Warranty problems

[bpsorrel]

What a story! I've just caught up with the final posts. Sorry to hear you had such a journey.

Everything I read about MB these days and their "customer service" worries me sick about any more problems with my car and how they'll be treated. I think the amazing amount of work (over £3K's worth!) carried out on my car in the first couple of months of owning it was down to the excellent Renault dealer I bought it from authorising and possibly paying for the work to be done by MB Oxford.

What happens when the car is not under the protective umbrella of their warranty I dread to think. I just hope MB Oxford will be co-operative if I have any SBC issues in the coming months...

So, if you don't mind me asking, what did you do with the car in the end? Did you try and part ex it using your letter saying it only devalued £1K??!!

I hope you never have to suffer treatment like this ever again.

 

[MB-BTurbo]

A good question I would be curious to hear as well.

I have had enough with Mercedes now. I owned a Viano for 2 years from new that got absolutely thrashed up and down mountain roads and it was like a rock, solid and dependable. I thought this was the standard I could expect from Mercedes which led me to buy the B200T. Not only would it have cost £5700 in 8 months if I had MB do the work but I am now seeing a whole new side to Mercedes that is leaving their reputation in tatters.

This is the first time I am considering selling a car in less than a year of ownership (except my VW after 11 months which was equally as bad). I had non of this nonsense from Ford and Subaru when I had them and the Ford was 10 years old!

 

[bpsorrel]

Makes you think doesn't it.

I've had four MBs now and only one was a trouble free car. My CLS that I took a ridiculous amount of time hunting down (thought I'd found the right one at last) has got off to a terrible start having cost over £3K in repairs in the first 3 months I had it! Fortunately all covered by a good Renault dealer's warranty.

I'm looking forward to getting back home and driving the car again, but I'm wary of it now and have decided to give MB one last try, with a fifth MB, probably an E coupe.
If this one fairs no better than the other three I'll not buy another.

In all the cars I've owned over many years of driving, the MBs have been the worst for unreliability, even surpassing my old Jag XJ6!

 

[MB-BTurbo]

Lol, I was going to ask after the first 3 why you went back? If I have a bad experience with cars that is backed up with a common theme on forums such as these, e.g. rust on MBs, then Ill be leaving that marque alone.

I did the same with my VW. Shocking reliability, a quick visit to the forums would suggest I was not the only one. The dealers attitude of "we dont know so we'll change everything, that will be £1800" for what turned out to be a suspension bush was atrocious.

To me the German marques seem to be demonstrating quite a degree of arrogance, cutting corners and charging premium prices. It'll be back to Japanese for me I think after this one.

 

[grumpyoldgit]

MB only manage 31st on this site. They also have an average repair cost to check out any particular make and model.

Manufacturer Ratings - Car Reliability Index | Reliability Index | How reliable is your car?

 

[MB-BTurbo]

I recently put in a claim with this company (warranty direct) so theres another dent for MB. Interestingly warranty direct would only pay for 2.6 hours for changing a starter motor. Mercedes wanted 9 hours! After much toing and froing we found out that the book time MB actually state for doing this job is 2.9 hours, so where are the dealers getting 9 hours from?

Warranty Direct to their credit offered 4 hours in the end to which I excepted. The garage managed 4 1/2 hours but only charged me for the 4 which worked out well for me.

For me MB not only build rubbish, e.g. cars that break down and rust away but their dealers either try it on or dont know their **** from their elbow, either way its not good.

 

[Red C220]

I have only given one example of the actions of the Metropolitan Police Service from the box file marked MPS.

I agree with your statement regarding the Civil/Criminal demarcation, but, so often the excuse "Its a Civil matter" is just that, an excuse.

I have no idea why MB decided on their course of action, only that they did, and I responded the only way I knew by going to law as I had done nothing wrong. MB admitted in Court that I was not responsible for the damage to my car and tried to blame the recovery people. MB had previously stated, in writing, that the recovery people were not responsible.

I did have a slight advantage as I has spent the 70/80' in the "Motor Trade" and had a good idea what MB would do next and avoided the obvious "traps". (been there, done that)

Never have "conversations" and get everything in writing, preferably through a solicitor.

The first time MB attended my car as the battery was dead he told me it was because the mobile 'phone was left in it cradle, ummm, very doubtful given this was a factory fitted item and was shut down when the ignition was off. I would have though a dead short more likely, but, what do I know as I am not a MB trained expert in Mercedes-Benz's.

What is your goal Robert?

What do you need to see to say that's it I've got as afar as I can now?

(Genuine questions - not at all questioning your motives - just curious where you want to end up).

 

[MB-BTurbo]

MB only manage 31st on this site. They also have an average repair cost to check out any particular make and model.

Manufacturer Ratings - Car Reliability Index | Reliability Index | How reliable is your car?

This was actually something I looked up before buying the B class. It does quite well and seems to be one of the better Mercs.


Mercedes-Benz B-Class - Car Reliability Search | Reliability Index | How reliable is your car?

 

[bpsorrel]

Lol, I was going to ask after the first 3 why you went back?

Good question!

Well, the first one (a C180K "sport coupe") was a pile of...., the next a CLK was OK, but irritating faults spoiled the fun. I then left MB and had a few others including a wonderful, but flawed 730d, which then led me to a brilliant, faultless S211 which pleased me so much I decided to buy my then "dream car", a CLS, which has not started well, but maybe I'll get lucky with it from now on... hmmm...

But, had MB been better I would've changed my Saab for a daily driver MB (B class maybe) but due to all the problems and crud service from dealers, I went Japanese for it instead. Twenty grand NOT in MBs pocket, if they care..

 

[MB-BTurbo]

The B class when working is a brilliant car, well the one with the 2.0 Turbo engine anyway. I had the B160 for the weekend and what a snorfest that was. Adding 0.5l and a Turbo transforms it and it is a right little pocket rocket for very little extra fuel consumption. Also being the top B class model it has lots of nice extras such as Harmon Kardon stereo, sports seats, pedals, trim etc. which is why it is so frustrating that things keep going wrong. I really want to like this car but its making it very difficult for me.

 

[robertjrt]

What is your goal Robert?

What do you need to see to say that's it I've got as afar as I can now?

(Genuine questions - not at all questioning your motives - just curious where you want to end up).[/QUOTE[]

And a very good question it is. Given MB read all these forums and use posts as evidence in Court I shall be cautious in my reply, (no bad language)

It is my hope that my actions will result in a more civilised response from MB to customers genuine complaints and they will stop taking advantage of their customers.

One only has to read some of the posts, such as one on here at present about wanting to charge over double the hours recommended to change a starter motor and other unsavoury practices.

When the Metropolitan police eventually realise that I will not accept their
reasons for closing the investigation of criminal actions by named persons at MBUK and Mondial and follow the Advice Note I have sent them, perhaps we shall see a change of attitude at MBUK once a few people have been arrested.

I informed MBUK years ago that my aim is to see those named persons before a Judge and Jury and that aim has not changed.

I am not being vindictive as a number of very experience Barristers/solicitors
have confirmed I have a very good case. None have recommended I stop in my quest for Justice after reviewing the evidence. (They did what!!)

What MBUK did to me was outrageous and they had numinous opportunities
to bring the dispute to an end, but, chose not too.

I have not spent all these years and a great deal of money if I was not convinced that a Jury will find the accused guilty, but, that's in the future and I have to address the reluctance of the Metropolitan Police to take me seriously.

Remember; Always get it in writing

 

[johnsmith1980]

This whole saga could have been resolved/made a little easier by a simple phone call from the dealer. The dealer clearly decided (rightly or wrongly) that the repair was not covered by the warranty. At this point a phone call to the customer should have been made advising it was not covered and advising the cost of the repair. The OP would them have had a chance to decide what he wanted to do. The problem is the repairs were carried out without the consent of the driver.

Without knowing all of the details in this clearly rather complicated case it is impossible to pass a judgement on whether the fault should have been covered or not but a repair not covered by warranty should never be carried out without the owners consent. Especially one for 6k!!

 

[joecash]

the mind boggles

 

[robertjrt]

It is now March 2014 and I have to admit that I will never see MB in court to answer for what they have done to me.

Its not justice, but, the law.

 

[jaymanek]

A very sad tale..

estate agent owes us £13K... no argument possible, its simply rent they have not passed on to us.
We have been chasing them for years... Ombudsman ruled in our favour, now we are going to court... However who knows if they will ever pay..

Life is too short and at some point you just have to let it go.

So what ever happened to the car, where is it?

 

[robertjrt]

A very sad tale..

estate agent owes us £13K... no argument possible, its simply rent they have not passed on to us.
We have been chasing them for years... Ombudsman ruled in our favour, now we are going to court... However who knows if they will ever pay..

Life is too short and at some point you just have to let it go.

So what ever happened to the car, where is it?

You are quite right, its time to move on; too plan B

The car was sold for scrap, £1,500.

That will teach me to fight for justice

 

[DSB SL AMG]

Are you using this route? been on tv recently, they seem to have a good strike rate....

http://thesheriffsoffice.com/high-court-enforcement

A very sad tale..

estate agent owes us £13K... no argument possible, its simply rent they have not passed on to us.
We have been chasing them for years... Ombudsman ruled in our favour, now we are going to court... However who knows if they will ever pay..

Life is too short and at some point you just have to let it go.

So what ever happened to the car, where is it?

 

[cinek]

Absolutely disgusting way to treat customers.
Your story defies the most basic principles of customer service!

Of course you would have heard it number of times, that your case is one in a million, and that 99.9% of customers leave the dealership smiling. What a lot of tosh...

Most of us would accept someone else's **** ups and move on.

You have put up tremendous fight with no victory flag in the end.

Both the dealership and MBUK are absolute joke based on this story!

 

[robertjrt]

Absolutely disgusting way to treat customers.
Your story defies the most basic principles of customer service!

Of course you would have heard it number of times, that your case is one in a million, and that 99.9% of customers leave the dealership smiling. What a lot of tosh...

Most of us would accept someone else's **** ups and move on.

You have put up tremendous fight with no victory flag in the end.

Both the dealership and MBUK are absolute joke based on this story!

I carried on as I believed that was able to prove that MB knew from the report provided by the recovery company that my car had been driven into the car park at MB Chelsea and that their defence that it must have been the recovery company or me, or somebody known to me had caused the catastrophic damage to the electrical system was a criminal wrong

According to the latest legal advice as I had been given judgement in the court there is nothing I can do about it.

The fact that the workshop manager perjured himself in the witness box did not stop his promotion to general manager at MB Epsom, so what does that tell you about the management at MB?

 

[ricky s]

I carried on as I believed that was able to prove that MB knew from the report provided by the recovery company that my car had been driven into the car park at MB Chelsea and that their defence that it must have been the recovery company or me, or somebody known to me had caused the catastrophic damage to the electrical system was a criminal wrong

According to the latest legal advice as I had been given judgement in the court there is nothing I can do about it.

The fact that the workshop manager perjured himself in the witness box did not stop his promotion to general manager at MB Epsom, so what does that tell you about the management at MB?

Sorry to hear this conclusion to your horrendous story Robert, totally recall having lunch with yourself and your partner and going over this story, a couple of years back, I cannot believe the stress it must have put upon you both over such a duration of time, trying to fight for a just verdict from your case, afraid giant and the mouse scenario, and if people are apparently perjuring themselves, what were you to do, seems justice was stripped from you I wish you all the best for the future, and hope a lot of the forum guys here, read your full story, (and it is worth reading), and what, may/could befall any of us on the wrong day with the wrong car and the wrong dealership.