[GH85Carrera]

My MIL bought a new Mercedes about 10 years ago. It had several free services they wanted to do every certain number of miles. She would "let" me take the car into the dealer because she knew they would try to rip her off. They were usually professional with me since the service manager knew me from the Mercedes club.

On the last free service they called me but they thought they were calling my MIL and said the front brakes are shot and the front struts need to be replaced. I told them unless it was 100% covered under warranty to forget it. Of course they wanted a couple of thousand bucks.

My MIL drives just like the proverbial little old lady going to church. When I got home I used a flashlight to look at the brakes. They were in perfect shape. She still owns that car and just last year after 9 years and 50,000 miles she finally had to replace the brake pads. The rotors are fine. And just like I expected the car informed her the pads were in need of replacement. The struts are still fine.

The next time I saw that service manager I let him know in no uncertain terms they were trying to rip off a old lady. They saw the owner's name was Bertha and figured she was an easy mark. I was very disappointed in a dealership that always talked up their stellar reputation.