For those who remember my unmitigated idolatry of my new SL over the past three years will probably be totally ambivalent about this, my last posting here. I finally sold my SL350 today - in New Zealand of all places - and to one of the UK's ex top traffic policemen and his policewoman wife (both retired!). They have a bargain.

This is the last Mercedes-Benz I will ever own.

My SL was truly well styled, even beautiful in most angles, and ran almost flawlessly for the three years but what eventually got to me (as a reasonably rich and careful businessman) is the arrogance, the indifference & the rudeness of all the dealerships.

Maybe MB is trying hard, but they no longer care for us in terms of resale values, showroom friendliness, empathy and understanding. I've had nothing but truly crap indifference from the dealers. You affeciendos may disagree but I really don't care.

So its over.

Thank you to all those for the help, encouragement and interest I've received from all you guys here on this forum but for me its Over & Out, and never, never again!

 

Guess you have to dabble with the other high-line brands...I am not that happy about the service I have received either, but what can you do? I love the SL and I'll give em hell if they dont respond to issues...Here in LA we have like 12 dealers in a small radius...so someone usually comes through.
Hope you get something new that pleases you as much as the SL....it may be hard to do after being spoiled

 

Cheers, Mustard.

 

Mustard,

Since I am writing from New Zealand and intend upgrading my own SL, I guess I have a passing interest in your comments.

When the R230 first came out, I stood in a showroom in Slough of all places, waiting for someone to attend to me. I was ignored for 10 minutes, then I left.

That's OK, I thought...maybe Mercedes in England are sold along the old boy network basis - you have to be connected and show it, and for them to know it. I wasn't wearing a military tie, but nor was I dressed like a slob.

It puzzled me for a while.

But that experience wouldn't have stopped me buying any car of my dreams, particularly if the one I bought was as admired or ran as flawlessly as yours.

I can only think that you complained too loudly or too often. Or maybe you had this morning's mustard on your beard. Or that they thought being snobby was essential to dealing with one of the world's top marques.

But for the life of me, I cannot figure out why you are wiping the slate clean on this magnificent machine for the sake of the dealers who are just a tiny piece of the enjoyment package.

Listen, when I first got my ancient '93 SL500 to the franchised dealer, the first thing I did was show them who was boss. Politely I asked the service manager to come with me for a walk-round while I pointed out any existing flaws. That made sure that they treated it - and me - with kid gloves because I was superfussy and showed it.

It helped that my SL is probably the best in the country (nay, the globe!!) for condition. You could turn it upside down and eat off the chassis bottom. I clean the INSIDE of my wheels after every trip. I wanted the dealership to know that, and they did. I didn't care if they laughed behind my back and did wheelies in the carpark with it after I was gone, as long as it didn't show when I returned to pick it up.

But I couldn't have cared less about the 10 minutes every 6 months I spend with them. Proportionately it is just a messy blip on the windscreen of enjoyment.

Ken Silver
--------------
~1993 SL500, glistening triple black, xenons, AMG facelift to 2002 style.
~1999 SLK 230 Kompressor, silver/black leather, CD, immaculate
~1999 Lexus LX470 SUV, sand/ivory leather.
~1999 Suzuki Grand Vitara. black & silver.
~ex 350SL, 230E, 280E, MX5, Jaguar Daimler and a lot of other makes not nearly as nice.

 

Well SAID!!!!!

 

I have to agree whole heartedly. We have great service here at our dealership....we did experience so minor "attitude" in service - especially from the 50 something men who felt it was beneath them to provide good service to someone younger. After a chat with the service manager - and a detailed commentary on my part regarding what I think service is - we have had no issues in that area.

It shouldn't always be that way, but sometimes you do have to let them know what your expectations are rather than letting them put their expectations on you.

 

I think it's a given dealers suck, I do ALL my maintenance unless it's warranty work. They don't see my money...but to be honest, I think ALL automotive dealers suck. I don't buy brand-spanking new cars...there's too many one and two-year old cars. MB brands take a $15K-20K hit once they roll off the lot! I let someone else take that hit on depreciation.

 

I spent over two years, two body shops, and two Mercedes dealers to get my SLK fix after the accident. So, I got me a Mercedes repair DVD and did all the final repairs on my 2002 SLK320. I just cannot believe all the missing parts in the car? The Mercedes DVD has exact pictures of everything and all the parts. It does not take a rocket scientist to compare a picture to an area of the car and see what part is missing. My SLK 320 is now quite and solid like the first test drive. I love driving my SLK around town. Now, I understand why people say get rid of your car after an accident. But if you are like me, you can get your car fix to like conditions before the accident.

I am tried of driving 450 miles round trip to another dealer to get my SL500 fix properly under warranty. My local dealer is at the bottom tier of fixing cars in its region. Mercedes makes great cars and some needs a little work to work out the bugs. My SL500 did have a lot of problems during the first 12 months, but has no problems after the first 12 months except for a water leak that cannot be fix after 5 attempts.

The dealerships are the key to Mercedes success. But some folks do not have an option to go to another dealer because the next Mercedes dealer is over 200 miles away.

 

This too, is well said. It seems that customer service on all levels has deteriorated, and people seemingly tolerate it for the most part. I agree, that one spends money in part for service, and in part for the product, therefore it's the customer that should show what kind of service he/she will accept. A mercedes dealer of all places should treat their customers as though they were the last ones on earth (unless of course the customer's arrogance and bad manners earn him otherwise) as it IS a service, a luxury, like going to dinner..they should work for tips. =)

 

..and another thing, basically they do work for tips, as the pay structure is most often salary plus commission, but the numbers always manage to be there at the end of the month, so there's no real pressure. It is stressful for them, I'll admit, but comon! They represent one of the greatest marks on the planet, yet one could find better service at a hyundaii dealer..im sure.