Just got my 2nd SLK32 or How replacing fog lamp bulb got me a free 2nd car!
First off, Mercedes Benz of America is great. Here is what happened. I got my 32 in August and I just love the thing to death. But, while changing out the fog bulbs about a month ago I found that one of the bulbs that came with the car was not an original Mercedes part. Hmm, that got me thinking. Where in the chain of delivery would my car have gotten a non-Mercedes bulb? The dealer only has Mercedes bulbs, I checked. So, I thought maybe I should check the car out closer. Lord, knows that I had waxed it at least 10 times, so you'd think I would have noticed any promlems, right? And, the car drives straight and without so much as a shimmy, even at 143 mph ;) But, I got out the flash light and started looking carefully at the paint (black). And, low and behold the damn thing had different colored paint on the whole nose of the car and in the engine compartment. <br>
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Back to the dealer and boy were they surprised. They told me after a few days that the Rep. from American Mercedes was flying in to Seattle to look at my car. He came out to my house at lunch time and looked it over and said your car is two different colors. I requested a new car. He said he would have to get back to me. He was quiet obviously puzzled. Several days later I got a call from the General Manager at the dealership and was told that MB of A. was looking for another car for me. <br>
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I got the car yesterday and they just swapped me straight across. I got a new black 32 with 11 miles and I paid not one cent (mine had 5,500 miles). I didn't have to whine or moan or anything. They just said what happened wasn't what Mercedes is all about and they are still not sure why it happened but they wanted to make me whole! <br>
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Guys, it doesn't get much better than that. The dealership was on my side the whole way. Barrier of Bellevue. They couldn't have handled it any better. And, I can't tell you how much fun it is to get delivery of my second 32, I was happy with just getting one new one in my life. Now, I've gotten two. Wow, I'm still pinching myself. <br>
I have had 3 MBs over the last 10 years and have only had trouble with one dealership in town. Otherwise, I've had good relationships with MB. I will say that I had a ML320m as a loaner for a week and just loathed the damnable beast. It didn't feel like a MB. I think that line was hated my MB as well. I think they are glad they have a new version coming out. I think they learned a lot about making an inexpensive SUV.
I had a similar experience with Barrier and they treated me like a king - swapped my car out - same as you. Difference is my first SLK was just 'bad'.<br> <br> If you were at Barrier - who is your salesman?
I mainly delt with John Ramstedder the general mgr. My salesman was Michael Le who was great as well. Also, Bob Humphries is the service manager and you need to get to know him, he is great to deal with. I hate to sound so rosey about all of this but I just have never had such good coustomer service as this. I don't always have the best luck on these sorts of things but this time I didn't have to do a thing. I just showed them my car and they picked up the ball and took care of me. I know that the car should have been right in the first place and I know that this was the right thing for them to do but in the real world people don't usually step up to the plate and take accountablity.
Your car obviously had shipping damage. I don't know what M-B's policy is but I read that BMW's policy is that they do not notify the customer (or even the dealer) of shipping damage if the cost to repair is less than 3% of the value of the vehicle. I believe this is their cost, not the cost that you and I would have to pay. Nice to know it worked out so well for you. FYI, I know of an identical incident that happened to a guy in Austin. He got one of the first SLKs back in Feb '97, but he found overspray on it while detailing it. He confronted the dealer who didn't have a clue, so a factory inspected it. He got a new SLK, but it took 4 months to re-order it.
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