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Mercedes from Hades

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My Mercedes SUV stopped working so I took it to the local Mercedes dealership to get repaired. This was the was the first week in January 2018. I called the day after I dropped it off and the service manager assured me he knew what the problem was and would have the car ready that Friday, after replacing the AAM ($1500). I had to sign an agreement that stated I understood the costs and also understood it would not fix the car.

Friday came and went with no response from Mercedes. In fact, my car has been at their dealership ever since. I have called at least once a week, asking for an update, estimate, ANYTHING to tell me what is going on with my car. Out of all my attempts to reach out to anyone at the dealership, I’ve received maybe 3 responses telling me they are still working on the car and they have “no update”. The last response was over a month ago.

In my frustration, I called the Mercedes Benz corporate office to weeks ago to complain. The associate couldn’t believe how long my car had been in the shop (5 months) and was very apologetic and promised to reach out to the local dealership on my behalf. I then promptly recieved a call from the local Mercedes the next day and the service manager apologized (for once) and “assured” me that the car would this time definitely be fixed the upcoming Friday. Again. Of course, Friday came and went with no word and I called Corporate once more. The local service manager and shop foreman called me a week later and said that if my car was not repaired by the 1st of the month (literally 1 business day later), Mercedes would discuss the next step, which would be “making it right”.

Conveniently, the next business day, the car was 100% repaired and they said I would need to pay $3200 to get the car back. The service manager said the local dealership is not able to work out a payment plan and that I would need to discuss that with corporate. Corporate told me they don’t handle that and that I would need to contact the general manager. I called the general manager and left a voicemail asking him to call me back, and the service manager returns the voicemail. Funny enough, now the service manager is extremely apologetic and says he’s willing to negotiate me paying half of the bill up front and the remaining half next month (and he keeps title until I’ve paid). He tells me there’s no need to get the general manager involved.

I’m not sure what to do at this point. I have a receipt that shows I’ve paid $3100 in rental car costs from January to March (I was not able to financially keep the rental car longer than March). My household has had to live with one car for months which has been tough with employment, a child in school, etc. I’ve had no weekly updates from Mercedes to give me a sense of how long the repairs would take, if it was worth it, etc. I never approved all the different parts they’ve used to attempt to fix it. I’m not sure if paying the bill (when I’m able to) is the best course of action because how can I truly trust it’s fixed (magically on the deadline that corporate gave them). Any advice?
 


Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
What US state?

I am not sure what you mean in your first paragraph when you say that you signed an agreement stating that you understood that $1,500 worth of repairs would not fix the car.
 

quincy

Senior Member
My Mercedes SUV stopped working so I took it to the local Mercedes dealership to get repaired. This was the was the first week in January 2018. I called the day after I dropped it off and the service manager assured me he knew what the problem was and would have the car ready that Friday, after replacing the AAM ($1500). I had to sign an agreement that stated I understood the costs and also understood it would not fix the car.

Friday came and went with no response from Mercedes. In fact, my car has been at their dealership ever since. I have called at least once a week, asking for an update, estimate, ANYTHING to tell me what is going on with my car. Out of all my attempts to reach out to anyone at the dealership, I’ve received maybe 3 responses telling me they are still working on the car and they have “no update”. The last response was over a month ago.

In my frustration, I called the Mercedes Benz corporate office to weeks ago to complain. The associate couldn’t believe how long my car had been in the shop (5 months) and was very apologetic and promised to reach out to the local dealership on my behalf. I then promptly recieved a call from the local Mercedes the next day and the service manager apologized (for once) and “assured” me that the car would this time definitely be fixed the upcoming Friday. Again. Of course, Friday came and went with no word and I called Corporate once more. The local service manager and shop foreman called me a week later and said that if my car was not repaired by the 1st of the month (literally 1 business day later), Mercedes would discuss the next step, which would be “making it right”.

Conveniently, the next business day, the car was 100% repaired and they said I would need to pay $3200 to get the car back. The service manager said the local dealership is not able to work out a payment plan and that I would need to discuss that with corporate. Corporate told me they don’t handle that and that I would need to contact the general manager. I called the general manager and left a voicemail asking him to call me back, and the service manager returns the voicemail. Funny enough, now the service manager is extremely apologetic and says he’s willing to negotiate me paying half of the bill up front and the remaining half next month (and he keeps title until I’ve paid). He tells me there’s no need to get the general manager involved.

I’m not sure what to do at this point. I have a receipt that shows I’ve paid $3100 in rental car costs from January to March (I was not able to financially keep the rental car longer than March). My household has had to live with one car for months which has been tough with employment, a child in school, etc. I’ve had no weekly updates from Mercedes to give me a sense of how long the repairs would take, if it was worth it, etc. I never approved all the different parts they’ve used to attempt to fix it. I’m not sure if paying the bill (when I’m able to) is the best course of action because how can I truly trust it’s fixed (magically on the deadline that corporate gave them). Any advice?
You have the option of suing the dealership for your costs due to their delay in repairing your vehicle and for repair costs that exceeded your advance approval.

I would get your vehicle back first, though.

Quite frankly, I am surprised you were as tolerant of the delays as you were. I think I would have had the car towed and repaired elsewhere long before now.
 
North Carolina.

The agreement is apparently a standard agreement that states I’m aware of the cost of replacing the part and that I also understand there is no guarantee the part would fix the car.

What US state?

I am not sure what you mean in your first paragraph when you say that you signed an agreement stating that you understood that $1,500 worth of repairs would not fix the car.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
Well I would t sign a contract stating I’m going to give them $1500 and it wouldn’t fix the vehicle. They need to do more to diagnose the issue before contracting for a repair.

Anyway,

I have to presume the vehicle is no longer covered by a warranty. If true, Mercedes Benz ( corporate) has nothing to do with this issue. Dealers are separate companies and while corporate Benz can attempt to sway a dealer to act in some manner, the bottom line is they don’t have any say in this matter.

I don’t see you recovering the car rental. A dealer has no obligation to provide a replacement vehicle while yours is being repaired. If you aren’t happy with the services provided, you take it elsewhere.

Did you happen to waive your right to an estimate if the repair costs exceeded the estimate by more than 10%? If so, you’re boned on the cost to repair. If you didn’t, you have recourse and that would be this under North Carolina Motor Vehicle Repair Act:

https://www.ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_20/Article_15B.html



§ 20-354.9. Remedies.
Any customer injured by a violation of this Article may bring an action in the appropriate court for relief. The prevailing party in that action may be entitled to damages plus court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees. The customer may also bring an action for injunctive relief in the appropriate court. A violation of this Article is not punishable as a crime; however, this Article does not limit the rights or remedies which are otherwise available to a consumer under any other law. (1999-437, s. 1.)
 

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