vjlive1

Sooo I purchased a 2012 ML350 in January. I was involved in a collision on May the 13th. To date now 3 months later MB has been unable to provide a hood and right fender for it! Unbelievable! I am at wits end. When I first contacted customer care I told them I wanted them to provide a rental car for the duration until they can supply the parts. (I don't have rental coverage) The manager told me that once my car is fixed, submit the rental car receipts and they would evaluate whether they would reimburse. That was when I was 8 weeks without my car. I have gotten 2 tentative dates they were sending the parts from Germany that have come and gone. At this point there is no end in sight. Called Customer Care again and the manager now said that they are willing to reimburse up to $45 a day for a rental. I am happy about that. Is anyone else on here in the same boat? I am so disgusted with MB I would never buy one again. Should have bought the BMW X5 instead.

shortspark

I have a 2012 ML350 and this would drive me crazy. A hood and fender on such a late model vehicle should be readily available. I don't understand this at all. I feel your pain and please keep us posted on the progress and why they have been unable to get these parts.

Mattbetz

If this is the case (they stopped making parts for the ML), that is very strange. Why would anyone buy out a lease or even purchase a used one. Are you sure that this is accurate information. I bought a 2015 ML in June, I hope not.

27T

There is no proof that MB stopped producing parts. And it is against Federal law. OP is being hyberbolic and is misinformed. He has a right to be frustrated however. Maybe it's a bad dealer.

Koenig1

Here a link to used parts....
http://car-part.com/
you can find parts for just about any vehicle, along with color, condition codes, 800tel#s, etc. Some parts are basically brand new, if you have a problem with used!
3 months???? something else is wrong or the whole story is not here.

gkgeiger

As a retired GM parts and service mgr. I find this unbelievable. I'm speechless.

vinceC

The parts mentioned are made in the US, by a stamping plant near Birmingham, Alabama, not in Germany, so something is wrong with this whole story.

cmginc

The 2012 ML is a W166, which includes 2012-2015 model years in current form. The ML is manufactured in the US, not in Germany, and the major body parts are the same across the four model years, so there are definitely issues with this post.

Wolfman

Correct. Hood/fender of any model year will work and should be beyond easy to source.
Nothing wrong with the car, just the body shop. No way this could be an MB dealer.
Just a BS story; not sure if it's fake or somebody is gullible enough to believe this. If the story is true, however, then a good lawyer might be in order

vjlive1

This is not a BS story! I have been in contact with my body shop, 2 Mercedes dealers here in Oregon and this is the story they are telling me. I am beyond words frustrated about this. They told me the parts are from Germany I will look into the comments about them being manufactured in the US. This is a quote from the Wilsonville, OR Mercedes dealership who originally ordered the parts:
"I have not been provided with any other news other than delivery date is being specified with supplier. I put in another eta request a few minutes ago and a call to Mercedes for the eta and I am waiting for a response on both and will let you know as soon as they get back to me." This was received on Aug 6, 2015. I have still not gotten a new eta date. To all- I wish there was more to the story but there isn't. and it is all true. I have been without a car for 3 months!! Believe me I would not be on here writing about it if it wasn't. I was just wondering if there was anyone else in the same boat as I am. They told me it is a country wide issue. They found a hood on the east coast but they wouldn't sell it because they know there is a shortage. So frustrated.

vjlive1

Also I found the parts at the link mentioned above car-part.com. My autobody shop contacted them and they will not take an out of state credit card. WTH? Futhermore, the only way to pay for it is to deposit the money into their account then they will send the part. My insurance company nor the body shop is willing to do that. I just emailed the company to confirm this information. If this is the case I will just fly down and pay for the parts then they can ship it up.

PeterUbers

This is absurd, something is not adding up

vjlive1

No Kidding I am living this nightmare!

vjlive1

So just an update.
I am still without my ML. Mercedes Benz still says there is no update on when the parts will be here. I consulted a lawyer and he said I don't have a case. WTH? MB can just not make parts, collect my money for the car and get away with it? I am just flabbergasted! I am going on 5 months without my car. Any advice would be appreciated. Just so you know there isn't more to the story as some suggest and the situation is legit.

Barry45RPM

Sell it as is & move on, and you're out.

skw

I can ask my body shop where they source parts from, I'll be over that way tomorrow. They're a Mercedes certified collision center and back in March, a guy ran a light pulling out in front of me. Insurance company had the right front fender, headlight, and chrome piece along the lower front replaced as well as the front bumper repainted. Granted, this was shortly before your accident, but I had my car back in about 2 weeks.

gkgeiger

I just got off the phone with my local MB Parts Mgr. He said there are 98 hoods listed on the national locator. He also said there are 2 part numbers on the rt. fender, early and late. The early shows 20 on hand and the late number there are zero. He also said a dealer can pull some strings and have one pulled from the assy. line. Good luck.

Hood 1668800057
Fender 1668800700 early
" 1668802600 late

vjlive1

Really? I just bought it in February! Why should I take a huge loss?

Wolfman

You shouldn't. Just disregard his comment...

I am very surprised at you endless patience though because this simply doesn't make sense to many here.

I suggest being specific with the info on the body shop, dealer and/or your location and perhaps others on the board could recommend places to go and steps to take.

Our MB bodyshop would have moved mountains if the repair would have taken longer than 2 weeks due to non-availability of parts.

After all, this is neither a brand-new model or a very old one...

Kartergreg

I just did a quick search online and within 30 seconds I found a hood and fender. Maybe you need to do the same...

vjlive1

If you did find some why don't you share it with me. I have found a few but they weren't factory parts or they are damaged. The place in Hollywood, CA that had one wouldn't take an out of state credit card as stated before in my post so I was going to fly down to pay for it and have them ship it. But when I called they didn't have it. the website said they did but they didn't. Believe me I have tried with the resources I have. I email Mercedes Benz of Wilsonville, OR every week for updates. I sent them the informaton that gkgeiger posted and they said:

Hello Valerie and Nick

I looked for myself on the system we use for availability and etas it shows 98 hoods in vendor availability, not national availability. Vendor availability usually means they have an order coming into Germany from the supplier. I sent another eta request through asking about the 98 hoods they show and am waiting on a response. As for the pulling strings to pull one off the assembly line we already talk to our area’s mbusa rep and they were unable to pull one of the line for us. I will let both of you know when in hear back from Mercedes on what they say.

Thank you,
Wil brown
Parts advisor
Mercedes-benz of Wilsonville
Phone-503-454-5002

So I don't know what else I can do. I'm not going to sell it as is. I would lose a lot of money and Im not interested in doing that.

vjlive1

I don't really have much choice but to wait it out. This is my first (and Last) Mercedes. I was so excited to own one. A bit of a stretch on the budget so just selling it now would mean a huge loss. Probably couldn't get what I owe on it. I know many of you on here probably have more money than patience but I don't. This is stressing me out. At least now MB is paying for my rental car but it took 3 months for them to commit to that. So dissapointed in their "Customer Care". They don't care.
I really don't know what else my body shop can do to move mountains. They are at the mercy of MB of Wilsonville who ordered the parts. We are actually only waiting on the hood. The fender came in last week but they failed to let me know that until I sent my weekly email.
Here are the specifics:
Accident occurred May 13, 2015
Towed to Artistic Auto Body in Tigard, OR
Parts ordered through MB of Wilsonville, OR

If anyone has any ideas, let me know

flowrider99

Are you only communicating with the MB parts advisor? If you are then i suggest you write to the General Manager of the dealership. In the UK we also have regional Operations Directors, if you have the same write to them as well. 4 months is a ridiculous time to wait.

vjlive1

I have called several places that say they have one on their website and when I call they don't have it. So back to square one.

Barry45RPM

Stress relief. Either you wait, find what you need or bail out. Your hands are apparently tied.