Driven round the Benz
Source: This article was taken from the April 2011 issue of Noseweek
Motorists are getting ripped-off and nobody seems to care; the big cost of owning a car is not in the purchase price, but hidden away in some obscure clauses demanding that your high-end vehicle must be serviced by an “authorised dealer” and that that Special Part – be it fuse, bulb or spare key – must only be bought through one of these dealerships at an always-over-inflated price.
Even a simple adjustment, such as having the central control unit (the car’s computer) reset is laid down in the small print, and, to get a regular service carried out, owners must call and book, sometimes weeks in advance, and are often held to ransom by the manufacturers.
One Cape Town motorist, Attila Allmann – who had until recently regarded himself as a proud Mercedes-Benz fanatic – has a complaint that echoes numerous other cries that have reached Noseweek.
The dealership demanded R21,000 – the Bulgarians did the job for R5,140
Allmann took his Vito Bus CD115, with an odometer reading of 105,000km, to Mercedes-Benz Culemborg when its central control unit seemed faulty.
“A diagnostic test was carried out and I was quoted, on paper, R21,261.65, to have the unit replaced. It was clearly pointed out to me by the dealership that this is the only possible way of carrying out the repair. I was never offered any alternative.
“I approached the spares department at the dealership, requesting the part number that needed to be replaced and was told this was impossible as employees are under strict instructions not to divulge any part numbers to clients.”
Ironically, when Allmann opted not to have his car attended to and requested a quotation, the part number was clearly stated on the sheet of paper.
He turned to the internet and “within a few clicks” found that very part being offered by three UK-based suppliers for the equivalent of R8,500 – including shipping and taxes – that Special Part that the local dealership had claimed “needed to be specifically preprogrammed in Germany by Daimler AG for my Vito”.
When he told Mercedes-Benz Culemborg about his bargain find, they warned him that if he were to buy the part from Britain, it would not work in his car. He was also discouraged from buying the Special Part second-hand out of a salvaged Vito, which would have cost him R8,000. But Mercedes-Benz Culemborg was adamant: “our Special Part, or get lost”.
Idling between the devil and the deep blue sea, Allmann then hit on the idea that the part could simply be repaired, but his inquiry about that seemed to be regarded as offensive by Culemborg staff who snootily told him: “computer parts can never be repaired; just order the damn Special Part through us!”.
“At this point, I followed the advice of John Davidson of Connoisseur Autohaus in Somerset West, a pre-owned car dealer, who referred me to Dimitri Stavrev of DS Auto Electronics in Montague Gardens. These unassuming, gentle and highly professional Bulgarians have since repaired the CCU for R5,140 including VAT and have given me a year’s guarantee.
“DS Auto Electronics have more diagnostic equipment than all the Mercedes dealerships in South Africa put together.
“They carry out simple electronic component replacement on the motherboards and, to put a cherry on the cake, they can carry out the programming as well.
“This roller-coaster journey has made me acutely aware of the highly organised cartel in the auto industry in South Africa – which is bent on making outrageous and excessive profits.
“Furthermore, I am of the opinion that Mercedes clients are treated with condescension and contempt: if they can afford a Mercedes, they have money, therefore we’ll milk the suckers. Most of their clients probably reel from the punch then reluctantly pay up.
“No dealership should be allowed to make such a massive profit on a part that simply shouldn’t fail – and that’s before labour is factored in. The fact that I was able to save myself more than R16,000 speaks volumes.”
Allman’s repair by an “unauthorised company” seemed to have irritated, Mercedes-Benz SA: Culemborg’s service administrative manager then phoned to inform him “bluntly and without any explanation, that my request for a claim against the CCU part would not be entertained by Mercedes”.
The vehicle has 105,000km on the clock and the Special Part is not a mechanical working component, Allmann points out. “So much for paying for quality! I also find it unacceptable that I was given no explanation as to why Mercedes would not entertain my claim! Their approach is, ‘take that, say thank you, shut up and pay up’.”
When Noseweek contacted Mercedes-Benz South Africa, we received two sets of responses. In the first, Leon Knoesen of the “vans division” wrote: “.. .we would like to assure you that the problem that Mr Allmann has experienced with his vehicle and Mercedes-Benz Culemborg is sincerely regretted. We have a full understanding of his disappointment, inconvenience and resultant frustration. As manufacturer, we take this sort of information from our customers very seriously…”
“Mercedes clients have money, therefore we’ll milk them”
Very seriously indeed. Five days later, the same Knoesen sent an addendum to his earlier response: “We would like to assure you that it is certainly not Mercedes-Benz practice to withhold information from customers. Nevertheless, we have addressed the concerns raised by Mr Allmann with Mercedes-Benz Culemborg.”
The monopoly supplier goes on to say: “Mercedes-Benz South Africa replacement parts are priced using various factors, ie movement, competitiveness within the SA market, R&D costs, storage and delivery cost, inflationary increases/decreases, parts segmentation etc. Based on the aforementioned, Mercedes-Benz SA adjusts and constantly updates the pricing system. and pricing of individual components. We have revised the pricing of the component, taking into consideration the latest parameters, and have adjusted the price accordingly.
“Mercedes-Benz SA is however not able to comment on the price if sourced directly from abroad, as all our imported parts are purchased from our parent company in Germany. Nevertheless, we will bring this matter to their attention and address it accordingly.
“With regards to the control unit repair, we wish to inform you that Mercedes-Benz SA, regardless of which control unit is deemed to be faulty, does not and will not under any circumstances allow any repair to an electrical control unit. As per our directive from Daimler A G, it will be replaced. This is to protect the customer from any consequential and unforeseen damage that may result from repaired electronic control units.”
Well, judging from the number of motorists queuing up in Montague Gardens at D S Auto Electronics, Mercedes-Benz SA (and by extension, Daimler A G) should think again about their exploitatively marked-up Special Parts because, as consumers become more internet literate, they’re likely to vote with their wheels.
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