MBZFAN55

I asked Nevada Jack in a recent post about buying his car at Glauser in Colorado and getting the car serviced at FJ in Las Vegas. Jack said he has a good relationship with his SA at Fletcher, so service for him is not an issue. I am also guessing that now, with maintenance no longer being included "no charge", that more dealers would probably be inclined to service vehicles, regardless of where they were purchased. Maybe, maybe not.

My question is how far from home would you buy a new Mercedes? Would your local dealer take care of you if you bought it elsewhere? Do you still get a loaner? Do they put you at the "end of the line"? What is MBUSA's obligation in this situation?

The Internet is the new medium for vehicle research. Is it also the new medium for vehicle purchase ?

pateljb

Over the last 25 years my family has purchased 6 mercedes and none of them could be purchased at our local dealer, cherry hill Motors in cherry hill, NJ. The owner, Hartage I believe, is not in the business of making deals. More than 60% of the cars they service are bought from other dealers. I hae time and time again attempted tro buy a car from them since they are local but no such kuck.

We have bought 2 cars from Devon, PA, one from atlantic city, and in the last 8 years 5 benzes from Ray Catena in edison, nj not to mention a 911 turbo, cayenne s, and a aston martin vantage on order for this coming winter delivery. they have been apleasure to do business with similar to the glauser organization. since we have had no compliants/issues we usually oick the colrs/options and call our usual salesman and place the order and go pick up, site unseen. yea, the local dealer is where i service from, but no loaner is given to us, However, the service staff is welll aware that they service more cars from other dealerships then their own , but this is not a problem. We've had a good relationship with them so they have always accomodated us.

bottom line, money is money!! go where you get the best deal/bargain and where the dealership wants your business. don't let distance scare you as you see many of us willing to drop close to 100k will travel, if car is available

good luck

blazinginder

Ray Catena

Lender1

Service was never an issue as to if you purchased the car from the servicing dealer or not. They are obligated to honor the warrenty and service the car as needed. When I lived in Illinois, the Mercedes dealer that serviced my cars only sold me the first one in 1992 and they treated me very well for the next twelve years.

As to where to purchase your new car, it can depend on where you live. Fletcher Jones in Las Vegas is the only dealer in town. Without competition he has an advantage in the marketplace. His Newport Beach, Ca dealership is a different story. There they played hard for my business and were highly competitive.

Personally, if I had to, I would shop a five-hundred mile radius from my hometown. At that range you should be able to hit a couple of major cities from almost anywhere in the US. I am fortunate I did not have to. Moving from the Chicago to the Los Angeles market both are highly competitve.

konigstiger

First let me say that I will never pay more than invoice inclusive of freebies. The 03 e320 was acquired well below invoice FEB03 (complimentary MB all weather mats, MB windshield shade, etc.) and the CLS at invoice OCT05 (one free navigation DVD update, complimentary trunk floor cargo net, etc.)

Depending on the deal, I would not hesitate to take delivery from a neighboring state: CA, NV, UT, CO, or NM if need be. Luckily the southern CA market is practically a stone throw away for me and to date, local dealers have matched or beaten offers received. I have an excellent relationship with a local dealer for service. My first vehicle was acquired through them however the second was not nevertheless they continue to give me a new C-class sport sedan loaner and provide outstanding service.

Unfortunately they hired a new sales manager who refused to move from MSRP for the CLS even though I was a returning customer. Several months later he was gone. I mentioned that next time around I will be seriously looking at the S550 and they promised to beat any offer received to get me back. Certainly Glauser will be a very strong contender! Time will tell.

As for MBUSA they really have little control over the loaner as the franchised dealership policies cover this. However, warranty work can be had at any and all dealerships. If for some reason you’re not satisfied with the work, scheduling, time taken to repair, etc. simply contact the local MBUSA Service and Parts Operations Manager (SPOM) whose contact info is available from the dealership’s service manager or director.

This is where I stand as it concerns this non-appreciating acquisition.

rgbyhkr

This time around I think i will be shopping for price. The lack of included maintenance certainly does change the landscape in my mind. When you're not paying for it, as long as the local dealer does a decent job, they're fine. When you're paying out of pocket, you're more likely to nitpick and I think that forces them to be a little better in the service area.

Now, I haven't had any problems with my local dealer for service even though I didn't buy from them. I did buy my previous MB from them so I have some sales history. I bought from a dealer in PA over the phone and had no problems with delivery, etc. In that case I was scrambling for a build spot on an S55 and was less concerned with price. This time though, my lease goes until June of 07 and I probably will go with an S550 vs 63/65/600. I probably will need a build slot though as I'm leaning towards Designo and the RSE option which should be available as of later this year.

I'm not sure if requiring a build (won't be able to take advantage of larger inventories a year from now) slot and leasing vs buying will have a major impact on what deals I can get. However, I really don't mind dealing out of state given my previous positive experience. So, we'll see.

Jeff

Jayhawk

I believe that dealers make a lot more $$$ on service than they do on sales, especially when you consider that a sale is a one-time deal, and service goes on indefinitely.

~CL500~

All valid points, but in my area (and probably everywhere else) service will not give you a loaner vehicle if you didn't purchase the vehicle from that dealer. For me this is big, especially when my average service visit lasts a few days. On the plus side, I have an abundance of MB dealers in my area; around 5 that i'm aware of, all within an hour radius from where I live.

Jayhawk

Good point! I don't know what/if my dealer has a loaner policy or not. I know I always get a C-class when I go in for service, and suspect I would even if I took a car in I got from someone else, because I've been doing business w/ them for years. But that is a big deal for me too because I live 45 miles from them and would not want to have to rent something.

This might make a good thread: What is your dealer's loaner policy?