, called him and asked him if he could do it, and he basically said yes. Negotiating lasted about 10 mins on the phone, that easy. Also, very knowledgeable and answers your questions via email promptly. Also he threw in a few shirts and keychains when we picked up the car (nice touch)..

I can give you a couple of bad dealers...initially was going to buy from my local Austin dealer...until he told me that "I needed to bend over backwards for him" when I tried to negotiate an extra $500 on the deal...Also I first placed my deposit with a dealer in NoCal, but the salesperson quit, and I found out when I called in one day, and no one knew who I was or that I had put down a deposit, they assigned me another salesperson finally, that also quit in 1 month, finally I just got my deposit back and started over with MarcusBenz.

monakh

And...stay away from the triumvirate of Evil (TM) dealerships of the American Service Center (MB Arlington & Alexandria) and HBL in Northern Virginia. Trust me.

yipikaye

One Thing, Auto Stiegler Mercedes Benz (Encino) 's service SUCKS. Dont go there!!!!! it's a mess!!!!!! The sales not bad though.

Randy B

MB Orlando used to be Contemporary Motor Cars. They are partly owned now by AutoNation.The sales department is Lousy. A holier than though attitude. Which I guess they can afford since they are the only game in town for a new Benz in Orlando. New dealership is opening up on South side of town in two months and ought to see a big change in Mercedes Orlando sales attitude. Now Service on the other hand has been great!. And the parts department is very good as well. Service writer's not only checkout what the complaints are, but also perform any service if you have the time and you are close enough to the FSS mileage. That's nice when you are not necessarily watching the mileage so close. Service Writer is Joe Schimborski (Outstanding Service and truly cares). Pat or Lynn in parts have gone out of the way to look for European parts from Germany when I describe them or give the part numbers. I did not buy my 03 E500 from them. Could not take the attitude.


(All opinions stated in this thread are specifically from the view of the author and personal experience with the subject. This is not derived from hearsay or word of mouth from others, and are expressly the views of the author.)

rdtjr

Autohaus on Edens:
Superb sales experience with Conrad Santos. Absolutely awful first (and last) service experience. Still haven't got touch up paint even through it has been promised 4 times, so far.

https://mbworld.org/forums/showthrea...threadid=53296

MB of Hoffman Estates:
So far so good with service, although one of the problems with the audio system immediately recurred. Very proactive in calling with updates and quick to return phone calls. Portered a loaner to me instead of my having to go to the dealership.

jbec.keane

My purchase and subsequent service experiences with Millenium Mercedes of Bridgewater New Jersey have all been excellent. The salesman was extremely professional and calls me every few months to make sure I am happy with the car. Service has been excellent. MB Loaner each time. My car is always returned clean and the service is done professionaly.

This is my first Mercedes. I am very happy with Millenium Mercedes.

cte430

Great experience at Competition Imports in Smithtown, NY. This is the 5th car I've purchased there. Have a great relationship with my sales guy, Lou Verderosa and service advisor Bob Vella.

Interesting story that led to my getting my E500. I had an '00 E430 that started to have some problems as soon as I hit 30,000 miles. I was disappointed and did not think an MB should be suffering from these types of failures (after new E, I long for the good 'ol days LOL). Anyway, I wrote MBUSA and expressed my disappointment and copied Nancy Buzzetta, General manager of competition imports. In this case it was MBUSA who ignored my letter. Not even a form letter. I went in and spoke with Nancy and she had a genuine concern for keeping me happy and a customer. She offered me a pretty aggressive deal on a new E and took my 430 in trade. This was during the early launch of the new E when discounts were tough to come by.

I think she simply wanted to keep a customer and offered me a fair deal. She certainly didn't have to. It was a 2 + year old car with over 30,000 miles. It was no where near a lemon type situation. Just some problems that I thought should not be indicative of an MB. By the way, all these problems were fixed in a timely fashion. Many times when I need service I can call and bring it in the same day. The facililty itself is gorgeous and if you have to wait for your car, it's not a bad place to hang out for a while. Would certainly recommend them.

Daveskee

I haven't had good experiences with the service department at Smythe European in San Jose. So much so I wouldn't bring my car to them again. No idea about the sales staff.

Might give Beshoff Motor Cars a try. New dealership in San Jose. A little competition is always good. Unless you don't give a crap as seems to be the case with Smythe.

konigstiger

Only 13 replies?

Randy B from Orlando.
(All opinions stated in this thread are specifically from the view of the author and personal experience with the subject. This is not derived from hearsay or word of mouth from others, and are expressly the views of the author.)

moa4r

i've had excellent experience with American Service Center in Arlington, VA with preowned sales as well as their service department. Their body shop is another story...the body work was excellent, but the manager and assistant managers are complete *******s (excuse my language) and have serious attitude problems, they pretty much ruined my day when i was picking up my car after it was in their shop for over a month and a half for some collision work...
anyway, also stay away from hbl--had decent experience with preowned salesman, but other than that, they are very bad people--i take my car all the way to arlington for service, even though hbl is near my house and give benz loaners. Select Auto Imports in Alexandria, VA is where i bought my car, but i would also stay away from them--typical sleazy used car salesmen, talk a lot and barely know anything about their product, but did give me a pretty good deal.

JamesLA

Agreed. Horrible service experiences. Best "loaner" I've had from them was a Camry -- which I paid to "upgrade" to, as they offered me a Neon. And that's just a side issue.

pfphipps

I think the Albuquerque dealer, Premier Motors, is pretty good. They are privately owned. The facilities are not be biggest or the most up to date but they have always treated me nice. (They should--I have bought a bunch of cars there.)

When I bought the 2003 E320 in September, they gave me a decent price, perhaps not the absolute best, but still decent. One thing for sure, it was the best price from any New Mexico dealer! (They are the only MB dealer in New Mexico and it is a long way to another.)

I find it interesting that both the sales manager and my saleman came to the sales side of the the house from the service side. Both have been with this dealership for a several years. Since they are from the service side, they understand many of the technical issues as well and that is a help.

Service has always treated me OK. Not perfect (who is?) but have always made good if they screwed up (that is not very often) which is about all you can ask.

lpolo

OK, so what price did you guys get for your 2003 or 2004 E500? I don't want to be tricked by the sales persons. So, I'd like to know average price for this car.

2004 E500 w/ sport, apperance, entertainment package + moonroof, DVD navigation.

What about 2003 w/o navigation same features above?

Please help...

jigga619

I had one of the worst experiences at Mercedes Benz of Escondido. I have a 02 C230 (non C7) so I called the dealership to get my black door handles replaced w/ white ones. So I called the parts department and they ordered white door handles (driver & passenger side), no problem. The guy told me that they would have them in about a week, so I was fine with that. A week roles by, I get a phone call from the MB of Escondido letting me know that the parts have come in so I set up an appointment. My service advisor told me that it would cost about $140 (for parts and labor). I was pretty hyped about that, $140 was a real bargain!!

Well, I drop my car off (Tuesday morning) and wait a while for my loaner. A guy at the loaner desk tells me that they ran out of loaner vehicles and they have to rent from Hertz. So guess what vehicle they give me, a FORD TAURUS!! I was like “wtf”!! So I thought you know, I should have my car back by the end of the day, so I was fine with the Taurus. I get a call from my service advisor in the afternoon saying that the factory shipped the wrong parts (one white handle & one white handle w/ a chrome strip). Then he says that he’ll have the correct part the next day (Wednesday). So the next day comes along and I get another phone call, it was my service advisor saying AGAIN that the factory shipped the wrong item (this time a black door handle). Then I was promised that they would have it straightened out the next day (Thursday). Next day comes along and they finally get the correct part (white handle), but now he says that the small IR piece came in black only and that it can only be painted to color match my car, and that I would have to pay an additional $140 to get it painted. I was like “BULL****”. First they stick me with a FORD TAURUS, waste my time, and then tell me that I have to pay extra for something they messed up on!!

I told them to forget it and to leave my car alone. Then my service advisor told me that they had already put one of the handles on and if I wanted my blacks ones back, I would have to pay for them to take it off. So he basically said that I was going to be charged for the install ($40) and to take them off ($40), which came out to $80. I argued with the guy telling him that he shouldn’t have put them on in the first place (because they were the wrong parts) and that I shouldn’t have been charged anything. My service advisor insisted that I pay for the labor. He said, “Most people would dish out the $140 and not think anything of it”. I felt that that comment was rude and uncalled for. First off, I’m not any other person and second, I know when I’m getting jacked. So I asked for his manager. So I gave my story to the manager and his manager sided with me and took all charges off of my bill. I was really pissed that he said that but didn’t bring it up w/ his boss because I just wanted to get the hell out of there (that’s how frustrated I was).

I’m gonna contact Steve to see if he can get me the door handles.

jigga619

I had one of the worst experiences at Mercedes Benz of Escondido. I have a 02 C230 (non C7) so I called the dealership to get my black door handles replaced w/ white ones. So I called the parts department and they ordered white door handles (driver & passenger side), no problem. The guy told me that they would have them in about a week, so I was fine with that. A week roles by, I get a phone call from the MB of Escondido letting me know that the parts have come in so I set up an appointment. My service advisor told me that it would cost about $140 (for parts and labor). I was pretty hyped about that, $140 was a real bargain!!

Well, I drop my car off (Tuesday morning) and wait a while for my loaner. A guy at the loaner desk tells me that they ran out of loaner vehicles and they have to rent from Hertz. So guess what vehicle they give me, a FORD TAURUS!! I was like “wtf”!! So I thought you know, I should have my car back by the end of the day, so I was fine with the Taurus. I get a call from my service advisor in the afternoon saying that the factory shipped the wrong parts (one white handle & one white handle w/ a chrome strip). Then he says that he’ll have the correct part the next day (Wednesday). So the next day comes along and I get another phone call, it was my service advisor saying AGAIN that the factory shipped the wrong item (this time a black door handle). Then I was promised that they would have it straightened out the next day (Thursday). Next day comes along and they finally get the correct part (white handle), but now he says that the small IR piece came in black only and that it can only be painted to color match my car, and that I would have to pay an additional $140 to get it painted. I was like “BULL****”. First they stick me with a FORD TAURUS, waste my time, and then tell me that I have to pay extra for something they messed up on!!

I told them to forget it and to leave my car alone. Then my service advisor told me that they had already put one of the handles on and if I wanted my blacks ones back, I would have to pay for them to take it off. So he basically said that I was going to be charged for the install ($40) and to take them off ($40), which came out to $80. I argued with the guy telling him that he shouldn’t have put them on in the first place (because they were the wrong parts) and that I shouldn’t have been charged anything. My service advisor insisted that I pay for the labor. He said, “Most people would dish out the $140 and not think anything of it”. I felt that that comment was rude and uncalled for. First off, I’m not any other person and second, I know when I’m getting jacked. So I asked for his manager. So I gave my story to the manager and his manager sided with me and took all charges off of my bill. I was really pissed that he said that but didn’t bring it up w/ his boss because I just wanted to get the hell out of there (that’s how frustrated I was).

I’m gonna contact Steve to see if he can get me the door handles.

jbcritch

I have had very good experiences with Jackson Automotive in Macon Georgia. They have been responsive to all my inquiries and found the car I wanted at the price I wanted when I purchased my C240 in Sept of 2003. I got a 2003 C240 (manufacture date 7-02) for dirt cheap considering the $3000 cash back being offered on 03s at that time. They solved one major problem I had .... my car was coded as having Bi-xenons and when it arrived from PA it had lamp washers and heated seats. They not only reimbursed the package price, but gave me a bit more so that I could buy the bi-xenons from Steve.....but alas I had to spend that money on some bills I had at the time....
However, they have agreed to turn them on for free when I do get them installed. Great sales staff gave me lots of goodies to welcome me...I got a shirt, hat, extra CD magazine, 3 keychains, an umbrella, and a leather insurance card holder recently arrived embossed with the 3 pointed star......they have been good to me and I recommend them to anyone - even the Atlanta folks.
John

weinschela

I have dealt with Mercedes of Southampton (NY)(aka Country Imports) for many years. I don't think their prices are the lowest but the service is very very good, including pick up and drop off (including from my house which is 70 miles away). Loaners have varied from Fords to a BMW 740 (once) to my salesman's E320 (last year, when servicing my S, and after I told him I was thinking of an E next). The servicepeople are responsive and seem to be competent. Maybe once in the last 17 years I've had to have something redone. You pay for all this of course, but to me it is worth something not be hassled.

ctemkin

I am curious to hear more about HBL in Tyson's Corner, VA. Have your problems been with sales, service, or both?

I bought my car there through their "internet" sales program. The price was a few bucks over invoice, so I can characterize my experience with the sales department as satisfactory. I have yet to go in for any scheduled service. The one thing I did go in for was to have them switch out some of the black plastic dashboard parts for wood accessories I had purchased from Performance Products. They charged several hundred dollars, which seemed high, but they did a flawless job of it.

thomasp

We had a great sales experience with Michael Le of Barriers in Bellevue, the first time and the 2nd time we bought an E320 from him. When we walked in the first time we were not dressed like yuppies, but, he treated us like star customers through the entire sales process – it was informative, quick and painless, we bought a car and got out in under an hour when we came back with the decision of yes – both times.


The parts and service at Barriers of Bellevue is something else, terrible. Note letter I sent to Barrier below. When we finally got our floor mats, they were the wrong size, we had to prove they were the wrong size by bringing in the cloth mats to prove to Mr. Parts guy, he finally got us another box. We asked him for help to put them in (metal hook things require some instruction to anchor the mats), after asking several times there was no help. I went looking for someone to help, came back to find my wife sitting in the middle of the service drive figuring the mats out as all these barrier people walked by like she wasn’t there… finally got an admin person who was clearly disturbed at the lack of help and got Mr. Parts guy to come out and help, he tried to say we could come back later, we went no, we want the mats in now. Every step of the way – we the customer were an inconvenience and were wrong. I shared this with Michael Le and he could only apologize, we did have the head of the service come out and help us rub out some scratches on the car we had just bought three weeks earlier, he was service oriented, his people are not.

------------------------------------------beginning of letter
Hi Michael,



We got our permanent plates yesterday, a tall woman, an accent and blonde hair handed them to us, I handed them back and asked if they could please be put on the car, surprised she said yes. I think she was expecting us to put our own plates on and the plate holders we purchased from Barriers?



We went to parts, our third exasperating experience with parts. Last time Jack said there were no chrome plate holders with mother of pearl Mercedes on them, we said yes and kept insisting until he found them. Next he said there was no trunk liner for our car, only a trunk drawer and it did indeed line the trunk, we questioned him twice and he insisted, so we said if it was wrong we’ll get a credit when we pick it up. At home via the internet I found it was indeed wrong, a trunk drawer fits under the parcel shelf… A call to Mark(?) in parts clarified that and he put an order in for the trunk liner.



The person who helped us yesterday had problems finding our order. Apparently our floor mat order of June 16, 2003 (some two weeks ago) was still pending, yet I was led to believe with my last call to parts on the 14th of June that the mats would be there in a few days. After some searching he found the trunk liner but no floor mats. He took a phone call during this process and proceeded to help that person find something that they didn’t order, that delayed our in person visit and even furthered soured our experience with the parts department at Barriers.



Yesterday, still no floor mats. We have been assured they will be in by today. We will be coming in again this Saturday to get the floor mats and hopefully get the car washed, cleaned and the scuff marks, boot marks that were present prior to purchase removed. The rear bumper was recently scratched by someone in a parking lot, can that be remedied?



Michael, it is taking us four trips into Barriers to get our plates, plate holder, trunk liner and floor mats, at most this should have been two trips and ideally handled in one. We are extremely unhappy with the parts department, we are neither demanding nor rude people, yet we are frustrated at every visit.



Please share this with the person who manages the parts department.



We enjoy our car very much and found the sales process to be easy, comfortable and fast – the opposite of the parts department.

-------------------------------------------end of letter

OK, done ranting. From the prior posts we’ll be going to Smart Phil’s for parts and such.