Missing history used car main dealer

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

JamesPGUK

Active Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2018
Messages
109
Location
Sunny Lancashire
Car
C220 AMG PPlus 2015 & 2016 GLC 250 PPlus
Purchased 2016 GLC with 25k mikes. 4K later service is due. Told at MB dealer 2019 service is missing but in 2020 car was serviced (oil, filter, brake fluid) at the place of purchase. Car was sold with full mb service history.

Because 2019 is missing dealer suggest pan roof, fuel filter and transmission requires servicing. On the display it says B7.

Issue car has run for 2 years not following mb service. I purchased car with full history. Price after 4K miles is over £1400 to service due to missing 2019 rather than the expected £370 for an oil and filter service. Is seller responsible.

Thanks in advance
 
It would suggest the car was sold to you by the main dealer with an incomplete history as oppose the full history they claimed it had.
The price paid was for a FMBSH and you have been duped, whether by accident or otherwise.

The value of the car is now less than an identical model with the correct history. Nothing MB can do will make the history correct, but a comprehensive free service attending to the items it should have had done may go toward some recompense.
A chat with the Service manager is where I would begin and see what they are prepared to offer.

Edit. Were you not given a printout of the service history on completion of the purchase? That would have raised suspicion it had missed a service straight away.
 
It would suggest the car was sold to you by the main dealer with an incomplete history as oppose the full history they claimed it had.
The price paid was for a FMBSH and you have been duped, whether by accident or otherwise.

The value of the car is now less than an identical model with the correct history. Nothing MB can do will make the history correct, but a comprehensive free service attending to the items it should have had done may go toward some recompense.
A chat with the Service manager is where I would begin and see what they are prepared to offer.

Edit. Were you not given a printout of the service history on completion of the purchase? That would have raised suspicion it had missed a service straight away.
Hi thanks for the response. No print out, I specifically asked and would only purchase FMBSH. I recall asking what the next service was and informed a major service had just been completed by the dealer and they had looked after the car from day one. So next service oil change and filter plus checks. Not £1460 worth of work. Worst case I raise a section 75 and see what the ombudsman says in terms of loss of value (£750). Makes me think why it’s acceptable to run the car for two years without doing the work especially when they completed a service in 2020.
 
Did you buy the car as an approved used vehicle from a Merc main dealer ?

As previously stated , nothing now will make car have a FMBSH so what realistically would you "accept" as compensation for the one service "oversight" ?

At three years old , in 2019, did the gearbox , the pan roof or the fuel filter need need serviced , i thought these needed done around the 5 year / 60k mark , which is point you are at now.

FWIW if a FMBSH was so important to purchasing the car then you should have insistent that it was available to view prior to completing the sale , it is all on the dealers database and takes literally seconds to print off.

A car dealer telling porkies to get a sale , who would have thought :rolleyes:

K
 
Did you buy the car as an approved used vehicle from a Merc main dealer ?

As previously stated , nothing now will make car have a FMBSH so what realistically would you "accept" as compensation for the one service "oversight" ?

At three years old , in 2019, did the gearbox , the pan roof or the fuel filter need need serviced , i thought these needed done around the 5 year / 60k mark , which is point you are at now.

FWIW if a FMBSH was so important to purchasing the car then you should have insistent that it was available to view prior to completing the sale , it is all on the dealers database and takes literally seconds to print off.

A car dealer telling porkies to get a sale , who would have thought :rolleyes:

K
Told on my model it’s year 3 for transmission and pan roof.

Just read an ombudsman outcome similar issue awarded £750.

In terms of checking, where do you stop. I had an issue recently with the puddle light and was told I should of checked on collection. Sales manager said that’s unreasonable and it was escalated and repaired. Reason I purchased from MB is for a quality vehicle and as described. I doubt I would have noticed if a print out was given hence the extra questions.

Another reason I pay £500 on my CC is for extra protection.

I don’t see why MB wouldn’t resolve the service issue but more than prepared to go to court. Issue is the value of not having full history, I do expect an offer.
 
Told on my model it’s year 3 for transmission and pan roof.

Just read an ombudsman outcome similar issue awarded £750.

In terms of checking, where do you stop. I had an issue recently with the puddle light and was told I should of checked on collection. Sales manager said that’s unreasonable and it was escalated and repaired. Reason I purchased from MB is for a quality vehicle and as described. I doubt I would have noticed if a print out was given hence the extra questions.

Another reason I pay £500 on my CC is for extra protection.

I don’t see why MB wouldn’t resolve the service issue but more than prepared to go to court. Issue is the value of not having full history, I do expect an offer.

Who told you that the transmission needs serviced at three years regardless of mileage , it seems pretty early to me but i am no expert so i would be looking for some proper clarification on the servicing front.

Unless your "case" is exactly the same as the one you read then the outcome may be entirely different.

You stop checking when your purchasing criteria have been verified.

Cant comment on a CC company helping you out until there is an actual "issue" to resolve.

Dont think i would be taking MB to court for the sake of a missing service that you never noticed at the time of purchase.

Buyer beware , as they say.

K
 
Agreed, you should demand some compensation from the supplying dealer for the reduction in value due to the car having incomplete service history.
 
B7 is Service Schedule B, plus ATF.

This is odd, because the last service was described by the dealer as 'major', and yet it was just a Service Schedule A? I am guessing that they are referring to the air and fuel filter which are due at 4 years (assuming your car is a Diesel).

It does seem that they have changed the brake fluid though, otherwise it would have been flagged up now.

The ATF on the 7g+ box is due at 5 years, so nothing to do with the missing service on 2019.
 
I do sympathise with you. You would have thought that a low mileage "premier" brand "approved used" car sold with a "full MBSH" and being sold by a main dealer would be just as you would expect and that the main dealer (the "expert") would have done all the checking for you and fix anything that's not right without quibbling - and in return you are happy to pay a premium price.
Sadly from posts on here you have to approach the main dealer in much the same way as you would a private seller - ie check carefully that everything stacks up.
They do have some gall don't they - they sell you a car with a full service history and then tell you later that it doesn't and now you have to pay us more money to put right what we should have disclosed before........Dell boy springs to mind.
 
Who told you that the transmission needs serviced at three years regardless of mileage , it seems pretty early to me but i am no expert so i would be looking for some proper clarification on the servicing front.

Unless your "case" is exactly the same as the one you read then the outcome may be entirely different.

You stop checking when your purchasing criteria have been verified.

Cant comment on a CC company helping you out until there is an actual "issue" to resolve.

Dont think i would be taking MB to court for the sake of a missing service that you never noticed at the time of purchase.

Buyer beware , as they say.

K
2 MB dealers said 3 years on my model for ATF and should of been 2019. Told by both if I buy a plan I still pay for the missed work.

Stop when criteria verified. It’s reasonable to purchase from a main dealer, ask questions, they check on the system and inform you full MB service, last one major next is oil and filter change only. Next service is a cheap one.

CC, there is an issue to resolve. Car sold as FMBSH and its missed a service in 2019. Works due at 2019 missed at 2020 service.

Court, depends on dealer reaction. I’m ok with going to court over a car that’s not as described. 3k of mileage resulting in nearly 1.5k of costs. Also the loss in value for not being FMBSH. Doubt it will get to court, likely CC will resolve the issue with section 75 or charge back for the cost and loss.

Correct buyer beware. I did reasonable checks for a premium brand sold at a main dealer. On this occasion if not resolved the seller needs to be aware that they can’t get away with it. We are not talking £50.

We all know dealers are expensive but miss selling is another level.
 
Well as others have said if sold with a full service history the car has to have that,have a chat to the service manager,on the bright side you have a very low mileage car having done 5 grand a year since new.
 
Do you have a print out of the full service history?

Sadly as has been pointed out, take what the salesman says with a pinch if salt, they rarely check and are unlikely to tell you what is wrong even if they do know.
 
Before taking this to the next level I would request a print out of the service schedule and double check a service is missed.

Dont forget due to Covid19 restrictions services were delayed so could it be a service was due but done the following year ie if service was due late in year it could have been done the following year and someone would have had to clear from the car the service reminder.

3 years does seem early for gearbox service, my car was a 2016 E class with 9G box and last service was delayed due to late servicing again due to Covid1, the last service was a 5 year A service but as the 9G box was due a service at 5 years it bumped the price up considerably.

Just get all your ducks in a line before tackling the dealership.

Good luck.

Robin
 
Well as others have said if sold with a full service history the car has to have that,have a chat to the service manager,on the bright side you have a very low mileage car having done 5 grand a year since new.
Why all this advice to talk to the service manager? He didn’t sell the car and can’t do anything regarding recompense.
 
Why all this advice to talk to the service manager? He didn’t sell the car and can’t do anything regarding recompense.
Correct.

First escalate to the Sales Manager, and if no acceptable resolution there, the Dealer Principal.

FWIW, my argument would major on the quantifiable loss, which is the cost of the service items that are now deemed as having been missed. At the time of purchase the OP was told that everything was in order with prior service actions which induced him to purchase; had he known that items had been missed he could have either walked away or insisted that those service items were undertaken as a condition of purchase. Getting the Sales Manager to swallow the cost of those additional items being performed now is not, imo, an unreasonable ask.

Arguing about what effect a gap in the service history has on the value of the vehicle at some indeterminate point in the future is going to be like pinning the tail on the donkey.
 
2 MB dealers said 3 years on my model for ATF and should of been 2019. Told by both if I buy a plan I still pay for the missed work.

Stop when criteria verified. It’s reasonable to purchase from a main dealer, ask questions, they check on the system and inform you full MB service, last one major next is oil and filter change only. Next service is a cheap one.

CC, there is an issue to resolve. Car sold as FMBSH and its missed a service in 2019. Works due at 2019 missed at 2020 service.

Court, depends on dealer reaction. I’m ok with going to court over a car that’s not as described. 3k of mileage resulting in nearly 1.5k of costs. Also the loss in value for not being FMBSH. Doubt it will get to court, likely CC will resolve the issue with section 75 or charge back for the cost and loss.

Correct buyer beware. I did reasonable checks for a premium brand sold at a main dealer. On this occasion if not resolved the seller needs to be aware that they can’t get away with it. We are not talking £50.

We all know dealers are expensive but miss selling is another level.
I think you have summed it up correctly there. Car sold as FMBSH by a business seller and this was a condition of the purchase. The sale was misrepresented. Buyer beware does not come into this. I wouldn't personally be having a chat with anyone at the dealer. A polite but firm letter to the dealer principal would be more likely to produce results. But read the consumer legislation before you do ( lot of rules on there relating to the sale of vehicles) and quote the relevant bits in your letter. Car dealers are very good at being ignorant, or feigning ignorance, of consumer legislation.
 
To clarify - the supplying dealer who originally sold you the car, is the same dealer who is currently asking you to pay for the catch-up service? Or are these two different dealers?
 
I do wonder how many cars are shifted with duff history to unsuspecting individuals who know no better.

In terms of checking, where do you stop. I had an issue recently with the puddle light and was told I should of checked on collection. Sales manager said that’s unreasonable and it was escalated and repaired. Reason I purchased from MB is for a quality vehicle and as described. I doubt I would have noticed if a print out was given hence the extra questions.

I had something similar from JCT600.

You are expected to do your own "8 million point check" which is why you pay them handsomely to buy the car in the first place.

Which is ironic really as they don't even do it themselves.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom