Tehvine

So, I have a 2011 C63. Trying to sell the car and also save some headache when dealing with the remainder of the loan. I've contacted local dealers to sell the car instead of a private sale, but nobody wants to touch it with a 50 ft pole because of the recall.

I had a standing offer from one dealer, but they then quickly backed out when they saw the stop-sale order. Another dealer offered me a measly 19,000 versus the book value of around 29,000 purely because of the recall.

Today I received a call from MBUSA, as I sent them an inquiry, and they as well are unable/unwilling to do anything about this. Of course we are permitted to private-sell a car under a stop-sale and the risk of rupture is supposedly low. I just don't feel it is fair that we, as the consumer, now need to shoulder this hit to the car's value. If the car is not fit to sell on an MB lot, it should not be "safe" for us to drive if you already own one.

Anyone else recently sell/trade in their C63 and see a massive discrepancy between book value and the trade offer? Granted, previous owners are not likely to be lurking around here...

m a x i m u s

Hmm, that sucks. I guess that means a crap ton of other car owners are getting slammed as well (since most late model cars have Takatas?)

Tehvine

I believe so. I know that my car is definitely part of the 08-11 W204 recalls. I have read that this is hurting trade in value on many cars. The problem is that the stop-sale is what really screws us here. Dealers need to wholesale/auction these cars if they come in on trade. So they're low balling really hard to not lose their shirts.

MBUSA is suggesting that I privately sell this car to get around the issue. Not sure how I can, in good faith, sell this car to someone privately when Mercedes themselves have deemed it unsafe to sell on their own lots.

m a x i m u s

Dealers are covering their butts from litigation. I wouldn't sweat it too much, people are still buying and selling these cars on the private market.

AMG3.2

Agreed. If it were me, I'd just let the buyer know about it. The risk is super low and Takata has recalls out for TONS of airbags. I even did this to my old 2002 E46 M3 about 18 months ago under the same recall.

glennhl

And to make it worse, if you live in a sunny area, you will be last on the list to get the new airbags. I probably won't see a new air bag until 2020!

Alex.currie44

I can only suggest patience and continue to drive it. The incidents of air bag deployment happening in a Merc I have yet to find as was the case in my wifes 2004 Toyota Matrix. It took well over a year from the time Toyota Canada issued the notices to get it fixed late last month but it got fixed and the car's value is not affected.

D3-AMG

The accidental deployment isn't the big issue with these airbags. The big issue is the chemical breakdown due to exposure to moisture which makes the explosion more powerful than the parts were originally engineered for. So in the event of an actual crash that triggers the airbags, the resulting explosion can be more dangerous than the crash.

What we don't know is will the specific design and engineering of the MB airbag part exhibit the same failure as other cars where there have been fatalities. So far, all fatalities but one have been in Honda vehicles.

http://blog.caranddriver.com/massive...cted-vehicles/

sqitis

I've been shopping for 2011, send me the details on the car and location.

TIA!
Ben

QWKSNKE

Does this 'stop sale' vary between states? This is the first I have heard of such. I know that the dealer's here in the southeast are trading and selling affected cars with no stipulations.
Like someone else mentioned his impacts nearly all brands of cars from 2008 forward.
Lol, as a matter of fact, i received a letter from my dealer yesterday saying they were in dire need of my 2008 C63 for inventory. Offered various incentives to trade it in

bhamg

Yeah, my dealer told me not to expect anything to happen before well into 2019 and that it would extend into 2020.

eddieo45

I've been shopping for a ML350 for my daughter; found a 2011 online at my local dealer and it said "call for price". I called and was told about the stop sale, and the point the salesman made is that a Mercedes dealer can't sell an affected Mercedes, but another dealer could. Sure enough, we found a 2010 at a Honda dealer and they are happy to sell it to us, and they confirmed that they would not sell a similarly affected Honda.

Are we making a mistake buying this car? It is somewhat below market, though I can't say whether that's because of the recall.....

Jasonoff

Yes, because it's not an AMG...

chrisridebike8

Haha! What if it's a bluetec?! I love diesel SUVs. Torque and gas mileage. My friend with a 335d makes 360 whp/625 wtq and can spin r888s at 80 mph. He kept up with a Mclaren 12C at a half mile event. I'd definitely take an ML350 bluetec and lie to myself that I'd keep it stock. I'd say get it and then when the new airbags come out, make sure it's replaced.

deadlyvt

I doubt the airbags ever get replaced it's been years and they will just keep delaying it until it is forgotten...

BLKROKT

Or until the next person gets hot shrapnel in their face. It's a pretty severe defect.

AMG3.2

+1 Not exactly a recall to be taken lightly.

Looks like they're prioritizing older cars though, which makes sense. Had this exact same recall done back when I own'ed my '02 E46 M3 which was almost two years ago now.

Alex.currie44

One option not being discussed is disconnet the air bags and await the notice to come in. You might throw an alarm but electrical tape will block out the annoyance.
I would sell privately and let the buyer decide. I do believe this will get fixed if our 2004 Matrix experience is a bench mark so the risk is low.
Just get him to sign a waiver acknowledging that he is aware of the issue and accepts responsiblity for it.

roadtalontsi

dont let the mb dealers play these games with you. Even though there is a stop sale mbusa reimburses the mb dealers XXX$ per month that car is in stop sale. It's different for every car. naturally dealers like to move cars quickly but dont let them fool you that they are losing. Its just like vegas the dealer always wins.

C63fora2w1

Hasn't MB USA recalled the defective air bags?? I thought if there was a national recall the manufacturer had to replace them ? I bought a Honda at the beginning of the year they replaced both airbags free of charge ??

chrisridebike8

They will replace them...once they have a part to replace them with. My service advisor said he expects parts to start coming in around June at the earliest. His techs supposedly received training on how to replace them.

Jasonoff

Will just be old stock with the original part number scratched out.

zcct04

I think you've got it backwards. Humidity and heat accelerate the problem, and initial replacements will go to those with the greatest risk. You may not have much of the former, but you've a lot of the latter!

zcct04

Not a good option. The risk of an injury from an exploding Takata is far smaller than the risk of a head-on with no airbag.