New member who's bought a dodgy car

[SydneyS]

Hi chaps, firstly let me introduce myself I'm Ben from Lancaster and I'm looking for some guidance/advice regarding an E320 I have bought.

It's a 2006 3.0 V6 CDI saloon, my first merc. Its got a mileage discrepancy and was sold with a fake service book. So this car had covered 135k by 2011 however in 2012 the mot mileage was recorded as 98k, it missed an mot in 2013 and then seems to of been owned by a disabled person in Liverpool from early 17 upto now who had spent over 2.5k on it, so since the minus in mileage it's covered 29986k.

The service book is a joke, tippex everywhere and each vin has clearly been "over written" the original however today Mercedes informed me it actually does have a service history! See below for specifics:

Thank you for contacting Mercedes-Benz Customer Service.

According to our records, the following services have taken place on vehicle WDB2110222A999654, within the Mercedes-Benz Retailer Network:

Service on 22/01/2007 at 16,821 miles (Mercedes Benz of Mercedes-Benz of Bradford)
Service on 30/07/2007 at 32,934 miles (Mercedes Benz of Western Commercial Bellshill)
Service on 25/02/2008 at 48,977 miles (Mercedes Benz of Western Commercial Bellshill)
Service on 04/09/2008 at 63,879 miles (Mercedes Benz of Western Commercial Bellshill)
Service on 09/04/2009 at 80,436 miles (Mercedes Benz of Western Commercial Bellshill)
Service on 26/08/2009 at 96,418 miles (Mercedes Benz of Western Commercial Bellshill)
Service on 12/01/2010 at 119,252 miles (Mercedes Benz of Western Commercial Bellshill)
Service on 08/02/2011 at 128,960 miles (Mercedes Benz of Mercedes-Benz of Leeds)

So this car covered absolutely loads of miles each year upto 2014, had a fake service book and has a mileage discrepancy of - 37k and I'm trying to find out what's gone on. Have you guys got any thoughts on this history? Can you think of any legitimate explanation? Within the load of paperwork of work done by the previous owner between 17/19 there's a receipt for "diagnostics of instrument cluster" and a note of "requires instrument cluster repair" which makes me think someone has changed the clocks to have a lower mileage.

Also in regards to condition, the car is cosmetically brilliant, I took it for a drive yesterday and if I put my foot down hard it seems to lose turbo boost/power. My obd scanner brings up 02 sensor codes and egr range/performance but there's no EML light on.

Anyway sorry for such a long winded first post, I've made a mistake and bought a lemon and now I'm bricking it

 

[RonFleet]

Any chance you can demand your money back, as the car seems to have been sold under false pretences? Sale of Goods Act springs to mind.

 

[gaz_l]

How does the service mileage stack up against the MOT history?

Check the MOT history of a vehicle

Cheers,

Gaz

 

[brucemillar]

Not what you want to hear (I’m sure)

Firstly, hello and welcome.

Secondly, you have protection under the law. I would be invoking that and telling the seller you want a full refund and he can have his car back. I would do this with the other hand on the dial of trading standards.

What starts wrong, can rapidly get worse. Few tales like this end up the words:

Delighted
Happy
Chuffed
Thrilled

In any sentences you can make up.

Good luck

Was it a trader or private?
Did you question the mileage at point of sale?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SydneyS]

I bought it from auction and missed "incorrect mileage" in the description, I know I know! The newly discovered service history mileage bang matches the MOT history

 

[SydneyS]

My main objective now is to try and get the actual mileage , or nearest estimation of and sort out this loss of power, then I'll sit in my shed and cry for 4 days

 

[rf065]

Not sure about the services carried out by Western Commercial Bellshill, they service & repair commercial MB's, I.E. Sprinters to HGV's.
Not saying they cannot service Mercedes cars but I've never seen one in their workshops? Might be worth a phone call to see if they confirm those services.

 

[SydneyS]

Not sure about the services carried out by Western Commercial Bellshill, they service & repair commercial MB's, I.E. Sprinters to HGV's.
Not saying they cannot service Mercedes cars but I've never seen one in their workshops? Might be worth a phone call to see if they confirm those services.

Hmmmm OK will do

 

[merc85]

If it makes you feel any better they are strong engines, At the end of the day It's all nuts and bolts.

Sorry to hear news obviously

 

[John]

No point in worrying about it at this stage.

OK so you dropped a borluck buying it but as you have discovered, a good chunk of the mileage is accounted for and the bodywork is in good shape - my guess is the car has been looked after.

I'm guessing you got it for a good price at auction so you may have to cough to have anything which has been missed service-wise done and obviously the problem you now have.

You could still have the power issue even if the car had a full documented history...

Find a decent inde on here and get it sorted and move on.

If you intend to keep it for many years or until it dies, it won't matter anyway!

 

[DSM10000]

The mileage is stored in a number of discrete electronic units within the car, instrument cluster, ignition switch I believe. An Independent with Star should be able to interrogate the car and find out the mileage.

As for the performance loss, there are many reasons but nearly always simple and relatively cheap, again Star will diagnose this.

Do not waste money on garages using generic scanners at this stage, you need a full diagnostic.

Good luck and report back.

 

[SydneyS]

The mileage is stored in a number of discrete electronic units within the car, instrument cluster, ignition switch I believe. An Independent with Star should be able to interrogate the car and find out the mileage.

As for the performance loss, there are many reasons but nearly always simple and relatively cheap, again Star will diagnose this.

Do not waste money on garages using generic scanners at this stage, you need a full diagnostic.

Good luck and report back.

Thanks DSM great advice

 

[markjay]

The car is 13 old now... the gap in the service history won't make a huge difference to value come sale time. So I wouldn't worry too much about it.

I would concentrate on fixing it and servicing it, them just keep it and drive it.

Re service... you'll need the following (unless there's proof it was recently done):

- Service A or B (which will include engine oil and filter change)

- Air filter change

- Fuel filter change

- Pollen filter change

- Breake fluid change

- ATF and filter change (if automatic)

- Coolent change (unless original 15 years coolant)


But obviously get the engine sorted first before spending money on servicing. Good luck.

 

[grober]

I would speculate that Mercedes Benz of Western Commercial Bellshill might offer service contracts for MB taxis firms - especially firms of fleets with several vehicles.

 

[gaz_l]

Was it MOT'd at 12 months old as opposed to 3 years? Always a giveaway for a car being a taxi.

Cheers,

Gaz

 

[SydneyS]

Was it MOT'd at 12 months old as opposed to 3 years? Always a giveaway for a car being a taxi.

Cheers,

Gaz

Doesn't look like it Gaz first MOT 2009

 

[Deleted member 37751]

You could spend months trying to get to the bottom of the mileage discrepancies and, unless you’re a trader, I’d concentrate more on getting the car back to normal and running right - at that age and that price the most important thing is mechanical and physical condition.

How much did you pay for the car in total including fees?

 

[David404]

The 220 tended to be the choice of taxi Cos due to fuel consumption, not saying yours wasnt a taxi but perhaps unlikly.

if you are in a high gear and use kickdown the 7GTronic box is slow to down shift so you are left waiting for the power to kick in.

If you got at good price i'd not worry too much about miles, the V6 is well regarded, some of the ancillary kit and emissions stuff can be an issue but TBH thats common to many manufacturers.

Loving my E320 wall of torque from that engine makes everything seem so effortless.

 

[SydneyS]

Does anyone know if having a dead 02 sensor (reading no voltage from live data) could cause this loss of power issue? This morning I cleared codes and took it out, after a few miles of running perfect it suddenly loses power as if its in limp mode but no EML, so I read codes again and again it picks up 02 sensor and EGR range/performance so I'm thinking the bank 1 sensor 1 02 is dead which is in turn affecting the EGR which is throwing it into limp mode

 

[DSM10000]

Ideally get a full Star diagnostic before throwing money at it but if suspect from the diagnostic you could just replace it and see. Best to get a Bosch sensor (OE), some of the cheaper pattern parts may not last. The MAF can also play up.