Mercedes-Benz Dealer Opens Stand-Alone Service Center

20 August 1998

         New $1.5 Million Service-Only Facility Opens in Forest Park

    CINCINNATI, Aug. 19 -- Mercedes-Benz of North America, Inc.
(MBNA) today held the grand opening of its second stand-alone Mercedes-Benz
Service Center -- the first in the midwest -- near Cincinnati, Ohio.  The
facility -- located at 12000 Chase Plaza Drive, off I-275 and Winton Road in
Forest Park -- is one of three pilot Mercedes-Benz Service Centers in the
United States.  The Service Centers are free-standing facilities situated in
convenient locations to provide top quality, competitively priced routine
services and authentic parts for Mercedes-Benz owners.
    The Forest Park facility is operated by Dana Hackney who owns Dana Motor
Company, a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Kenwood, Ohio.  According to Hackney,
this Service Center combines the quality of service, parts and technical
training found at the Kenwood dealership with the convenience and feel of the
"neighborhood service" offered by independent repair shops.
    "We are thrilled about the grand opening of this new Service Center," says
Hackney.  "It's the first of its kind in Cincinnati and the second in the
entire country.  This Service Center will provide Cincinnati's Mercedes-Benz
owners with service performed entirely by factory-trained technicians.  The
work is done with Mercedes-Benz parts, and is backed by the integrity of the
entire Mercedes-Benz organization.  I don't see any other manufacturer making
this kind of commitment to their current customer base.  We're looking forward
to bringing a lot of customers whom we haven't seen for a while back into the
Mercedes-Benz family," says Hackney.
    The Forest Park Mercedes-Benz Service Center, representing an overall
investment of $1.5 million, is a 6,303-square-foot facility designed to
encourage interface between customers and the service team.  A customer lounge
-- with amenities such as work stations (including phones & modems), coffee
and beverage service -- features a large, glass window enabling customers to
watch the work performed on their vehicles.  The lounge connects directly to
the six-bay service area, and customers are encouraged to talk with their
service technicians while a vehicle is being repaired.
    Joe Eberhardt, vice president of marketing for MBNA explains that opening
the Mercedes-Benz Service Centers is one way the company is addressing
dramatic changes in the automotive retail environment.  "More than 80 percent
of all cars retailed by Mercedes-Benz dealers are still on the road today, and
three-quarters of these are out of warranty," Eberhardt says.  "While Mercedes
owners tend to be less likely than the industry as a whole to 'defect' to
independent shops after the warranty runs out, the remainder represent a
challenge in terms of lost business and an opportunity in terms of customer
satisfaction," he adds.
    According to Wade Hubbard, general manager of product management/service,
parts, accessories and customer care for MBNA, "We know from talking to our
customers that, all things being equal, they would prefer to have their
vehicles serviced by knowledgeable Mercedes-Benz technicians, even after the
warranty period is over."  Hubbard adds that historically, many Mercedes-Benz
owners have been attracted to independent facilities because they offered
lower prices for parts and service on out-of-warranty vehicles, as well as
more convenient locations and hours of operation.  "Over the past few years,
we have taken the bull by the horns: reduced our parts pricing; instituted
menu pricing for service; variable labor rates and now -- with the opening of
this Mercedes-Benz Service Center -- we're tailoring our service to the needs
of our customers," Hubbard says.  "We believe that today there is no better
value for a Mercedes-Benz customer than that offered at an authorized
Mercedes-Benz facility."
    A third Service Center located in Las Vegas, Nevada, will be operational
in the first quarter of 1999.  Based on the results of the pilot program,
Mercedes-Benz will evaluate additional Service Centers in the future.