MB Delearship Didn't Perform The Work I Was Charged For
 

I'm pretty peeved at the moment and I am just venting and asking for opinions on how to handle the situation. I had a service for my C class yesterday and it was for what MB calls a B service. It's more extensive and includes things such as changing engine air filter, cabin filter, oil change, brake fluid, etc. total came out to be $650.

Well I have a dash cam and I always make sure to review the footage when I get back. I discovered that the car was pulled into the service area but it was simply parked behind other cars that were in the actual bays. The footage ends there because the engine was shut off. The next videos shows the car driving back out but the car was in the same position, that is it never made it to the actual service bay, just parked horizontally behind other cars that were lifted. The time stamp indicates about an hour between the two videos.

Now if I give them the benefit of the doubt, most of the work could technically still be performed. Oil could have been vacuumed out and refilled. Filters could be changed. But brake fluid? Not so much, it requires the front tires to be off.

I had some time today and opened up the engine bay to find that the engine air filter was not changed. Looked dirty with leaves and even dead bees. Obviously, this leads me to doubt of other things were done. I just can't believe a large dealership would be this dishonest.

I plan to call the SA tomorrow and say that the filter wasn't changed. Not sure if I should bring up my dash cam footage. Would you trust them to perform the service a second time? Would you ask for your money back? If they deny, should I dispute the charge on my credit card?

Call the Service manager and express your concern. My experience with MB dealers say that they will make it up to you.

My first move would've been to just call them and ask for the job to be corrected and for the service rep to give you a nice discount if not take away the brake fluid charge completely because you had to go back for them to correct their own mistake.

yeah, call them and be nice of course, tell them that you noticed that your filter has not been changed and that you saw on your dash cam that car did not move.

Keep in mind that they could have pushed the car over service bay, who knows.

yup just nicely asked for service manager and explain yourself and ask for more information

Did you pull out the dipstick (assuming it actually has one, as many newer M-Bs have oil-monitors instead) to see if the oil was clean and changed? Usually, right after an oil change, the oil is clean and virtually transparent on the dipstick...it won't turn dark for a few days. Years ago, car manufacturers would sometimes require a new filter on only every other oil change, but now it is pretty much required on every change across the board.

That's pretty surprising for a MBZ dealership. I'd give them the chance to get it right, but perhaps seek out a different dealership in the future. If they did it to you, they are liking doing it to others- meaning it could happen to you again later on. Trust has been broken in a big way.

I did pull the dip stick. Its not completely golden and clear, but not completely dark. Hard to tell.

Nope, I compared the videos of when it was parked, and when it was started and the angles of the surroundings were the same. The car was parked horizontally behind other vehicles in the service bay so they really couldn't have pushed the car to make the left turn.

Wow. Very surprised at this. Absolutely keep your cool, be professional and address this with the service manager. Also write a nice letter to the owner manager of the MB. Vent but keep cool. The service manager probably doesn't know this is happening.

Wow this is bad, the trust of the dealership is just broken. Imagine if you go public and point out their name!

Sorry this happened to you. If possible I'd calmly go down with my RO in hand and walk the SA through it asking to help understand your concerns vs a phone call. Either way I'm sure they will make good with you, at least I certainly hope so. GL

That is all due to rogue technicians. They claim work was done, but then sell those parts that were issued for the work on eBay. Gives a bad name to the dealership when they are not even involved.

How do I know this? Because my friend is an indie shop and he routinely buys parts from these technicians.

At the MB dealership I take my vehicle to, the Seevice director is an amazing man, technically sound and the right intent to serve the customer. He has caught on to this and started a QA process before handing over the car. Even my ML350 was taken for an oil change AFTER i was called to say the work is completed. They caught the work was not done before handing over my keys.

a major dealership like that wont risk their reputation for a $20-30 part. I would assist the dealer in trying to find out who worked on your car, perhaps you can help them discover a pattern and they can do something about a shady employee