Mercedes-Benz of Modesto

I feel sorry for Stephen Michaels, a friendly service writer who is professional well but is working at an extremely dysfunctional service department. The exorbitant costs involved with repair service writer who is professional well but is working at an extremely dysfunctional service department. The exorbitant costs involved with repair service at Modesto European is ridiculous at best and it seems any service rendered always comes up to $2,000. On every occasion except one, our GL450 was returned with scratches. When brought to their attention, I was made to feel as though I brought the car knowing the scratches were already there! No reasonable solution was offered to fix the damage and so I made arrangements with a body shop on my own and paid for the repairs myself. This happened twice. One time I drove away after paying for repairs only to learn that the original problem still existed indicating extremely poor service work. I drove away on another occasion only to find that pieces taken off the car had not been re-installed. Never once have I been offered the old parts that have been replaced that were supposedly bad, which is illegal. State law dictates that all old parts are to be returned to the owner. I guess Modesto European is above the law or perhaps providing 'bad' or replaced parts may be uncomfortable for them and belie their M. O. I vowed I would never return but unfortunately, while within just a few miles of the dealership, our M/B began sputtering and engine light went on. I reluctantly took it in to them. I was told that the "valve solenoids" were suspect and I didn't have to replace them but if I chose not to then I could expect the "check engine" light to go on sporadically. Some other parts could be at fault as well(could be?!) I was told and sure enough, the cost is about $2,000 again. The car has been with them for about a week now but I am assured that as soon as the necessary gizmo comes in from Germany my car will be as good as new. I wonder if that includes the body work that will undoubtedly be needed due to more scratches? More

I own a Mercedes that I've brought to this dealership a few times. Each time it was brought in, I never left the business without paying at least 2K. Be as it may, I called the dealership in the hopes of s few times. Each time it was brought in, I never left the business without paying at least 2K. Be as it may, I called the dealership in the hopes of speaking to a sales agent concerning a particular Mercedes that a friend of mine was seriously considering buying. What a mistake! To make a long story short, it took forever for the phone to be answered and when it finally was a customer service agent told me that there were no sales agents to speak to - what?? We're considering buying a 100K car and theres no one to talk to?? I hang up. I call back and speak to the same representative and she says, "Hold on .." Transfers me to some sales agent's (with an english accent) phone voice mail. Again I hang up. I call back again (don't know why at this point) and tell her to stop transferring me to phone voice mail at which she says, "Ha, he was just there". The phone rings forever, at which point I hung up. This dealership missed out on a "huge" sale. But that's Ok, because judging on the level of service I was afforded, they must be doing extraordinary sales and didn't need our patronage. To conclude, I will not revisit this dealership nor would I recommend it to any of my colleagues or associates. It just amazes me when we're in the times that we're in, and this type of service is presented. More

I recently purchased a 2000, E430 MB from my business partner, with 51K miles on it. He had purchased this car new from Modesto European and said that all service had been performed by Modesto European. partner, with 51K miles on it. He had purchased this car new from Modesto European and said that all service had been performed by Modesto European. After driving the car for two weeks, I took it in to be serviced and asked them to check three things: the noise made while turning, the broken cup holder and the AM radio, which could not get even the strongest of stations clearly, and to advise me on other service that should be done. I was helped by Jason Downing (whom I later learned is the service manager.) The first call I received from Jason was to inform me that Mercedes’ made noise turning as a rule and that the radios were not very good. (This from the dealer of “luxury autos”). I told Jason that we had a problem if he thought that the noise made by my car while turning was “normal”. I asked him to drive it again before pursuing any other work on the car. They indeed found a problem and fixed it. They also did maintenance and repairs that they said would bring the car up to Mercedes specifications for a total bill of $5235.00 (including $342.00 to connect some wires in my rear window to fix my radio). They had the car for one week ($3803.00 in labor). I asked if the former owner had been notified by the dealership of possible maintenance requirements before his 50K warranty was up and he said he did not know. (It is my contention that a good service oriented dealership would not have let this happen in the first place, but that’s irrelevant.) I picked the car up from Modesto European and was told that the repairs were taken care of. They obviously did not listen to my radio as it was no better than before. (My invoice states “repaired AM antenna amplifier wiring, all OK at this time”. Several weeks later I discovered that if I turned the key on and then off the radio was clear, but when the car was started the radio returned to its staticky ways. I called Jason, and again took my car to Modesto European (which is a 40 minute one way drive from my house). They kept it from Tuesday until Friday and for $245.00 more, I received my car with a working radio. In summation, I paid $342 not to have my radio fixed, then 3 days without my car and another $245 for Modesto European to learn how to repair what I was told was fixed the first time. I’ve owned my own pharmacy, dealing with the public for the past 20 years. Before that I managed the place. If I offered the kind of “service” to my customers that I received from Modesto European I would not have seen year two. Needless to say Modesto European will get the “credit it deserves” when I’m talking with my customers and friends. Sincerely, Jim Biedenweg More