Think – Write – Connect

My wife’s 1999 Mercedes Benz E320 Wagon was rear ended last month leaving us in a situation which required consideration of buying a replacement car.  As with any decision, we intended to make our decision based on an evaluation of the financials of each of our options.  We were not at fault in the accident; yet, the person who was had an insurance company that was beyond difficult to work with, thus, we made the decision to file with our insurance company and let them sort it out on the back-end.

The Mercedes Benz E320 Wagon had a street value of $5,400 dollars. We took the car to a local Mercedes Benz dealership body shop to get an estimate.  Based on this, we’d decide whether to fix the car or simply have our insurance adjuster settle the claim. The dealership was the same dealership we had bought the car years earlier. The body shop knew that with the right numbers, we’d part with the car and buy another car from them.

Car dealerships operate in very isolated departments. Typical departments (basic P&L’s) include new car sales, pre-owned car sales, service, and the body shop. Due to the fact that they are not incented to work together, often they cannot offer customers a solution. When I went to the dealership after this accident, I needed a solution.  Either a fixed car that had value to it or an accurate estimate for the insurance company that would allow a quick settlement so that I could buy another car.

The body shop at the Mercedes Benz dealership gave an estimate that made our decision easy.  This car was not worth repairing.  The estimate was confirmed and approved by the insurance adjuster. Upon inspection of the estimate; however, I noticed that the damage associated with the SRS or onboard computer faults were $120. I asked, “What was wrong that cost $120?”. Their response was that they didn’t know and that the $120 was the fee to inspect the SRS to know what was wrong. I immediately questioned the fact that an estimate was approved that was inaccurate. Upon further investigation, I learned that the SRS fault could represent a multitude of problems ranging from $62 to $4,000. When I requested that they diagnose the problem in order to create a more accurate estimate, they said I’d have to pay the $120 out of pocket to do that. At the same time, I got the second disappointment was a salvage sale offer from one of their salvage contacts. $800 was the offer which was much lower than my research indicated that I should expect for the car.

So, I drove to the dealership and asked if they minded if I took the car for a drive. I drove the car to AutoHans, a independent German auto service center in Dallas, TX that also sells pre-owned German cars. For years, I had actually been taking my 1995 BMW E34 and a 1995 Porsche 993 to Auto Hans for service. They had always been honest and did excellent service work.

I pulled up in one of their bays and asked if I could get a quick diagnostic scope of the car’s onboard computer. They did and within 2 minutes they printed off reports and a quote indicating that the accident had caused a failure in the car’s seat belt harness that added another $500 to the repair bill. More importantly, they had a one owner 1998 E300 Turbo Diesel sitting on their lot that had not sold at a dealership due to the recent economy. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve always loved those E class turbo diesels. Power, fuel efficiency, and class; what more is there to say? So, I sat down with the owners of Auto Hans and asked for a solution. I asked for them to provide me a formalized quotation for my insurance supplemental claim request free of charge. I also asked for them to take the wrecked wagon off my hands for $1300. Last, I asked what they had into the 1998 pre-owned Mercedes Benz E300. They laid out their numbers and worked with me to come to a sales figure that allowed them some profit and made me feel good about the purchase. Within an hour, my problems where solved. There were no “walk away” negotiation tactics and no games. The best thing is that I got a pre-owned Mercedes with a 2 year service plan from the guys who have already proven to me that they can provide quality service for high end German automobiles.

I would highly recommend Auto Hans for German automobile service or anyone who is in the market for a pre-owned Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi, or Porsche. Though the pre-owned Mercedes Benz E300 was the right car for me, they had several low mileage pre-owned Porsche’s and Audi’s that did catch my attention.

Auto Hans has a customer base with integrity that equals theirs. If you are a German automobile aficionado that is reasonable and has integrity, stop by and get to know them. I did almost a decade ago and when I really needed them along the line, they were their.