Two stories both connected only by the title of this post, but both verified as true.
No1
Chap takes his M-B V class bought 2nd hand <1yr old to local M-B dealer cos he has found out M-B have issued a recall/notice about the parking brake button sticking causing the ratchet not to engage properly, hence possible runaway. M-B recommends replacement of lever. Local M-B dealer knows sod all about the recall, is shown the papers and when relative hears for the third time in as many minutes, "But you did not buy it here sir" he realises he is onto a loser and dealer has no intention of doing anything.
No2
Guy takes his 2+ yr old Jag to his dealer cos the suspension needs attention, not uncommon I hear. Is willing to pay readies to get it sorted but dealer is booked out for several weeks. Takes the car to two other dealers who have workshop capacity to do the job, only to get in reply in both cases "BUT YOU DID NOT BUY IT HERE SIR!"
Whats going on? In the case of the M-B dealer they are known throughout the area as being hopeless and a complete set of prats, but for geographical reasons there is not a sensible alternative. If this is how M-B dealers operate then I say they deserve sacking.
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And in what area is this MB dealership then?
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Martyn,
Is it within the rules to name & shame?
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I don't know. Can the "Back Room Moderator" advise on this.
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If we are able to comment impartially on aspects of motoring, eg. such and such a car has this fault, then surely we are able to comment on other aspects, eg. this dealer has these faults.stuart
bruce wrote:
>
> Martyn,
> Is it within the rules to name & shame?
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To be honest gents, who and where it is will not affect 99%+ of you, as in the case of M-B it's not mainland UK if that's a clue, Jag dealers were inside M25 area I believe but have no specifics there. If it's OK with Martyn BRM then I am willing to give the info on the M-B dealer, either here or by a private email.
The theme of my original point is that in both these cases here was someone wanting work done which in one case presumably M-B would pay for, and in the other the customer had the folding in his sticky hand, yet the dealers did not want to touch the car as the "customer" was new to them and they did not supply the car new/secondhand. I have never heard of this practice before, and it seems just a shade cr*p to me.
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Surely the solution is simple; go somewhere else where the dealership looks beyond the end of their nose. Why bother with the hassle of a dealer who can't see that, while you may not have bought this car from them, their attitude will probably govern where you buy your next one?
I have my car (excellently) serviced by a small dealer in Southampton (already on the good garage list elsewhere on this site) and if I still bought cars from dealers, I'd certainly use them. Even though I won't be buying from them, they have had a grand or so out of me to date and will have my custom forever if they continue to treat me as well as they do now.
What we *should* be able to do is to have a list of disreputable garages on this site as a counterpoint to the good garages list. That would help to drive the terrible garages' business levels down and force them to address attitude problems such as those highlighted. A threshold of, say, half a dozen complaints before appearing in the hall of shame would prevent scurrilous attacks. I presume libel laws, etc, prevent us doing this. Any views, Back Room Moderator?
Meanwhile, if a garage hacks you off, tell them why and take your money elsewhere. If they get aggressive (which happened to me when I did this once) point out that this just proves the case you're making. Then run away. Quickly. The tell your friends.
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Vin,
I agree completely with your view on voting with feet/wallet, also your suggestion about a hall of shame.
To quote another case with this dealer, though its about third hand is that another customer got p***ed off, and she had it out with them. Next time the car went in for a service, the dealer very kindly washed it, except it appeared that the roof had been washed with a sponge previously kicked round the yard in the apprentoid's lunch break. Needed a respray, dealer denied all knowledge. Now you see what I mean about being a set of prats and wanting sacking.
I suppose this thread is getting into the tell your friends bit in your suggestion, but I do not want to get the site into a legal problem. Hence this is my last word unless HJ/Martyn says its OK, sorry to take a bit of a jobsworths attitude.
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Just do what they do on "Have I got news for you" on BBC2.
Say, "Allegedly, Arrogant & Sons of The Isle of Wight are cr*p"
It always (!) keeps matey from Private Eye out of bother.
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He's on holiday. But in a chatroom, you publish the libellous material, not us.
HJ
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honest john wrote:
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> He's on holiday. But in a chatroom, you publish the libellous
> material, not us.
>
> HJ
Therefore, it's up to us. And "Fair Comment" is a defence in libel cases. So, if any of us have had an awful experience at a garage (not "heard about a bloke" who did) and simply stick to the facts, we can say what happened without fear.
Unfortunately, the only garage I ever had a major hassle with is now out of business (sometimes there IS justice), so I haven't got anything to air.
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Do they read Private Eye in the Channel Islands? ;-)
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Anyone who goes anywhere near a main dealer deserves to be ripped off. The expression "cowboys" was meant for main dealers.
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