Buyers Beware !!!!!!!…read more
My family has been bringing our Mercedes vehicles to this shop for many years. Under the previous owner, we always received honest service, fair pricing, and professionalism. Sadly, since the original owner no longer runs the business and the business came under new management, our experience has been completely different.
We recently brought in our 2009 Mercedes S-Class for what should have been a straightforward battery replacement. We were charged $392 for the main battery, $255 for the auxiliary battery, $127 for installation, and an additional $150 storage fee, bringing the total bill to $924.
Here's where things became unacceptable.
The shop contacted us on Friday for additional information about the vehicle, and we immediately authorized the repair. However, because they are no longer open on Saturdays and did not have the battery in stock, they had to order it. Instead of accepting responsibility for their scheduling and parts availability, they charged us $150 in storage fees because the vehicle remained on their lot over the weekend before the repair was even completed.
The car wasn't sitting there because we delayed picking it up. It was sitting there because they hadn't completed the repair. We explained that we should not be responsible for storage charges on a vehicle that was still waiting on parts and had not yet been repaired. They refused to remove the charge.
It didn't stop there.
Once the repair was finally completed, they called us at 4:00 p.m. to let us know the car was ready. The shop closes at 5:00 p.m., so we immediately told them we were on our way. That's when we were informed that the "final pickup time" was actually 4:00 p.m. They then said that if we could make it before they closed at 5:00 p.m., we "should be okay."
That made absolutely no sense.
If the final pickup time is 4:00 p.m., why wait until 4:00 p.m. to notify your customer that the vehicle is ready? You have no idea whether your customer is at work, across town, or otherwise unavailable. After already charging us $150 in storage fees for a vehicle that hadn't even been repaired, it certainly felt like we were being set up to incur another storage charge simply because they waited until the last hour of business to call.
As longtime customers, this experience was incredibly disappointing. We trusted this shop for years because of the integrity and customer service under the previous owner. Unfortunately, that level of service appears to be gone.
Charging customers storage fees because your business is closed on Saturdays, billing them for storing a vehicle while waiting on parts, and then notifying them at the exact moment your stated pickup deadline begins is, in my opinion, an unfair business practice and a terrible way to treat loyal customers.
This shop has lost our business permanently. I would strongly encourage anyone considering bringing their Mercedes .... DON'T. There are too many reputable independent Mercedes repair shops to accept treatment like this.
Zero stars if I could give them that.