Just bought C Class Sports Coupe - Sunroof broken/parts flying off car?

[GDAWG10]

I've just got home. As agreed with the dealer I decided to take it to their garage. A few mechanics took a look at the car, but didn't want to touch anything as they were worried the glass would shutter. They weren't sure what the part was and said they need to book the car in and remove the whole sunroof to figure out what the problem is. On the way home, I passed a Mercedes dealer and thought I would stop to ask if they could take a look at it. They said they don't do servicing/parts there, but they found a Mercedes technician who was working that said he could take a look at it as a gesture of good will. He noticed the issue straight away. He said the arm on the driver side sunroof has completely broken in a number of places. The clip comes from that side and he found the area where it had broken off from. He also asked if anyone had tried to get into the car previously and I said not that I know of. The reason he asked was because that side of the sunroof is slightly bent and raised when it should be flat. He said there was no marks so maybe the force of the incident bent it slightly. He did manage to fully close the sunroof so both sides were sitting flat and sealed so rain couldn't get into the car. He did this by removing a spring that had broken and was caught on something.

He basically said he thinks they could get away with just replacing the driver side arm section of the sunroof. He also asked if I had a warranty and if I bought it from a Mercedes dealer because they would be able to repair it for free.

Going to email my dealer now, and see what they say. On the phone before I went to the garage, he said "hopefully it will only cost you £30/40", but I'm not too pleased considering I've paid £5000 for a car and the sunroof broke the first time trying to open it. As far as they are concerned it was working 100% before they sold it, but I'm not sure if that's enough?

 

[trapperjohn]

1st paragraph and second paragraph, excellent.

Third para, now the naus starts. Keep on keeping on it will be a case of the seller trying to fob you off with a myriad of excuses he has used over the years.

He will probably have made around 1 to 1.5K on the sale and moved a car off his lot before Christmas. Keep at it fella, both him and the warranty company.

 

[grober]

Right you took it back to the dealer you bought it from and the mechanics there hadn't a clue??? which tells you something about their ability to repair it properly in the future! [ remove the entire roof!!!!!]To be fair it needs a specialist who is very familiar with the roof mechanism to effect a decent and possibly economic repair. I suggest you get an estimate for a repair by MB and then negotiate with the dealer who sold you the car on repair costs. Otherwise there's potential for a bad situation getting a helluva lot worse for both you and the dealer imho !

 

[MrVix]

Good luck, as someone said earlier the sale of goods act should cover you. Imho it always makes sense to buy 'expensive to repair' cars like mercs from a franchised dealer, you pay more but it is worth the added security.

 

[GDAWG10]

Just got a reply from the dealer:

Hi,

Its normal for him and his team to want to book the car in so they can be thorough and take apart the mechanism in order to fix it properly - this will be by far the most efficient way of getting it fixed and what they will do most likely is order in any official part they need for the car - a main dealer will charge you a huge premium for any parts they supply and off course the labour rates will be far higher.

I can confirm that no one has tried to get into the car / sunroof previously which would have caused it to be raised / misaligned. The sunroof mechanism has worked perfectly since we acquired the car (we have to test it and we could not sell the car with it broken) so I can only deduce that this was a result of the failure of the part when you opened it and the clip part broke off last Friday afternoon.

The technician you mention below is referring to repairs being done under a 'main dealer warranty' - this only comes if you buy a second hand 'approved' car from a Mercedez dealership. The warranty scheme that comes with your car will not cover a clip or an arm snapping in a sunroof mechanism such is the nature of the system (and it could have been forced) and also the fact this occurred immediately on day one of your ownership.

I appreciate this is frustrating timing but essentially you have bought a 10 year old car that despite being in great condition will have the odd moving component deteriorate / wear out over time. That said we are confident that his team can help you rectify the problem - the first thing to do is get the car to him on friday so he can diagnose the problem and then he will provide a quote to you and in turn order the part in.

Once we know the facts of what / how is broken Im prepared to offer some sort of contribution to the part fitted by Mr Clutch as a goodwill gesture.

It sounds like from your visit to the Mercedez specialist it should be something simple like the driver side arm and I have passed on this information onto the garage.

 

[jaymanek]

I wouldnt accept any of that rubbish.

They are responsible for the fix and will have to pay 100%. Its the Law. Simple.

Id be embarrased to even imply that a customer would have to pay for any repairs on a car they had bought off me recently.

 

[Kingy68]

I wouldnt accept any of that rubbish.
They are responsible for the fix and will have to pay 100%. Its the Law. Simple.
Id be embarrased to even imply that a customer would have to pay for any repairs on a car they had bought off me recently.

This ^^ is absolutely correct.
To try and place the blame on you the day you drive the car away - simply opening the roof is ridiculous. Not a good dealer in any sense of the word.

 

[steve333]

The supplying dealer is trying it on & taking advantage of the fact that you don't know what to do or where you stand legally,i would give them the option to repair f.o.c at your convenience or take the car back for a full refund.

 

[GDAWG10]

Thanks guys. Those replies have opened my eyes a bit. At first, I thought it was a nice gesture from them.

I don't particular want to return the car completely and whilst the guy at Mercedes very kindly made sure the roof was sealed so it's safe and not open to leaks if it's not repaired, I do want it repaired. At this time, after parting with £4990 and having to road tax the car straight away, whilst trying to sell my current car, I cannot afford to and don't want to pay more than £100. I do want it fixed though and think the dealer have a responsibility to sort it out. Considering the high end cars they sell, I'm sure they've got enough in the coffers to sort this issue out.

What do you guys suggest the next course of action is? I also got an email from a new independent garage in North London that was recommended to me and I don't particular want the dealers mechanics to do the job because they aren't specialists...more like a kwik-fit sort of place. Anyway, this is what my new garage said:

We can have a look at your sunroof, however to get an accurate quote and repair time we need to strip and investigate. Unfortunately this is very labour intensive and I cannot promise you that we will be able to complete this within a day. Stripping is also required for the repair so this will not be cost effective for you to strip and reassemble twice.
Please call me when you are available to bring the car in
Many thanks

Ideal situation is for me to get the car repaired by a garage of my choice obviously for a reasonable amount, and send the dealer the bill. Realistically what's the most cost effective, easy and most likely to be successful route I can take?

 

[steve333]

Thanks guys. Those replies have opened my eyes a bit. At first, I thought it was a nice gesture from them.

I don't particular want to return the car completely and whilst the guy at Mercedes very kindly made sure the roof was sealed so it's safe and not open to leaks if it's not repaired, I do want it repaired. At this time, after parting with £4990 and having to road tax the car straight away, whilst trying to sell my current car, I cannot afford to and don't want to pay more than £100. I do want it fixed though and think the dealer have a responsibility to sort it out. Considering the high end cars they sell, I'm sure they've got enough in the coffers to sort this issue out.

What do you guys suggest the next course of action is? I also got an email from a new independent garage in North London that was recommended to me and I don't particular want the dealers mechanics to do the job because they aren't specialists...more like a kwik-fit sort of place. Anyway, this is what my new garage said:



Ideal situation is for me to get the car repaired by a garage of my choice obviously for a reasonable amount, and send the dealer the bill. Realistically what's the most cost effective, easy and most likely to be successful route I can take?

The supplying dealer is unlikely to agree to let you get your car repaired elsewhere at there cost(and are not legally obliged to).

 

[LTD]

They sell high end cars but operate like a Branch of KWIK-FIT ?

Bet you wish you'd known that before parting with your hard-earned ...

 

[GDAWG10]

The supplying dealer is unlikely to agree to let you get your car repaired elsewhere at there cost(and are not legally obliged to).

Understood. If I approach them, obviously in a polite way and state that I would like them to cover all the repair costs and they disagree, which is probably likely...then where do I go from there? Accept it, agree a middle figure or carry on pressing them to repair the car free of charge?

 

[steve333]

Understood. If I approach them, obviously in a polite way and state that I would like them to cover all the repair costs and they disagree, which is probably likely...then where do I go from there? Accept it, agree a middle figure or carry on pressing them to repair the car free of charge?

Stand corrected but i think it's the sale of goods act that covers you & you need to quote if they insist they will not repair FOC-i'm sure someone will clarify soon.....

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Press on until they pay for the repair 100%.

I find it ironic that your short experience with a main dealer was exemplary, whereas these sound like shysters.

What's the name of this company?

 

[GDAWG10]

Seymour Pope in Hertfordshire. Actually one of the better dealers that I've encountered and they've provided a very good example. Only issue is this little (expensive) niggle.

I think they are keen to go down the wear and tear route, one of those things, age etc but I'm not sure it's my problem. I didn't have a chance to test the sunroof prior to purchase...however they did put a new MOT on the car and repaint the section above the wheel arches. Again, maybe as far as they are concerned the sunroof was working perfectly beforehand, maybe they missed something or it simply just broke when I got home (does that even happen without any prior issue/warning?)

 

[mct_cars]

Sale of Goods act.

As I said before, arm yourself with the info you need before you go to see them.

Read this:-

Second hand cars: your rights - Used cars: your rights - Sale of goods - Which? Consumer Rights

This is exactly your situation.

The law is on your side squarly on this - the dealer is not going to want you to return the car, as he'll have to fix it to flog it on, or sell it at a trade loss.

Stick to your guns and demand it is repaired. All as you did is opened and closed the sunroof and it broke. It shouldn't do that!

 

[steve333]

Dis they not give you a warranty with the car?(think 3 months is minimum).

 

[st13phil]

I think they are keen to go down the wear and tear route, one of those things, age etc but I'm not sure it's my problem.

Listen to Jay (post #26) he is a reputable dealer who both understands and complies with consumer law. The dealer you purchased from is being unreasonable.

 

[GDAWG10]

Dis they not give you a warranty with the car?(think 3 months is minimum).

Yep a warranty that is not worth the paper it's written on. Before I left, they said you've got the warranty etc plus any problems bring it back. I searched the warranty company: Customer Protect and they are constantly rejecting a lot worst than my problem on the basis of wear and tear.

I'm extremally busy the next few days and my first day off is Friday when the car is meant to be going to there garage: Mr Clutch...however I'm thinking there is no point taking it unless they agree to foot the bill.

 

[MrVix]

If i was in your position I would write to the dealer enclosing a quote from Mercedes to fix the problem and give them 14 days to fix the roof to your satisfaction. If they do not comply with this state that you will get the repair done as per the Mercedes quote and will expect full reimbursement otherwise you will pursue the matter through the small claims court. In my experience this will get them to pull their finger out.