MB Certified Tech or not - is there a difference? - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

joe p · #16 11-05-2002, 05:16 PM

I've read most of this with interest.

Interesting differences in perception. I personally have found quality people in both enviroments, unfortunatly the dealeship also has that bad juju..... politics. Simply the reason I'm no longer in the dealership loop and am doing the indy thing.

Locally the dealer here has several damn good techs, a bunch of OK techs and a bunch of wannabe's and hacks. You've gotta ask for certian people to work on your car if you want it right the first time. The biggest advantage the dealer has is training and product knowledge of the newest product. Not to mention the ability to call in tech and beat on the rep's ability to root out knowledge.

I have however found that more indys take the time to nail the exact cause of the problem rather than throw parts at it, especially when it comes to drivability and trans issues. Not only is it a issue of pride but one of money backing you up.

As of late, MB warrenty time won't pay for lunch, much less keep that mortgage paid. I watched most good techs in the dealers get place into the posistion of being penalized for being good by continually having to put out fires, fix other people mistakes, sort out the mean ones (that might not have been mean until that Elite tech got ahold of it) and do it all for warrenty time. The best setup I've seen had these guys on salary and letting them handle the problem cars while teaching the newbies how to do it.

No, I'm not one of these "qood techs", just a old mechanic who has continued to retrain himself on the hows and whys of the new technology. (I work with a guy who was in diapers when points were king but, is about the best tech I've seen in years)Between the 2 of us, 99% of what we get into gets fixed both right and resonably. However, in my opinion, part of being a tech is knowing when you are over your head and respectfully bowing out.

Joe

ILUVMILS · #17 11-07-2002, 08:14 PM

WOW! Thanks to everyone who posted a response. That was quite a bit of reading as well as very enlightening. Personally, I've worked very hard over the years to stay on top of things as I'm sure many contributors to this forum have as well. At the dealership I work in, I can tell you that ALL clients are treated the same whether they own 4 new cars or one old one. In the interest of being a good neighbor we also help local independant shops with tech help whenever they need it. To all the DIYer's who've been frustrated in attempts to fix their own cars, I can only say to keep on trying! If this job were easy everyone would do it! I'm considering a Part II to this thread so keep an eye out. Thanks again for all the input!

blackmercedes · #18 11-07-2002, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ILUVMILS
... At the dealership I work in, I can tell you that ALL clients are treated the same whether they own 4 new cars or one old one...

That's great. I would probably be a customer. If only that statement were true for any dealer in Alberta...

euro 287 · #19 11-08-2002, 01:03 AM

I also am a indy tech , I have never worked for a dealer but I might one day who knows. Gillybenztech is one of the dealer techs on this site and he is a good tech but unfortunatly where I am at our dealer has about 2 good ones and a bunch of hackers and guessers. We cant throw parts out of stock on a car and hope it fixes it , we have to get in and diagnose it before any parts are ordered. Sometimes I think they have an advantage due to parts and of course information on some things. I am still young and most of what I do is late model stuff, all I can say is it wont get any easier to diagnose these cars. As for a dealer or indy choice thats customers decision to make . I know most of my customers personally and I talk directly to them when they bring their car in .That helps both of us out, me to get the actual complaint (not what the service writer thinks is wrong) and so the customer can put a face with the repair. Most techs have a less than 2% comeback ratio , bad techs are 50% . Remember you get both at indy or dealer.So get to know your tech real well.