This may be off-topic, but for those in NY/NJ area, steer clear of Ray Catena Mercedes, especially their service department.

I brought my car in for service, and among the nice things they did:
1) Pushed me to wait several weeks for service because I wasn't one of their "customers", yet the SL500 gets same day red-carpet treatment, no appointment necessary,
2) Refused to fix, after 2 separate times, something that I've told them about but they "can not duplicate the problem" and "that is the normal function",
3) Said they'd give me a rental car, when I get my Amex bill Enterprise Rent-a-car charged my card. Amex contacted Enterprise and Enterprise's response was, "Ray Catena didn't pay the bill so you are ultimately responsible for the rental",
4) Tried to get me to pay $2.000 for new wheels in the front, even though they are perfectly fine.

Unless 1) You buy a MINIMUM $100,000 car from them, they're service will be sub-par,
2) Be ready to pay top-dollar for your car and service they say is "out of warranty" even though it really is.

Figuring I'm 26 years old, I'm in the market for a good, honest MB dealer to deal with for years to come. Another dissatisfied customer taking their business from Ray Catena.

 

Have you ever dealt with Prestige Mercedes in Paramus? I'm planning on buying my next car from them and was hoping that it'd be a pleasant experience.

 

Nope but anything other than Ray Catena I'll consider.

 

safet, you still coming to the meet?

 

Bought my ccoupe from Ted Forhecz there. He was a great guy to deal with. Had to go there four times until I found a non-sleazy guy; I'd recommend him.

Service dept. is ok; very mod-unfriendly, though.

 

That is unfortunate. Where to MB dealers come off with the attitude? Doesn't make sense to me.

I am 27, and when I went to place my deposit/order for the SL55 at Mercedes Benz of Palm Beach, my dealer acted in a very "suspicous" manner, and I personally didn't feel as though he took me 100% seriously.

I was wearing shorts, a Lacoste, and flip-flops, as it was the weekend.

Now then, had I strolled in there with my suit on, I am sure the attitude have been different.

What are you to do?

 

Safet:

I used to use Millennium in Bridgewater, where I bought my E430 4matic in 2000. I have a bit of an appearance handicap as well: me = 25, blonde, female. But, when buying, I went to the dealership with dad who = 58, gray hair, briefcase full of cash. Anyway, I hated the service department there, mostly because I felt the advisors knew nothing about the cars themselves. They had M-class and c-class loaners. They used to have 4 weeks wait for a service appt.!

I now go to Morristown. My service advisor is Alex Marshall, who is a totally hard core gear head, and tells me crazy stories of how he drove a modded E55 on a test track and stuff like that. He knows his stuff, imo. Bad news about Morristown: toyota corolla loaners from enterprise.

Now, in terms of loaner cars, I will say that MB of Buffalo in Williamsville, NY takes the cake. I went there for an oil change in July, and although the service advisor was a meathead, they gave me a 2002 E320 4matic to drive around for the day.

 

Your stories sound a lot like mine. On the weekends I'm usually in a pair of shorts and a GAP white t either stumbling out of bed or coming from the gym. One Saturday morning I went to Ray Catena to look around and was given the "hmmmf" look. Yet when I went there one day after work in my suit, I had two salesguys stumbling over themselves.

BenzE, so you think Morristown is the way to go? I need a place not too far from Staten Island. Anyone can sell you a car but it's the after-the-sale stuff that will keep you coming back.

Safet

 

I'm dealing with Doug Tucker. He seems like a really nice guy, but all I've done so far is put down a deposit for the W211 E55 with him.

Anyone have any praise for any Mercedes dealerships in the greater New York Metropolitan area? How's Manhattan Mercedes?

 

Me = Asian 28 year old. I've never had a problem buying, test driving, dealing with Mercedes salespeople. Or Lexus for that matter. Always been courteous, and treated very fairly by just about all the dealerships I've been to. Service advisors are another matter ... but not the salespeople.

Funny thing is, when I went to buy a Honda for my brother, we shopped around a bit, going to a number of Honda dealers, Nissan dealers, Toyota dealers, etc., and I found that they tended to ignore me when I walked in, I'm figuring because of my age or my flip-flops or whatever. You'd think the situation would be just the opposite, but oh well!

 

Manhattan Mercedes would be great for me because I could just drop the car off before work and then go straight to work (being that it's in the city.)

Has anyone had any experiences with them?

 

Try MB of Nanuet. About 30 min north of NYC. I have bought 2 MB from them and have had my MB serviced there from day 1. Very curteous salespeople, better than fair prices and also decent service dept. They give C class and ML loaners. Usually can get an appointment in 1 week or less. If anyone needs a name of a salesperson, email me and I'll give you the name of mine.


Dave

 

Haha! Before the Freehold dealer started offering C-240s and ML's, I had the pleasure of driving a dented Chevy Astrovan for a few days. An uglier pig I have not known!
...and $45 to fill the pig's tank, no less!

 

I bought my current 430 at MB Manhattan, and have ordered the latest CLK AMG through them as well. Generally, I found the sales people to be professional and accomodating, without resorting to high-pressure sales tactics. The highest pressure sales pitch I got was "you better get your order in soon, or else you'll need to wait 6+ months for your car". This would have bothered me if it wasn't true. Things get a bit more harried if you are shopping used (excuse me, "pre-owned), as there is much more pressure to get things off the inventory. NOTE - I've never actually purchased a used car from these folks so I can't speak to their bargaining tactics.

They have a sales office on Park Avenue and on the West Side (39th ish). The Park Avenue location is small, with the real inventory on the West Side. They will even pick up/drop of your car for service for a $20 fee each way. This may only apply to manhattan dwellers, but it'll be a huge time saver for me. Keep in mind - I have no experience with their service department as my car is just now about a year old. Will update you folks after my car's check up later this month.

Another positive is that MB Manhattan charges MSRP when you place an order for a new car with them. And the line for orders is first come first serve - not "to the highest bidder". If they want to cut a deal, sometimes they will give free stuff.

The only real downside is that these guys aren't real gear heads (like some of the Porsche-Ferarri dealers I visit). If you're looking for the inside scoop on the HP of next year's model, or want to talk about the intricacies of your car's dyno chart, you may be out of luck - or perhaps its just my specific salesperson. But this wasn't a huge deal for me.

Hope this helps..