It sounds like a friend experienced a persistent issue that was either difficult to fix or perhaps the dealership wasn’t keen to address. It’s been a considerable time since encountering such problems with a car, perhaps two decades. Even then, dealerships of other brands were typically diligent in their attempts to resolve issues, and they usually succeeded eventually.
A portion of the dealership experience can depend on the individuals running the dealership or the owners operating under franchise models. This landscape is evolving, particularly with Mercedes shifting towards owning dealerships directly. This change ideally streamlines the process and ensures a more direct line to Mercedes itself, although some familiar faces might still be present at the dealerships.
While I can’t comment on Audi’s service quality from personal ownership, they are another brand where a service plan seems advisable, often conveniently offered for free during promotional periods, such as through Audi Haus.
However, reflecting on my experience as a Mercedes A-Class owner, I never felt like a second-tier customer. While I didn’t receive extravagant perks, the service was consistently professional. Most service centers today maintain a high standard of professionalism across brands. The staff generally do their best, and while occasional less suitable individuals might appear, customer-facing roles tend to weed them out quickly.
Modern car servicing is generally honest and professional. For our MINI, we receive comprehensive reports detailing every aspect of the service, including future recommendations, often accompanied by a video walkthrough from the mechanic. The advancements in car servicing are quite remarkable, extending to proactive service booking prompted by car monitoring systems linked to service centers. Car logs are digitally accessible via apps, as seen in my 2018 BMW, which is a fully connected car. Full service history is also digitally logged within the car itself, eliminating the need for traditional service books. Furthermore, with a service plan, ownership for the last 2.5 years has been remarkably cost-effective with no service expenses incurred to date.
