ardenne90

I will not purchase a car from a premium dealership unless they offer complimentary loaners. So while I appreciate the gesture, I expect nothing less from a premium dealership. Brand loyalty is very important to premium brands because of much lower sales volume when compared to non-premium offerings. It is just good business sense, especially in a market where consumers have many options.

ardenne90

I will not purchase a car from a premium dealership unless they offer complimentary loaners. So while I appreciate the goodwill gesture, I expect nothing less from a premium dealership. Brand loyalty is very important to premium brands because of much lower sales volume when compared to non-premium offerings. It is just good business sense, especially in a market where consumers have many options. You obviously did not see or chose to ignore the emoticon at the end of my post. Basically, it means that although I did not like driving around in a C300 for a few days, I was not going to be a jerk and complain about it. From what I have heard, our friends up north don't get as many perks as we do here in the US. So I guess your comments are informed by low expectations.

ua549

I should amend my comment to clarify loaners from dealers where you did NOT purchase the car. 50% of my service visits are outside of my dealer's coverage area, i.e., out of state.

ardenne90

That premise does not hold true. I guess you are just speaking about your market, but mine is very different. I have taken my car to other dealerships for warranty work and got a loaner. The important thing is to check with the service department before scheduling your appointment. I have about 12 dealers within a 50-mile radius. That said, I have to admit that the dealer I bought the car from tends to provide a lot more perks. There are some dealers who even provide shuttle service to and from the airport as well as detail your car while you are away, but you have to buy the car from them to get that extra perk.

Streamliner

Grateful? One way or another, I PAY for the loaners. Any MB dealer in a large metro or even suburban area that doesn't offer "free" loaners, won't be getting much service business. Actually, I feel that MB should work this into their prepaid maintenance plans: PP Maintenance on a C Class, you get a C Class loaner. On an E Class, an E Class loaner, an S Class, an S Class loaner, etc., and charge accordingly.

petee1997

Not true. Most of us are humble and polite people that appreciate good service. I have always been given a loaner car but have never complained because it was a "lowly" C class. I've had excellent service from my dealer for many years and have always acknowledged their courtesy.

Finally, if you are not a jerk, why are you now complaining about the loaner.

By the way, my two incoming MB's are number 23 and 24. I think I know what service is all about. Keep in mind that the E class is the taxi of Europe and owning one is not really a great achievement.

ua549

I'm not talking about service in your local metro area. I'm referring to unscheduled service at an out of state dealer that is required to get the car operating and back on the road again. My experience has been that no loaner is available. I end up either hanging out at the dealer for several hours or they give me a ride to a local establishment where I can wait until the next day.

ardenne90

So much for the "humble" talk. I don't know which Petee1997 to believe. And just so you know, me saying that I did not like the cramped C300 is not the same as me complaining to or being impolite with the dealer. How on heaven's earth did you manage to draw that conclusion from my statement? If you don't like the fact I shared my thoughts in this forum about the cramped C300, just say so and don't misrepresent what I said under the pretense of being humble. Not very polite, SIR!

ardenne90

cetialpha5

Oh let's not bicker.


Anyway, I was happy once to get a C class loaner, didn't have navigation but it was still a 40k car, at least according to the sales tax paid on the registration.

Streamliner

And, not to hijack this thread, if it were me and I was in the market for a $40K vehicle, it sure as hell would not be a C Class. I would much prefer a beautiful new Honda Accord and probably still have thousands left over.

MichaelRDavis

It maybe the taxi of Europe but here in Australia I paid $115K AUD for my E Class 200 AMG Line ($90K USD) so it is a big deal to drive one around thank you very much.

ardenne90

Anyone who can afford to drop 60K+ on a car must have made more than a few good decisions in life, unless they were born with a silver-spoon in their mouths. So unlike our virtuous friend who humbly proclaimed that we are just driving taxis and therefore can't be seen as successful, we feel accomplished with being "taxi" owners. And although most of us may not have owned 20+ MBs, we still feel compelled to provide critical feedback about our ownership experience. Maybe one day we will be able to bask in the glory of humility by bragging about the number of MBs we have owned and how it makes us uniquely qualified to talk about customer service.

grange3

The guys in the U.S. just do not know how lucky they are having good cars at a really good price as here in Australia the same cars are almost twice the cost that you can get in the U.S. and in Singapore the same car will be twice the cost as we get here in Australia so just be happy that you are getting a new Benz at a good price.

Proeliator2001

Cars in for warranty work. Just told both fronts, with 5mm tread left, are showing the cords out the sidewall! Car was last seen by Merc 4 months ago and no issues flagged. Can't believe I've somehow managed to destroy both tyres in the same way since early April. Utter bs and extremely unhappy with their excuses so far. Going to dealer to see what's what shortly.

ua549

It isn't just Mercedes. On my BMW I've gone through 6 non-RFT's over the past year due to excessive wear. None had more than 5,000 miles. They were Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3 all season tires that were made in the US. After the initial replacements that were covered by warranty, Michelin does not warrant the replacements. Needless to say, I will no longer buy Michelin tires that are made in the US. I never had an issue with German made Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires.

cetialpha5

May just be the RWD setup. I had those same Michelin A/S 3's on my 4matic. Rotated them a few times and also got alignments, they lasted about 30k til the inner edges on the front wore down which seems to be a common problem, evidently when the standard setup is for the car to go 100+, at regular speeds the inner edges always wear out first.

Proeliator2001

Well, dealer is giving me the usual fantasy story about several things which I won't bore you with suffice to say they have office staff pretending to know what they are talking about whilst having almost no clue. Why can't people just be honest about their limitations?

Anyway, much like post above, both inside shoulders of front tyres - Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 - have worn though to carcass. Lucky neither burst at high speed. The central block of tread has 5mm at least right across the legally required section (UK law is central 75 percent of tyre must be above 1.6mm). I think new tyres have some 8mm tread so they haven't worn much. But the inside shoulders have worn away to quite literally nothing.

You can't see this damage or wear from the roadside unless you stick your head under the car and look at tyres from centre line of vehicle. This means it's pretty much a hidden failure and one which an otherwise careful walk round inspection would miss.

What I don't understand is that the car had its first service 4 months and 6000 miles ago and no problems were flagged. Though I was told today they wouldn't tell me it was wearing right down on the shoulder until, like now, it got to the point of showing carcass. This seems unreal to me. They are happy to let accelerated wear continue on a part of the tyre which your can't see but not tell the owner. With the risk of blow out well before next service/inspection. Seems like a dereliction of duty to me

I got some utter rubbish about driving whilst flat can cause it which she later changed to driving with low pressure. It's fitted with pressure sensors, has never been run low. She said oh they only trigger with sudden pressure changes; no I said, this system displays actual pressure (not relying on abs/wheel rotation speed like the simple warning systems). She then said it's likely tracking is out and also said it's common on heavier vehicles. It must be massively out to destroy inner edges but leave 30,000 miles of wear on the main bloody tyre. And if it's common, any spec that wheel/camber/toe angle then?

So, question, based on the condition of the tyres in the pictures (sorry for quality, they are best screen grabs from the dealers condition video) what do you think has gone wrong and would/should they have seen this 6000 miles ago. Car is on 21500 miles now so it was seen with two thirds current mileage.

ua549

My issues were discovered by the dealer during routine service visits or at the 5,000 mile rotation interval. No matter how the car is set up 3,000 to 5,000 miles to wear out a tire is ridiculous. The car is a town car. It hasn't been on a highway since the tires were new.

Long Islander

I'm thinking of an E400 or a BMW 540i, and there's a $150 spare tire/jack option on the 540i. It looks like there's enough room under the trunk floor of the E class, but if I do what you did, then how do I keep the compact spare from rattling around? What did you do on your S550?

Streamliner

Mine is just sitting in there, on top of the trunk floor. It doesn't move around at all, not even the slightest bit. MB actually makes a Hold Down kit for the spare, if you can believe it, but I see no need for it. The most irritating thing is that I know MB could have provided room for a spare under the trunk floor, but they are trying to ween us off having one, so they have made it ridiculously difficult for those who insist on having a spare.

ua549

The spare tire option for the 540i raises the trunk floor by about 6" via a special cover for the spare that sits on the real floor. Only smaller suitcases can sit with the handles up.

Long Islander

While that is true about raising the trunk floor, the 540i without the spare is 19 cu. ft. If the space you lose is 0.5' x 2.5' wide x 3' long, what you lose is 3.75 cu ft. That still leaves you with 15.25 cu ft of trunk vs. the E-class 13 cu ft with no spare. Still a lot of space even with the spare, and at least you have the choice of spare with non-RFTs or no spare with RFTs.

Long Islander

That's useful information.

ua549

Actually the space is reduced by more than you estimate. The trunk floor cover raised the entire trunk floor front to back and side to side. I considered a 540i and took one of my suitcases to the showroom. The only way it fit in the trunk was to lie it flat thus reducing suitcase capacity from 4 to 2. Totally unacceptable.