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Mercedes Benz SLK ….THE REAL TRUTH

by hewettwspa on Sun Aug 31 09:08:53 PDT 2008

1. Quality of Mercedes Benz Build We purchased a MB SLK 350 last October ,2007 from Mercedes Benz, Lincoln . A very serious defect on the quality of the build of the car itself was encountered. The creaks and rattles of the car that cost in excess of £44,000 is utterly abysmal. According to the General Manager of Mercedes Benz Lincoln, Andy Worsley, all SLKs and Mercedes convertibles have rattles and creaks especially those with sports suspension and the 18 inch wheels. My wife has been in tears in the showrooms, which the staff thought was highly amusing, due to the problems being ignored. The car was in the workshop over three weeks shortly after being purchased being investigated and supposedly repaired for the noises but to no avail . After numerous complaints and the staff of Lincoln garage taking the car out on investigative drives they recently tried to repair and suppress the noise by placing gaffer tape around the struts of the car boot tray and stated this was the best they can do.  Contacting Mercedes Benz, Gary Morris a senior Customer Support Technical Manager within the Directors Office visited us and upon a ride in the car he agreed it was defective and indeed stated that the noise would drive him potty. WE had had 6 months of this. The car has been at a garage at Peterborough for initially a week followed by three weeks in order to try and rectify the faults. The tape was removed and the rattles have been improved however, the car still creaks when driving and the rattle is slowly returning after little use on the Lincolnshire roads. We were informed early August that our problems were over in respect that Mercedes would assist in an exchange and we were told that arrangements would be made for us to test drive the Mercedes range. When we called the garage to sort out a date the garage had not been informed of the visit and due to their involvement in the repairs suggested we returned to Lincoln as they did not want the ‘Friday Afternoon‘ car. Mercedes management have returned from holiday but are ignoring us …how long do we have to wait to get fair treatment from Mercedes but we WARN YOU NOW. Watch this space.. 2. Salesman ‘Get out Clauses‘ to awkward questions. At the time of the purchase on three occasions during the transaction we specifically asked the sales executive, James Murphy, if there was any changes, updates to the car expected in the near future. The salesman told us that he had no knowledge of a new model. This was a complete and utter lie as we have been informed by Senior Manager of Mercedes Benz that they were taking orders for the new model at the time in question. We were also told that with this direct question sales staff should be truth full and inform clients of imminent changes. Obviously, this is being ignored by sales staff at Lincoln and encouraged by their managers. 3. Mercedes Benz Insurance At the time we purchased the car we were encouraged to take Mercedes Benz insurance as we were told by the sales staff that if we were involved in a serious car crash we would get a new replacement car,as printed in the MB Insurance summary schedule. Despite being more expensive, by some £100 we thought this car replacement scheme was worth the extra premium. In January 2008, we were hit from behind whilst stationary by a car doing 60 mph. When we asked if we would get a new car as per the policy summary as the car was only months old, had only done 2000 miles and the repairs involved the car being put on a jig we were told that to be eligible for the new car the repairs had to be more than 60% of the value of the car i.e. as with any other car insurance. We argued with MB Insurance over this due to the fact that whilst being sold the insurance their staff emphasised the new car replacement policy but no time was the 60 % damage limit mentioned. (As verified in the tape of the car insurance sales) . We lost this argument and were treated as any other standard insurance by Norwich Union with numerous calls from their Indian call centre, an example of their standard is that they wrote to us stating they understood the repair had been carried out when the car was still to be inspected by the assessor. (It appears you are buying a Norwich Union Insurance policy at Mercedes Benz prices). Ivor Woods, Retail Customer Service Manager , Mercedes Benz Insurance has offered to help us with our claims , they have spoken at length to the solicitor but state they can not assist us with the claim amounts however unjust the offers by the other parties insurance company. He stated that Insurance companies have an understanding they can not barter on costs encountered by insurance companies but can do what they like on Clients personal claims. We had an independent engineers report stating the diminished value of the car was approximately £4600 , the insurance company has stated on their response to the claim they normally pay 10% of cost of the car (in our case £4400) but in our case despite their client admitting total guilt they would only pay us £2000. As stated by Ivor Woods, 19 June 2007, Mercedes Benz can not comment on this as they have no qualified staff to provide them with such information. Indeed , they can not take any action on behalf of their paying customer . They have suggested if we are not happy with the solicitors Kayes who are pressing for settlement so that they can be paid we should take the matter up with the Law Society. (pass the buck time by MB) Speaking to Ivor Woods, Mercedes Benz Insurance he informed Mr Hewett that insurance companies only pay out what they want to pay out and they never pay out amounts asked for . When Ivor Woods was questioned on this Insurance stance and whether insurance companies take offers on their renewal policies he stated they would listen to any offers on insurance premiums. DOES THIS ALL SOUND LIKE BOYCE’S GARAGE ON ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES!!!!!! 4. Customer Surveys Team The galling part of the whole fiasco is that the Lincoln garage has been awarded Customer Satisfaction Team of the Year award for the Group by Mercedes Benz…. indeed a whole MB brochure Summer 2008 is devoted to it.. In the news article it quotes Lincoln garage saying ‘Customer Satisfaction is something we take very seriously as a Company.’ Ivor Woods, MB Insurance was informed in February 2008 that the Lincoln garage was cheating with respect of customer care as the garage offered a full tank of fuel for providing a signed blank customer care/survey form . A fact confirmed by other customers. So despite being told of cheating and underhand tactics Mercedes Benz have awarded this garage finical incentives and bonuses . Mercedes Benz Lincoln offered to exchange the car in May but at a loss of £16,000. Thus…. being a Mercedes Benz owner must be one of the most expensive in the car industry. !!! If you wish any further details

CougarFest Write-up

by spartan93 on Fri Aug 03 15:17:38 PDT 2001

All -- I have been quite remiss since last summer in keeping up with the goings-on of the CSG. I was out of commission with a move from Baltimore to Jacksonville. Regardless, the following was sent to me by my father. It is a write-up of CougarFest 2001 in FoMoCo's employee newsletter... Cougar Fest Brings Mercury Owners to Dearborn/Flat Rock By Jon Hewett DEARBORN, Mich., Aug. 1, 2001 (FCN) -- They came from all reaches of the country, from California and Texas, to New York and even Canada, to share stories and show off their customized Cougars. More than 150 energetic Mercury Cougar owners took part in this annual two-day event known as Cougar Fest. Now in its third year, Cougar Fest starts at the home of Mercury's sports coupe, the AutoAlliance International Plant in Flat Rock, Mich. Cougar owners converged there last Friday, meeting fellow owners and members of the Cougar Brand Team. They also received a brief history lesson on the plant, which is a 50-50 joint venture between Ford Motor Company and Mazda, and then were able to go on a tour of the facility and see the Cougar actually being built. (AutoAlliance also manufactures the Mazda 626.) "The plant tour was awesome," said Cougar owner Heather Smith. "Seeing all of the machines stamping out my car from sheet metal to the finished product was a unique experience for me." On day two, Cougar Fest shifted to the grounds of the Automotive Hall of Fame in Dearborn, where more owners joined in. Among them was Brad Lloyd, a software engineer who originated the event concept two years ago, along with a handful of friends and fellow owners. "There were 11 of us," said Lloyd. "We all loved the vehicle and enjoyed tricking it up, so we decided to organize a quick one-day event down at the plant. It was great, and everyone had such a good time they kept asking me for another one. Now, we've got this huge event with over 150 cars. It's really been successful." Not to mention a wonderful brand-building opportunity for Mercury. "Not only does this type of event show our customers we appreciate their business, it helps build meaningful relationships," said Mike Sprague, Cougar brand manager. "Judging by some of the distances these Cougar owners traveled to attend this year's event, they are as excited and enthusiastic as we are." "I've always loved this car," said Cougar owner Curtis Long. "My buddy has owned one, and I loved the way it looked and handles. It's just a really fun car. As for the Cougar Fest event, it is fun to see how many different things people do to their cars. I just had to come see it." Although Cougar Fest marks the first time that many of these Cougar owners have met in person, for many, it is the next step in an ongoing relationship that began by sharing customizing tips via the Internet. Many routinely visit a pair of Web sites dedicated to Mercury Cougar owners, www.cougarfest.com and www.newcougar.org. "It is like a big family," said Cougar owner Alfonso Auz. "People give you ideas on what has worked for them, share pictures of their cars -- I feel like I know many of them. As for the Cougar, there are just so many things you can do with it. It's just your imagination; it describes yourself." Although Cougar sales overall are off from a year ago, the introduction of limited "special edition" models, like the zinc yellow Cougar Zn, have been strong sellers. "Sales have been brisk," Sprague said. "The Zn is moving about two-to-three times faster than the base Cougars." Continuing that trend is the planned launch of the Cougar XR this fall, in addition to plans for an upcoming 35th anniversary edition vehicle.