Sold a defective A45 AMG by Sandown

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

ELT

New Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2020
Messages
8
Location
UK
Car
A45 AMG
We purchased our A45 late last year and it came with a full tank of fuel. As soon as we needed to refuel it we noticed that the fuel tank clicks off every £2-3, so booked it in to a local dealer who couldn’t find a fault. It kept happening so booked it into a Sytner dealer who has subsequently replaced the entire fuel system. To make matters worse we also discover there is a perished seal at the rear resulting in water getting into our vehicle. Having contacted Sandown and failed to have a response from anyone there (I will continue to call them) just adds to our frustration.

I was after advice if anyone has experienced awful after sales customer service, also curious what’s actually looked at during their 100-200 point checks surely a perished seal would be spotted right?

Perhaps worth nothing the salesman at the dealership also tried to sell us an AMG product with no floor mats despite them being in the original advert, and during the great unveil when we collected the vehicle the level of valeting (or lack there of) was apparent given there was dog hair and melted chocolate inside the vehicle.
 
Last edited:
We purchased our A45 late last year and it came with a full tank of fuel. As soon as we needed to refuel it we noticed that the fuel tank clicks off every £2-3, so booked it in to a local dealer who couldn’t find a fault. It kept happening so booked it into a Sytner dealer who has subsequently replaced the entire fuel system. To make matters worse we also discover there is a perished seal at the rear resulting in water getting into our vehicle. Having contacted Sandown and failed to have a response from anyone there (I will continue to call them) just adds to our frustration.

I was after advice if anyone has experienced awful after sales customer service, also curious what’s actually looked at during their 100-200 point checks surely a perished seal would be spotted right?

Perhaps worth nothing the salesman at the dealership also tried to sell us an AMG product with no floor mats despite them being in the original advert, and during the great unveil when we collected the vehicle the level of valeting (or lack there of) was apparent given there was dog hair and melted chocolate inside the vehicle.
Hi,don’t know which branch of the Sandown group you are referring to but I’ve found Sandown Poole to be the best Mercedes dealership I’ve used over the years-if you were unhappy with the way the car was presented why didn’t you point it out at the time and have it rectified before leaving,with regards to the failed seal and the fuelling problem any fault(s) would be covered in the first 12 months by Sandowns aproved used warranty,hope that helps.
 
Because the dealer is two hours away from us we reported the fault to our nearest dealer and the perished seal has only just been made aware to us. And we did mention the way the car was presented on at the time and they did clean it again for us. The fuel tank is covered but the perished seal isn’t which is why we’re frustrated. Thanks for your help
 
Did all fuel pumps click off or just those at a particular station?

It may be has simply as a blocked breather hose.

As for the handover, did you complain at the time?
 
It clicked at all petrol stations unfortunately, I even had to take a tech with me to the fuel station so they could see for themselves. And yes we did mention the condition of the vehicle at the time of collection.
 
Because the dealer is two hours away from us we reported the fault to our nearest dealer and the perished seal has only just been made aware to us. And we did mention the way the car was presented on at the time and they did clean it again for us. The fuel tank is covered but the perished seal isn’t which is why we’re frustrated. Thanks for your help
How long have you owned the car?
 
Because the dealer is two hours away from us we reported the fault to our nearest dealer and the perished seal has only just been made aware to us. And we did mention the way the car was presented on at the time and they did clean it again for us. The fuel tank is covered but the perished seal isn’t which is why we’re frustrated. Thanks for your help
How long have you owned the car?
Did all fuel pumps click off or just those at a particular station?

It may be has simply as a blocked breather hose.

As for the handover, did you complain at the time?
Some new cars do click off if you pull the nozzle trigger back fully(my wife’s new fiesta done it from day one and is normal according to the handbook,there is a knack in squeezing the trigger gently to stop the supply being cut off from the pump).
 
Hey I have owned it for 6 months
Check your approved used warranty as it should be 12 months and the seal should be covered as it's equivalent to a tier 1 Mercedes warranty-which dealership did you buy the car from if you don't mind me asking?
 
Check your approved used warranty as it should be 12 months and the seal should be covered as it's equivalent to a tier 1 Mercedes warranty-which dealership did you buy the car from if you don't mind me asking?
Thanks as it came with a two year warranty so that’s good any I’d rather not say if that’s ok.
 
Thanks as it came with a two year warranty so that’s good any I’d rather not say if that’s ok.
Of course,just contact the dealer tomorrow and I'm sure they will get the issue resolved for you,Sandown have at least 7 dealerships spread across the south so you should be able to get it booked in at your nearest branch-good luck.
 
I was after advice if anyone has experienced awful after sales customer service, also curious what’s actually looked at during their 100-200 point checks surely a perished seal would be spotted right?

Their pre sales checks are a waste of time and only a selling point to lure you into thinking you are buying a "sorted" car , I had to point out a few obvious cosmetic issues that should have been delt with prior to showing the car and not left to the purchaser to point out.

Perhaps worth nothing the salesman at the dealership also tried to sell us an AMG product with no floor mats despite them being in the original advert, and during the great unveil when we collected the vehicle the level of valeting (or lack there of) was apparent given there was dog hair and melted chocolate inside the vehicle

Salesman tried that one with me , throwing in floormats as a sweetener even though they were in the boot under the spare wheel cover :rolleyes:

Looks like you fell into their brand trap as I and many others do - expecting a marque like MB to be a step above your local used car dealer whereas they now-a-days seem to be just that.

K
 
One possible explanation for a leaking rear seal if we are talking about the rear hatch door seal is body distortion. This may be inherent in the model design due to the extra dynamic body stresses in a high performance hot hatch- the latest version has received considerably more under body stiffening. Renewing the rear seal may effect a temporary cure only for the fault to re-occur in a short space of time. Previous experience may have taught the dealer to avoid getting on this "rear seal renewal" merry-go- round???
Mercedes-Benz AMG A45

and---if the previous owners were in the habit of housing two muddy wet dogs in the luggage compartment this could also be a contributory factor
 
One possible explanation for a leaking rear seal if we are talking about the rear hatch door seal is body distortion. This may be inherent in the model design due to the extra dynamic body stresses in a high performance hot hatch- the latest version has received considerably more under body stiffening. Renewing the rear seal may effect a temporary cure only for the fault to re-occur in a short space of time. Previous experience may have taught the dealer to avoid getting on this "rear seal renewal" merry-go- round???
Mercedes-Benz AMG A45

and---if the previous owners were in the habit of housing two muddy wet dogs in the luggage compartment this could also be a contributory factor
I hear you on the dog thing. But people who buys a A45 AMG to carry dog's around must be a rare breed, pun intended :p
 
One possible explanation for a leaking rear seal if we are talking about the rear hatch door seal is body distortion. This may be inherent in the model design due to the extra dynamic body stresses in a high performance hot hatch- the latest version has received considerably more under body stiffening. Renewing the rear seal may effect a temporary cure only for the fault to re-occur in a short space of time. Previous experience may have taught the dealer to avoid getting on this "rear seal renewal" merry-go- round???
Mercedes-Benz AMG A45

and---if the previous owners were in the habit of housing two muddy wet dogs in the luggage compartment this could also be a contributory factor
Good point-the clc also suffer a similar problem with rear seals/water ingress and are similarly shaped and hatch backed like the A45-also the faulty seal has only surfaced 6 months after the car was bought as an aproved used vehicle so don’t think it’s fair to blame the dealer for that issue.
 
Last edited:
We purchased our A45 late last year and it came with a full tank of fuel. As soon as we needed to refuel it we noticed that the fuel tank clicks off every £2-3, so booked it in to a local dealer who couldn’t find a fault. It kept happening so booked it into a Sytner dealer who has subsequently replaced the entire fuel system. To make matters worse we also discover there is a perished seal at the rear resulting in water getting into our vehicle. Having contacted Sandown and failed to have a response from anyone there (I will continue to call them) just adds to our frustration.

I was after advice if anyone has experienced awful after sales customer service, also curious what’s actually looked at during their 100-200 point checks surely a perished seal would be spotted right?

Perhaps worth nothing the salesman at the dealership also tried to sell us an AMG product with no floor mats despite them being in the original advert, and during the great unveil when we collected the vehicle the level of valeting (or lack there of) was apparent given there was dog hair and melted chocolate inside the vehicle.
Sounds like a bit of a storm in a teacup, really.

Fault with tank/breathers/fuel system could have happened at any time from new onwards. An inconvenience but surely that’s what the warranty is for, even new cars can have faults!

The missing mats and below average valet - a bit disappointing, but not the end of the world. If they’re advertised as being included then of course you ask for them. An oversight and probably nabbed by the previous owner when they traded it in.

Did you not view the car before purchase?

I can understand your disappointment but in all honesty used cars are not the same as new ones. They will have more wear and tear, and they can vary tremendously - I viewed three and bought the fourth one when I was looking last year. At least you’ve got two years warranty though.

Hopefully you can get the seal replaced and enjoy the car :)
 
To be fair the OP did say that there was dog hair in the car when he went to collect it...!
How did he know it was Canine , DNA test ? :p I do find it odd that at an AMG reveal at a dealer a hair of any type (and chocolate) was found in the car , that shows a lack of preparation that would make me wonder if they even checked the tyre pressure. You would expect better prep from a car rental company.
 
Last owner of my car left a DVD in the car, two receipts for french books, two Mercedes child car seats, a Starguard valet kit, spare batteries for the key fobs, a metal tin with AMG keyfob covers, extra set of cordless headphones and (shh!) every receipt and piece of paperwork for the car from new (for the sake of GDPR that wasn’t there)

I did get a full set of AMG floor mats, but I didn’t get any chocolate, should I complain? :D
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom