Mercedes Avis 

Recently had the misfortune to purchase a Mercedes-Benz from one of this companies dealerships. Having read 'Group 1 Automotive' so called Mission Statement reads : INTEGRITY-TRANSPARENCY-PROFESSIONALISM-TEAMWORK-RESPECT
So I think there should be some adjustments there and this should now read:
DISHONESTY-AMBIGUITY-INADEQUACY-BELLIGERENCE-CONTEMPT
This is a long story....and indeed getting longer by the day so other than the basics, having bought a Mercedes AMG E53 from their Southport Branch which was then closed within approx 6 weeks of my purchase and the pursuing debacle of Group 1 taking the responsibility of both problems with the vehicle and un-completed paperwork from point of sale.....I think we shall make a weekly report on the progression or non-progression as the case me be. At this point I highly recommend avoiding Group 1 Automotive and ALL its dealerships ( I've had to give them one star to have this posted....it should be Zero )
It appears that Mercedes-Benz U.K. likewise do not wish to get involved with the behaviour and practises of their appointed dealerships....suggesting there is no control over the quality of service once associated with the Mercedes-Benz badge and brand anymore.

I am writing to express my profound dissatisfaction with the service I received from Mercedes Stratford. The experience has been one of the most disappointing and frustrating I have ever encountered with an automotive service provider.
Initially, I brought my car to Mercedes Stratford for a minor leak issue. To my astonishment, I was charged over £3000 for what should have been a straightforward repair. After paying this exorbitant amount, I was shocked to find that the car had additional problems that were not addressed during the service. In fact, the car was shaking significantly, indicating that the issue had not been resolved properly.
When I contacted Mercedes Stratford to address these concerns, I was met with a series of demands for further payments. They insisted that I pay an additional £240 to have them "take a look" at the unresolved issues. Despite paying the immediate bill and returning the car to them, the problems persisted. This cycle of paying for unresolved issues continued, leaving me feeling exploited and frustrated.
The lack of accountability and the repeated demands for additional payments without resolving the initial problem have left me feeling extremely dissatisfied. I believe that Mercedes Stratford has been extremely negligent in their service and has failed to meet even the most basic standards of customer care.
I urge anyone considering using this service to be extremely cautious. The experience I had was one of the most disappointing and frustrating I have ever encountered.

I have a faulty key and have been waiting for three months for a replacement. It has to come from Germany and is on back order. That is just the beginning of Mercedes poor service. A service costs £700+ and they do very little. Digital options that are supplied with the car as new are taken away and then there is a monthly charge to keep them (eg £29 a month for vehicle tracking). They are crooks and con men and I would rather walk five miles over broken glass than buy another Mercedes. They should be prosecuted.

Used car fiasco. On Mercedes Finance, not fit for purpose and not as described by Stratstone Mercedes. Now heading towards the ombudsman . Why can’t they just resolve the issues under our rights as consumers. In the end we will win and it will cost more than the original cost of repair.

What a fiasco!
Mercedes Benz have failed to reply to my request for information, I was also assured by the sales person at Mercedes Peterborough that she would chase a reply!
I was paying for a brand new car using their link and the first one went through fine, the second one failed, this despite repeated efforts. On checking with our bank they confirmed no issues with our account or our bank. So using the same account I used my card and this went through fine.
Mercedes said this was unacceptable, this despite them taking and accepting the full payment.
I merely said either delivery the car or refund us in full!
They delivered the car and I made it conditional that they respond.
To date NO response other than to say their admin staff do not correspond with customers!
Shocking behavior! Plus ignorant behavior.

Terrible terrible ordered new key had to bring in log book ID they pay £430 to have the new key programmed. They said it would take a week to come ( not a problem) then after 3 weeks we ring Mercedes Portsmouth to be told it came in last Saturday don’t know why know one has rang you .
So my wife takes the car to Mercedes Portsmouth they said it would take 30 minutes to do 30 minutes later they take the car in the work shop. My wife had to be driven home as the Mechanic wasnt there We’ve asked if they could turn the service light off for us as we had service else where so after all the fuss with the key Mercedes Portsmouth said NO just like that we have to pay . It takes seconds to do they won’t do it great customer service NOT so be very careful of this company in Portsmouth take your money won’t help you in anyway BE WARNED MERCEDES PORTSMOUTH don’t take my word for it check out the reviews

Terrible company with dreadful dealership. All is great when you purchase a car and then Arrogant members of staff treat customers with contempt and in an extremely dismissive way. Cost of repairs are extortionate and they try to fource you to replace items that just need a rubber seal.. Quoted £1800 for a rubber seal on a drive shaft, should be a couple hundred pounds at the very most… almost fraudulent behaviour… Customer services a complete waste of time, just back the dealership and assume the customer is completely wrong and an annoying pain for them. Never fall into this trap, never buy a Mercedes…

Was travelling on the M65 and heard the fan belt on my Mercedes SLK starting to make a strange noise. Pulled off at the Darwin services and found the fan belt to be shredding. Luckily had a fan belt in the boot as a spare but no tools to replace it. Spotted the Mercedes sign and dropped down the hill to find the Mercedes service department for HGVs. As they are HGV based they are not really supposed to work on cars but as a gesture of good will helped me out. They sorted me out quickly and efficiently and found them to be extremely helpful and knowledgeable. Got me back on the road in no time.
Excellent service and went above and beyond. Great experience.

Unresolved AC Issue, Poor Service, and Misleading Conduct

Dear Mercedes-Benz Bromley Management,

I am writing to file a formal complaint regarding the appalling service I’ve received from your branch in the past few weeks. What I expected was professional care for my vehicle under warranty — what I received was dishonesty, poor communication, and a complete lack of responsibility.

I initially brought my car in to fix an air conditioning issue. Instead of properly diagnosing and resolving the problem, your team chose to go for a quick, cheap fix by replacing the AC sensor — something that clearly wasn’t the issue. I was then told the work was pending authorisation from the factory and that I’d receive a follow-up call. That never happened, and it’s now clear to me that this was a lie.

Even though my vehicle is under warranty and should have been repaired free of charge, it seems your staff deliberately avoided doing the necessary job — possibly replacing the radiator — simply because they didn’t want to do the work. On top of that, my car was kept for three days, with nothing fixed, and returned to me with scratches — twice.

This poor service cost me more than just time. As a result of being without my car for three days, I lost income and ended up in overdraft. I rely on my vehicle for work and daily responsibilities — this level of negligence directly impacted my livelihood.

To add to my frustration, I was quoted £950 last month for a broken charging socket, with an exaggerated explanation involving repainting and sensor work. I took the car to a regular garage instead, and they fixed it for £150. This experience made it clear to me that your store is taking advantage of customers and massively overcharging for basic repairs.

Furthermore, your reception staff were dismissive and disengaged, making the entire experience even more unpleasant.

This is not the level of service expected from a premium brand. It felt more like dealing with a budget repair shop than a Mercedes-Benz dealership. I’m extremely disappointed and expect this complaint to be taken seriously.

‏I will escalate this matter to Mercedes-Benz UK and share my experience publicly to warn others.

Car was damaged when i came to pick up and i was asked to get a quote to repair . i constantly had to chase to get this authorised and ( quote at £350) , they offered me £100 to repair...... an absolute joke.

They sell the car and dont want to know you after!
Not what you expect from a premium franchise

Keith from Mercedes Southend (Rayleigh) has always been very helpful and the same recently when I had my MOT last Tuesday. All his colleagues there were friendly too making my visit very comfortable. Thank you

Great service from Kostas Mercedes roadside assistant agent. Thank you for listening and helping me. Keep up the good job.

Without prejudice
Thank you for your email. I must express my disappointment with the response received and believe the decision to be unduly harsh given the circumstances. I am writing to respectfully ask that you reconsider your position based on the full context of the incident and the technical faults present at the time.
Background and Incident Summary
Prior to the breakdown, the vehicle's navigation system was faulty and the car was with Mercedes-Benz of Oxford for four days, during which the engineers had to escalate the issue to Germany. I would like to understand whether this fault was connected to the later issue with the cooling system — and, if so, why the vehicle was returned to me in a potentially compromised condition?
On the day of the incident, the following additional faults were experienced:
Faulty parking sensors (video evidence attached)
Cruise control / Distronic system failure
Warning for front left indicator failure
A low coolant warning light appeared, but it did not appear urgent and gave no sign of imminent risk
A “Stop Vehicle” message flashed up but again, the car was driving normally with no indication of engine overheating.
As a loyal Mercedes customer — this being my fourth vehicle — I trusted the engineering and software integrity of the car. I did not expect such a failure on a 16-month-old £78,000 vehicle.
The situation escalated only when the tortoise warning light appeared and the rev counter stopped responding. At that point, I acted as any reasonable person would when travelling on a busy motorway with a toddler in the vehicle — I pulled over at the first safe opportunity, which was a lay-by off M40 J9. This was a frightening and highly stressful experience for me and my family.
To further compound the confusion, upon stopping, the car’s system incorrectly alerted emergency services that it had been involved in a collision and was on fire, which it was not.
Concerns Regarding the Diagnosis
The attending roadside engineer from Mercedes-Benz seemed relatively relaxed and did not suggest any serious damage had occurred. However, Mercedes-Benz Oxford has now advised that the vehicle requires an entirely new engine.
This raises further questions:
Is a full engine replacement the only possible remedy?
I've asked how their complaints department sought a second opinion before approving such a costly diagnosis?
Could there be an incentive to recommend a new engine based on resale value when the lease ends?
I believe this situation warrants an independent inspection by another authorised Mercedes service centre to obtain a detailed, impartial assessment.
Request for Re-evaluation
While I understand your initial view may be based on the technical data available, I urged them to reconsider in light of the broader context. The situation involved multiple software anomalies, mixed signals from the vehicle, and my genuine belief — based on prior experience with the brand — that this was not a serious mechanical fault.
This entire ordeal has left me deeply upset and shaken. I've asked if we are unable to reach a fair and reasonable resolution through this channel, but have heard nothing back.
I had hoped Mercedes, as a brand that prides itself on reliability and customer loyalty, will take this matter seriously and re-evaluate the case accordingly However I'm yet to see this and am still waiting.....

Mercedes-Benz of Colindale has delivered the best experience so far. I want to thank Ikram for helping me choose a Mercedes-Benz CLA 200 AMG Line. He is very knowledgable, friendly and a kind dealership. He always provide the best experience for every car that I buy from this branch.

I highly recommend anyone to buy the car models from him. You will receive the best professional advice on each car model.

Thank you Ikram for your help.

We had a terrible experience with Mercedes-Benz, and I feel it’s important to share it.
Seven months ago, we applied for financing through Mercedes-Benz. The process was unnecessarily complicated, involving open banking, and it took nearly ten days. Eventually, our financing was approved, and we placed an order for our car.
After waiting for seven months just before we collect the car, we were told that we needed to go through the entire approval process again due to a policy requiring a second financial check before picking up the car. This time, our financing was rejected. After all this waiting, we were left stranded, and no one at Mercedes-Benz has taken responsibility.
When we contacted Mercedes-Benz, we were repeatedly told that they don’t know how their finance department was handling things. We waited another ten days for the second financing decision, and after the rejection, no one reached out to apologise, explain the situation, or even communicate with us properly. We’ve been the ones chasing emails and making calls, trying to figure things out on our own.
We are extremely disappointed. We have dealt with brands like Porsche, Audi, and Maserati in the past, and they have always been professional, respectful, and well-organised. Their processes were smooth and efficient. Unfortunately, our experience with Mercedes-Benz has been the complete opposite.
After seven months of waiting, we now have no car, we lost time without placing an order elsewhere, and we are forced to start over from scratch—potentially waiting another several months. This has been incredibly frustrating and disappointment,

Hi I have visited Northampton Mercedes on third of March. Ask them to change my evaporator with labour including the parts I was quoted for £1630 then to be sure if his evaporator or not they charge me again £93 which fair enough. Then the company come back to me ask £2300 which was seven hours previously labour should I be? Then they go after 10 hours for the labour rip off they meant to call me back to give me some discount. I have not received any phone calls or TEX I have all the paperwork to prove they gave me a quote for what they said. not happy how I’ve been treated will not go there ever again.

You constantly get told when buying a Mercedes it’s a luxury brand! Yet where is the luxury?

Purchased by Mercedes C200 from Hemel Hempstead which was a main dealer until it became a franchise. That’s then the issues started. They (Hemel Hempstead Mercedes Franchise) broke something during a service in 2022 and refused to admit fault. An oil leak was eventually fixed by Reading Mercedes and it cost me £350, I was offered a £100 voucher to apologise for. Mercedes which I refused to go with the Motor Ombudsman who after 2 years explained they couldn’t process the case as the Franchise wasn’t registered with them! In 2023 the vehicle was serviced by Reading Mercedes. They must have located one of the spark plugs incorrectly, as a ticking noise developed. It was serviced by Beaconsfield Mercedes who couldn’t identify the issue.

In 2025 I went to book in with Mercedes Slough to be told my service plan wasn’t active. I discovered it was cancelled in sept 2024 with no contact to explain this. 5 years after purchase. It would be £900 for a full service and I paid £48 a month for 6 months getting nothing for it.

In Feb 2025 I got the car serviced by a local company for £285 and they discovered an issue with the spark plug and resolved.

So Hemel Hempstead Mercedes broke my car during a service and didn’t admit fault. Reading Mercedes eventually fixed this and said as it was a different Franchise they couldn’t do this fix for free. They then broke the car again when servicing the vehicle in 2023! That’s what luxury gets you!

Mercedes Service Plan is clearly a scam. Just go direct to a local Mercedes if you must, but honestly you don’t get what you have paid for!

I’ll be glad to get rid of this car and never buy another Mercedes again. It seems my issues are echoed across the country.

Refund for service plan cancellation.
I been given a date by when this would take place. The date came and went, without any prior notice, I had to follow it up they gave me a second date for about 8 days later, the same thing happened (no notice). So I contacted them again, they have since told me that it will take 6 more days. I asked why I wasn't notified no answer, and I wasn't given an assurance as to if this will happen again.
On top of all that dealing with my mothers death (the original owner of the car) they repeatedly sent condolences at the start of any emails which at first was appreciated but sadly became depressing 😔. To their credit they stopped once asked.
I've been a mercedes fan for as long as I can remember. So this is a big let down for me.

I am beyond furious with the appalling service I’ve received from Mercedes Taunton. My car broke down in Weston-Super-Mare on February 18th, and I called the Mercedes breakdown service, which involved the RAC. The breakdown happened at 14:30, but my car wasn’t collected until a ridiculous 21:15—over 7 HOURS later—after I was repeatedly given different arrival times, none of which were met. I had to make multiple calls to chase them up, each time getting a different excuse and an empty promise of when they would actually arrive.

The car was finally delivered to Mercedes Taunton the next day. I explicitly told them that the problem was likely the ignition—my car wouldn’t start, even though the battery was fully charged, and all controls were firing up as normal. It was a clear ignition issue.

Now, after an entire week of waiting, I’m slapped with a £200 charge for a “diagnosis,” only for them to admit they couldn’t find any fault. They now want to run ANOTHER diagnostic, but with no guarantees that they’ll find anything. This is utterly outrageous. The problem is OBVIOUS—it's the ignition module!

This experience has been a complete waste of time and money. The lack of professionalism, competence, and basic customer care is beyond unacceptable. Is this really the level of service I should expect from Mercedes? It’s a total rip-off, and I would never trust them again. I can also say that a couple of weeks earlier I visited Mercedes Exeter and had a completely different experience - the difference between the two was Chalk & Cheese !!!

What has happened to Mercedes?

I have owned their vehicles for over 20 years and the last car I purchased was a disaster. The dealers (Bedford and Peterborough) were poor, Peterborough beyond description. Peterborough told me that Mercedes wouldn't honour the warranty (on a vehicle with a new retail price of £86k, that I had owned for less than 6 months). They told me that water in the rear lights was not 'covered'.

The car leaked coolant (weeks waiting for parts and this didn't fix the problem), had a knocking noise, water ingress to rear lights, water ingress to tailgate, play in transmission.

Mercedes took months to look into and eventually collect the defective vehicle providing me with a partial refund.

I will never purchase another Mercedes, but you make your own decision.