Mercedes what the ****!

[DLGWRX02]

Originally Posted by AndyN01

How about this as an idea?

"...Mercedes wouldn’t help with any of the cost despite the issue was found to be water ingress into the headlight ecu, resulting in shorting out and frying itself....."

Take them (jointly: whichever dealership originally sold the car and whoever sold the car to you) to small claims court as component not fit for purpose because (a) it's a non service item and (b) it shouldn't leak after 11K miles when "...never driven in the rain or at night, purely a weekend sunny weather toy...." so it is not of merchantable quality.

Might be worth a try and the response may be interesting anyway

Just a thought.

Andy.

That's a very good point, and this was the original supplying dealer of the car. Where it is serviced every year without fail no matter if its done 100 miles or 1000 since its last.

[percymon]

Well its a 7 year old car, and despite the low miles, MB have no idea how much wet use, pressure washes or engine bay steam cleans the car has received - if it was a common fault then you might expect some recompense/assistance from MB. So as disappointing as their lack of help might be , i wouldn't have expected anything else tbh - it's not Lexus

I'd write a polite letter to MBUK customer services manager, you never know they might make a small refund or at least send you some vouchers or merchandise.

you are paying premium labour rates for diagnosis, and repair, so even at 2 hours labour (which is possibly more if they've had to remove the bumper and other items to access) that's ca £250 of the bill, unit price of genuine headlight almost £300, and then the VAT.

[slim_boy_fat]

"....I'd write a polite letter to MBUK customer services manager, you never know they might make a small refund or at least send you some vouchers or merchandise....."

If you DO decide to contact MB, here's the contact details [scroll down] for the CEO. Can't beat going to the very top. As said ^^ , polite/softly approach works best in such circumstances.

https://www.ceoemail.com/index-search.php

[knightstemplar]

Originally Posted by great gonzo

I’m going to be positive, I have owned a Mercedes for the last 7 years and I have always been treated very well and looked after.


Gonz.

Me too, they always go above and beyond. Might help that I am cheeky and ask for a particular model courtesy car and if I can keep it a day or two, free and its always no problem

[cptzippy]

Sounds similar to the experience with my brand new C320 back in ‘03. Shifter mech came out of the console my first morning and dealership instantly wanted nothing to do with it or me. Days and days without a loaner or my new car for warranty work that rarely fixed the issue. Dropped the thing after 8 months and a huge loss but the issues made it down right dangerous.

[ollienoclue]

I don't care how nice the car is, I just will not deal with or spend my hard earned on a product with no support. I am at a total loss to understand why you guys ever spend your money with these companies if I am honest. Yes, I know an AMG Merc must be great to drive but having issues like these and no manufacturer or dealer support would make me spiteful.

[Andyblue]

Originally Posted by ollienoclue

I don't care how nice the car is, I just will not deal with or spend my hard earned on a product with no support. I am at a total loss to understand why you guys ever spend your money with these companies if I am honest. Yes, I know an AMG Merc must be great to drive but having issues like these and no manufacturer or dealer support would make me spiteful.

You don’t always know what the after sales / service is going to be like. You can read positive / negative etc, but your not always sure how accurate they are.

There’s nothing to be beat a personal recommendation about a garage, how they’ve dealt with service / support etc or not as the case can be.

I’ve also found if looking at a replacement car, visit the showroom / service area and see how other people are being dealt with, do they look happy etc etc - can help quite a lot...

[AnthonyUK]

Cars costing £50k+ new can be expensive to repair for a reason. That is why you can usually pick them up for peanuts no matter how well they have been looked after or how little use they have had.

[NorthantsPete]

i hate when my car is abused in the garage...

mine had a grands worth of work done, brake caliper seized lockign on and a new fuel tank pipe.

The car was full of oily hand marks, steering wheel covered in grease, door cards soiled, roof lining, even carpet had oily marks on it from their shoes

I cleaned it all up but why not use a cheap cover or disposable cling film and paper, costs nothing compared to what i paid - i dropped it off flawless

[NorthantsPete]

p.s.
Find a specialist garage, they will have more appreciation for the problems.. the stealerships just sell cars and fix them out of need, not love.

I do recall the AA guy telling me the A-class was rubbish as an alternator change was an engine out job as theyd buried it in the base of the firewall. Other mercs ive NEARLY bought have had ridiculous faults, like rust.. .what car rusts these days?! If it's in the arches, its rotted inside out they told me and it was a scrap job.

Then again, I was being recovered at the time... being a muppet driving an Alfa Romeo over 30k a year :/