I just returned from a fabulous evening hosted by MB. MB really knows how to throw a party and treat their current customers and potential customers well.
it was an event held at a very nice venue in downtown TO. over 1000 people in attendance. they had valet parking or self serve parking(not bloody likely to valet park my car). upon entering the building via a covered red carpet walk way, MB employees great you and wisk you away to the coat check.
inside there are several areas with live band and great food(roast beef/chinese food/oyster bar with shrimp/dessert area was to die for), not to mention open bar with over 10 different kinds of beers being served, choice of various red and white wines, and martinis.
for entertainment they had several different bands playing in various areas of the building along with mimes putting on shows/jazz bands/blues. you name it, even if you are not into cars they had something for everyone.
but i was there for the cars. so on with the show. got a chance to sit in the new Eclass and i must say it's very sweet, but i find some of the Chrysler like dash board and buttons creeping into this marque. the SL convertible is truly an amazing machine with many first ofs in the industry if i'm not mistaken such as electric brakes with hydraulic as backup. the new CLK/C class and some AMG models were also available for sitting in. all i have to say, those AMG models are quite amazing! i think BMWs M3 and M5 definitely has a contender based on paper specs.
had a great chat with one of the service technicians who represented MB at the event. he gave my friend some very neat insight into how to get ones car serviced at the dealer. he suggested that at 40,000km one should mention a slight shudder in the brakes and most dealers will probably replace the brakes/rotors under warranty no questions asked. of course this is purely against MB corp. practices but it's nice to know. understand that here in Canada BMW does not replace brakes(wear and tear parts fall outside the the service warranty). MB doesn't even have such a warranty and yet they do it! i can't even imagine asking for my brakes replaced under warranty at a BMW dealer.
i hope BMW corp reads this or is aware of such a marketing event. i wish i could speak to a technician in a casual venue such as this and get the low down on the cars, the good the bad and the ugly. i'm sure MB spent over 300K for tonights 4 hour event. maybe it wasn't worth it directly for sales leads, but it sure will spread by word of mouth.
after attending tonights event i get the sense that MB is a far more customer oriented company than BMW. only having driven the SLK i can't vouch for their product but MB will most certainly be on my short list for next vehicle purchase if i can afford one.
it was an event held at a very nice venue in downtown TO. over 1000 people in attendance. they had valet parking or self serve parking(not bloody likely to valet park my car). upon entering the building via a covered red carpet walk way, MB employees great you and wisk you away to the coat check.
inside there are several areas with live band and great food(roast beef/chinese food/oyster bar with shrimp/dessert area was to die for), not to mention open bar with over 10 different kinds of beers being served, choice of various red and white wines, and martinis.
for entertainment they had several different bands playing in various areas of the building along with mimes putting on shows/jazz bands/blues. you name it, even if you are not into cars they had something for everyone.
but i was there for the cars. so on with the show. got a chance to sit in the new Eclass and i must say it's very sweet, but i find some of the Chrysler like dash board and buttons creeping into this marque. the SL convertible is truly an amazing machine with many first ofs in the industry if i'm not mistaken such as electric brakes with hydraulic as backup. the new CLK/C class and some AMG models were also available for sitting in. all i have to say, those AMG models are quite amazing! i think BMWs M3 and M5 definitely has a contender based on paper specs.
had a great chat with one of the service technicians who represented MB at the event. he gave my friend some very neat insight into how to get ones car serviced at the dealer. he suggested that at 40,000km one should mention a slight shudder in the brakes and most dealers will probably replace the brakes/rotors under warranty no questions asked. of course this is purely against MB corp. practices but it's nice to know. understand that here in Canada BMW does not replace brakes(wear and tear parts fall outside the the service warranty). MB doesn't even have such a warranty and yet they do it! i can't even imagine asking for my brakes replaced under warranty at a BMW dealer.
i hope BMW corp reads this or is aware of such a marketing event. i wish i could speak to a technician in a casual venue such as this and get the low down on the cars, the good the bad and the ugly. i'm sure MB spent over 300K for tonights 4 hour event. maybe it wasn't worth it directly for sales leads, but it sure will spread by word of mouth.
after attending tonights event i get the sense that MB is a far more customer oriented company than BMW. only having driven the SLK i can't vouch for their product but MB will most certainly be on my short list for next vehicle purchase if i can afford one.