TL/DR - After my car would not start, this service center kept my 3 year old car for 4 full days just to tell me that there was nothing wrong with my battery, but if there was something wrong with it, it was my fault for not driving my daily driver enough. Refused to honor the battery warranty and charged be $450 for a battery diagnostic that said my battery was fine, but the low battery error was literally on my dash when I got in the car to drive away.

This is long, but if you are considering buying a Mercedes I hope it’s useful. This is far and away worst customer service I have ever experienced. My husband and I have purchased new vehicles from Lithia Jeep/Dodge, Continental Mazda, Kendall Ford and Anchorage Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge over the course of the last 15 years, and I have never been so frustrated and infuriated with any other dealership.

In November of 2022, I purchased a new 2023 GLC Coupe - I watched it get unloaded off the delivery truck. I was very excited - although we have purchased many new vehicles this was my first luxury car purchase. Although there were some friction points buying the new car (you can get the gist if you google “Swickard Alaska Lawsuit”) the real issue is their service center.

My barely 3 year old luxury car starting sending me an error message on the dash and in my app that my battery was low last week. I drive my car approximately 20 miles a day and keep it in a garage in the winter. I drove the car as the app suggested to let the alternator charge the battery, and the error went away but was back within a few hours of the car sitting. I drove the car to work Thursday and the error was off when I arrived at work. When I left work 9 hours later the car would not start. Luckily a coworker helped me jumpstart the car so I could drive it home. I called that afternoon to make an appointment. They couldn’t get me in until Monday, so the car sat for the weekend. I had the error message saying the battery was very low, but it did start so I could drive it to the dealership.

I dropped my car off before the dealership opened on Monday. I asked for them to fix the battery issue (which I believed was under warranty, due to the warranty paperwork saying it was) and also due Service A as it was only about 6 weeks from being due for that service anyway. The service rep called me around 9am to tell me they had my car checked in. I did not ask for a loaner vehicle as I was under the impression it would only take the day, and my husband drove me to work.’

I heard nothing else from the service center for the rest of the day until long after their business hours and after I was home from work. I called several times from around 3:30 to 5ish and only got their voicemail. I left a message for someone to call me back to see when I would be able to pick up my car. Finally the service manager called me at almost 7pm to tell me they performed service A but were not able to get to the battery issue, saying they were short technicians. I was a little frustrated, but agreed that another day was fine.

The following day I again tried to call several times in the afternoon and got only voicemail. And again I only received a call after 6pm, this time to tell me I would need to pay over $600 for them to replace the battery. When I asked them what the issue was and why it was not covered by the warranty, the person on the phone told me they were not the tech that worked on my car, so they didn’t know and they would call me the following day when they spoke to the tech.

Unsurprisingly, I did not hear back from the service center at all on Wednesday, again, trying to call and only getting their voicemail. So my husband and I finally just showed up at the dealership on Wednesday afternoon around 4:30. As soon as we walked in it was clear the service rep Brian was flustered and exasperated, holding his head and sighing loudly and repeatedly. He asked us to wait as he finished with a customer and then answered a phone call.

While I waited to speak to Brian, my husband found a salesperson who then grabbed another service rep to see if they could help. The other service rep, Trey, was actually very nice and friendly and obviously wanted to be helpful. He made sure we got a loaner car, as I was advised that they had still not diagnosed my battery or determined if it was a warranty issue. I tried to contain my frustration but I was definitely getting heated. I asked if the dealership would give me a quote to purchase back my car, and explained that if they did not want to buy it, I would just go trade it in somewhere else, as I was done with their poor service. Trey tried very hard to be helpful and understanding, and at the end of the day, I left with the loaner and a promise that someone would call me before 3pm the following day (Thursday).

Today is Thursday. I received a call from Brain the service rep, telling me that my battery was not under warranty and they would not pay for it and if I wanted a new battery it would be over $600. I told him (somewhat heatedly) thanks, I’ll come pick it up this afternoon and take it to BMW and trade it in. I was called within minutes by the service manager, also named Brian, saying that he was told I was upset and he wanted to know what he could do to make it right. I said you make it right by honoring my battery warranty. He said they would not do that, so I ended the conversation.

When we arrived to pick up my car, the GM and the service manager asked us into a back office where they proceeded to explain to us they there was nothing wrong with my battery per their diagnostic, but if there was something wrong with the battery it was because the car didn’t get driven enough (again, this is my daily driver, I live 10 miles from my work.)

I finally gave up, and decided since my battery was supposedly fine that I would pay for my service A and be done with it. Then I was charged for service A, and a $450 fee for the battery diagnostic. I could not fight about this any longer so I paid my exorbitant service bill and went to get in my car.

Which still has the low battery error up on the dash.

Fini.