13 Dec 06
On arrival, they explained that it needed a new wiring harness, but they didn't know how long it would take to get the part because the R-Class was 'a new model' (hmm...). Since it's an hour-long round trip to the dealer and back, which I'd already tackled twice in one day, I suggested they might care to come and collect the R-Class when the part was in and leave us a courtesy car for the duration of the repair work. It transpired they were prepared to do one or the other, but not both (hmm...).
And I mention this because, not only was I becoming quite irritated by now at the level of 'service' afforded the owner of a brand new, £50,000 car, but I had also had a conversation that very day with a couple who have their Mercedes looked after by a Swindon dealer who, indeed, religiously collects their car and leaves a courtesy car with them whenever necessary. I pointed this out to our friends in Kidlington, and elicited nothing more than a blank look (hmm...).
In the end, having mentioned this episode to the Mercedes Press Office, the final outcome of this tale has been short circuited by the arrival of a replacement which, fault repaired, is itself now due to go back imminently. However, didn't Mercedes overhaul their dealer network in fairly draconian style just a few years back precisely in order to weed out the slackers and bring some uniformity to the level of service they rightly expect for their customers? If so, we're clearly not quite there yet.
This month, then, was to have been my opportunity to wax lyrical about how genuinely passionate we have become about life with the R-Class. But, instead, I'm simply sitting here feeling guilty...
