Making a complaint?

[NicDale]

Hi all, cutting a long story very short there's a problem E Class which belongs to a member of the family.

In the last 10 months the car has been in and out of the local dealership several times (approx 8 i think) for the following complaints:

Judder on gear changes and at certain speeds.
Display malfunctions which caused the car to more or less shut down when it was needed to be a wedding car for the day.
After the replacement of the first torque convertor the car broke down again locking itself in reverse, this was within 2 days of coming out of the garage.
Offside door mirror has stopped folding in, nearside does fold in.
Today another display faulty malfunction has flashed up.

Parts replaced include 2 torque convertors and a gearbox and i think the Command unit as well.

The car was bought from a Mercedes dealership with full SH and came with a Signature warranty covering it for 1 year. In light of all the problems the local dealership has spoken to the area manager too negotiate a contribution towards the cost of an extension on the warranty.

However even though the cars had a couple of torque convertors and a gearbox the juddering has not been cured, its actually quite frightening having the car shudder at 75-80mph. Its been diagnosed that the old software is not compatible with the new gearbox, but we've been waiting 2 weeks and Signature have still not approved the ECU. I spoke to MB Customer Service in Milton Keynes on Friday and did have a call back from the local dealership which i couldn't take on Friday.

So maybe they've sorted the ECU and it'll be done next week but today it was noted that one door mirror failed and the display malfunction also flashed up today(as i said above). Basically we're very concerned that the car's a lemon and it'll be a non stop problem for as long as we own it and in that light i want to know what we could do to recover as much money back on the car as possible.

I've thought about trading standards but don't know whether i have a reasonable case. Any thoughts?

Thanks

Nic

 

[ddentrec]

Hi Nic,

Here are my thoughts, based on my experiences on how I have complained in the past so that I get what I want. This will attracty criticism I am sure: but over 7 years I have been around £7,000 better off as a result (not just cars!).

1. Where possible, write and do not phone.
2. Keep a diary of all the facts, and who said what, and when.
3. Never show anger: it shows weakness, and worse still you will say something you will regret.
4. Get an independant assessment of the issue: your opinion will count for nothing if, say, in court you are proven to be wrong. This is important-or they will argue that this is a 'charateristic' of the car.
5. Ensure you have legal cover on your household insurance.
6. Write to the dealer & MBUK Customer Services detailing a) the complaint b) what you want to settle the matter. Ensure you know what you want and be reasonable.
7. Expect to be fobbed off: DCUK customer services get hundreds of complaints and you are just a number. The only way to get what you want is to be very firm, persistent & professional.
8. Never make threats: shows weakness. DCUK hear it all the time. If you do not get what you want then issue a summons through the courts: this ALWAYS gets a response from DCUKs legal team.

 

[MainMan]

Good advice. I tend to lose my temper when confronted with incompetence, and it didn't help.

The trouble with MB is not just that its cars go wrong more than they ought to, but that the dealers seem to have great difficulty putting them right.

 

[Flash]

Alot of lemons do end up as MB Signature Approved cars (obviously the previous owner must heve been aware of the symptions/problems prior to when car the was sold/handed over to MB).

Give the Stealer a chance to rectify the problem (s) and make records of all the events - if you are not still satisfied then ask for a refund. Usually, DC send "top" techncians from Head Office to recifty glitches that Stealers cannot fix if the customer kicks up a fuss.

 

[NicDale]

Thanks for the guys, i'm about to phone them now to find out what the Friday phone call was for.

 

[glojo]

Thanks for the guys, i'm about to phone them now to find out what the Friday phone call was for.

PLEASE, please read the excellent advice offered by ddentrec.

I have been down this route with Mercedes-Benz and cannot give them enough praise. If your family are in the right then they will usually bend over backwards to rectify the fault. Make silly threats and perhaps using solicitors will only result in stress, aggravations and sleepless nights.

Re-read ddentrec's advice, read it again, then apply it. Oh and try to keep a friendly dialogue with whoever you liase with.

John