spankdoggie

Hey guys, long time no see... I searched the forum but could not find out the answer to this question.

The left xenon bulb went bad in mid-October, and it was replaced at Mercedes-Benz of San Francisco under warranty, with great service...

Now, only 12 weeks later the left xenon headlight is not working again, but my warranty just expired in December.

Before I call them, can they charge me full price even though the bulb failed after only 12 weeks? The car has only 15,000 miles on it...

Isn't there a warranty on the xenon? If so, am I stuck with the labor costs, or is there anything I can do? They kept the car for a full day last time when it was under warranty, so I am figuring it will be really expensive to replace if I have to pay (over a grand?)... I don't want to pay to have the left light replaced 4 times a year, or 20 times in the next 5 years; that is a lot of money for nothing...

Thanks in advance...

spankdoggie

Bumping up to add that the car has only been driven 690 miles since the headlight was "fixed" ... So the xenon only lasted about 15 hours or so, given the time of day?... I think that is just wrong, dudes.

I will call them on Monday morning, and let you all know what they say.

spankdoggie

Well, I took the car in and the diagnostic said that the light was okay but the plastic housing needs to be replaced for $2000.

Part number is 203 820 5761 and it costs $1700 for the part and $300 for the install ---

Again the light was supposed to be fixed under warranty, but it failed again, and they say that the plastic may have been compromised when the other bulb went out...

Should this be covered under the warrant, because it wasn't fixed originally, since it went out so soon?

Is there a place where I can get the part cheaper?

Thanks.

ultraman206

That sucks. I would try to get them to fix it again for free since it is the same failure on the problem they supposedly fixed just 3 months ago. Good luck.

BTW: are yours bi-xenons? if not... time to upgrade! contact Steve, here is their website: www.mbenznl.com.

spankdoggie

Hey, thanks for the reply! Yes, they are bi xenons.

I did a search of the part number, and it came up as the entire xenon bulb assembly. When the light went out in October, under warranty, they simply replaced the bulb only, but not the compromised plastic housing, which in my opinion should have been replaced too, right...

The guy offered a small discount, but said it wouldn't add up to much.

Shouldn't they have replaced the entire unit instead of the lamp only?

brydon

The deal is (according to my service advisor) that all OEM parts ordered from your MB dealer have a 12-month warranty. If you service advisor is telling you that they did work on your headlight under warranty, and it stopped working less than a year later through no fault of your own (like road damage, that would of course be on you) then shouldn't a rational person say they'd fix it for you for free? They're not losing any money, MBUSA gets charged for warranty repairs (at least I'm pretty sure that's the way it works). If your service advisor is dicking you around you need to go to another dealership and talk to someone reasonable.

spankdoggie

Brydon, thank you for the reply and information.

Update: I just received a phone call from the service advisor, and he said he called upper management, and he said they decided to give me the part for free, but I would have to pay for labor.

So, as of now, I get the $1700 part for free, but pay $300 for labor and $165 for the diagnostic...

I am very happy with this result, although it should have been fixed right for free originally, but nothing is perfect always. I am very happy that they decided to give the part for free...

Byrdon, thanks again for your information.

powa

hmm if i were you, take their part, go install it else where.

Proper way of doing it without getting rip off by Mercedes. Go to any auto shop (that's good), let them check what's wrong with the headlight, which part is failure, the bulb? the ballast? or the other part (usually those are the issue). If it's the bulb's problem, changing the bulbs for brand new pair only cost you around 100 bucks (dont' tell me OEM blah blah blah, i already have enough of Mercedes OEM crap). If it's the ballast problem (which my car is having problem now), get it somewhere else. Ebay price is 100 bucks for each, Mercedes charge me 679 bucks for it, so go figure.


BTW my headlight went dead as well few days ago, so i know what to do unless you got money to burnt

yeuchau

yah, i agree
you should have just take the parts and install it somewhere else

brydon

Of course everyone has a right to their opinion. Being a new MB owner mine doesn't count for much because the only mod I have on my car right now is a 5% tint and I had a little trouble getting the factory NAV installed.

For my two cents I think that there's a time and a place for OEM parts. When you don't want to mess with it and you're happy to pay more for the "real deal", I think it's a totally reasonable proposition. If you want the peace of mind of knowing you're getting something from the company that made your car, then go for it. Just realize that if you do your research on the parts and the shop, you could be saving a lot of money for only a little risk. That said, some people just don't want to take that chance, and for them, dealer installs and OEM parts are the only way to go.

spankdoggie

Thanks powa and byrdon for your replies. I just checked back on this thread. Seriously, I did not want to deal with the problem at that time, and I have had too many times in the past 20 years dealing with problems like this... I used to own a small transport company with 4-5 Ford and Chevy vans running every day; I did everything from fixing flat tires, employees leaving the gas station with the gas pump in the van (that cost $150 for her).

Once I went to some transmission franchise with a problem and they quoted me $3000 to fix the transmission; not a new transmission, but a fixed one. I knew that was wrong, so I went to the dealer and they diagnosed it, and found out a sensor was broken----> Only a $75 repair for a new sensor from the dealer.

I understand the benefits of a dealer vs. a non dealer shop very well. But some here will understand, that for me, the time this 'young' service advisor saved me from writing letters, making phone calls, making visits to the dealership, had more than compensated for my paying out around $392, as opposed to shelling out around $1500-$1800 at a non dealership, which includes the time taking the car back, going to non dealer, etc.

Sure, I could have gotten it for free, most likely, but my time in doing so would have been worth much more than $400. Also, if something else goes wrong with this car, and I am getting the runaround again, I will bring it up; hopefully not.

Again, my TIME, in this instance was more important to me than the money spent, that week, in particular.

Some people spend 2 hours of time clipping coupons to save 50 cents or 5 dollars, and that satisfies their personal needs, at that time. I guess it all comes down to what we value when we value it.

I got exactly what I wanted regarding this problem, and I am very happy. I told the service advisor that I do not have the time to write letters, argue, make phone calls etc. I told him this after I refused to have the car fixed at full price for parts and labor, just because my car was out of warranty. I just said I am taking the car back, and I really was.

Anyways, I checked back on this thread, because I am writing a thank you letter to the dealership, but most importantly to the 'kid' that helped me out with a problem by going above and beyond the call for me, in my opinion.

I am rambling, but this post can probably apply to a hundred different problems that might go wrong with this car.

If I may sum this thread up in a few sentences:

1. If you had a mechanical problem with your car under warranty, and they 'fixed' it under warranty, but it wasn't really fixed, then an expired warranty does not absolve the dealership from fixing the problem without charge and without labor charge, since it was not properly fixed under warranty.

I went through what was at the time, a very vague problem, and it can all be summed up by reading the point above. Depending on your needs and wants, you can get it for free, or you can get it without wasting a minute of your time, but you still are legally allowed to get it.

I am just rambling, but you guys get the point, I hope. Maybe a post like this will be helpful to someone, because I started this thread looking for a post just like mine, and here it is.