Mercedes-Benz of Austin

I searched the entire state looking for a Mercedes with specific options and only found two, one at Mercedes of Austin and another in Houston with a “Mercedes” dealership who did their financing through a third party. In other words, not a real Mercedes dealership. As a matter of fact, most of the dealerships I spoke to offered marginal attention and customer service. The local dealerships in Dallas (one of which we’ve purchased a car from in the past), kept sending me back the generic “we will contact you shortly” form in response to my inquiry online, and when we visited them and test drove a vehicle, they were supposed to email us back about our search, but instead we got an email thanking us for our time, and keep them in mind for a future purchase. We were also looking at a top of the line, fully loaded Volvo, and although we thought the Mercedes we were looking for was gorgeous, we had a Volvo and knew their process and the deal I was getting was too good for our practical nature to pass up. For one last push for the Mercedes, (my wife’s birthday was this week so I was willing to make the seemingly impossible happen) I contacted Mercedes of Austin. Mercedes of Austin told me they could not give me a quote on a lease over the phone. As much as that may have frustrated my desire to secure the vehicle, I respected that. After dealing with dealerships throughout the state, I could sense by this and the generally stellar reviews on line that they had scruples. I told Bonnie, whom I was speaking with on the phone and who was very courteous and professional that I would come back to them if I couldn’t find another, but if they wanted to get the car off their lot by Saturday, to have someone call me back. This was on a Wednesday. Thursday I began speaking with Michael Bakiris. He is excellent and courteous at his craft and he offered to negotiate a lease with me. After a few conversations during the day, and a brief one on Friday, we nailed down a competitive price point. I was extremely grateful to Mr. Bakiris for the opportunity to go from making a lateral Volvo move to getting my wife the Mercedes she really wanted. I booked the flights from Dallas to Austin for the next day. I woke up early Saturday morning and saw that our flight had been cancelled due to maintenance. I panicked and rebooked an earlier flight. Michael said he was going to arrange for a driver pick us up from the airport. When Michael texted me the name of the driver, Brian, and his number, I contacted him and told him our flight was rescheduled and we were there early. He arrived promptly with little notice and courteously drove us to the dealership. I finally was able to meet Michael in person and found him to be very warm and friendly. Michael did everything he could to expedite the process just as we requested. He had Patrick Rodriguez, the concierge specialist, show us how to navigate all of the luxury options of the car. He was excellent and it was an experience unlike any we have had in purchasing a car before. When he saw that we had the classic Ipod, he even made sure to exchange the newer cable for the one we needed. Above and beyond. He took us into the store to pick out key chains and our choice of swag. Afterwards he gave us back to Michael who immediately took us into the finance office where we met Don Rollish, the finance lease manager. He was prepared with all of the paperwork printed and ready to go. He went above and beyond to ensure we were aware of key aspects of a lease. He was extremely informative and the process was clear cut. We signed the papers and Michael introduced us to the Manager of the dealership who thanked us for our business, and off we went in our new car. My wife said she thought that not only was it the most painless experience with a dealership but it was actually quite enjoyable. By the time we returned home we both felt that if we stick with Mercedes in the future, we want to deal with Mercedes of Austin. THANK YOU so much Michael Bakiris - for your exceptional customer service, your courtesy and a truly enjoyable opportunity to join the Mercedes family.