Been wanting to test drive a Mercedes C350 coupe for a while now as there are some very good personal contract hire deals on them at the moment. Initially went to a localish dealership as I happened to be passing and my first impression of Mercedes was very favourable. Helpful sales guy, not pushy, even offered to bring a car to my house to see if a keyboard would fit in the boot easily. He acknowledged that the 350 was not a common sight and rang me a couple of days after to tell me that he couldn't locate one in their group, but would arrange for Mercedes UK to send one up for me to test. That was the last I heard.
As I was tied up with other business for a while I didn't follow this up, but decided to call into my local Merc dealer the other week. The sales executive I spoke with was unbelievably hopeless and showed zero interest in actually helping a prospective customer. He told me he'd never seen a 350 and after some prompting to check the group stock basically told me he couldn't help. I asked him if he wanted to sell a car and left.
Figuring I had nothing to lose I emailed Mercedes UK and asked them if this was how they expected their potential customers to be treated. A week later I received a response, telling me they'd escalated things to senior customer service level, due to lack of communication from the dealerships that I had named! Within minutes I then got two emails from the Dealer Principals at these dealerships, promising to arrange a test drive for me! I chose to use just one initially and include the emails below, with the sales executive's name and personal details removed. The rest of the text is as I received them!
Sorry its late getting back to you today Mr S**** I will try to get a test drive asap for you but in your email you have put C350 cdi Saloon
But ****** has put E350 coupe could you let me know which vehicle it is thank you
Kind Regards
(I didn't mention saloon OR diesel when I emailed the Dealer Principal! 
Thanks for getting in touch. The car I wish to test drive is a C350 coupe! I understand that they are a rarity but anything you can do to accomodate is appreciated.
Regards
Hi S**** have checked all over our group we don’t have a c350 coupe at all iam very sorry to say
(WTF??? Not even a Mr! 
)
Thanks for getting back to me.
Is there any possibility of getting a car from Mercedes UK? This is something that was suggested as a possibility at another Mercedes dealership. It seems ridiculous that Mercedes manufacture a V6 petrol but it isn't available to test drive! If not then I will have to reconsider as I can't imagine committing to a vehicle that I can't actually drive beforehand.
Thank you
Hi Mr S**** sorry I have not heard of this before
And that's it! No genuine attempt to help and not even the courtesy of addressing me as Mr in one email! I wonder if Mercedes UK know how their franchises operate? I am genuinely astonished at the total lack of interest and customer service. What's particulary irritating is that I like the coupe and they are coming in at the right money, but this has seriously put me off Mercedes at the minute.