£1800 bill 8 days out of warranty

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scruffy

Active Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2004
Messages
144
Location
Lancashire
Car
W209 CLK 320
have an occasional noisy tapping from behind the dash on my 209, dropped in the dealers for a quick check and apparantly a small plastic flap in the heater has broken. surprise surprise you can't fix it and have to replace the full heater box that's over £1000 for the part and a days labour £800 ish :eek: , cars 8 days out of warranty and with 38k on the clock. Dealer tried to get ot through on waranty considering low mileage but MB warranty bods said no way.

Not sure what to do now, might trade it as there obviously not reliable enough to run without warranty.
 
scruffy said:
have an occasional noisy tapping from behind the dash on my 209, dropped in the dealers for a quick check and apparantly a small plastic flap in the heater has broken. surprise surprise you can't fix it and have to replace the full heater box that's over £1000 for the part and a days labour £800 ish :eek: , cars 8 days out of warranty and with 38k on the clock. Dealer tried to get ot through on waranty considering low mileage but MB warranty bods said no way.

Not sure what to do now, might trade it as there obviously not reliable enough to run without warranty.

thats harsh ..... :crazy:
 
scruffy said:
have an occasional noisy tapping from behind the dash on my 209, dropped in the dealers for a quick check and apparantly a small plastic flap in the heater has broken. surprise surprise you can't fix it and have to replace the full heater box that's over £1000 for the part and a days labour £800 ish :eek: , cars 8 days out of warranty and with 38k on the clock. Dealer tried to get ot through on waranty considering low mileage but MB warranty bods said no way.

Not sure what to do now, might trade it as there obviously not reliable enough to run without warranty.

Ouch. A letter to MB might help. How about taking out the extended warranty ;)
 
I am very surprised that MB will not fund this, your next step is to contact MBUK (be nice) if the feeling is that they are not playing ball then contact the What Car helpline - e mail [email protected] and explain your anger (they love to have a go at the big boys).

gary
 
gary350 said:
I am very surprised that MB will not fund this, your next step is to contact MBUK (be nice) if the feeling is that they are not playing ball then contact the What Car helpline - e mail [email protected] and explain your anger (they love to have a go at the big boys).

gary


I'll give it a whirl, wouldn't have the contact details for mbuk would you, and yep it didi start after the warranty expired (it must have known)
 
scruffy said:
I'll give it a whirl, wouldn't have the contact details for mbuk would you, and yep it didi start after the warranty expired (it must have known)
01908-245000
 
If being nice fails, then try reminding them of their obligations under the Sale of Goods act. Remember - guarantees/warranties are in addition to your statutory rights.
 
I had a problem talked to customer services on 00800 1777 7777 (free phone) they sorted it. At worst they will be able to direct you to the best person to speak to, believe me they are trying like mad to be nice to their customers. Mention that you will be going to the press and MB web sites to vent your anger.

gary
 
Its possible to take out a third party warranty and then make a sly claim in a couple of months time ;)
 
That's disgusting, 8 days out of warranty!! Big fuss time - certainly involve What Car and Watchdog with the strike and other issues I'm sure they'd love to take it on.

BMW changed both my rear springs, 3 months and 12k miles out of warranty - all I did was ask the dealer to see if they would contribute as it was 'only just out of warranty....?' [/pleading tone]
 
Rory said:
If being nice fails, then try reminding them of their obligations under the Sale of Goods act. Remember - guarantees/warranties are in addition to your statutory rights.
Correct. Warranty or no warranty you'd expect the heater to last more than 3 years, in fact it should last pretty much the lifetime of the vehicle, which for a premium car (pricetag) should be quite a long time.
 
Thanks to all for the tips, contacted mbuk, stayed polite and they have agreed to do the repair free, although when booking in the dealers they said as I am not contributing to the cost of the part it won't be guaranteed, surely not.
 
scruffy said:
Thanks to all for the tips, contacted mbuk, stayed polite and they have agreed to do the repair free, although when booking in the dealers they said as I am not contributing to the cost of the part it won't be guaranteed, surely not.
I would have thought this is against your consumer rights??
 
scruffy said:
Thanks to all for the tips, contacted mbuk, stayed polite and they have agreed to do the repair free, although when booking in the dealers they said as I am not contributing to the cost of the part it won't be guaranteed, surely not.
I have read Lotusmark2's reply and all I can say is when they eventually replace my alloy wheels they stated they will only be covered for the remainder of the car's warranty. You have been exceedingly lucky in getting a free repair.

I know of an Audi TT that had a gearbox need replacing in very similar circumstances and the bill was in excess of £6000, Audi just said tough.

I would personally be grateful Mercedes-Benz did not adopt the Audi attitude.

Good luck with the repair,
John
 
scruffy said:
Thanks to all for the tips, contacted mbuk, stayed polite and they have agreed to do the repair free, although when booking in the dealers they said as I am not contributing to the cost of the part it won't be guaranteed, surely not.
This just sounds like sour grapes on the part of the dealer, as they no doubt get a much reduced hourly rate from MB than they would charge you. Technically, it's probably correct, in that the car is out of guarantee anyway and you're not paying for the repair (I wonder if the normal repair Guarantee somehow becomes MB's property, as they're picking up the tab)? Anyway, as mentioned previously, your statutory rights still apply, so it's not relevant (in my opinion).

If the dealers service is any less than 100% satisfactory then I'd complain to MB about their attitude.
Edited to say: The dealers attitude - MB seem to have behaved properly, but once again the experience is soured by the dealer.
 
Last edited:
glojo said:
I know of an Audi TT that had a gearbox need replacing in very similar circumstances and the bill was in excess of £6000, Audi just said tough.
Well without all the details difficult to make a judgement. I was going to suggest a trip to the small claims court, but I think the limit is £5000!

glojo said:
I would personally be grateful Mercedes-Benz did not adopt the Audi attitude.
Everyone's quick to complain, perhaps it would make MB a nicer company if we all wrote and said how wonderfull they are - sometimes? :) (Perhaps skip the 'sometimes' - sounds a bit grudging). :rolleyes:
 
have to say my faith in mb is restored and I do count myself lucky however poor quality parts failing after less than 40k on a supposed luxury brand doesn't inspire you to buy another. Oh and extended warranty doesn't cover this sort of thing either as its a bodywork item allegedly. Time to trade methinks
 
scruffy said:
have to say my faith in mb is restored and I do count myself lucky however poor quality parts failing after less than 40k on a supposed luxury brand doesn't inspire you to buy another. Oh and extended warranty doesn't cover this sort of thing either as its a bodywork item allegedly. Time to trade methinks
Well it's obviously not supposed to fail, and MB have agreed to repair FOC, without, it would appear, too much argument. Unless you've experienced a whole series of problems then it's hopefully a one off.
 
scruffy said:
Thanks to all for the tips, contacted mbuk, stayed polite and they have agreed to do the repair free, although when booking in the dealers they said as I am not contributing to the cost of the part it won't be guaranteed, surely not.

Offer to make a contribution towards the cost of the part, say £1. That way you will recieve an invoice for the part and because it will have been fitted by a dealer you will get 2 years warranty on the part.

Nice to hear you have recieved a warranty repair offer.
 

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