jtc3

Had a flat tire the other day and had to drive about 1/2 mile before pulling over. Needless to say the sidewall was shot so I needed a new tire. I was going to change to the spare myself but couldn't get the lugs off in the cold weather with the wrench. Called teleaid, they had someone there in 10 minutes and after changing the tire the guy asked if I bought the car at the dealer he came from. I told him no it was the one a few towns over. Guy then says, "Had you bought it at our dealership I'd take the wheel with me and have a new tire for you in 30 minutes, since you bought it at the other place you are on your own. Good luck finding the tire." I reminded him that my car says Mercedes on it and so does the sign at his dealer but he said if he helped me he would get in trouble. I told him had his salesman not been an arrogant %^&* I would have bought he car there. I was going to complain to MB but wanted to solicit some opinions first. I wasn't looking for a handout and I'm sure MB would have charged me more than I paid for the tire but it took 3 days to order it at a retailer versus 30 minutes.

bmms8

thats good that he was there in 10 minz, but thats horrible that he said that to you. i would complain to the dealer from which he came from, GL

nyca

did you buy the car at Rallye?

yes, it does sound bad. but on the flip side, there has to be some "bennie" that individual dealers are free to offer over and above the basic service, to attract customers. and I guess an instant replacement tire is something they have flexibility on.

Nanky

Replacing a tire does not sound like a MB offering to all. I agree with nyca it sounds more like a dealer offering. I know of quite a few dealers who offer different incentives, such as the instant tire replacement, if the car was bought from them. Sorry about your experience.

weinschela

I live a couple of miles from Rallye. They are not the most customer-friendly place. I would think that in the case of the tire, they could have gained a customer by demonstrating a high level of service. They missed that opportunity. I deal with a delaer that is 85 miles away and for the last 17 years has given me only the best service -- enough so that I will pay more for my cars from them. But of the serviceman had simply changed the tire and not mentioned that had the car been bought from them they would have done more, this thread wouldn't even have started as the roadside service was what was expected. Disappointment is a function of expectation.

jtc3

Didn't buy the car at Rallye but recently moved closer to Rallye, that's where roadside came from. When shopping had a less than good experience with the Rallye salesman, immediately went to Lakeview and got better sales attention and ultimately better deal. I agree that satisfaction is certainly tied to expectations, and had he not said anything it would have been fine. I did call Lakeview and they didn't ahve the tire in stock, said it would be a week. Got it at a tire place in three days.

Thanks all for the input.

Dr Chill

I had a blowout on the way to work after 1000 miles and since my car has no spare, I hooked up the fix-o-flat canister and that didn't work. I used Teleaid to ask for help and they called the local roadside assistance. The roadside assistant from the dealer I bought the car called me and said he was 45 minutes away and suggested he call a towtruck to bring my car to the dealer. I agreed and my wife picked me up and brought me to my office. Enterprise then delivered a rental vehicle. When I called the dealer later that afternoon they said that the tire had to be ordered and would not be in until the following day. I asked if the body shop could reattach the spoiler that they installed and was lifting up on the side. They said it would be no problem.

At 4:30 the next day (Friday), I returned to the dealership to find the car with new tire installed but the spoiler not fixed. I was mildly upset, then I got the bill-$457. The charged me roughly $350 for the tire and another $105 for the towing. I was livid. Why in the hell would I bypass 10 tire dealers who would have charged me $250 for the tire and had it fixed in less than 6 hours to tow the car 10 miles to the dealer to then rip me off. Had they warned me that roadside hazards are not covered by warranty and that I was responsible for towing charges, I certainly wouldn't have opted for thew tow. After I refused to pay the bill I was refered to the service mgr and then the owner who said that they would drop the price of the tire to their cost but still I had to pay towing, and if I didn't, they'd not release the car. Some thanks to someone who 1 month earlier purchased an $80,000 vehicle and two others over the past 4 years not to mention the numerous friends and relatives I've steered their way.

The sales mgr who is a friend saw me bordering on being in a rage stepped in to arrange a compromise and I ultimately paid $350 total. A week later I got a letter in the mail that the part I ordered had arrived. I called my service rep to inquire and based on the part # in the letter he stated that the part was a replacement fancy German fix-o-flat cannister. I went back to the dealer a month later to pick up the part only to find they wouldn't release it to me unless I paid for it. My service rep said I needed it or how would I handle another flat? I told him I didn't want that piece of crap since I now carry a spare 18" rim and tire with me at all times (albeit taking up 75% of my trunk space). In case you were wondering, cost of cannister-$53, a far cry from $4.99 for a can of fix-o-flat.

I hope someone can learn from my misadventure. These dealers are *******g as*holes.

woodie

Dr Chill...

Damn, they charged to tow the car back to the dealership. What a bunch of greedy ba$t@rds.

S55inPA

hey guys,

i have a question....when the MB you purchase doesn't have a spare....what is MB's responsibility in fixing or replacing a blown out tire as per the tele aid agreement?

Dr Chill

Their responsibilty is to gouge you for a new tire after charging you to tow it to their shop. Road hazzards are not covered, period. Roadside assistence will come and try to inflate your flat tire with $53 fix-o-flat though.

nyca

your tire waranty is always a separate item, isn't there a tire warranty specification in your owners manual material? that's usually the way it works, but road hazards are not covered.

awiner

I had a blowout earlier this year at 6000 miles on my left rear Bridgestone RE050. The blowout was caused by debris in the road and therefore a road hazard. I went to my local tire dealer who sold me a new Bridgestone RE050 for 50% off. Bridgestone, upon contacting them, agreed to discount the tire 50% since the tire met their criteria for the discount. The criteria was based on the mileage and tire wear to warrant this.

RedSLKChic

I can't believe he said that to you, someone needs to retake his customer service classes I've used Roadside Assistance a couple times and everytime someone from Sunrise Motors in Massapequa was there within 20 minutes. I refuse to deal with Rallye, horrible snobs. I just paid $180 for a tire I ruined the same way you did. I also bought my car at Lakeview and it was a wonderful experience, but had a HORRIBLE experience with thier service department so I stick to Sunrise

c32-driver

I just called to make a service appointment with Sunrise for the B service on Friday. Waited a while to make the appointment but was treated very courteously. They actually offered me a loaner even though I didn't buy the car from them. We'll see how the actual service goes.

RedSLKChic

Yeah I didn't buy my car their either but they always give me a loaner (C240 or ML350), no questions asked. But they always wash the car inside and out, so if you don't want them to, make sure you tell them.

c32-driver

Thanks. I'm kinda **** about my cars. I won't let anyone wash them. I wash/wax my own cars. I was waxing my car on Thanksgiving Day from 10am. My neighbors think I'm a little

RedSLKChic

Don't worry we're all a little , I've been known to wash my car in the rain, haha.

porsche031907

mb roadside assistance is horrible. called them on a 1 year old car.after several calls to them ( we got hanged up, put on hold for more then 30 minutes,rude people etc) they always told me the tow truck will come. after 4 hours they said the tow truck won t come today anymore. mercedes corporate has not reacted to my complaints which is another reason they are loosing me as a customer.