Mercedes Benz customer Service complaints

HAGERSTOWN, MARYLAND - In August of 2008, I went into Mercedes Benz of Hagerstown originally looking at a 2006 E350 4matic. That car was sold and I was pointed to a 2006 BMW 525i, that they had. I liked the car very much. It had only 31, 000 miles on it, brand new tires, pretty loaded and got pretty good gas mileage.

So, I negotiated a good price for the car and drove it home. 3 months & 6, 000 miles later, I pick up a nail in the tire and get a flat. I take it to the first tire place who says I need all new tires. Thinking it is just a sales pitch, I go to another tire place. They fix the flat, tell me I need all new tires, and that I have 2-3000 miles left on them. I decline their offer and head to the Mercedes dealer thinking there was a mistake, they had gotten new tires for the car and perhaps just did not put them on or something.

So, the salesman agrees, he did tell me the car had brand new tires, the service manager agrees, the car needs new tires. The sales manager comes over and says, "yes, but you drove the car, so we will put new tires on it for $900." I explained this made no sense to me, as I was told the tires were brand new and as it turns out, they were not, so I should get brand new tires.

He told me, that I got use out of the tires and that the old cliche "buyer beware" comes into effect. I told him, I expect "buyer beware" from a shady 2 bit used car dealer, not a Mercedes Benz dealership that prides itself on being #7 ranked for customer service. I told them that perhaps practices like this is why they are ranked #7 and not higher. They should honor what they promised - brand new tires.

He then offered me new tires for $450 saying that they did not make enough profit on the car originally to warrant the price of new tires. I asked him how their profit was any problem of mine, but that I had been told the car had brand new tires and I expect brand new tires. He would not budge saying that I had used the tires, therefore he was not responsible. I explained that had they been in fact, brand new tires and I got the same flat tire, I would not be in their shop now, as the tires would not need to be replaced. No difference.

I am shocked that a Mercedes Benz dealer selling a BMW, told the buyer to pound sand, "Buyer Beware" and do whatever I feel I need to do, but they are not putting new tires on the car. I told him fine, I will reach out to as many people as I possibly could and let them know all about it. All I expected was for the dealer to honor their sales pitch, put 4 new tires of equal quality on the car and we could have called it a day.