Hi folks,

My wife has a 2001 Eldorado that is still under GM warranty coverage. Last year, the Northstar engine developed a knocking noise. The local dealer thought it was carbon knock and tried to de-coke the engine with no luck. They informed me that there was a TSB out for new pistons with redesigned skirts that would reduce the noise. They removed the engine and replaced all eight pistons and resealed the entire engine. Throughout all of this, the dealer was more than happy to provide a NEW Cadillac of MY choice for us to drive. When they called to tell me the car was ready, each time they said to bring the loaner back at OUR convinience. The piston replacement did not fix the knock. The dealer then asked for, and received permission to install a brand new GM crate engine, free of charge to me of course. Each time they had the car in their shop it was detailed from top to bottom, also at no charge.

Believe me, I won't buy another Daimler-Chrysler product again. After having the local dealer deny me a loaner when my ML was still under warranty and act like they were doing me a favor each time they talked with me, from now on I will buy GM. After all, all new luxury cars are the same, it's the service that counts. Before you guys say a Cadillac is inferior, may I remind you all it has features that actually work, a/c that works, 0-60 in 7/sec, and runs circles around a late model MB. IMHO.

Any thoughts?

Cadillac cars surpassed Lexus cars for overall reliability last year.

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Adam Lumsden
(83) 300D
Vice-President of the MBCA International Stars Section

I am not surprised. After going back to GM I couldn't be happier. After owning several late model German cars I won't be going "German" anytime soon. I will keep the ML only because I bought it new and only use it for towing. What a pos.

The quality of the vehicle is largely irrelevant. A vehicle such as a M/B can have all kinds of quality problems, but, if the dealer is genuinely apologetic to the customer and provides a loaner vehicle for an unlimited time, the customer is thankful for the service and he'll be back.

My brother is a manager at a relatively new M/B dealer who is attempting to steal market share here on Long Island. Assuming that the number of M/B customers is constant (or declining ), this dealer must build a customer base by stealing customers from other dealers.

How does he do this?

With service, undercutting pricing, and loaner cars.

The dealership has 75 C-class loaner cars that are sent out every day. This brings the customer back to this dealer because he's pleased with how he was treated.

I have a good MB dealership and they work with me well. Way back when I had a 91 190E 2.6 that needed to have lifters done. I also asked the tech to add a camshaft. Well, it took longer than thought but they loaned me an ML all the time. some people have had bad luck at their dealership. I have had nothing but good luck. I sometimes visit the shop and BS with the techs. I talk to the techs first before I talk to the service advisor to tell him what I want done. Zimbrick European in Madison tends to be very accomodating to me. Now, YMMV.

I also wanted to test drive a Ford Mustang. Well, they didn't want me to drive it till I bought it. WTF? Well I went with a Pontiac Firebird that I modded like hell. The salesman I got from Company X's main branch (East side) offered me $500 on my trade in. He was salesman of the month 2 times running too. Went to the West side store (3 people and a small lot) really and they said they would not qoute trade ins without viewing it and driving it. Gave me the same deal the East side one did and $3000 for my trade in. Those deals were very competitive with others. Bought from the satelite store and the East side guy suddenly decided to call me back to see if we could work something out. Got the car and first thing the salesman told me was that I needed to talk to him before I left. He pointed out several defects in the paint and said he would fix it at their expense. So, you can see that even within a dealership, things can change from one store to the other.

So, what does this show? It all depends on the dealership you get. Granted, with MB you don't have as much choice. Ford, GM and Chrysler dealerships are more plentiful than pimples on a teen's face so you can choose more. Have I had a few bad experiences at a Caddy dealership? You bet. Ford? Sure. Pontiac and Chevy? Of course. MB? Not yet. Does that mean MB dealerships are superior to all the rest? Of course not.

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

I find the best warranty is the peace of mind that odds are I wont be going through all that: take it in-loan car-engine rebuild-pick it up-take it back-loan car-replace the motor-pick it up-phone calls through out it all-etc. etc. bull *****.

That’s why we have Honda’s. A ‘94 and a ‘00. Both over 150K miles and still going strong on the original hard parts. The only shop visits are routine/scheduled ones. And, yes, I get a free loan car if I need one.

I’m happy that you got it all done "free of charge". But how about your time (not to mention the gas you burned)? Isn’t that worth something?

Peace of mind means a lot in ownership of cars these days. If you’re happy with the GM cars after needing a new engine in 4 years (but - maybe you cranked up a zillion miles on it), good for you.

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1980 300D - Veggie Burner !

I’d pick up, and read the details in the April ’06 Consumer Reports before I made that statement.

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1980 300D - Veggie Burner !

Mercedes-Benz Boerne is doing that here and are KILLING MB of San Antonio! I love it! I have NO problem with my dealer now, but I'm 90% sure I'm not getting another MB cause I could very well end up in a new city in 5 months and be with ANOTHER crappy MB dealer.

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1999 C 280 Sport Brilliant Silver
1995 C 280 Arctic White (Sold)

Mods:
Bilstein Sports
Eibach Prokits
17" AMG Style III's
Avante Guarde Grille
Blaupunkt Monterrey MP35
JL Audio 12" Sub, Alpine Amp
CarPC

Coming Soon:
-Built in 7" touchscreen below the stock stereo location.
-Possibly some H&R's.

"I don't care what anyone says, I like my hood star."

I have 94' Fleetwood that I won't part with because of the service I have received from Lindsay Cadillac in Virginia. There was a problem with a throttle booster sensor that took a fews weeks to repair and I got a brand new Deville as a loaner during the time mine was being worked on.

Why so worried about the dealership and their fluff? I befriend the mechanics so I have less problems. The rest is irrelavant to me

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

True. All of my MBs have been high maintenance. Heck, the last car I owned that was not high maintenance was my ’56 Buick. But the thing that brings me back is that the dealer does mostly good work, and gives me a ride to and from the shop. I long ago abandoned the rental car thing, as I have a perfectly good other car, except for the occasional indulgence.

The place where I bought the car loaned me a MB wagon to evaluate for a week. I didn’t really like it (the 210 4-matic was not as nice a vehicle as the 124 4-matic), so they loaned me a ML with 11 miles on it for another week to evaluate. Prior to that, they loaned me virtually any MB I wanted for shorter periods (2-4 days). This kind of thing, indulging the customer, goes a long way to keeping me coming back despite less than perfection from my car. The offerings are still several steps ahead of any other place I've visited.

On the topic of Caddy’s, I got one as a rental a couple of years ago. It was a rocket, had a fine hifi, but a hideous suspension and tires that shrieked at the slightest provocation. No thanks.

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...Tracy

'00 ML320 "Casper"
'92 400E "Stella"

AKLIM: Every time I take the car in for service I brings the mechanics breakfast, not just the one who's working on the car but all of them....

And what sort of service do you get? My mechanics let me watch while they work, question waht they are doing, etc, etc. I usually read up WIS before I go there so I can sound somewhat intelligent discussing the work being done.

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

Aklim: I receive really good service, the mechanics explain what their doing and let me watch. Nothing has ever had to be re-done. I hope I can get the same results with the MB.

Same here. In fact sometimes they do a little extras and I tip them some. At a GM dealership, once in a while I buy them a pizza or two and they have helped me some and lent me some tools before. A little grease goes a long way sometimes. Sometimes they have done 3 items and tacked on a 4th one for free and I give them a tip too. Also, I have rented them on occasion for home projects.

__________________
01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow