Jeff Lawrence

I had placed an order from South Bay Mercedes in Torrance, CA for a 2004 Silver E55 and have had little luck in getting any kind of decent customer service. I know some of the dealers offer flatbed car service or some other kind of perk but not South Bay. It is my own fault for not further researching the perks of buying from certain dealers but assumed that since nearly everyone was selling the car for sticker that they would be about the same.

My salesman called me up and inquired if I was interesting in purchasing the 7 year / 100k warranty. I asked about the price and was quoted $3400. I said that sounded high and if this was the best price he could do, and he said yes. I said I'll look around and called Fletcher Jones in Newport and was quoted a price of $2300, even after telling them I was buying it from South Bay, but was just shopping around for the warranty.

I just happened to talk with a co-worker who also happened to get a 2003 E55 from Keyes Mercedes and was treated with a Mercedes leather jacket and polo shirt on the drivers seat when he approached the car. I asked South Bay about this and they actually laughed and said my friend must have paid way over sticker. I told them no, he paid sticker, and had tried to get it from South Bay but he refused to pay over sticker back in August when they were asking over for it.

I researched a little more and found out that the dealership only has a few Mercedes rental cars, and you are given a Ford Focus from Enterprise if you need service. Again, this was my fault for not asking on here what good dealers there are in Southern California.

I later looked on edmunds and saw that dealer holdback from Mercedes was 3% on Total MSRP which means that on my $81k sticker they are making $2430 alone plus the difference between invoice and MSRP, about $5k according to KBB. It looks like the dealer is making about $7500 on the car yet they treat customers like we are buying a T-Shirt at Old Navy.

Just wanted everyone to think twice before dealing with these people, as customer's are first as long as you pay full price and dont expect any perks.

Jeff

Dr Chill

Well, this is not an excuse, but the sad truth is, the car sells itself at MSRP and thej dealer doesn't have to kiss your ***. If he wants return business, he should make every effort to appease you within reason. Most dealerships will not give out loaners or Enterprise rentals unless you buy the car from them. So if there's only one dealer near you and they can get the car for you, it pays to go there since no one is discounting this car. Now if you wanted a 2003 with low miles, then you can save a few grand by going elsewhere.

My experience with many dealers over the years is that some may be a little better than others, but in the end, they all suck. They're great at taking your money though.

t-bone

How long ago did you place your order? Do you know when it will arrive or did it already arrive?

Maybe they'll be more responsive as the date of your car's arrival comes.

20C4S

take my advise, DO NOT DEAL WITH SOUTH BAY MERCEDES BENZ. they have the WORST sales people ever!

here is my experience:
last Friday i called South Bay MB to ask them if they have a SL55 for me to test drive because i 'm seriously consider to get the car if it's at MSRP. ok, the guy over there said "yea, come on down & we have a black one ready for u to test drive." i got there at the apointment time & the guy i was talking to WAS STILL AT LUNCH at 3:45??? ok, i told them that i was talking to "the" guy & told them "he" told me i can test drive the black SL. guess what i got... "no sir, there is none SL55 u can drive & we don't let people to drive that car... i was very pissed, but i left all my personal info & nicely ask them when can i have one or if i order one how long do i have to wait. all i got was "well, it depends." i was like #@%* go F*ck urself!!! sure to me they either don't want to sell the car or think i can't afford one.

on sunday i got a call from them asking me if i'm ready to put the money down on the car. i told them "sorry, i got it already." now guess what they say? "how can u get it & where u get it from? i thought u were not that serious about the car, bla bla bla..." at the end of the call, i did give him a hard time on what he did

btw, finally got the car from Penske in West Covina. nice sales people & very good experience with them.

once again, South Bay MB SUCKS!

430

I have to say I am not surprised by the way you have been treated. The 2 MB dealerships closer to me have awful sales departments. I could not say a good thing about them. Their attitude was that we needed to agree on a purchase price before they were interested in going on a test drive. Once I played hardball they "allowed" a short test drive. It is not like I pulled up in a piece of crap, they watched me get out of my other MB. Needless to say I did not buy from either dealer.

Jeff Lawrence

Thanks for the replies guys. I placed the order a few months ago and am scheduled for pickup at the end of the month here. I doubt they will be any more responsive as when I inquire about what other dealers are doing they laugh like its a joke. No one else in Southern Cali has them on the lot? I'm seriously considering just pulling my deposit. Thanks again

Jeff

20C4S

jeff,
like i said, maybe i was lucky or what, i did find the car in 2 days. by the time i got there there were 2 i can choose from

yesterday when i drove pass the dealer in Santa Monica i saw 2 in their showroom floor. just call around & see if u can find one.

if u need my dealer to help u finding the right car let me know. u can email me at arlingwang@mac.com

430

I am not in Cali, but I had one local dealer try to tell me there was a 1-2 year waiting list for AMG's. Funny, there was another dealer in town with several on the lot to choose from. But I guess they are a figment of my imagination

rgbyhkr

So was the original RBM or ACC perhaps? I've done business with ACC in the past but this time around I went out of state as I was looking for an S55 in a shorter time period than any of the local dealers could help with. That includes the new one in Buckhead.

The sad truth on AMG versions is that dealers get many fewer of them than the non-AMG versions. Their allotment is based on things like how many of that model they've previously sold, their overall sales volume, etc. For example I know that, currently, ACC has a waiting list for S55s that is over 15 deep and goes into 2005 (because they're allotment is only one S55 build date per month). In contrast, a new dealership like MB of Buckhead has virtually no waiting list on almost all models, including AMGs (MB doesn't seem to put build dates for new dealerships behind those of existing ones - in fact I've heard more than once that new dealerships have an advantage as MB does what it can to help them hit the ground running). So, by going to a longstanding popular dealership to find a limited production vehicle, chances are you'll have a longer wait.

Jeff

Ted Baldwin

So was the original RBM or ACC perhaps? I've done business with ACC in the past but this time around I went out of state as I was looking for an S55 in a shorter time period than any of the local dealers could help with. That includes the new one in Buckhead.


.............It is very hard for me to resist commenting on dealerships in Atlanta because I have had such terrible experience with them. I initially went to RBM to look at a G55 they had on the lot. It had I think 6-7K miles on it. I was concerned about the reported stiff ride. They looked at me like I was from mars when I requested a test drive. I went out of town and got my G55 from Mercedes Benz of Miami. So months later I go to RBM to look at an E55 they had sitting out in the lot. I was then offered a test drive and informed that they would wave the rules and LET me test drive it. Of course I refused. Listen I know that dealers do not want to waste their time if in their perception you are unlikely to buy the car. However, MB dealers need to understand that their customers have changed. They keep expecting a 60 year old guy with golf clubs and a white suit. Many AMG buyers are young men/women in their 30's and 40's who will walk into the dealership in jeans and sandals. As for ACC........they are supposedly more progressive. They actually have in house tuner for HPs and for Lorinser kits ect. So far my dealings with their sales people has been positive. As for RBM, I hope they go out business. But I know that is wishful thinking.

Ted

amg55

My experiences with my MB dealer are as bad as most of the above.
I even went in to put a deposit on an SL55 18 months ago and was turned down! For a deposit! "No, we can't take your deposit because you haven't bought enough cars here. SL55's only go to our best customers".
Now any dealer in his or her right mind would simply take the deposit and sit on it for 4 years if thay had to, or try to get a low miles used one and sell it at an aggressive price.
These guys wouldn't even make the effort to take my money at maximum markup!

jbec.keane

I purchased my first (and only, so far) Mercedes from Millenium Mercedes in New Jersey last February. The salesman, Gary Wilkinson, was terrific. I visited the dealership on a Saturday dressed like in jeans and a sweatshirt driving a four year old Acura TL.

The salesman let me test drive a car and talked to me for over an hour about the car. The negotiation was easy. I ended up paying much less than MSRP.

At the end, I told him I wanted to think about it. He gave me his card and told me to call him if I wanted to talk further about the car. He never once asked me if I could afford the car. Absolutely no pressure or pre-judging.

When I went back later in the day, he took my order and my deposit and I left. Later in the week, he called to tell me that he had found my car on a ship and asked if I wanted that car instead of waiting. I jumped at it.

At this point, I called him and asked about filling out a credit application. He acted like it was not a big deal.

Easily the best buying experience I have ever had.

Also, the service department has been terrific. Always a Mercedes loaner and always keep me informed about the progress on the service. I especially like that they prefer that I keep the loaner while they wait for parts rather than return my car and make me rechedule once any parts get delivered.

Arnee

The past 4 benz's that I bought I bought from 3 different dealerships.

I've tried the House, Von Housen (in Sacramento) and Keyes.

Of the best customer service, customer respect (regardless of age), and customer orientation, Keyes European seemed the best dealership for me.

Although I bought my SLK230 and E55 at the House, I think I'll go to Keyes for any future MBs I'll buy.

As far as the Sacramento dealership, well, they nickel 'n' dime people.

By the way, I did go to South Bay also and MB of Long Beach when looking for my 04 W211 E320 and MB of LB proved to have better customer service than South Bay.

A word of caution too at South Bay MB: They have juveniles working in the service department. My sister's fiancee's cousin works there and he tells us the stories that they do to "nice" (and expensive) customer cars.......I'll tell ya, I was pissed after I heard the stories.

430

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Ted Baldwin
[B]So was the original RBM or ACC perhaps? I've done business with ACC in the past but this time around I went out of state as I was looking for an S55 in a shorter time period than any of the local dealers could help with. That includes the new one in Buckhead.

I have had a decent experience with ACC, much better than the 2 dealers I refer to above, but they moved way out in the country.

RBM was the worst. The funny thing is the salesman called me for a week after I told him his price was too high and that the attitude of the dealership needed to change if they ever wanted my business, wanting me to buy his car. He even tried to imply the car I put a deposit down on and was delivered yesterday, had been wrecked. Of course the car was delivered and in perfect shape.

The other dealer was Buckhead MB. My opinion of them is that I had a crappy salesman more than the issues being endemic with the dealership like at RBM. RBM had a number of AMG's on the lot. Now some of them were already sold to a customer and had just not been picked up.

zam2000

SouthBay MB sucks big time !!!. When my Air Mass Sensor failed, and I asked them for quote, they quoted me $500 ($300 for part, $200 for labor). They BS that it's not simple to install the sensor. The next place I stopped by ask $300 for both part and labor (take exactly 2 minutes to install it).

What a bunch of jerk at South Bay Benz.

bzliteyear

sad to say, but i can relate to ALL the posts on here and the stories are even worse in northern california. imho, MB is riding their reputation of yrs past and they're going to be in big trouble over the next 10 yrs. their initial defects used to be top notch and now they're worse than toyota, lexus, and even cadillac. their engineering used to be top notch and now they have gadgets that fail and get recalled. they used to have long product cycle and that's helped w/ resale value...and now they're in the middle of the pack or worse vs. other luxury makers. they used to have good salespeople, now they have order takers who think they deserve to make $150 to $250k/yr because its MBs. the sr mgmt at DCX are so concerned about chrysler's mess that they don't even realize that products are only a part of the what people buy. ask lexus: it's the ENTIRE purchase experience. just my $.02.