Mercedes Benz Bradford and a formal complaint

[RSTurbo50]

I bought my 2013 C220 CDI AMG Sport Plus from Mercedes of Bradford the very end of June 2023 as an Approved Used Car. I have already taken it back on two seperate occasions as it has a nasty tendency to want to veer to the left all the time. I do a lot of motorway mileage and its really apparent. For example, driving on a straight stretch in lane 2 on the motorway, I can physically take my hands of the wheel and the car will start to pull all the way over to the left lane. Its apparent at most speeds but more so higher speeds. I have had Mercedes cars before and never known this to be an issue?

I took it in today and the technician drove it and said he did feel it pull to the left, he did the 4 wheel alignment and told me after test driving it, the car was better and should be ok from now on. So low and behold, on my journey home on the M62, the car continues to pull to the left. I sent a number of emails to the head of business who I found most unhelpful in my request to give the car back. I understand that it is 10 years old and has 78k miles on the clock but surely if they cannot put this right im entitled to give it back? The head of business told me they were not in a position to give me a refund and would no longer accept my emails regarding this.

I have therefore written to Mercedes and made a formal complaint. What are the chances of me getting my money back?

 

[Dearohdear]

Zero I would suspect. What does the mercedes approved used t&c’s say?

 

[Pontoneer]

I bought my 2013 C220 CDI AMG Sport Plus from Mercedes of Bradford the very end of June 2023 as an Approved Used Car. I have already taken it back on two seperate occasions as it has a nasty tendency to want to veer to the left all the time. I do a lot of motorway mileage and its really apparent. For example, driving on a straight stretch in lane 2 on the motorway, I can physically take my hands of the wheel and the car will start to pull all the way over to the left lane. Its apparent at most speeds but more so higher speeds. I have had Mercedes cars before and never known this to be an issue?

I took it in today and the technician drove it and said he did feel it pull to the left, he did the 4 wheel alignment and told me after test driving it, the car was better and should be ok from now on. So low and behold, on my journey home on the M62, the car continues to pull to the left. I sent a number of emails to the head of business who I found most unhelpful in my request to give the car back. I understand that it is 10 years old and has 78k miles on the clock but surely if they cannot put this right im entitled to give it back? The head of business told me they were not in a position to give me a refund and would no longer accept my emails regarding this.

I have therefore written to Mercedes and made a formal complaint. What are the chances of me getting my money back?

This is a standard safety feature and NOT a defect : all Mercedes-Benz cars are designed to do this so that if you drop dead at the wheel the car will not crash into oncoming traffic .

Obviously , left hand drive ones go the other way . This is not new .

 

[RSTurbo50]

This is a standard safety feature and NOT a defect : all Mercedes-Benz cars are designed to do this so that if you drop dead at the wheel the car will not crash into oncoming traffic .

Obviously , left hand drive ones go the other way . This is not new .

Really? This is new to me that it’s a built in safety issue

 

[Pontoneer]

Has been a standard feature for many years ; all Mercedes-benz vehicles are designed and set up to do this .

 

[alexanderfoti]

If you do end up stuck with the car, get it over to wheels in motion and they will sort it.

A competent alignment tech can set it to to not drift.

 

[Pontoneer]

If you do end up stuck with the car, get it over to wheels in motion and they will sort it.

A competent alignment tech can set it to to not drift.

Of course you could do that , but bear in mind this is a deviation from the manufacturer's specification , which was built in as a safety feature , and some insurers might view that alteration as a modification which has the potential to result in third party claims if , for example , you had a heart attack , or merely passed out at the wheel , then your car veered into oncoming traffic , killing or seriously injuring an innocent third party . There is of course always the risk of hitting someone at the side of the road , but this is almost certain to have been calculated to be a lower risk .

Your insurers may raise your premium , or even decline to cover the modified car , and if you were in a crash and non disclosure came to light , they could refuse to pay out . All insurers will differ on their policy regarding such an alteration , so it is important to ask first before you have it done .

 

[alexanderfoti]

Of course you could do that , but bear in mind this is a deviation from the manufacturer's specification , which was built in as a safety feature , and some insurers might view that alteration as a modification which has the potential to result in third party claims if , for example , you had a heart attack , or merely passed out at the wheel , then your car veered into oncoming traffic , killing or seriously injuring an innocent third party . There is of course always the risk of hitting someone at the side of the road , but this is almost certain to have been calculated to be a lower risk .

Your insurers may raise your premium , or even decline to cover the modified car , and if you were in a crash and non disclosure came to light , they could refuse to pay out . All insurers will differ on their policy regarding such an alteration , so it is important to ask first before you have it done .

The factory alignment specs have a wide range, if you stick to the end of the specs right and left you will alter the behaviour and remain "complaint". In 20 years I have never seen a accident repair bodyshop do a before check on the geometry!

 

[whitenemesis]

The factory alignment specs have a wide range, if you stick to the end of the specs right and left you will alter the behaviour and remain "complaint". In 20 years I have never seen a accident repair bodyshop do a before check on the geometry!

Quite, surely the accident could change the alignment. One only has to hit a pothole to put the alignment out of spec?

 

[Pontoneer]

The factory alignment specs have a wide range, if you stick to the end of the specs right and left you will alter the behaviour and remain "complaint". In 20 years I have never seen a accident repair bodyshop do a before check on the geometry!

Quite , but the OP is not talking about a crash damaged car , at least not as far as any of us are aware , but we presume he has checked the history of the vehicle ; he is just looking to alter a characteristic of the car that he doesn't like .

 

[alexanderfoti]

Quite , but the OP is not talking about a crash damaged car , at least not as far as any of us are aware , but we presume he has checked the history of the vehicle ; he is just looking to alter a characteristic of the car that he doesn't like .

No, but my point is that the insurance company is not going to check the geometry to avoid paying out on a claim, in the event that the geometry is "not factory spec"

 

[ALFAitalia]

Its not just Mercs.....all cars tend to follow the camber off the edge of the road. They certainly told us that when I was selling VW/Audi.......you can usually test this by finding an empty stretch of road and driving on the right side....chances are that it will now drift to the right.

 

[Will]

I’d wager that a ten year old car with 78k miles will be past its best suspension wise too, especially as you’ve only recently bought it and have no idea on its history etc.

Get it to a suspension and geometry specialist, check all steering/suspension components for wear, check tyre condition, pressures, and finally get a chassis and alignment check.

Whilst there is some truth in the notion that some MBs have a gentle pull to the left, I suspect that this may not be the OPs complaint especially as he is familiar with MBs and has owned a few others in the past?

 

[markjay]

If you do end up stuck with the car, get it over to wheels in motion and they will sort it.

A competent alignment tech can set it to to not drift.

Sadly, Tony Bones (founder of Wheels In Motion, aka Blackboots) passed away, but this this what he had to say on the issue:

Definative explination.... Pull left | Wheels, Tyres, Brakes & Suspension

I would like to give a definitive explanation for the historic "pulling left" complaint. We've all read, heard, experienced this condition, concluding with an official explanation from MB UK it's a "safety feature". It's not. My field is the chassis but trust me i'm not God in this field nor...

forums.mbclub.co.uk

 

[markjay]

What I would also suggest, is to swap the two front tyres right to left and vice versa, just to eliminate any tyre-related issues, as a first step.

 

[markjay]

I would also advise that you leave the dealer alone... they won't be able to help you and they won't refund you either. Have a chat with a chassis tuning specialist such as the guys in Wheels In Motion, and see what they can offer.

 

[W1ghty]

Of course you could do that , but bear in mind this is a deviation from the manufacturer's specification , which was built in as a safety feature , and some insurers might view that alteration as a modification which has the potential to result in third party claims if , for example , you had a heart attack , or merely passed out at the wheel , then your car veered into oncoming traffic , killing or seriously injuring an innocent third party . There is of course always the risk of hitting someone at the side of the road , but this is almost certain to have been calculated to be a lower risk .

Your insurers may raise your premium , or even decline to cover the modified car , and if you were in a crash and non disclosure came to light , they could refuse to pay out . All insurers will differ on their policy regarding such an alteration , so it is important to ask first before you have it done .

These days all the slow drivers are in the overtaking lane anyway , so might be worth having the car aligned to go straight (I know I’m making light of it )

 

[TC350]

What I would also suggest, is to swap the two front tyres right to left and vice versa, just to eliminate any tyre-related issues, as a first step.

Can you do that with directional tyres?

 

[markjay]

Can you do that with directional tyres?

Yes, but not with asymmetric tyres.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Can you do that with directional tyres?

No