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DUTCH
Administrator Doppelgänger
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: US, GA, Atlanta
Vehicle(s): 2015 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI,2018 Sprinter
Posts: 9963
| Bah - Dealer Part Pricing !!
Thermostat Kit for the M113 (G500) has a MBUSA MSRP of US$25.00.
Atlanta Classic Cars (MBUSA Dealer in NE Atlanta) counter price is US$48 and change. Not to me!  |
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MarcO
Elite Veteran
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Irvington, NY
Vehicle(s): G 500 SWB, Volvo XC90 V8
Posts: 835
| Re: Bah - Dealer Pricing !!
Dutch -
Go look at the showroom. Look at all the fancy oriental rugs, the leather sofas, the cappucino maker, the concierge service, the $1,000 on the salesman/woman. My favorite is the initials on the french cuff shirts of the sales guys - this so that you remember who you are and how lucky you are every morning when you put on one of these shirts. Dutch, this all costs real money!!!! You don't want to have your precious Benz serviced at a dealer that does not offer cappucino, do you?????
Unbelievable.
Party on, Garth. |
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DUTCH
Administrator Doppelgänger
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: US, GA, Atlanta
Vehicle(s): 2015 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI,2018 Sprinter
Posts: 9963
| Re: Bah - Dealer Pricing !!
MarcO - 6/27/2006 3:34 PM
Dutch -
Go look at the showroom. Look at all the fancy oriental rugs, the leather sofas, the cappucino maker, the concierge service, the $1,000 on the salesman/woman. My favorite is the initials on the french cuff shirts of the sales guys - this so that you remember who you are and how lucky you are every morning when you put on one of these shirts. Dutch, this all costs real money!!!! You don't want to have your precious Benz serviced at a dealer that does not offer cappucino, do you?????
Unbelievable.
Party on, Garth.
To quote my long deceased father: "I expect them to make a profit from the business that they do with me; but I do not expect them to be able to retire solely as a result of the business that they do with me!" |
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BrentG500
Extreme Veteran
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: US, TX, Dallas
Vehicle(s): 2004 G500 (gone)
Posts: 449
| Re: Bah - Dealer Pricing !!
MarcO - 6/27/2006 12:34 PM
You don't want to have your precious Benz serviced at a dealer that does not offer cappucino, do you?????
A Mercedes dealership without a cappucino service? Oh the horror!  
With some of the prices the parts department charges, you would think that they would be able to hire several full time Swedish massage ladies to coax us into paying them. The parts department, not the girls - mind you. |
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T.Schuhe
Elite Veteran
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Olympia, Washington State, USA
Vehicle(s): 460 1985 LWB 300GD five speed
Posts: 711
| Re: Bah - Dealer Pricing !!
I don't know if any of you folks listen to Click and Clack, the Car Talk Brothers, on NPR. They are out of Boston and are very bright and funny car advisers. T
They said something a few weeks ago on their show (you can listen online if you search for Car Talk. com) that is basically true. (Granted, Truth and Belief are very different issues, where in Belief is like a drunk driving all over the road and into the ditch, while Truth is the double yellow lines that are crossed by the drunkard now and then by the Believer as he or she heads for the ditch and other parts of the highway...but I digress... ).
Click and Clack note that, "Mercedes Autos are all very cheap to buy. They are much better than the cost of the car - they should cost much more."
Essentially, "...these cars and trucks are sold at a loss, however, the parts are where DC makes up for selling their great vehicles at a loss."
I like that notion, and feel it is basically a sound proposition. So, stay out of the parts DC department as much as possible, and you will have a great vehicle for a long time.
Thoughts? |
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dai
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Oregon USA
Vehicle(s): 300GD 300TD BMW R100RS Landini 80F
Posts: 2110
| Re: Bah - Dealer Part Pricing !!
Mercedes supports vehicles that are very old in a way no other manufacturer does. This comes at a high price but it is amazing that it is still possible to get what is needed. BMW supports their motorcycles like that. They use the highest quality suppliers. I paid just over $200 for one transmission bearing for the G. Insane price for a bearing. Unavailabe any where else but still possibe to get through the MB parts system. For a truck built in '85. Still available and exactly correct.
Dealers would sell more parts if the markup was not so incredibly high.
-Dai |
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TWODOGS
Extreme Veteran
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: UK
Vehicle(s): Norwegian Army 240GD
Posts: 584
| RE: Bah - Dealer Part Pricing !!
 Hello all,
I hope in the US you get better help from your local Mercedes dealer than I do ,
walk in ask the nice lady on the desk " Hello Im after some parts for my G wagen " said I , " Is that the one that looks like a postman pat van ?? "
said the well dressed lady on the counter !!.
Then go to parts department the man behind the counter when I mention G wagen rolls his eyes , Oh you need to talk to Bob but hes not here then goes back to his VDU .
HMMM
I know that some are very helpfull I think it depends who you get on the day .
If it wasnt for GWOA UK and sites like this a lot on Gs would not be on the road today ....
Twodogs
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ewalberg
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Past: San Francisco. Present: Germany
Vehicle(s): 2000 g500
Posts: 1887
| Re: Bah - Dealer Part Pricing !!
I hate to be a stick in the mud, but especially honda and often toyota are known for that too (not necessarily any other japanese makes, mind you)... and the dealers often have the parts in stock at a fair price my mechanic noted. That said, i'm obviously glad mercedes believes in this... at least the availability part. American cars, apparently, are notoriously the opposite... let's hope chrysler keeps their fingers out of mercedes hair on this one.
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Inkblotz
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Georgia
Vehicle(s): 90 300GD "Thundering Turtle II", w/ 603A turbo
Posts: 3186
| Re: Bah - Dealer Part Pricing !!
Atlanta Classic Cars and RBM here in Atlanta have had a 100% mark-up on all parts since the 80's. With the 37 Mercedes that I have had over the years the parts have always been expensive. Researching other venders has always been a saving grace. Luckly the older Mercedes were always a very mechanical affair so I have been able to do all the repairs myself. I cannot imagine having to have payed the dealer repair rate.
Mark |
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gwagen460swb
Extreme Veteran
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: Oklahoma City, OK
Vehicle(s): 280GE SWB, Toyota Highlander, BMW530i, RR HSE
Posts: 513
| Re: Bah - Dealer Part Pricing !!
The MB Dealer in Little Rock does not even have all the amenities that you guys talk about. The guys do have their initials on their cuffs. Hehehe!!! I have been to Atlanta Classic MB Center and RBM--very impressed with the decor. My '02 C240 came from RBM. By the way, I graduated from UGA in 1997. So I am familiar with the Atlanta area. They are marking up to take leftover money from those New Yorkers making gobs of money off the selling of their Manhattan "closet" apartments for McMansions in Buckhead, Brookhaven, Virginia Highlands, and off Briarcliff to name a few neighborhoods in Atlanta.
I did not mean to go off on a tangent. Anyways, my local independent MB place has three types of baklava, pistacchio rolls, and gourmet coffee. But you have to serve yourself. These Armenian guys are really friendly. More importantly, you only pay about half for service/repairs that the MB dealer charges. |
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