Originally Posted by Yacht Master

Funny to read the posts here, in the past I took my car to the dealer, and here is why.
1. I was doing contract work directly for the owner of the dealership.
2. My car was still under MB free service (04 MBs had for 4 years).
3. MB warranty still in effect.
4. Aftermarket warranty in effect, covered more than the MB warranty.
5. Service manager would let me in the service area and allow me to watch over the tech.
Now here is the reality of having you car serviced at a MB dealer.
1. The service department is the profit center of the dealership.
2. The SA is coached on how to extract the most money from you.
3. High turnover among new techs, 80% have less than 2 yrs exp on MBs.
4. You will pay full retail for parts at MB dealers
5. At most dealers they take your car and hide, They don't want anyone to see.

Did you ever drop off your car for service, and get a call later that day to tell you your car is ready. Then when you arrive at the dealer they have a work order 4 pages long of things they found wrong and repaired all of them under warranty for free! When you look at the work order you see there is a small charge of $300 for fluids and materials not covered under warranty? LOL When you ask, they say "you are so lucky we caught this problem" and "look at all the work you got for free" BS.
Basically all you want is a trustworthy, knowledgeable, tech that can be dealt with face to face. I don't need a receptionist, service manager, car runner, newbie tech, old tech to teach newbie tech, and helpless car washer that can wash my car dirtier than it was when I brought it in.
The order of things, a person attends community collage and gets a general automotive certificate. Goes to work at the MB dealer in town, really sticks to it and over the next 4 years is skilled enough to beat factory flat rate. He then realizes that he can more money as an independent and leaves MB. He opens a small shop and starts to earn 4X more than he made at the dealership and only has to charge half of what the dealer charges. At the end of the day, it is like any thing else, you only get out what you put in.

At this point I only go to the dealer for hard to find or dealer only parts.

There is a word that describes people that think they get a good deal from a dealership.

Originally Posted by emoving

My AMG tech has been there for 14 years. I never pay full retail on parts because I shop around first and then then usually match or get very close. Our service bay at Crown MB has a huge glass wall if you choose to sit there and watch your car being worked on. Sounds like you have a prehistoric crap hole dealer! I would suggest you find a new one.