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Have I been sold a Pup?

tangoman

New Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2016
Messages
2
Car
Mercedes C320
I'm looking for some advice.
I bought a 2012 C180 1.8 petrol from a main dealer in June 2022. It was serviced along with a Gearbox service, before I took it at 47.5k miles. I was reassured, with a 12 month Mercedes assured warranty. However because the warranty cannot be extended beyond 10 years old, I could not extend the warranty in June 2023.
I first took it back to them, in October 2022, as it was making a rattling noise on start up, which quickly subsided. I thought it was the exhaust, but was assured that they could find nothing wrong; just a bit of a noisy car. I left it for a while as it was only now and then that it made noise.
In February/ March 2023, it given a free inspection and that did reveal that there was an 'O' ring seal on the turbo oil feeder pipe leaking and needing replacing. I was assured, This was just an advisory and not something that needed to be done immediately. It could be done at the next service.
I was beginning to lose faith in their diagnostic capabilities as the noise was still troubling me. So, I took it to a Mercedes specialist to check if the timing chain was damaged or in any way compromised. They told me it was not.
Almost a year since buying it and the service and MOT was due. So, before my warranty expired, I took it back to the main dealer to have it serviced and MOT'd and at the same time get the 'O' ring repair done, which was not covered by the warranty.
At the dealers, when paying the bill, I asked if they had inspected the car during the repair and MOT for the cause of the noise. They had only done the jobs required and paid for.
The dealers representative, did offer to have it inspected further, if I was willing to bring it in and leave it with them for a day and I was willing to pay the one hour inspection fee. I said I would consider it but felt that the service, repair and MOT had just been done and I would monitor the car. In October 2023, I took my car out and found that it was sounding like an old diesel car. So, I called Mercedes to take the opportunity of a paid inspection.
The upshot is this Fully SERVICED engine is shot AT 61,000 MILES. Metal deposits in the oil filter and the dealers suggestion is a new engine. This would cost more than the car is worth and Mercedes have refused to help with it. They did ask if I would
AUTHORISE 15 HOURS TO INVESTIGATE THE CAUSE. Any thoughts?
 
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I'm looking for some advice.
I bought a 2012 C180 1.8 petrol from a main dealer in June 2022. It was serviced along with a Gearbox service, before I took it at 47.5k miles. I was reassured, with a 12 month Mercedes assured warranty. However because the warranty cannot be extended beyond 10 years old, I could not extend the warranty in June 2023.
I first took it back to them, in October 2022, as it was making a rattling noise on start up, which quickly subsided. I thought it was the exhaust, but was assured that they could find nothing wrong; just a bit of a noisy car. I left it for a while as it was only now and then that it made noise.
In February/ March 2023, it given a free inspection and that did reveal that there was an 'O' ring seal on the turbo oil feeder pipe leaking and needing replacing. I was assured, This was just an advisory and not something that needed to be done immediately. It could be done at the next service.
I was beginning to lose faith in their diagnostic capabilities as the noise was still troubling me. So, I took it to a Mercedes specialist to check if the timing chain was damaged or in any way compromised. They told me it was not.
Almost a year since buying it and the service and MOT was due. So, before my warranty expired, I took it back to the main dealer to have it serviced and MOT'd and at the same time get the 'O' ring repair done, which was not covered by the warranty.
At the dealers, when paying the bill, I asked if they had inspected the car during the repair and MOT for the cause of the noise. They had only done the jobs required and paid for.
The dealers representative, did offer to have it inspected further, if I was willing to bring it in and leave it with them for a day and I was willing to pay the one hour inspection fee. I said I would consider it but felt that the service, repair and MOT had just been done and I would monitor the car. In October 2023, I took my car out and found that it was sounding like an old diesel car. So, I called Mercedes to take the opportunity of a paid inspection.
The upshot is this Fully SERVICED engine is shot AT 61,000 MILES. Metal deposits in the oil filter and the dealers suggestion is a new engine. This would cost more than the car is worth and Mercedes have refused to help with it. They did ask if I would
AUTHORISE 15 HOURS TO INVESTIGATE THE CAUSE. Any thoughts?
Get a second opinion.

And, BTW, you put too much confidence in warranty and in technicians looking for problems when all you've paid for is a specific service, repair and MoT. I'm sorry - I'm sure that you don't want to hear this - but these expensive folk in glamorous dealerships aren't running a charity.
 
It’s a tough one because the car did 14k miles since you bought it .

And 18 months.

Unfortunately, I don't think anyone can ever find out for certain if the issues you raised during the warranty period contributed in any way to the engine failure.

Your best bet at this point is probably checking with an independent specialist for the cost of repair or an exchange engine. The car might still be worth saving, though obviously not at MB dealer hourly rate.
 
Your best bet at this point is probably checking with an independent specialist for the cost of repair or an exchange engine. The car might still be worth saving, though obviously not at MB dealer hourly rate.
This £10k car that was good enough to be sold by a Main Dealer in 2022 will be "worth saving," if it needs saving, but an Independent specialist or an engine specialist is the one who can diagnose the extent of the actual problem and cost out a solution.

If we knew where Tangoman is, we could suggest a local MB specialist.
 
I don't think that you were sold a pup but you have been unlucky. With the benefit of hindsight maybe you should have pushed harder for diagnosis whilst the car was under warranty but it is too late now. From other stories on here I would think that the chances of MB contributing anything to the repair on a 11.5 yr old car out of warranty would be so small that you can forget it.
I would not get involved with second hand engines unless you can do the work yourself.
Sell your car for spares/repair, take the hit and move on.
 
That would be one big pill to swollow, id definitely get a price from a reputable indi or engine specialist
 
I don't think that you were sold a pup but you have been unlucky. With the benefit of hindsight maybe you should have pushed harder for diagnosis whilst the car was under warranty but it is too late now. From other stories on here I would think that the chances of MB contributing anything to the repair on a 11.5 yr old car out of warranty would be so small that you can forget it.
I would not get involved with second hand engines unless you can do the work yourself.
Sell your car for spares/repair, take the hit and move on.
Good advice
 
I would certainly be devastated if my petrol engine sounded like a diesel on startup.

Although I’ve had my current car serviced by Mercedes for all of its 13 years, I wouldn’t rely on them to do any diagnostic work. Whilst my car was still under its initial 3-year warranty, I experienced a rattling sound when starting from cold. I took it in to be checked but was told that they didn’t hear anything wrong. I was still hearing it by the time of the next service, so I asked them to check again. I even left the car with them overnight so they could check from cold in the morning. But still they reported that they heard nothing. My suspicion was that they had become so accustomed to the rattle of the far more common diesels, that they had subconsciously tuned it out of their heads!

By the time of the car’s fourth service the rattle had become louder. Not up to diesel startup clatter, but still louder. But being louder made it a bit easier to narrow down the location. Rather that coming from the engine as I had always suspected, it seemed to be coming from the exhaust system. I don’t possess the equipment to enable me to get under the car, but lying on the ground next to it seemed to indicate that the rattle was coming from somewhere around about a third of the way along the exhaust system. So I asked for it to be checked during the service.

The Mercedes mechanic found a crack in the exhaust just where I suspected. The dark edge to the crack where gasses had escaped made it easy to see from the luxury of the car raised high in the air. I’ll give the dealership their due: they told me what it would cost to replace the system, but they also said that the crack could be welded. They didn’t do welding. I took the car to a local garage where they welding the exhaust pipe for a tiny fraction of the cost of a replacement system. No more rattle on startup. 😀

It’s a shame that Mercedes with all their “knowledge” and equipment couldn’t find the problem earlier. Fancy computers plugged into the car can’t do that sort of diagnostics.

Anyway, back to the OP’s major issue. The big problem with bits of metal floating around in the oil filter is not knowing where they’ve come from. I would suggest that the first thing to try to find out is whether or not there are any new bits arriving. Do this by carrying out a complete and thorough oil flush (by someone who knows what they’re doing), together with new filter and oil. After just a couple of hundred miles remove the filter to carefully check for any new bits of metal.

During this time, get a Mercedes specialist who knows what they’re doing (instead of relying on computer screens) to check the engine and identify the source of the noise. In fact, make this the first stage and as soon as possible. Whatever it is may be doing more damage with every mile travelled. It may be recoverable if rectified soon enough.
 
Anyway, back to the OP’s major issue. The big problem with bits of metal floating around in the oil filter is not knowing where they’ve come from. I would suggest that the first thing to try to find out is whether or not there are any new bits arriving. Do this by carrying out a complete and thorough oil flush (by someone who knows what they’re doing), together with new filter and oil. After just a couple of hundred miles remove the filter to carefully check for any new bits of metal.
An MB tech said that he'd seen metal in the oil.

To reinforce your point, it's worth repeating that we don't know how much metal or how significant.

MB "rightly" pushed the customer away, saying it would cost a fortune, at MB rates, just to investigate. Because it would.

An independent, or just someone who knows what he's doing, can look at this and form a view.

It's pretty clear that the OP isn't going to be getting under the car himself to do this. It's not his thing. He just needs to find the right person to do it for him.
 
I would certainly be devastated if my petrol engine sounded like a diesel on startup.

Although I’ve had my current car serviced by Mercedes for all of its 13 years, I wouldn’t rely on them to do any diagnostic work. Whilst my car was still under its initial 3-year warranty, I experienced a rattling sound when starting from cold. I took it in to be checked but was told that they didn’t hear anything wrong. I was still hearing it by the time of the next service, so I asked them to check again. I even left the car with them overnight so they could check from cold in the morning. But still they reported that they heard nothing. My suspicion was that they had become so accustomed to the rattle of the far more common diesels, that they had subconsciously tuned it out of their heads!

By the time of the car’s fourth service the rattle had become louder. Not up to diesel startup clatter, but still louder. But being louder made it a bit easier to narrow down the location. Rather that coming from the engine as I had always suspected, it seemed to be coming from the exhaust system. I don’t possess the equipment to enable me to get under the car, but lying on the ground next to it seemed to indicate that the rattle was coming from somewhere around about a third of the way along the exhaust system. So I asked for it to be checked during the service.

The Mercedes mechanic found a crack in the exhaust just where I suspected. The dark edge to the crack where gasses had escaped made it easy to see from the luxury of the car raised high in the air. I’ll give the dealership their due: they told me what it would cost to replace the system, but they also said that the crack could be welded. They didn’t do welding. I took the car to a local garage where they welding the exhaust pipe for a tiny fraction of the cost of a replacement system. No more rattle on startup. 😀

It’s a shame that Mercedes with all their “knowledge” and equipment couldn’t find the problem earlier. Fancy computers plugged into the car can’t do that sort of diagnostics.

Anyway, back to the OP’s major issue. The big problem with bits of metal floating around in the oil filter is not knowing where they’ve come from. I would suggest that the first thing to try to find out is whether or not there are any new bits arriving. Do this by carrying out a complete and thorough oil flush (by someone who knows what they’re doing), together with new filter and oil. After just a couple of hundred miles remove the filter to carefully check for any new bits of metal.

During this time, get a Mercedes specialist who knows what they’re doing (instead of relying on computer screens) to check the engine and identify the source of the noise. In fact, make this the first stage and as soon as possible. Whatever it is may be doing more damage with every mile travelled. It may be recoverable if rectified soon enough.
Cheers for your considered response. My main grievance, seems highlighted in your own experience. I notified them of the problem during my warranty and they were unable to resolve this. I would have extended the warranty for Three years but there is a ten year limit to its extension. They sold me the car knowing that there could be no extension to the warranty even at a relatively low mileage.
I have contacted Mercedes customer services to engage their support. Thought it was worth a try, before anything further.
 
Cheers for your considered response. My main grievance, seems highlighted in your own experience. I notified them of the problem during my warranty and they were unable to resolve this. I would have extended the warranty for Three years but there is a ten year limit to its extension. They sold me the car knowing that there could be no extension to the warranty even at a relatively low mileage.
I have contacted Mercedes customer services to engage their support. Thought it was worth a try, before anything further.
Good luck with MB Customer Support. They actually helped me with the third NOx failure when the car was 7 years old, so don’t give up hope. (My tactic of being nice seemed to do the trick.)

However, it could take a while to get a final decision from them because they’ll be contacting the dealership that supplied your car to get their opinion. In the meantime, you would probably be doing further damage that could be irreparable by continuing to drive your car. I hope you have access to alternative transport.
 
Worth trying. Like the NHS, it’s worth pushing.

But … t’would be wise to get someone else to have a look before more damage is done by putting too many more miles on your motor
 
I wouldn't be driving it. A seizure or thrown rod could spit you into a hedge - or worse.
 
Just my advice:
Don't drive it any further! Don't even start it up, and forget about involving main dealer unless you're rich :)
Find a decent garage with good ratings. A good mechanic could diagnose this pretty quick. They'd have to take the sump off to see metal parts in the oil pickup, while that's off they can look at the bottom end, crank, rods and main bearings + cylinder walls. If it's nothing that end then it's likely top end (Cam, cam bearings or followers). Replacing such parts shouldn't be anywhere near as expensive as a new or second hand engine. You do need to prepare yourself for worse case scenario though but i think it's unlikely a write off.
Running the engine though could make the difference between repairable and ruined. Once you've found a garage, arrange to have the car towed there or taken on flat bed. Most decent garages will probably sort this out for you too.
Best of luck with it, i hope it turns out to be a simple repair
 

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