Kyyy37

Hello all, I'm new to this forum. Wife and I purchased a used E-550 **pics coming soon** just 2 wks ago. Our recent trip to NY, I had the misfortune of hitting a couple of big pot holes. My tire air sensor malfunctioned. I kept loosing PSI on the rear tire of the driver's side. I took it to MB dealership in Atlantic City, NJ for service. They told me that since I didn't buy the car from them, they will not provide me with a loaner. My wife waited 3 1/2 hrs at the dealership. I'm really pissed about this. We've owned Infinity, Lexus and BMW before and never had this problem. I even called MB customer service and they told me that each dealership have their own policy, MB does not obligate them to have to provide. Any suggestions on what my next step should be? We paid premium prices on these vehicles and shouldn't be treated like this. It's UNACCEPTABLE !

ImInPA

So, let me get this strraight. While on a trip to NY, you hit potholes and damaged rims/tires/both. I can understand you being angry with with the dealership that snubbed you. What I would really like to know is how you got your wife to wait at the dealership 3.5 hours for you. She is a keeper!!!

petee1997

Was this for warranty service or repairs outside warranty? If it's just an ordinary repair it's not that unusual for the dealer not to supply a loaner car especially if the car was not sold by them. Usually they will offer you the shuttle home or office.
If the dealer takes in 50 to 75 cars a day in his service he can't be expected to have 50 loaner cars. The cost would be exorbitant.

park423

Same thing happened to me and I took my car to the dealership that I bought my car from and I have an E550 as well.

As mentioned above, loaner cars are for warranty or required interval service only, they do not give free loaners for out of warranty issues, like flat tires or body damage. Did you have the wheel and tire warranty? Then you may have gotten your loaner.

threeMBs

Yes. Sell MB for a Lexus/Infiniti/BMW. It'll teach them how to treat you right the next time you buy a car from a competing dealer and request a loaner for a non-service or non-warranty issue.

On a serious note, you've got to be kidding right? You should be thankfull that they took care of you on the same day. All dealers are usually fully booked. Have you noticed the number of MB cars, especially in the NY/NJ/Con tri-state area? Do you realy think they can possibly have enough loaners for everyone? As was mentioned before, loaner are for warranty and "scheduled" service only, and only if loaners are available. And you better buy your car there.

220S

Hmmm. I never thought about buying a car based on whether I'd be treated like a king or not. I didn't really expect much more then the fun of driving it. Silly me that I didn't bother to check the brand of espresso machine at my dealership.

But this is giving me some ideas. Maybe if I walk down the street wearing a T-shirt printed with my bank balance on it and with pictures of all the expensive cars I've ever owned, people will stop and bow down to me. Now that would be way too cool.

golfster

The type of mentality expressed by the OP never ceases to amaze me.

mbuster25

It has been my experience in the MD/DC/VA area that Lexus service dept is more convenient and accomodating than Mercedes dealers. Whereas our Lexus dealer has no problem taking me same day, Mercedes dealer doesn't want that. I own both Lexus and Mercedes makes, and it has always been easier to get in touch, schedule, bring in car for Lexus. The Lexus dealer is also open from 5:30am-11pm.

But make no mistake about it. You are paying for the service!!

Tjdehya

I agree with this statement 100%, especially the part I highlighted. First of all even if you bought the car from that dealership you are lucky if they take care of you without a prior appointment and you are EXTREMELY lucky if they have a loaner available.

I have never owned any other luxury car but MB, but I guess the OP implies that Lexus and other luxury brands are much more accommodating. That sounds great!!! Now I just wish one of them would make a car that I would actually buy.

K-A

The amount of issue's popping up with E Sports having pot hole damage is insane.

petee1997

We are not a very sympathetic group to a guy on his first post.
Something even more fascinating is that none of us are very demanding and are reasonable in our expectations. Very surprising!

vinrun

Viti Mercedes in the smallest state of Rhode Island has 50 or so loaner cars available. They also have 35 drivers available for pick-up service.

djamer

Sad but true, level of customer service at Benz has dropped big time. Few months ago, my sister, her husband and kids, were visiting from texas. They drove from TX to VA in their lexus SUV. When they here, they noticed the SUV's oil level was showing low.

We called the local Lexus dealership here in northern va on a Sat morning. Got an appointment at 8am. Got repairs done under warranty by 10:00am relaxed in their lounge, complimentary breakfast snacks, coffee. They offered a complimentary GS to drive, but since it was a short repair time, we waited it out in the lounge and watched TV.

I found this pretty remarkable. The customer service at lexus service centers was seamless in that whether you buy a car from one dealer or another, they really went beyond the norm to take care of their customers without the customer worrying about situation..

I would hope MB USA is taking cues..

golfster

How much sympathy is needed?

*He purchased a used car.
*He hit a pot hole and has a tire/wheel issue.
*He goes to an MB dealer.
*They fix the car, but there was a wait of 3 hours.

It doesn't sound like a warranty claim. It doesn't sound like the dealer refused service, just refused a loaner car.

It doesn't seem like getting "pi55ed" at the dealer is justified nor does it seem like sympathy for dealer blame is worthy either. The OP says its UNACCPETABLE and wants to know the next steps. For me, I'd say thanks for fixing my car.

K-A

Yeah, you can't expect a Dealer to just shove you right through everyone else who got their car in before you.

asm777

+1 Agreed!

As consumers of a luxury product (Mercedes Benz), I would think that owners would have higher standards and expectations of the dealership experience... maybe Mercedes Benz dealerships have done a very good job of "taming" their customers and making them believe that they are "privileged" to even get to drive these cars and that they should consider themselves lucky if they can receive service the same day?

I actually had a similar situation as the OP where I had to take our car in for a tire puncture (and some other warranty work). Since I couldn't get a ride, no shuttles anymore, and the SA (my SA was on vacation) wouldn't give me a loaner, I waited over 3 hours... only to be told that it was going to take longer and begrudgingly given a Chevy Cobalt that had power nothing.

The dealership actually ended up taking over a week to diagnose and repair the issues. Thank goodness we have other vehicles at home to drive!

Do the folks here chiming in not have anything better to do than sit around at the dealership for hours on end while their cars are in for service? I would think that for many MB owners, their time is quite valuable and definitely worth more than $1-2 an hour (the cost to MB for a 24 hour rental)...

We've been a Mercedes family for quite a while now and I'm still appalled at the service provided by our local MB dealership. And it has gotten worse and worse. In the past, we would get a loaner vehicle or, at the very least, a shuttle ride home (or to work, etc.) AND back to the dealership. Nowadays, I consider myself lucky if they'll let me have an ultra-low-budget loaner while my car is in for service. Otherwise, I need to arrange my own ride.

Maybe that's why we've gotten two Audi's lately (our local Audi dealership provides an Audi loaner NO MATTER the reason why our car is in for service). Also, one of the reasons we're not a BMW family is because of a terrible experience at a BMW dealership where the sales person treated us like garbage and that we owed him something for giving us the privilege and opportunity to drive a BMW...

Anyway, to the OP: unfortunately, Mercedes Benz dealerships are hit-or-miss depending on where you live. This is probably true for other dealerships for Audi, BMW, etc. (though I hear Lexus has a pretty consistent high service quality across dealerships). Some dealerships provide you with loaner cars that are equal or better than what you drop off (so if you have a $120K+ MB, your loaner will be that or better instead of a $10K Chevy Cobalt) while others offer absolutely nothing at all.

It's unfortunate that you had that experience while on the road but there's not much recourse. Hopefully, you have a MB dealership nearby that has a better policy that you can go to for regular service/issues. That's what we've started to do and drive an extra 15+ miles each way to get to a MB dealership that is better managed than our closest MB dealership.

Tjdehya

I have never had to pull into a dealership on short notice. Every time I have been I have made an appointment so I have always been offered a loaner. I hope they at least offered a shuttle to the OP. If they didn’t offer a ride to the OP, then that it is definitely unacceptable.

park423

You're missing the point. When we take in our cars for mechanical issues during the warranty period or for scheduled services, we do get Mercedes loaner cars, at least I do with no problem, BUT when it is a road hazard issue like a flat tire, we do not get a free loaner car. I'm sure the OP's dealer would have given them a shuttle ride within their local area. If you took your car in for some warranty work along with a tire puncture and didn't get a free loaner, then you got screwed and your dealer sucks.

When I popped 2 tires from a pothole, my SA at my dealer took care of half the cost for me as a courtesy, but no free loaner.

K-A

Yeah, exactly. For service, or Warranty, etc. I demand and expect a Loaner for my Mercedes. For something like outside damage, I'd be very appreciative of a Loaner, but not demanding. However, if you give them your car, at the very least, you should ALWAYS be offered a Shuttle ride. My Dealer offers a drop off and pickup.

No doubt, part of the money we spend on these cars is on a Luxurious ownership experience. This includes nice, accommodating, fancy and clean Dealerships, and Loaners and/or pick-up & drop-off Shuttles.

When I need a grounding experience, I go to my nearest Chevy Dealership to take my Malibu in for service.

On the other hand, many owners don't care about the luxurious accommodations, and go to Indie Mechanics (the antithesis of luxurious servicing/maintenance/repairing). I guess any of us who might own our Benzes out of Warranty and who do go to Dealers for work, would make the jump when it falls on our own dime.

park423

Haha, that's right, Nissan dealer for me.

kindafast

That sucks! Its all about the dealership, just find a different one and write a negative review for the one that mistreated you. Back when I had my C32 I took it to an out in the country dealership and even though I didn't buy it from them or have warranty on the car they still gave me an E Class as a loaner. But then again I spent three times more fixing the car than what I sold it for...

golfster

Per the OP's post, he didn't buy the used car from that particular dealer and it was not a warranty claim. Why are they obligated to him?

My Porsche dealer offers loaners, but limited to customers who purchase from them and subject to the availability of loaner cars for that day. They have great service and I've purchased three cars from them as a result. If I blew a tire or had some other service work performed, they would offer a loaner because I purchased the car(s) from them. I would not expect, just because I purchased a premium brand, I was thereby annointed with the right to have a loaner at every other dealership. But then, I don't subscribe to the "entitled rights" way of thinking. My MB dealer offers loaners to customers who purchased from them. I haven't used their service yet to judge and we'll see when that time comes. One of my employees purchased a Lexus LS 460 L from a beautiful Lexus dealership nearby. Nice amenities such as manicure service, nice relaxation room, marble everywhere. Yet, when he had recall work that needed to be completed, he had to schedule the work for a day and time when loaners were available.

Each dealer has their own policies as they are independently owned resellers. We may purchase a car from a given dealer but we are free to shop around for other dealers to obtain service for the car post purchase.

K-A

I think the rule of only providing Loaners to those who bought from you is stupid, and should be considered a point against any Dealer. These guys make more money off of servicing, repairs, etc. They should embrace, and promote for people to get their cars serviced by them, by giving them such care and incentives. Also, more buyers will be inclined to buy from them.

Kyyy37

Thank you all for all the replies. I'm not trying to come off as a spoil brat or anything. It was not a last minute thing, I call the dealership first and they were able to fit me as part of an appointment not just a walk-in. The tire was fine, it was the air sensor assembly that needed to be serviced and it was part of the warranty. I know they serviced several MB a day, but I strongly believe that if you have an appt with them they should supply you a loaner regardless if you bought the vehicle or not. The overall experience was horrible and it shouldn't be like that. We all paid premium prices for our vehicle and should expect 1st class service. I am a bit surprise at some of the responses, I don't expected to be treated like a king. But after yesterday, they made me feel like I own a Ford instead of a Mercedes.

K-A

I think that maybe your post wasn't totally self explanatory, so people assumed different scenarios. Also, a lot of times people jump into Message Boards with their first posts, and harp about inane things, sounding like spoiled brats, so Members were probably assuming that as well.

If they said that they'd fit you in, and didn't do it when they said they would, that's an obvious ding. Also, providing a Loaner is something that you SHOULD get with the Luxury Car treatment, but it's technically up to the Dealers. Personally, I'd hope that a Dealer would want to earn my business enough by going the extra mile, and giving me a Loaner, or at least a Shuttle.