Choosing an Independent Mercedes Specialist

OK, so you’ve realised that the main dealer is offering less for more and that if you want an expensive cup of coffee you can easily go to CostaBuck but how do you choose which independent Mercedes specialist to go to?

Obviously for a lot of people convenience is going to be a big player and so you will be looking at the closest one to your home or workplace. It’s a fact that there is a significant cost to the garage that offers free collection and delivery and many independents are too small to be able to offer that service but some do so you might be lucky.

How do you go about finding a Mercedes specialist?

Well first, you should understand that the best specialists only work on Mercedes cars. There are many garages that claim to “specialise” in “Mercedes and BMW” or “German cars” but these garages cannot possibly have the depth of knowledge and dedicated tooling required to be a true specialist. If you pay a visit to a prospective new provider, take note of the cars on the premises. Are they exclusively Mercedes? If not, perhaps your search should continue.

Online Mercedes Forums

There are many internet forums dedicated to Mercedes and these can be a good place to start your search for a Mercedes specialist, but always bear in mind that internet forums often have their “favourite”  independent, often by virtue of the fact that they might sponsor the site or be a prolific poster on that site. Other forum users will then get to hear about that garage and vicariously recommend them without ever actually having used them.

Where else might you look? Google is an obvious place to look. Type in “independent Mercedes garage in..”  (and add your location) and you are sure to get some results but again, remember that the bigger companies with large marketing budgets will be paying someone to raise their profile so don’t always assume that the one at the top is the best.

Discreet Recommendation

Another less obvious place to go is actually the parts department of the local Mercedes main dealer. They are quite likely to know which local independent is spending the most money on genuine parts and are usually quite happy to give a discreet recommendation.

Now, how do you, the layman, know what a good specialist is? You’ve done your research, asked at the main dealer and searched Google but still there’s more you can do and this one is the rarest but most effective way of determining a real specialist as against someone who is using smoke and mirrors and clever marketing.

Mercedes Qualified?

Ask about the qualifications of the owner or the staff. Has anyone there had Mercedes Benz training? You will be amazed at how many “specialists” there are, some with a huge presence in the market, who are actually completely unqualified and technically incompetent to do the job. Still, few customers can appreciate the difference so they get away with it.

If you ensure that whoever gets your custom is sufficiently experienced, equipped and qualified, you will not be victim to SLoppy work from people who will have you believe they are the best.

Hopefully, you will find the right specialist for you, save money and have a car that is maintained to the highest standards