Mercedes nightmare

[18FAN]

Having a bit of a nightmare with Mercedes at the moment and am looking to the PH collective for some advice in dealing with it please.

I am leasing a C250 cdi coupe from them and a year into my agreement I have had nothing but problems from the vehicle as listed;

1. January 2013 coolant housing leak
a. Dealership replaced the coolant housing.

2. February 2013 coolant light on again
a. “Something needed adjusting” from the fix in January 2013

3. August 2013 – vehicle lost all power on the power and went into limp mode on the motorway.
a. Dealership performed a DPF regeneration.

4. September 2013 - vehicle lost all power on the power and went into limp mode on the motorway.
a. Dealership replaced “Z-injectors”
b. Replacement DPF sensor

5. November 2013 – vehicle lost all power on the power and went into limp mode on the motorway. Vehicle was with the dealership for 6 weeks.
a. DPF Regeneration
b. Replacement of all Z injectors
c. Replacement Lambda sensor
d. Replacement torque convertor
e. Replacement catalytic convertor
f. Replacement high pressure hoses

6. January 2014 - vehicle lost all power on the power and went into limp mode on the motorway.
a. Gearbox valve chest changed

7. February 2014 – Smoke coming directly from the DPF filter
a. Currently with the dealership

(The vehicle is used for a 120mile round trip on the motorway everyday)

In total the car has broken down 7 times and has had 13 separate fixes.
At this point I’d like the car rejected as I have lost all faith and confidence in this vehicle and in my opinion it is not fit for purpose. However, Mercedes have flatly refused rejection.

Does anyone have any advice please?

[L1OFF]

I would be tempted to speak to your leasing company.

[Nors]

Can't offer any advice on the rejection aspect I'm afraid, but just like to say that I'm pretty shocked at the failure of some major components there for such a young car!!!

[northwest monkey]

L1OFF said:

I would be tempted to speak to your leasing company.

Definitely. If nothing else they can maybe put a bit of pressure on to get it sorted. If it's a lease, are you not just "renting" the car anyway? Surely not your problem if the car is a lemon.

[NPI]

I suspect the leasing company is Mercedes?

Is it a business lease, through your company?

[18FAN]

Thank you for the replies so far.
It is a personal lease, directly with Mercedes.

However, it is structured such that it is a finance lease with "Mercedes Benz Finance UK" which is a separate entity to the Mercedes supplying dealer.

The dealership are refusing all liability as they have just supplied a Mercedes product and MBUK are saying that it is between myself and the dealer!

[Disco You]

Have you always taken it to the same dealer? Maybe the current dealer can't fix it, but a different one would be more competent?

[grayze]

I assume its from new and still under warranty?

try speaking to the manufacturer directly.

http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedking...

from their charter:

Stage 1. Discussion with your Mercedes-Benz Retailer.
If you have a reason to complain about your Mercedes-Benz
vehicle or the service you have received, you should direct
your concerns to the sales or service management team at
your Mercedes-Benz Retailer. They will take the necessary
action, liaising with us if required, to resolve the matter.

Stage 2. Contacting Mercedes-Benz –
Our Complaint Handling Process.
If you remain unhappy following discussions with
your Retailer, you can contact our Customer Services
Department in the following ways:
You can call us on 00800 9777 7777
Email us at: [e-mail]

[18FAN]

Disco You said:

Have you always taken it to the same dealer? Maybe the current dealer can't fix it, but a different one would be more competent?

I have always taken it to the same dealer for fixing which is a franchised Mercedes dealer. They have got to the point whereby they had to liaise with Mercedes Germany for instructions on how to fix it as they have done everything they can. On that basis I prefer to keep it with that dealer as they know the history and have a dialogue with HQ. Or is that a bad move..?

[Zedboy1200]

Exactly the same thing happened to me 18FAN.

Got a new C250d saloon Dec 2009. 8 months, 42k and 8 tow away breakdowns later I rejected it. All your breakdowns were very similar to mine,

MB Ascot and Maidstone were charming, generous with a total £500 in vouchers for the brochures so suggest you grump and ask?

In the end I got a promise from MB UK fleet team (company car) that if it went again they would give my company a full cash refund. It let go for the eighth time a week later and I've been in faultless 3.0d BMs ever since.

Can't rally fault the outcome, but god it nearly sent me to the asylum.

[18FAN]

grayze said:

I assume its from new and still under warranty?

try speaking to the manufacturer directly.

http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedking...

from their charter:

Stage 1. Discussion with your Mercedes-Benz Retailer.
If you have a reason to complain about your Mercedes-Benz
vehicle or the service you have received, you should direct
your concerns to the sales or service management team at
your Mercedes-Benz Retailer. They will take the necessary
action, liaising with us if required, to resolve the matter.

Stage 2. Contacting Mercedes-Benz –
Our Complaint Handling Process.
If you remain unhappy following discussions with
your Retailer, you can contact our Customer Services
Department in the following ways:
You can call us on 00800 9777 7777
Email us at: [e-mail]

Thanks for this. The dealer refuse all liability on the basis that they are just a retailer, not the manufacturer.
Mercedes Benz HQ have said it's between me and the dealer. Their final answer is no on rejection. Hence I really am stuck now! I have pointed out to

Mercedes (dealer and HQ) that I have given them more than 3 opportunities to fix the fault and that it is there liability but they have said it is their policy only to accept rejections on vehicles up to 1 years old. In fact, she went on to say that if they took back every vehicle like this they'd be bankrupt! Says it all really..

[Little Lofty]

Sounds like good grounds to reject , but if neither party are playing ball it will be a PITA.Stick some comments on MB Facebook page, they may respond.

[NPI]

18FAN said:

.

The dealership are refusing all liability as they have just supplied a Mercedes product and MBUK are saying that it is between myself and the dealer!

That's just ridiculous.

Have you tried Mercedes Benz Finance UK - legally it's their car?

As it's a personal lease, if you don't want to go all legal on them, might be worth trying somewhere like WhatCar's help desk http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/car-problem-let-us...

I've had some success with Facebook complaints as they all have teams watching it who will step in, but there's so many complaints on most big company's Facebook page that I think its effect it wearing off now.


ETA: I just looked through WhatCar's recent cases: http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/mercedes-benz-c-cl...

Edited by NPI on Thursday 27th February 13:03

[Barryboyni]

Look on the bright side. By the time they're finished changing parts, you'll basically have a brand new car

[grayze]

18FAN said:

Thanks for this. The dealer refuse all liability on the basis that they are just a retailer, not the manufacturer.
Mercedes Benz HQ have said it's between me and the dealer. Their final answer is no on rejection. Hence I really am stuck now! I have pointed out to

Mercedes (dealer and HQ) that I have given them more than 3 opportunities to fix the fault and that it is there liability but they have said it is their policy only to accept rejections on vehicles up to 1 years old. In fact, she went on to say that if they took back every vehicle like this they'd be bankrupt! Says it all really..

So you said you had spoken to the leasing company (Mercedes Benz Finance UK) this is a different entity to Mercedes Benz UK.

[18FAN]

grayze said:

So you said you had spoken to the leasing company (Mercedes Benz Finance UK) this is a different entity to Mercedes Benz UK.

Kind off - Spoke to MB Finance but from their perspective I have just borrowed money from them. It's not their problem. I asked what the consequences would be if I held back payment and she said they'd start legal proceedings against me since it is between myself and the dealer.

For clarity MB UK have said they cannot force the dealer to do anything i.e. to take the vehicle back.

[TwigtheWonderkid]

kapiteinlangzaam said:

I rejected my Alfa Spider

A fault ridden Alfa, who'd have thought it.

[rallycross]

Find the Mercedes main twitter account and Facebook account and put a summary on there saying not happy and not sure where to go next then state that in your next post you will detail the full list of all things that have gone wrong - you will get a response quickly.

[18FAN]

rallycross said:

Find the Mercedes main twitter account and Facebook account and put a summary on there saying not happy and not sure where to go next then state that in your next post you will detail the full list of all things that have gone wrong - you will get a response quickly.

Thanks - Just done that!

Does anyone have any consumer law advice that they are able to provide please?
I'd have thought it was a clean cut case whereby Mercedes would "man up" and take responsibility for their product rather than put a customer through this ordeal.

[NPI]

18FAN said:

Thanks - Just done that!

Does anyone have any consumer law advice that they are able to provide please?

I'm a long standing MB owner and member of a couple of MB specific forums.

I really would avoid that route. Most big firms will back down. MB doesn't, they will take you on. If you go legal they'll pull the shutters down on you.

From http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/faq/consumer-rights/

"after the first six months:

Under sale of goods legislation (Sale of Goods Act 1979, Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994) consumers are entitled to expect that any goods they buy are of satisfactory quality. That is, that the goods meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory taking into account the way they are described, their price, and any other relevant circumstances, such as the fact that they are second-hand or used. ... ..

If a product that was not of satisfactory quality at the time of the sale is returned to the retailer, the buyer is entitled to a full refund (if it is within a reasonable time of the sale), or, if a “reasonable time “ has elapsed, to a reasonable amount of compensation, or to have the goods repaired. The consumer needs to demonstrate the goods were not of satisfactory quality at the time of sale. This is so if the consumer chooses to request an immediate refund or compensation. It is also the case for any product returned more than six months after the date of sale.

If the amount is less than £10,000 and qualifies for the Small Claims Court then any decision made does not become case law. (Change from £5,000 to £10,000 in April 2013.)

However, if it goes to the County Court, then a ruling does become referrable. County Court rulings can be overruled by Appeal Court rulings which then become case law. And cases will be argued on the facts. So though the Sale and Supply of Goods Act may appear to give you rights, your true rights are governed by case law and asserting them can be very expensive."