karl k

WOW, that's true down-under service: VERY CIVIL, indeed.

A hand-shake and no paper work!?

These good old trusting relationships don't exist here, - generally speaking, from Melbourne and down-under in South Florida; perhaps it's a national US characteristic way that car deals come to closure.

Unfortunately, it's usually an adversarial relationship in most cases:

Dealer does not trust customer and vice versa, - and lots of paperwork and documentation.

There is even one document required by MBUSA, that takes away the buyer's right to export the car, which seems to be in violation of international trade regs., as it is contrary to FREE TRADE promotion!!

zam2000

Here in Southern California, MB dealers compete really hard to be the lousiest one !!, Most of them suck !!

The worst being Keyes Mercedes in Ventura. When I brought my sl500 there for roof repair last year (after couple hundred thousand times, and till not fixed), they rented me a cheapest car on earth: Chevy cavalier. The SL was washed before return, however, the interial was all dirty. Not just that, a month later, I received a notice from Enteprise & my credit card company, notified me that I would have to pay for the rental, since the dealer refused to pay !!.

House of Imports used to be good, but now lousy too.

Fletchers Jones is quite decent. The facility and service advisors there rock. But as every one else, they're way over booked. Unless you car about to go on fire or explode, they don't give a crap.

Simonson in Santa Monica is quite good. Again, overbooked.

My car is now out of warranty, so I have my car serviced by independent mechanic @ Haus of Mercedes, in Santa Ana, he treats me really "humanly", no fancy lounge, no free coffe, but everything in good shape, clean, decent price & good explaination.

Can't blame it all on the dealer: with the quality of MB lately, most dealers are way way overload with fixing all sort of problem. And no, they're way beyond brake dust level. Everytime I stop by Fletcher Jones for parts, there're a long line of E, C, and ML waiting to be repaired (not maintenance service). And with people still line up to own the tarnished star, hey, who care ???

I also own a Lexus. Treatment and schedule at Lexus dealers is like ROYAL !!!!. It doesn't matter what you drive, or who you are, it's all the same: 10/10. Nowadays, if you own a Benz which have less than 12 cylinders, you would never receive a comparable treatment from Benz dealer.

dtkw

I used to bring the cars to Keyes in Van Nuys, it's there they lost the booklet that contained the owner manual and service book, oh and the little piece of metal id card. Gone...vanished....from the guy's desk.

rrf

Speaking of Park Place Motors in Dallas, did you see them "represented" on 'Cheaters'? Looks like one of the managers is doing the guy's wife, (she apparently works at PP too). Manager, drives a new E500, and is also married. Confrontation was in the Oak Lawn parking lot. Not the best way for a dealership to get press. .... I suppose it is likely that he is working at a different shop now.

RJC

All I can say is Glauser Mercedes along with David Wachs the rep, in Sarasota Fl was the absolute best car buying and customer servicing auto experience I've ever had bar none! and I've bought lots of cars. I got great discounts, they helped me get out of a problem 03 into an 04, could not do enough to make me happy and they always have the hard to get cars. It was well worth the 400 mile round trip drive for me. I would highly recomend them and the sales rep.

MARK CUMMINS

[QUOTE]Originally posted by zam2000
[B]Here in Southern California, MB dealers compete really hard to be the lousiest one !!, Most of them suck !!



House of Imports used to be good, but now lousy too.

Fletchers Jones is quite decent. The facility and service advisors there rock. But as every one else, they're way over booked. Unless you car about to go on fire or explode, they don't give a crap.


Fletcher Jones Runs THREE shifts of techs and They Still Cant Get the cars out ..with a OFF Location Shop! Bigger is NOT Better!

My LAST Visit to Fletcher Jones was a Nightmare...
Car Was In For MINOR repairs... A/C and Other Small Problems
well a Couple of weeks later..My Car was done...
Went to pick it up and Fletcher Jones gave me at NO Charge SEVERAL DOOR DENTS and Smacked the Front Bumper...
Also The Inside Looked Like They left my car outside with the Windows down for the Visit And Then The(FREE) Car wash ..It Looked like they used a Scrub brush to wash my car Even With a SIGN that said Please do NOT wash This car
Well after another Week of The car in the Body shop for the Bumper car damage...FLETCHER JONES TRIED to stick ME with a RENTAL BILL ...The Managers Didnt care...So I Called Channel 2
and THEY DID a Very nice report on it...Thank You again Channel 2 Wonder how many Viewers saw that? Also The Mercedes Surveys are Acts of bribery...For a Nice survey The Dealer will detail your car or some other act of Bribery

Yeah Biz is Great...People are Terrific and Life is Wonderful is The Motto There La la land


I Now Use Mercedes Benz of Laguna Niguel ...
Soooooooooooooooo Much better!

zam2000

I hear nothing but good words from MB of Laguna: nice treatment even if the car is in high-demand (i.e E55, S55). At FleaJoin and HouseOfCrook, they treat you like crap if you try to inquire about one of those "hot cars", unless you wholeheartly agree to pay outrage mark-up (FJ is notoriously known for this, E55 at 100K, S55 at 130K !!!). The waiting time, just to get you car service at those two dealers is as long as the wait on an E55.

Two of my neighbor got their cars from MB of Laguna lately. Both got it for more than $1k from FJ quote. And decent treatment.

I hear that Benz of LongBeach and Caliber Motor (Anaheim, CA), is quite decent too. Haven't tried them though


[QUOTE]Originally posted by MARK CUMMINS
[B]

henryC32

Just got a 2003 C32 on the used market and need recommendations for a good dealer in New Jersey. I hve called Globe for some waranty service and they can not give me an appointment for a month.

Thanks

IluvS500

anybody bought from Knauz in Lake Bluff Illinois?

rtrider

I bought my car from Knauz. I still have mixed feelings about them. Early on in the order process, they repeatedly dismissed my concerns regarding the availabilty of the COMAND system in the car I had on order, and only after my insistence did they acknowledge the fact that there was a problem and that COMAND would not be retrofitable. I'll spare you the further details, but the experience was less than satisfactory for me.
After delivery, I was having a problem with the seat memory, and went (with the service advisor) to ask my salesman how to program it properly. He replied that he "doesn't know anything about that feature" and didn't offer any further help at all. Now, I might be overly critical, but if I were selling these cars, I'd make a point of learning about the available features and options. With all the emphasis the sales people place on the MB customer satisfaction surveys, you'd think they'd do their homework.
Also had a problem with the service department early on; they took almost two weeks to diagnose and repair a problem with my fuel gauge, and have not been able to correct, to my satisfaction, the infamous "pull to the right" problem on my E500. To make matters worse, I needed to call them several times just to get an update on the status of the car, and eventually had to go to the service manager to get things resolved.
Maybe others have had better luck with Knauz - they certainly seem to be successful. I'm hoping my future experiences with the dealership will be more positive.
Hope this helps.

IluvS500

Knauz is definently a very succesful dealership. I think about 75% of the Mercedes and Bimmers I see here in the North Suburbs are from them. The owner of Knauz is a great guy, he helps with anything I need. Enjoy your E

face118

Hi :

Anyone have good recommendation of good MB service advisor in NJ? I live in central NJ and my car need B service soon (in a month) and want to get it done right. I call up German car shop and they quote me $500 up. Is it true? I heard people said around $250 at west coast.

Help!!

Thanks

karl k

MBUSA is heaquartered in New Jersey.

I would call 1-800-FORMERC and see what response you get from them, and please let us know..??

face118

I called them up, they only can give you the dealership phone #, no recommendation or rating.

cobac

I wouldn't bother with Ray Catena or Benzel Busch.... Have you tried Mercedes of Morristown?

Cummings in Elizabeth I believe merged with them, cummings used to be nice, and I've heard MB of Morristown to be OK from other friends who have been there to service their MBs....

face118

I am going to try MB morristown.. thanks

M3DRVR

I would HIGHLY recommend any Southern California MBZ owners to go to Caliber Motors in Anaheim Hills. Their service department is top notch and they have tons of free loaners.

Either Robert Rodgers or Robert Deiro will be able to help you with any service concerns. Give em' a shot--I'm sure glad I did!

BTW, House of Imports truly sucks.

Incendiary

Hmm, no comments on any dealerships in the NoVA/DC/Baltimore areas? I know there are a fair number of people in the area on this board...

steve1173

Mercedes Benz of Sarasota is definitely the place to avoid. When this dealer was under the ownership of Glauser they were the best now under Autonation avoid this place. Customers come last they only care about themselves. I had a dangerous transmission problem there was a TSB for they refused to fix as they could not duplicate it even though the TSB stated "if the customer reports". Had the factory rep (who is buddy buddy with the service manager) take a ride & we noticed other problems the tech said he fixed. The dealers reply make another appointment even the the tech lied, he is the one who also claimed he could not duplicate the transmission problem. When autonation took over a lot of takes who went the best for the customer are no longer there. Avoid Mercedes Benz of Sarasota. The new General Manager spoke with me on Wednesday & promised to call me back on Friday, that was over 2 weeks ago Avoid this place.

MercPlease

Some people I know dislike Newport Beach Fletcher Jones but every time I go there they have WONDERFUL service! I love them!

JRAMGV8

Every dealers have their ups and downs .

steve1173

But it seems that since Mercedes Benz of Sarasota came under the banner of Autonation they just have their downs! Consider this I spoke with the new General manager over 2 weeks ago on a Wednesday who promised to call me on Friday. That call never came. So if the new general manager is a liar & I know what the rest of them are what does that say for the dealership. It screams avoid this place at all costs!

Yacht Master

All dealerships suck, always have always will.
The only way to rate a dealer is by the parts inventory.

steve1173

Well when they were Glauser most of the time they had parts in stock but under the Sarasota name most had to be ordered. Most of the good techs were let go after the changeover. Guess they just wanted the ones that would play there game of just putting money into Autonations hands. When I was looking to trade mine in the saleperson came up with a # that I thought I could do better, he had the sales manager call me to say he wants to make me happy & came up with another # which was $500 more then the original offer. Mercedes Benz of Sarasota gives the old saying of that they give used car salesmen a good name. They are rotten from the top down. Saying they suck is giving them a compliment because there are a lot worse names that apply to them, thieves, liars, crooks, etc.

4.5_sport

Phil Smart Mercedes Benz in Seattle gets my vote for "best dealership".

I have seen this place from both sides, as an employee and now a customer. I worked in the parts department for a couple years in the mid 90's. What a great place to work. Phil Sr, and now Phil Jr know every employee on a personal level. Shoot, the owner and his wife, their son and half the dealership came to my wedding.....

They sponsor the Pacific Northwest Historic auto races that benifiet out local children's hospital. donate time to the same hospital and give back to the community in many ways.

Their service department is top notch, with advisors and technicians that really care about what they are doing and they are very proud of the image in the community.

Thumbs up from me.

Sounds kinda like a commercial......oh well, just very impressed.