Management at Mercedes-Benz of Annapolis wasn?t thrilled about relocating the dealership?s service shop three miles away to a site separate from its showroom.
In general, dealers like customers to cruise the sales floor looking at new models while their vehicle is being serviced. They are good sales prospects.
But limited land availability in Annapolis forced the service and sales departments under separate roofs.
That was more than a year ago.
Today business is booming. The dealership has 25 more employees to keep up with demand.
Mercedes-Benz parent DaimlerChrysler reported that Mercedes? October sales rose 12 percent from October 2005. DaimlerChrysler reported that U.S. Mercedes-Benz sales for the first 10 months of 2006 are up 13 percent from the first 10 months of 2005.
Like most vehicle manufacturers, Mercedes-Benz has detailed design, construction and appearance requirements right down to the specific pieces of furniture that its franchised dealers must follow in order to sell Mercedes vehicles.
But the contemporary steel design of Mercedes dealerships didn?t mesh with the historic ambiance of Annapolis.
Brian Fader, the dealer principal at Mercedes-Benz of Annapolis, along with community officials, persuaded Mercedes to allow the Annapolis dealership to have more brick than steel to better fit in with building architecture in the city. It took a lot of negotiations, Fader said.
But the result is a state-of-the art service center where customers get bagels, doughnuts and coffee every morning as well as free Internet access. It has 30,000 square feet and 37 service bays.
Mercedes-Benz of Annapolis celebrated the grand opening of its remodeled sales center on Friday, which grew dramatically, thanks to the departure of the service shop.
“We really didn?t want to move the service center,” Fader said. “But we picked up a lot of space for the sales center. We have a 13-car showroom on the first floor and 25-car showroom on the second floor.”
