Mercedes-Benz of Manchester

Poor customer service and follow thru I purchased a new MB CLA in December of 2014. Purchasing the vehicle at Holloway was a fantastic experience. Servicing my vehicle at Holloway has been I purchased a new MB CLA in December of 2014. Purchasing the vehicle at Holloway was a fantastic experience. Servicing my vehicle at Holloway has been a nightmare. My car has had several suspension, braking, tire/wheel issues since day one. Given that my 2014 MB CLA250 is a first year model, I accept that issues with the vehicle are all but avoidable. Every 6,000-10,000 miles, the front rotars warp to a point that driving the vehicle makes your teeth chatter. So far, I've had the rotars changed twice under warranty. Now, my rotars are once again warped and Holloway has told me that they will not replace them again at no charge. I have been awaiting a call back from the service manager for 5 days on the issue. I even called back today (5th day) and reminded that I would like to speak to her (Rosie) about the issue. Still, no call back. It's actually no surprise I have not heard back. Back in June, I had a issue with my tires. They have already been replaced once under warranty for uneven wear. I spoke to the Service Manager about having to replace my tires again, she told me she would call me back after investigating the issue. Two months later, I still have received no phone call. I really do enjoy my vehicle (when it's not vibrating to a point my teeth chatter), but having to deal with a service department that seems to have no interest in making sure I am happy with my vehicle is a real let down. More

Misdiagnosis of unnecessary repair job - Differential Seals Holloway Motor Cars (HMC) almost hit me for a $710 rear axle differential seal repair it turned out I didn't need on my 2002 MB C240, TWICE misdiagnos Holloway Motor Cars (HMC) almost hit me for a $710 rear axle differential seal repair it turned out I didn't need on my 2002 MB C240, TWICE misdiagnosing a seal leak (which they documented.) I paid another Mercedes Benz Service Dept (MBoB in Burlington, Massachusetts) $66.00 to inspect my differential, and received the following report: "....No leaks found. Checked for leaks. No leaks detected. Checked fluid level. Fluid Level is correct. Checked vent tube. Vent tube OK. Vented vapors from differential can cause grime to build on cover which can be mistaken for a leak. No corrective action required...." HMC got it wrong - Another MB Service Department (MBoB-Burlington-Mass) got it right with a FAR MORE thorough inspection. I have records and documentation (e.g. MBoB/Burlington report, STARTEK information, HMC quotes, etc.) to substantiate everything above and below, all of which HMC should have as well. HMC's Service Department did a "complimentary walk-through" for me on my C240 on 5/5/15, and listed repair work needed, including differential seals ($710, pinion and 2 rear axles.) Their vehicle inspection report explicitly stated "Rear Diff Leaking", so this was no recommendation to replace the seals because of high mileage. I then took the car for an inspection again (with me present) on 6/5/15 (after I had pressure-washed the differential to test for a leak myself), and the surly mechanic (Don) AGAIN tried to say the front/side seals were leaking based on grime toward the rear (rear cover "pumpkin" seal ?), even though there was no sign of fluid leaking in the front (pinion) and side (axles) seals upon external visual inspection. He didn't bother to check fluid level or vent clogging. I challenged Don on his diagnosis (and other things), and Don made an unprofessional comment about how he wasn't getting paid for this walk-through with me (at which point I escalated to the Service Manager Rosie Cray to discuss a complaint and next steps for diagnosis....) After the 2nd inspection, I sent detailed information to them, informing them their diagnostics practices were flawed and likely often in their favor, as they didn't go "that extra step", and check fluid level. After discussion with the Parts/Service Head Brenda Bagdonas, we had an inspection set up to diagnose this a third time for 6/26/15. Then, after 10+ years of business with them (and nearly $14,000 spent) by a loyal customer for service and repair, I received a letter (dated 6/18/15) stating they're cancelling a THIRD appointment (6/26/15), and informed me they no longer wished to do business with me because "Holloway Motor Cars takes allegations of unethical business practice very seriously". This was an odd response on their behalf and, In my opinion, I believe they felt they were caught red-handed, and I became a liability/risk for exposing this (detailed below) - So they cut me off from the only Mercedes Benz dealership and service department within a 40 mile radius of my home. They almost cost me $710 for differential seals requiring no work, using a visual (external) inspection only (it looks "grimey".) In fact, another dealership (MBoB, ref above), clearly indicated this method of diagnosis is inadequate with the following statement in their diagnostic report: "... Vented vapors from differential can cause grime to build on cover which can be mistaken for a leak...." Best practice would have been to check the fluid level, and, if OK, clean the differential externally, then see if it's leaking at a later date (e.g. next Service B - recommended by HMC/MBUSA every 20K miles.) Also, they should inform the customer if they see fluid/oil on the floor where normally parked (e.g. garage), see HMC immediately. All totaled (based on my visit to MBoB/Burlington), an extra ~ 10 minutes of work for proper diagnosis which HMC chose to avoid over the course of 2 appointments. Then again, if visual inspection only tilts business toward you.....well, let's say something "didn't smell right" on this one....caveat emptor. I was on top of this, and avoided an unnecessary repair - So they cut me off. This is warning to other customers to please do the same - HMC could take advantage of your lack of technical knowledge and desperation to avoid a much higher repair job (in this case, gear damage.) Whether it's an honest service practice error needing correction, a "culture of corruption" (e.g. to help generate revenue needed to pay off the modernization of their service facility) or a corrupt mechanic (throw in some quick flat-rate jobs at high mileage) is unclear at this point, given how poorly Holloway has handled all this, including lack of responsiveness and unwillingness to engage mediation efforts to get this resolved. And another thing: It's my contention that HMC is doing inferior work at a higher price when they do a RWD (and likely AWD/4MATIC) differential seal replacement. After being told by MBUSA I HAD TO PAY to access their STARTEK technical information and documentation system to get simple answers to technical questions (STARTEK is used by their dealership service depts for reference), I put aside my irritation with this, "bit the bullet" and paid my $19.00 for 1 day access. And going through their flat-rates for repairs, my findings show they can do ALL the seals (including the rear cover, not included in MY quote from them) for less than the 5 labor hours they quoted to me for partial seal replacement (pinion and axles, cover seal excluded.) The reason they don't do the rear cover seal, I believe, is because it's the only seal that requires removal/installation of the differential from/to the vehicle (all others can be done with the differential still attached to the vehicle, from under the vehicle while on a lift.) I came up with 4.3 labor hrs - 0.5 hrs to remove/install the rear wheels, 2.8 hrs to remove/install the differential (including removing driveshaft and axles) and 0.25 hrs per seal (VERY HIGH estimate) to remove/install the old/new seals (qty = 4 seals: total = 1.0 hrs.) If an expensive seal replacement is truly needed, ALL seals should be replaced, not just 3 out of 4. That's the case even if adding the rear cover seal adds a bit more cost (parts and labor), and I believe I've shown it can actually be done FOR LESS. Again: Inferior quality (partial seals) at a higher cost to the customer (more labor hours exceeding the cost of the extra seal.) Through various consumer advocacy and protection agencies, I have submitted a detailed "whitepaper" on this, using STARTEK information I obtained. To date, HMC hasn't challenged me on this. Until Holloway states they have reviewed their practices, and fixed them where needed, I feel other customers should be alerted. So far, they've done nothing to engage a once-loyal customer like me seeking to prevent this from happening to other customers to close on this, and providing proof they've changed this. Finally, I recommend every customer get a copy of their service record from HMC, and check to see at which mileage differential seals were replaced, if done. If it was below 150,000 miles, and you never saw fluid on your garage floor, you should complain to Holloway. You very likely didn't need this repair job, as all they did was to check to see if your differential was dirty ("grime test") - They likely didn't check the fluid level at all. More

The service is there low point. The mechanics themselves are great and know what they are doing, the customer service on the service side is just lacking, dropped of the car with an The mechanics themselves are great and know what they are doing, the customer service on the service side is just lacking, dropped of the car with an appointment, and requested a loaner, after dropping it off waited almost an hour to get a loaner which ended up being from enterprise across the street. I got no calls during the day saying the car was done, ended up calling them around 6pm to find out it had been done some time already. Couple days after picking up the car I started to get calls from 'Pam' just asking for a call back, this morning I got calls every 15mins, I finally made contact with them to find out they had slightly undercharged my 339$ Service A (AKA Oil change) to 239$ and wanted my credit card number. More