Unsatisfying Roadside Assistance Encounter - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

phidauex · #1 10-27-2005, 02:37 PM

Today, while driving across a bridge over the Missisippi river (Poplar street bridge in St. Louis, for those in the know), I ran out of fuel. Now, there were a few contributing factors to my running out of fuel, not all of which were my fault, but regardless, it happened. Of course, being on a bridge was pretty freaky, with cars passing as fast as they could, whipping around me and such, but a friendly truck gave me a push so I could take the next exit and get to a safer pull out.

I decided to test out the Mercedes Roadside Assistance program. I called the number on my glovebox, and after navigating some menus and waiting on hold for a few minutes I was helped. The woman asked me quite a few questions about the car, and had to enter me as the new owner of the car, since I hadn't used Roadside Assist before, and wasn't the original owner. Had to give the VIN, etc.

Finally, I let her know the problem, and she says she'll contact someone, and get back to me. I get a call a few minutes later from a tow company, who has been put in charge of the Mercedes roadside program in the area. I let them know that I'm out of fuel, and that I just need a gallon or three of diesel to get back on the road. He says, well, we can't transport fuel, or really anything else. All we can do is tow you somewhere for 85$. Seriously, I said, you can't bring me a few gallons of diesel? Nope..

So I said thanks but no thanks, and went to plan B, which was to pour a quart of Powerservice and a half gallon of motor oil into the tank, prime it up, and drive to another gas station. Fortunately, plan B worked fine, and the engine ran beautifully on DieselKleen and 15W40, and took me the several miles to the nearest diesel station.

Has anyone else tried the roadside assistance recently and found it to be a little... unsatisfying?

peace,
sam

nazrat · #2 10-27-2005, 03:26 PM

My sister has used it twice. Once when she was at the store to purchase a new battery. She couldn't figure out how to get the old battery out. They told her to stay put and roadside assistance arrived and sold her a battery, installed for almost nothing more than what the battery would have cost at the store that she was sitting outside of. The second time it was raining VERY hard. She left work and in rushhour traffic on the DC beltway one of the wipers came off. She called roadside assistance again and the man who arrived ziptied the wiper back onto the arm so that she could continue on her way. This is in a 20 year old car that hasn't been to the dealer in many many years.

Maybe they contracted with a pathetic tow company, or there is a regulation in your state about carrying fuel. Either way I wouldn't be impressed with that service, but MB roadside assitance has server our family well.

-Tad

84300DT · #3 10-27-2005, 03:29 PM

what rubbish.

every i mean every tow truck i see around these parts has a portable 5 gal red fuel tank strapped onto the outside of it somewhere...
unless there's some weird law out your way, that guy shud be reported to MB as being a rip off artist...

Glinko · #4 10-27-2005, 03:34 PM

Yeah, it seems to me that the service station was trying to get an extra buck out of you, thinking that you were a priss-priss, leather-driving-gloves-and-Classical-music-in-the-CD-player-I-don't-know-a-damn-thing-about-cars kind of Mercedes driver.

Pete Burton · #5 10-27-2005, 03:41 PM

Never used it or ever expect to. Just goes against my deep self-reliant grain. I'd rather be stuck, miserable and stressed out. But that's just me.

dannym · #6 10-27-2005, 04:02 PM

As long as it's in an approved container anyone can transport fuel anywhere. The guy was obviously lying.

Danny

PagodaLover · #7 10-27-2005, 05:30 PM

You ran into a con artist. Good for you that you had a plan B, the means to carry out plan B, and plan B worked. Now, do the right thing and let MBZ know they need to patronize someone else cause this guy is a bozo.

I have used roadside assist only once. Needed gasoline for a 230SL prior to repairing the fuel gauge. They fixed me up and showed friendliness and interest in the car, asking questions. It was a decent experience.

pawoSD · #8 10-27-2005, 05:41 PM

I have an entire 1 gallon jug of shell rotella 15w40 in the trunk, so I have an extra 20ish miles of driving if needed

I don't even know why I have it, my engine burns no oil....even at 3000ish mile intervals....I guess I can just call it "spare fuel" then.

nhdoc · #9 10-27-2005, 05:48 PM

Here is the cut and paste directly from MBUSA's own website on the page entitled "Roadside Assistance":

"What should I do if I run out of gas? If I get a flat tire? If my battery dies?"

When you own a Mercedes-Benz, the answer is simple: don't worry. Our Roadside Assistance Program includes a free service called Sign and Drive, providing prompt relief for the three biggest headaches of the highways. We'll jump-start your run-down battery, bring you a few gallons of fuel to get you back on your way or change a flat tire using your spare, all free of charge.

Call back and speak to a manager at roadside assistance. Tell them your next call is to the attorney general's office at your state's consumer affairs department to discuss false advertising charges.

phidauex · #10 10-27-2005, 06:12 PM

Thanks for the response, everyone... I just wanted to see if this was 'standard practice' or not, and it doesn't seem like it is. I'll call up the local MB dealership, who are the ones who contracted out their service, and see what they have to say about it. The 'we can't carry fuel' line sounded weird to me too. I even had him check with his manager, and it was confirmed, no, they can't transport fuel. Which seems odd, since those little 5 gallon cans were created for a reason, presumably that reason being 'transporting fuel'. Its not like I was asking them to bring me a tanker-load or something.

Yes, the plan B was a good one, and I'm glad it worked! Now that gallon of oil I keep in the back serves a dual purpose, topping up oil, and topping up the tank. The powerservice was a nice additive too, though a bit expensive per gallon. Car ran great on the combo though, very smooth.

Again, thanks for the confirmation, we'll see what MB has to say about it next...

peace,
sam

1983/300CD · #11 10-27-2005, 06:14 PM

Perhaps you need to reimburse the price of fuel, but that is one of the few things they provide with the roadside service free of charge. Please contact MB with this info about Mr. Slimeball Guy. It would help us all out.

bbeardb · #12 10-27-2005, 06:42 PM

I thought every car on the road transfers fuel, in their fuel tanks...

nhdoc · #13 10-27-2005, 07:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phidauex

Thanks for the response, everyone... I just wanted to see if this was 'standard practice' or not, and it doesn't seem like it is. I'll call up the local MB dealership, who are the ones who contracted out their service, and see what they have to say about it. The 'we can't carry fuel' line sounded weird to me too. I even had him check with his manager, and it was confirmed, no, they can't transport fuel. Which seems odd, since those little 5 gallon cans were created for a reason, presumably that reason being 'transporting fuel'. Its not like I was asking them to bring me a tanker-load or something.

Yes, the plan B was a good one, and I'm glad it worked! Now that gallon of oil I keep in the back serves a dual purpose, topping up oil, and topping up the tank. The powerservice was a nice additive too, though a bit expensive per gallon. Car ran great on the combo though, very smooth.

Again, thanks for the confirmation, we'll see what MB has to say about it next...

peace,
sam

The MB policy is to give you a few gallons of fuel FOR FREE anytime you run out and call, PERIOD. There's not even a limit to the number of times you can call. In theory you could run your car out of fuel every time they put 3 gallons in and they are supposed to come and give you more, although I believe it is being unreasonable to expect that it is not unreasonable to expect them to do what they said they would do. They simply are not living up to their commitment made when the cars are sold. There's no excuse for them to say they can't transport fuel...that is total B.S. and you should call them on it, it's been done for decades and still is being done every day.

BluEyes · #14 10-28-2005, 02:01 AM

Wait, is this a service that MB offers for all owners of their cars, or is it something you have to sign up for?
I don't remember seeing any numbers to call in the back of my 1971 owners manual...

turbodiesel · #15 10-28-2005, 02:10 AM

I ran out of fuel once a few years ago.. a service car from the local benz dealership was there in about a half hour.. gave me a few gallons of diesel and I was on my way.