Persistent clutch issue (long description) - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

yhliem · #13 11-25-2004, 05:58 AM

So I called the dealership later in the day to see what could be done. I had already supplied them with the TSB 2 weeks prior to this time and I provided them with an additional copy. After getting bounced around the phone system for a few minutes i was put in touch with the service manager. I explained what had transpired up to this point and was surprised to find that I was being interrogated over the phone by this person. Some of his comments were:

"Who told you that you could have your car towed here?"

After I pointed out that I brought the car in myself and probably saved them some money in the process I was told "We wouldn't have paid the towing bill anyways. We would have just billed it back to you."

I was also informed that "the Technical Service Bulletin doesn't mean anything. It is not a recall, therefore we're not paying for it."

Which was later ammended to "If the parts are not covered by the 2-years parts warranty, you have to pay it yourself."

Upon being told that I had put a call in to Toronto about this issue I was told "It doesn't matter, you can call whomever you want: the decision will be made at the dealership level by me. So go ahead."

I won't bore any of you with futher details, but basically, after having PERSONALLY been a customer of Mercedes Benz for 5 years, whic does not count that 20+ years that my parents have been customers of the local dealerships, I was treated with disrespect and as if I were trying to rip off the company. This made me absolutely livid as
A) I am not an imbecile when it comes to cars,
B) I am an operations manager by trade and by training,
C) I've been a production manager in high tech manufacturing, and
D) I've worked in retail customer service for over 11 years.

I know what policies exist at MB and I understand why they do, I also know how they're arrived at because a part of what I do is business process engineering, and MIS planning. I have a high level of mechanical and technical aptitude and I wasn't asking for a new car. I was just asking them to foot the bill for the parts and labour in accordance with the recommended solution as defined by MB's own TSB. A solution that *I* provided them with. Should I not, for $125/hr for labour, expect Mercedes-Benz to provide the solution rather than having to try to find it on my own?

In the end I had to pay $150 in order to cover the hydraulic line and the labour to re&re it. In my opinion, that's $150 more than I should have paid after the ordeal but I doubt I would have gotten anything else out of the so-called service manager.