Ripped OFF!!

[BilalSheikh]

Guys i just wanted to share my experience with you. Its a long story but i will try and make it as brief as possible. As like all of you i am a merc enthusiast as well so i thought i will make my way into the merc world with a W202. So i went ahead and bought 1995 c180 Manual. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4640271206&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWN%3AIT&rd=1
I didnt know that manuals were unpopular before buying it. Anyways went the same day when won the bid and drove the car. It was making the squeeking noise which i was told that its the thrust bearing. There was another very deep thumpy noise coming when shifting from first and second and that i thought was the spare wheel being loose so took it off and the car was still making the noise. Asked the seller and he said you didnt test drive the car before bidding so i cant take any responcibility. I thought the car has had MOT done last month it couldnt be anything serious. So reluctantly i passed him the cheaque and left. Picked up the car after a few days and drove it back. On the way back i noticed that SRS light used to come on and stay for a few minutes after the car was started and that the speedometer used to show zero till 30mph. I tried calling the seller but he didnt answer. When i reached London, i emailed him and he said the car didnt have any of those problems so i went and got the car checked for the deep noise. The indie said its the engine mount i emailed the seller he said the mechanic was trying to make money from me and that he had it checked and it was a coupling on the prop shaft.

Then i took the car for maintenance service to MercsOnly last friday and guess what all of you were right. I am not impressed by them first of all they gave me a heart attack to what was wrong with the car and secondly they didnt even bother changing the plugs which are atleast 2 years old. According to them the list of works to be done was as follows

- Differential Oil is leaking and needs new seals
- Rear brake discs are rusted and need replacement
- Front near side tyre rod end is worn
- Viscous coupling of the fan is gone and needs to be replaced
- They said the couplings are fine

They gave me a total of works done to be around £700 and charged me £230 for the service.

I was really pis*ed off and went to my mate's tested mechanic who he takes his c180 for several years. The name of workshop is Whitley Motors in southall. Got it checked from them and they said the same things and diagnosed the problem of the shuddering noise to be Differential bushes. I then got the fan coupling changed from them and it cost me £170. So till now i have spent £400 on the car and the differential still needs to be sorted out as well as the rest of the faults.

I dont know what to do when i try to contact the seller he denies it and belatently says that he is not responcible. Any ideas and recomendations?

I am supposed to leave the car at Whitley Motors tonight to get the differential seals and bushes sorted out. They said the rear arms are gone as well. I said what the F is going on here.

 

[ukslk]

Should have torn up the cheque and left the car well alone after driving it. A negative ebay feedback would certainly have been better! Seller probably knew all about the problems and it sounds like you are the one who is going to have to cough up to get them fixed.

Never tie yourself into buying a car without test driving. Sorry this has happened to you.

 

[Rose Chap]

Caveat emptor.

 

[dougal74]

Sorry to hear of the faults and your troubles. Sounds like the seller is a bit of a pro who knows a good deal and decided he could get a one from you. If he lied to you and misrepresented the faults which you identified after your test drive then you might try to pursue him through trading standards (if a trader) or the small claims court but my sense is you will get nowhere as you (i) had the opportunity to walk away and (ii) bought through eBay and his auction rules giving yourself less protection than other routes.
Caveat emptor prevails - if you get an instinct that the car isn't right walk away...quickly before anyone persuades you to pay up!
I know it is of little comfort but the faults you list aren't terminal and in comparison to some horror stories you haven't been as completely ripped off as some.
P.S. You could offset some of the cost of the work by selling the Northern Irish plate...

 

[alex51]

How the hell did it pass an mot in april 2006 ?

 

[sagalout]

Might just have to write this off as a learning experience

For me it was one alarm bell after another reading that description.

Firstly, would someone who cherished and looked after their car allow it to be run and sold with a worn thrust bearing? If it has a proper FSH and recent MOT why wasnt this attended to? It doesnt even say on the advert what model it is (classic, esprit, sport, elegance). You really should have either test driven it before bidding or at least before handing over a cheque. Despite what buyers and ebay say, its not a legally binding contract as ebay is not a proper auction so never be afraid to walk away, especially if the car has unexplained noises!

Also, just looking at the where the car is parked - I just dont get a good feeling that the car has been in any way looked after and whilst he hads good feedback its all as a buyer, not a seller. Whole thing just doesnt add up to a reassured purchase.

On top of all that it sounds overpriced too. Assuming its a c180 manual classic really is the hardest model to resell, which is fine if you're paying bottom price, but I think you've paid top dollar

On the plus side as mentioned above it sounds like it is fixable so whilst you might take a hit on fixing it, its not as bad as buying a cut and shut.

 

[bolide]

If you buy an 11-year old car from a private seller then these are exactly the kind of things that will be wrong if the car has been maintained on a budget

Once they've been fixed the car will be fine. You may end up having spent more money than you planned but you'll end up with a decent car which should be reliable

You can check what the advisories were on the MOT by using the VOSA website. Rusty discs and worn track rod ends should be picked up by the MOT but I wouldn't expect anything else on the list to be mentioned unless the tester was particularly picky

You may think you've been ripped off but unless the seller misrepresented the car you don't have a case. As Rose Chap said, with remarkable brevity, "Caveat Emptor"

In view of what has gone wrong already it might be a good idea to HPI the car to make sure it's not been recorded with insurers as a write off / Class C / etc. If it has you might not want to spend the money on it. Perhaps you could also check the NMR to see if there is any irregularity with the "91,550 genuine miles"...

Nick Froome
www.w124.co.uk

 

[david_h]

SRS light no big deal, plug it in and reset it, mine is on atm for no reason at all.

The speedo jumping up is a common fault, you need some new sleeves over the needle rest units, cost for parts about £2. When it's hot the needle sticks to the rest point.

As for other stuff it's nothing major major, it's done 100k. I spent £700 on mine last service and am always doing little things to keep it tip top, you got it for £1600 which is pretty cheap imho. If it's straight a diff and viscous fan coupling isn't end of world. Mercs are expensive to keep on the road regardless, it's not a Ford. Probably did get through MOT ok, it's not that stringent.

 

[R2D2]

Sorry to hear of your woes. You were maybe a bit naive buying as you did. But you might yet end up with a decent car. We know several experts who could check it over for you ascertain if its worth keeping. As has already said you could sell the number to get a bit of cash back or you could just pay up, get a good car and enjoy it.

 

[timmy]

Sorry about your purchase. I bought my c180 manual esprit off e-bay and got an absolute bargain. It really is immaculate. I must say the seller conducted himself very well and I trusted him. There but for the grace of God go I. You don't need negative comments.......but, the advert was a giveaway. Just look at the estate it's on. Good luck with your repairs, once they are done you will have a decent motor. I have the base model if you like, but love having a Merc.

 

[Ian B Walker]

Have you seen the sellers name? sort of says it all really Anyway, sorry you had a bad experience and that it is going to cost a few beer tokens to fix but at the end of the day you will be a proud Merc owner, same as most of us here.

 

[andy_k]

I'm not sure why you paid for it - if you weren't happy then you shouldn't have parted with your money so I can kind of see where the seller is coming from.

It was a full 10 days between you collecting the car and taking it into a garage to be checked over - quite honestly that's long enough for any seller to say that the car is no longer their responsibility so you may well have to bite the bullet and get the car fixed - at least you'll know that it's good for a long time and that the work has been done properly.

I'm always wary of people's feedback like his - it may look good on the surface but if you check it out it's all as a buyer and it's all relatively low price items.

This is his first sale - I recommend you give him feedback that reflects the car he sold you and the way he dealt with you. By all means be negative but be honest and objective remembering that you always have the last word even if he replies you can always follow it up with another comment.

If you want to be really smart you can log into eBay Taiwan to leave your feedback - that way, rather than the usual 80 character restriction you get 125 characters to play with


Good luck

Andy

 

[big x]

Some good answers in the above posts.I would just add for £6.99 you can get a shortened HPI report by clicking on the blue VRM link in the listing.


adam

 

[BilalSheikh]

Thanks a lot guys you are all superstars. You picked me up. I am really pissed off as when they put it on the ramp today to give me a final look the indie was in the car he had the handbreak on and had the car in first gear and was letting go of clutch. I saw with my own eyes the rear tyres bending inwards. That means that the rear arms are gone as well. To top it up the car kept on cutting up on me on the way to the garage. I dont know what i have done to deserve it.
The estimate was £1250 to sort those problems out. Which still leaves the thrust bearing and with view of Whitley motors they said its not thrust bearings as they make noise when you put your foot on the clutch not when you take it off.
I must say that the car is wonderful and and spot less but i have had blow after blow. I had saved for my marriage and that has just been spent on it. I have asked the workshop to sort the diff seals and the propshaft coupling out for now that will set me back another £400.

Guys i couldnt get the HPI report as the car itself is on private plate and that option was not available. It is an Elegance by the way atleast thats what i think it is by the side panels. I think Mr. RobinGal(Robin Galoway) deserves more than a negative feedback and i deserve some charity I didnt know about the taiwan ebay i will give it a go but wont know how to confine my experience in such small space.

 

[gaz_l]

Sorry to hear you've had troubles, but to echo other's comments you don't really have anyone to blame but yourself. Not all sellers comply with eBay's creed - "people are basically honest".

I bought a car sight unseen on eBay but was prepared to take a gamble - that's what you have to do in return for getting a car on the cheap. However, in my case the car in question was £250 of Fiat Panda and I bought it fully expecting it to fall apart a month later. Actually, it lasted a year and a half, so I won on that occasion - but that's nature of gambling.. win some, lose some.

Take it on the chin and better luck next time...

Gaz

 

[timmy]

At least you can delay the wedding!!!!

 

[Andyni]

The HPI report should be a must. The Northern Ireland plate I would think would be unusual it that area but check the registration document.

Other than the faults that you have mentioned it appears to be a tidy car.

 

[BilalSheikh]

At least you can delay the wedding!!!!

I beleive thats not an option for me. Any ideas on the wording of the feedback? I checked ebay forums and it seems i have no chance of winning the case if i take it on

 

[Shude]

If you are really interested in a car but can't visit it before the auction ends then why not send the AA, RAC or some other qualified motor engineer to take a look? £100 well spent IMHO. I've had a couple of inspections done and the result has been new tyres, especially on the spare wheels and headlamp glass replacement etc, some things that I might have missed myself.

 

[Vlad]

E-bay.....buying unseen......