craig001

First off, this is being posted because I told both MB-USA and the to be unidentified dealership in Columbia MO that I would do so if we could not reach a resolution to my complaints.

Long story short, on 12/23/14 I puchased a CPO 2011 E350 Cab from said dealership. Being December it was cold so we did not put the top down other than a quick up/down to check operation on the test drive. The car ran great.

FF to Jamuary 2015. It's a warm Saturday and I take the car a dealership here in St Louis for my state emissions and safety inspection. Since it was warm I had the top down and that was when I noticed that the finish on the beltline trim looked odd. So I asked the service advisor at the local dealership if the trim was supposed to be white or chrome. His response was that it was supposed to be chrome and that all the beltline trim should have been replaced as part of the certification process. When I contacted my sales rep at the selling dealership, he told me that after looking at the pics I have attached here that it is an issue and apparently he told his sales manager that by certifying the car they were open to responsibility.

FF to today, I have had numerous email and phone conversations with MB-USA about this issue and three other misses in the CPO process.

Why post your standards if you are not holding your dealerships accountable?

So after a month of hemming and hawing BS, bottom line is that the certifying dealership is responsible for making the car right, even though they have not contacted me after MB-USA allegedly contacted them, plus I can't have the work done at MB-StL and will have to drive the car 120 miles each way twice to get the car looked at then again for replacement. Personally I find this unacceptable.

So this is my second and last MB - it's back to Porsche for me. Best part is that before I even completed my purchase of this E350 the Sales Manager was lining up financing to buy my CLK that I traded in. What a joke!

I have attached some pics so you can decide if I am crazy or in the right in trying to hold MB responsible for upholding their own CPO standards.

Yidney

"OK MB, if you don't resolve my issue I'm going to go on the forums and post a nearly incomprehensible story with a single shot of my car in the garage!" Bet their sales will drop from this.

craig001

Hello Rodney,

I remember you from the CLK forum.

Actually there are 5 pics in a pdf binder showing the trim issue. You have to double click on the image to open.

But yes, I am venting over the apparent lack of concern. Why certify the car if you are not going to bring it up to spec - to be able to charge $4k to $5k over non-CPO price, which is what the dealership tried to do? I got them down to $1500 over the price I negotiated before it was certified are as a CPO vehicle. I had asked what was the upcharge to get the car certified and they went and did the inspection, put the sticker on the door jam and then raised the asking price. My Sales Rep, who I have no issue with in this, knew I could have driven to Joplin and picked up another CPO E350 Cab down there as well. But I knew this post would draw some reactions, just if I had posted something negative on Rennlist or Pelican Parts about my Porsche. And yes, I need to get the 993 up on work stands and replace the lower valve cover gaskets.

Obviously, it will not affect sales, but it may make folks aware that it seems that each dealership can set it's own specs for CPO quality. In my letter that accompanied the pics to MB I stated that corporate should send some trainers down to Columbia to refresh that dealership's service department what MB standards are supposed to be. They are posted on the MB CPO webpage. The seeming lack of corporate concern is what irks me. So now if a person searches for MB CPO hopefully this post will show up and alert them that you are responsible for your own due diligence and not to simply trust the MB name for a level of quality. Which is what I did, so in the end this is my own fault.

SnakeDoctor

Thanks for sharing. I'll make sure to do my homework if I'm buying a CPO for sure now.

nauticalx

I had purchased a CPO 550 Coupe and was told that cosmetic issues were not included. Several of the rims were curbed, the certifying dealer did not fix these. I was told it need not be fixed prior to selling as CPO. I was under the impression that CPOing it meant bringing cosmetic and mechanical condition to like new. Apparently its only the latter.

craig001

Yes it seems that each dealership can do what it wants as far as cosmetics. Even though on MB website, CPO page - http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/cpo#!l...t=cpo-warranty, appearance section states:

Appearance

A Certified Pre-Owned vehicle is a clean-skinned beauty, as free as dings, dents, rips, scratches, and scuffs as we can make it, with high quality fit and finish, inside and out.

and therein lies my complaint. In discussions with my dealership here in StL, they told me that they would have replaced it. If you look at the CarFax on some CPO certified cars, you can see what the dealership repaired/replaced as part of the certification process. The other car I was considering had brakes, rotors, plugs, tires are more replaced but was another hour away from Columbia.

I have had several phone conversations with MB-USA and CSR there told me that he would be contacting the dealership's GM, Sales Manager and the rep I dealt with to "make this right." That was close to two weeks ago and as yet, nobody has contacted me. It seems another phone call is coming up with MB-USA for me.

Cosmetics are not covered under the CPO warranty as I have found out after reviewing the documentation. Now I am in a wait a see mode with MB. But let this be a wake-up call to anyone considering a CPO vehicle.