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  #1  
Old 08-30-2012, 08:50 AM
85 DSEL's Avatar
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Location: Dayton, Ohio
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Dealership Service musing

Just back from the dealer service dept -

Ya know, it is really angering to me when I feel like the service writer is 'lecturing' me (age: late 50's) on what "...makes sense spending $$$ on..." a car with "the miles (114K) and age (17yrs) of the car..." with regard to doing some troubleshooting/diagnosing on my trans drip. This guy hasn't a CLUE what MY philosophical reasoning might be for CHOOSING to drive a car such as mine! I know, they are in kahoots with the sales dept to try and get owners of these "old" cars to let go of the wheel and into something new(er). Ain't gonna happen, pal!

I prefer NOT going to the dealership but it is so much more convenient as they are 4 mi from my house. I do not care much for the personality of the closest indy and the indy I DO like, is inconvenient for me to visit. So - I digress....just wish I had MY OWN garage with a lift and such!

My point is this: if I choose to spend $x,xxx on my 17 yr old car, I will do so if I believe it's best for me and my family. Spending more than $10,000 for a set of wheels to haul me around is just insane (for me). It's ok if anybody else wants to do this, I simply choose not to. What I hear my service writer say will have little to no affect on my decision on how much I want to spend on the car. Just venting...
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Dale
1995 E320 Wagon 185K [SOLD]
1988 260e Sedan 165K
2007 F-150 XLT 188K [SOLD]
2003 Harley Davidson FLTRI Anniversary 26K
-----------------------------
2006 BMW 330Ci 110K - [SOLD]
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  #2  
Old 08-30-2012, 08:55 AM
TheDon's Avatar
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Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 13,285
I would call Mercedes Benz USA customer support and let them know how you were treated. I was looked down upon when I went to a dealership to inquire about parts for my old car. I do hope MBUSA is not turning into a company like VWoA, they look down their nose at the air cooled and classics crowd but that doesnt stop them from using ACVW's to advertise VW engineering and durability.
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  #3  
Old 08-30-2012, 10:44 AM
is thinning the herd
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Columbus, Ohio
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After how amped the parts guy I deal with at my local dealership was when I told him I got a 190SL, I don't think its an MBUSA culture to not like old cars. Mercedes probably has the best support of any car manufacturer for their old cars short of Ferrari. Everything I've needed for my 190SL has been available, and it was all even stocked in the US. Haven't so much as sent an email to the classic center yet.

Everything for my 350SL has also been available quickly and cheap.

Might be worth a complaint, or maybe you need to be more upfront with the service writer. Tell him the car is important to you and it is the car you intend to keep driving.

Sidebar, I hate new VWs, they cost more to maintain than Mercedes. So why not be a snob with the 3 pointed star AND save money. I had a 2001 Passat and a 1999 Cabrio and after paying something like $700 for an alternator for the Passat and getting quoted nearly a $1000 for a throttle body I was done. I also paid more for a low miled USED transmission for the cabrio than I paid for the whole car. I sold them on completely repaired but I was staggered at the part prices I was paying. VW dealerships also won't haggle. My Benz dealer gives me 25% off, vw will sometimes give you a 10% vortex discount .
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  #4  
Old 08-30-2012, 10:54 AM
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Location: TX
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Come on down to Houston - the MB dealerships are quite special, they actually hate you for owning such an old piece of machinery.
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  #5  
Old 08-30-2012, 11:34 AM
Stretch's Avatar
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Here in Europe they have "special" Mercedes dealerships that are classic accredited. If you have anything older than say a W124 you are encouraged to go to one of them. I doubt you'd get the "don't you think it is time to buy a new one?" routine in one of those dealerships.

My local dealership isn't one of these special ones but I'm kind of famous at the parts department and the chief mechanic usually drops in for a chat with me to see what I've pulled apart this time. The point being - may be it will just take a bit of time until they get to know you?

Try and find out if there's a mechanic who always does the old stuff - make friends with the guy if there is one. You can still get that personal indy experience at a dealership but you need to make the effort yourself. I wouldn't be surprised if the mucky oiks in the garage are encouraged not to speak to the clients by those wazzocks in the suits - speak to real people and ignore the middle men!

The middle men are all fly by night useless pricks anyway...


...now I'm starting to rant. So I'll stop.
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  #6  
Old 08-30-2012, 11:42 AM
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Here in the Palm Springs area, the dealer has one mechanic who works on the older cars. The dealership in Riverside(?) advertises their "classic" repair capability.
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  #7  
Old 08-30-2012, 12:30 PM
ILUVMILS's Avatar
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Join Date: Sep 2002
Posts: 3,082
Quote:
Originally Posted by 85 DSEL View Post
Just back from the dealer service dept -

Ya know, it is really angering to me when I feel like the service writer is 'lecturing' me (age: late 50's) on what "...makes sense spending $$$ on..." a car with "the miles (114K) and age (17yrs) of the car..." with regard to doing some troubleshooting/diagnosing on my trans drip. This guy hasn't a CLUE what MY philosophical reasoning might be for CHOOSING to drive a car such as mine! I know, they are in kahoots with the sales dept to try and get owners of these "old" cars to let go of the wheel and into something new(er). Ain't gonna happen, pal!

I prefer NOT going to the dealership but it is so much more convenient as they are 4 mi from my house. I do not care much for the personality of the closest indy and the indy I DO like, is inconvenient for me to visit. So - I digress....just wish I had MY OWN garage with a lift and such!

My point is this: if I choose to spend $x,xxx on my 17 yr old car, I will do so if I believe it's best for me and my family. Spending more than $10,000 for a set of wheels to haul me around is just insane (for me). It's ok if anybody else wants to do this, I simply choose not to. What I hear my service writer say will have little to no affect on my decision on how much I want to spend on the car. Just venting...

Don't take it personally. The SA was just doing his job. Whenever the cost of repairs may exceed the value of the vehicle, they're required to inform the owner. Not everyone is as car-savvy as you are. Most owners of older, high mileage cars don't have any idea how their car works, or what it's worth. They need this information so they can make an informed decision.
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  #8  
Old 08-30-2012, 01:15 PM
85 DSEL's Avatar
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ILUVMILS View Post
Don't take it personally. The SA was just doing his job. Whenever the cost of repairs may exceed the value of the vehicle, they're required to inform the owner. Not everyone is as car-savvy as you are. Most owners of older, high mileage cars don't have any idea how their car works, or what it's worth. They need this information so they can make an informed decision.
Looking at your credentials I appreciate your reply. I do understand what you are saying and see that he was simply doing his job. Perhaps I'm just a little thin-skinned with things like that. I can see where he's coming from given the 'high' cost of doing work today. However, the high cost of buying another car is out of the question for me!

Dale
EDIT: PS: Sure is a fun little C300 I have sitting in my garage if not but for today!
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Dale
1995 E320 Wagon 185K [SOLD]
1988 260e Sedan 165K
2007 F-150 XLT 188K [SOLD]
2003 Harley Davidson FLTRI Anniversary 26K
-----------------------------
2006 BMW 330Ci 110K - [SOLD]
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  #9  
Old 08-30-2012, 05:58 PM
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Location: Chandler, Arizona
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I took my 88 for an alignment early this year and the service manager told me they rarely see these cars anymore. Long story with them trying to falsify what they did on my alignment....

Just don't take it to the dealer anymore. Its not worth it and you don't get any more expertise than a local euro shop that has been around for a long time. In fact, you may get less. Experience > shop manuals.
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  #10  
Old 08-30-2012, 08:39 PM
85 DSEL's Avatar
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Thanks guys for your replies!

I got a call from the SA saying the work is completed and can pick it up in the morning. He also said he "got it down to $532..."!

I took it in to have the AC serviced since it seems to obviously have a slow leak and loses coolant over a couple months. Also I had the tires/wheels balanced and the tranny leak sought out. Said that two wheels were 'bent'? I'm not sure I would have ever thought it had two bent wheels! Seems I'd have noticed something as bad as that. Anyway, said they 'straightened' them and it should be a smoother ride.

The tech seems to think the tyranny leak could be coming from the modulator valve? So I gave them the go ahead to pull it and install a new seal/gasket and I'm to watch it over the next several days...fingers crossed. I'll report back with the results as I get them.

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2
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Dale
1995 E320 Wagon 185K [SOLD]
1988 260e Sedan 165K
2007 F-150 XLT 188K [SOLD]
2003 Harley Davidson FLTRI Anniversary 26K
-----------------------------
2006 BMW 330Ci 110K - [SOLD]
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  #11  
Old 08-31-2012, 11:55 AM
is thinning the herd
 
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Posts: 3,339
A dealership bill under $1000 for actual work really isn't hateful anymore haha.

Well I'm glad you got it sorted. You love the car, and thats what is important.

My dealership really must be the exception, when I took my 350SDL to have a pre-purchase inspection done for the guy who bought it, they went and got some salesmen who had been there for many years to look at it and everyone was loving it.
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68 280SL - 70 280SL - 70 300SEL 3.5 - 72 350SL - 72 280SEL 4.5 - 72 220 - 72 220D - 73 450SL - 84 230GE - 87 200TD - 90 190E 2.0 - 03 G500

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  #12  
Old 08-31-2012, 03:24 PM
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Join Date: May 2006
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The dealership where I WAS taking my 450SLC to, had a "20-something" SA that just loved the look of my car. Now, I had been to this place a few times before and he always was the one that wrote me up. This last time I stopped in, after the work was performed, he waited 'til I got in the car, walked on over and sorta' whispered to me "You might want to start looking for an indepedent to work on your car. Our mechanics just don't have the experience working on anything more than 20 years old. And the cost for the parts are just that much more expensive because we don't stock anything here for anything that's more than 10 years old. If someone could work on your car, you'd have to leave it 'til the parts arrived from the warehouse or Germany."

He wasn't trying to stick me into something newer...it appears he was being blatantly honest. (I had the car, earlier, on their rack for a little over 6 weeks or so waiting on a particular tool to reseat a new seal...)

So, sometimes you get the story and other times, you are the story.

It might just be I got a "newbie" SA that wasn't so much up on the "upsell" part of the job...all the better for me. I'm not quite to the point of my career where I can drop a 5-figured check on a new ride just yet...my lottery numbers are way-too discombobulated to even qualify for the lowest payout.
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