Buds Benz in Atlanta Ga. - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

winmutt · #1 02-20-2008, 03:16 PM

I went out there to look at fellow forum member's 300CD that got stranded as he was driving it to Arkansas. These people were real friendly and looking at the cars they had around they do good work. I can't speak from personal experience as I have not had a car serviced by them but the garage was really clean and well organized. If I had an older SL etc in need of restore and was unable to do it myself this is the place I would take it to.

http://www.budsbenz.com/

alabbasi · #2 08-21-2008, 12:04 PM

Really? I'm having a real crappy experience as I write this posting which relates to ordering parts from these guys. I was advised that they had sheet metal for my 450SLC which is in the body shop. As I was in Atlanta at the time so I thought I would check the website and see if they had the item in stock. So here's my story:

Saturday 9th: The website said that they are open on Saturday so I called them.

The recorded message said that they are closed (but the hours included Saturday so I guess that they must have changed this and not made any updates to the recorded message). I left a message.

Monday 11th: I called them at 9am on Monday to order the part. I spoke to Brad who is the guy who runs the parts department. He told me that he will call me right back because he just got in and needs to set up. I expected him to call back right away but I did not hear anything so I called him again after about three hours to order the part. He said that the part was not in stick, but he will have it drop shipped to my address by Thursday so I put the order in.

Thursday 14th: comes and goes and there is no part.

Monday 18th: I call again onasking about my order. He informed me that they had a computer glitch and that they lost my order. But "a lady was supposed to have called me to let me know". I told him that no one called me and instead of correcting the problem, he kept insisting that she did tell him that she called me. I'm not sure who this lady is supposed to be but it's one thing to drop an order, it's another thing to try to debate it with a customer when they call back four days after the order supposed to have been delivered to find out it was not even placed.
I asked him to re-order and get back to me with a tracking number....... I got no call back.

Tuesday 19th: I called again. The receptionist told me he was out to lunch and gave me another number to call which turned out to be a guy in New York who has no way of checking orders. Eventually I spoke to a guy called Rusty who was responsive and told me that my order was going out today. I'm not sure why it wasnt shipped yesterday I asked him for a tracking number and he said he will get back to me... but didnt.

Wednesday 20th: I called again and spoke to Rusty, he told me that he needs to call his supplier for the tracking number and to call back again at 5pm.

Thursday 21st: I call back again on and speak to Rusty, who promptly gives me a tracking number ...... wich turns out to be correct. He asked me to call back so I do a couple of hours later and get another tracking number for an item that was shipped this morning. I cannot tell if this is the correct tracking number yet because the destination is not marked. I guess I will only find out next week when my part arrives (or not)

Both Rusty and Brad had a very casual approach to this issue which I did not appreciate as they d*cked me around with an order for two weeks while my body guy is breathing down my neck for the part so that he can get the job done.

I wouldn't normally post a comment such as this, but this dog and pony show deserved a special mention.

69coupe · #3 08-25-2008, 10:33 AM

I appreciate your posting about this Dog & Pony show . I always thought they ran a top notch operation.

So did the part ever arrive.....?

alabbasi · #4 08-25-2008, 10:44 AM

Nope, the tracking number shows that it will arrive tomorrow. I'm keen to see if it will be the correct part. Rusty's description of it was ambiguous, so when I questioned him, he said "yeah, I asked Brad and he knows what you're talking about".

This is after I sent them a picture of the section that needed repairing. I guess we'll see.

I've also heard good things about Buds Benz, they came to me under recommendation. I don't know if there is a bud, but he really should read this thread and address these issues before his employees kill his business.

69coupe · #5 08-25-2008, 12:11 PM

I agree !

I hope the correct part arrives tomorrow. Keep us posted.......

alabbasi · #6 08-25-2008, 07:10 PM

Part arrived today... and as I suspected, it was the wrong part. I'm now sick of dealing with these muppets, i'm going to call tomorow and get a refund.

69coupe · #7 08-25-2008, 08:52 PM

I'm sorry it turned out this way for you.....I've been jerked around in the past by other parts sources (NOT BUD's) and I know the feeling it generates and the wasted time it consumes. I hope you receive a prompt refund and find the part elsewhere......

alabbasi · #8 08-26-2008, 09:28 AM

So I called Buds Benz and spoke to David who was the owner. I told him about my experience and while he was sympathetic, he informed me that they do not make a patch panel for a C107 rear quarter which is not true as the recommendation came from a fellow 450SLC 5.0 owner who recommended that I get this part from them after seeing pictures of the section needing repairs.

As the part came from MI, which I know is where K&K are, I thought I would look the part up on the website and sure enough it was there.

I asked David to pick up the package and refund my money as I will be buying directly from K&K.

Graham · #9 08-26-2008, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by alabbasi

So I called Buds Benz and spoke to David who was the owner. I told him about my experience and while he was sympathetic, he informed me that they do not make a patch panel for a C107 rear quarter which is not true as the recommendation came from a fellow 450SLC 5.0 owner who recommended that I get this part from them after seeing pictures of the section needing repairs.

As the part came from MI, which I know is where K&K are, I thought I would look the part up on the website and sure enough it was there.

I asked David to pick up the package and refund my money as I will be buying directly from K&K.

Interesting to read your experience.

I once bought an item from them that they were selling on eBay. The eBay auction specified the shipping cost ($25.00) by UPS to a US address. I gave them the address to ship to. They then sent me an invoice that had a $95 shipping charge on a $90 item - So instead of the $90 plus $25 ($115) I had bid on, they wanted me to pay $185.

I suspect they put the item in a large box that made it oversize. I could not get them budge one inch. Basically they reneged on the auction. I advised eBay and canceled the purchase.

Not an experience I enjoyed.

Not learning from my mistakes, I ordered some other parts off their website. Again, when the invoice was emailed to me, the item prices were considerably higher than those on the website. They said the website was out of date!

May be friendly people, but less than competent! There are better choices for parts.

ametty · #10 09-15-2014, 08:31 AM

I wanted to have some cosmetic work done to by 88 560 SL. I think a problem most of us have is a lack of communication of our expectations vs others. I had used Buds in the past and did have some parts issues but that such a little part of what they do I think it is unfair to slam them for that one part which I think has been corrected.

Let me give you my story. I decided to ship my 560 from MI to GA for some cosmetic work. I was going on the cheap and thought about driving it. After talking to David and going over cost, I agreed to let them have Exotic pick it up. In hindsight, a very wise move and also in hindsight, Buds does not really consider cost in their decisions. Their parts are only top of the line and their guys are the same way. If you want a wrench shop and save some money, most likely not the place to go. My expectation was to ship it in Jan and pick it up the end of April. I was off by about two months so my first suggestion is to get real about how long it takes to do a proper job---which is really all they do. I was expecting some interior work and fixing a loose piece of trim. I talked to David who asked for a list of concerns. After a full sheet listing items (we all keep a list of things needing fixed in the glove box don't we??) he suggested that he have his guy look the car over when it got there. Remember that I am still planning on a two month turn around. Well inspect it they did and to a degree I never thought was possible. I got back a list of items needing attention along with optional items way too long to list but Trans, timing chain, cracked water tank, bad trans mount, dry cracked tires, very long gone front end, brakes that needed an uphill road to slow me down and on and on. What a shock. I even made the mechanic get on the phone and tested him on what he suggested. He had valid reasons for each and every items and ended it with saying it was really up to me, his job was to give his opinion. A long week of soul searching resulted in my agreeing to do everything other than A/C work. I live in MI and did not need it. You also need to understand--and they need to explain it as well-- that restoring cars is a lengthy process and really should not be rushed. It might be why they work on the car and then let it go a bit and work on it some more. Working on it full time to get it done would result in their missing other things that are found in the process. That was my experience. They also do not multi task much and for good reasons that I did not fully understand then. I needed seat and carpet work and I pushed to get interior work (a different department) and mechanical work done at the same time, I was way outside the box. Mechanical work would be completed but then without the seat, how did you move the car or test it?? At the end of the process, they want an extra two weeks for the service manager and David to drive it. During this process, they found a couple of things that had bothered me but I forget to tell them. Once done, I was going to pick it up and drive it back to MI but decided on Exotic hauling it back with the rolls, bently, model A and Desoto also in the truck. I gave it to them in Jan and got it back in July and folks, I could not be happier with the work they did. My wife now feels safe driving the car and the comments I get on it exceed any expectation. Sure it is expensive but then again, restoring 25 year old cars is. If you are going to do this, do a lot of talking with David and also talk to the Service Manager for realistic time frames and the real cost. David is very good to talk to but you need the Service Manager as well. Overall I would give their work a 10 and communication a 9. David gave me one date and the Service Manager almost fell off her chair when I said how long David said it would take. I ended up really liking Buds a lot and gained a lot of respect. I ended up spending about $40K when my initial estimate was for $2-3K so you know the big gulp I did when I saw the list. After all said and done, I think they did it right and so did I. Feel free to contact me with questions but talk to them, I think you will be happy

alabbasi · #11 09-15-2014, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ametty

I ended up spending about $40K when my initial estimate was for $2-3K

Holy cow! How do you justify $40k in repair bills on a 560SL?

Marrs · #12 09-15-2014, 04:15 PM

I guess I'll chime in here but my only experience with Buds was ordering some parts that turned out to be incorrect, and should have been obviously so when they boxed it up. I returned them but never got the refund even after asking several times. It was only $20-30 or so for this particular order but if they do this often enough, that' a big credit to their account at the cost of their customers. I eventually let it go and they still have my money, so I simply choose not to buy from them or recommend them. Sure, maybe they handle huge restorations well but if they can't manage parts then don't sell parts.

cooljjay · #13 09-15-2014, 09:50 PM

WOW I wish I had the safe full of hundreds to pay an overage of 37,000$....I can't even afford a battery for my car.....That saying is so the truth, the rich get richer and the poorer get poorer...

Tomguy · #14 09-18-2014, 04:29 PM

Holy crap, first post from ametty is a bump on a 6 year-old thread about $40k spent on a 560SL.
For a car whose collect-ability is questionable at best and value is likely nowhere near $40k!

Wonder if it's highly sentimental or something? I wouldn't put $40k into a $20k car myself though!