My car saw the dealership numerous times under warranty. It never had major issues, though. The most serious issue my car has ever had was a leaking fuel filler neck causing the CEL (P0456) - repaired under warranty. Other than that:

Right turn signal mirror replaced - getting warning in display and rapid flash
Left rear shock absorber replaced - crunching noise
Left rear door speaker replaced - blown/rattling
Reprogrammed sunroof - wouldn't auto-close
Replaced IR door receiver - summer open feature defunct
Cupholder replaced - peeling chrome trim
Rear engine mount replaced - collapsed causing funny drivetrain noises
Cam sensors replaced - updated parts/rattling on start-up
Transmission connector replaced - leaking

I think that's it. It all sounds bad, but honestly I had more trouble out of my 02 Acura TL. The Benz has never stranded me. Most of it's issues were minor and may have went unnoticed by a less educated/OCD owner. I have pigtails fitted to mine, since I have the M271 with the dreaded cam sensor leak. At 51,300 miles my car is in near perfect condition. The BMW is not a car I plan to keep for the long haul - I like it, it's a blast.. but the Benz is different. It has timeless style the BMW cannot match and a special feel unique to Mercedes. BMW is fun. Mercedes is love.

Edit: What a rambling post about something not related to your original topic. Anyway, if you haven't seen these, you need to:

No one ever poses with their toaster
Faithful

 

I really like that quote, I may use it someday.

I hope to have the issue resolved in the morning. I'm going to call them first thing and tell them that I will be in at noon to take my car back either way. If they don't fix it I may go to the dealership in Ocala. Pain in the ***, but this dealership sucks. I plan on reporting them after this is all over with. Thanks for your support... everyone!

 

My family owns a business that has two offices, one here in my town, one in Ocala. Nice town.

 

Ocala is nice. They have a BUNCH of car dealerships there. It's a little freaky, actually.

 

Did you see those vids?

 

Oops, I didn't even see them. They're both great. The second, I think, conveys exactly what every Benz owner feels. My dad has always told me that he doesn't drive Mercedes to be better than anyone, but because they are amazing, safe, reliable cars. He has never owned anything else my entire life. I've probably mentioned this before, but my dad's first was a 1986 300E that he bought new. He hydroplaned going 80mph, and slid sideways into a cement power pole which hit the car on the driver's door... he walked away from the car without a scratch. My mom had a pile of Semi-truck tires and wheels fall off of the truck in front of her hitting the hood and windshield of the E. The windshield stopped one of the wheels from hitting her... if it had gone through the windshield, I probably wouldn't have ever been born. THAT'S why I drive a Mercedes-Benz!

My dad drove that car until 1999 when he gave it to his brother, who drove it for a few years before trading it for a newer E320. The car belongs to the parents of a girl that I went to high school with, and I still see it around town. Damn good car!

By the way Matt, I changed my sig pic so you can't see the broken lens... HAPPY?!?

 

Yes Drew, pleased - although now my attention is drawn to the front wheel that is covered with brake dust. For heaven's sake!



Edit: Note how clean both front wheels are in my sig pic. With cars that produce as much brake dust as these, that's no easy feat!

So what's going on today with your coolant issues?

 

Likely Thermostat as Frank says - should reliably open at 87deg C. If not then temp sensor.

 

Matt, good thing you can't see the *massive* curb rash on my front left wheel. It was on the car from my grandfather, but I'm too poor to replace it.

So... I ended up calling the dealership this morning around 8, with no answer, so I left a message. At 10, they called me back. The service consultant, Kevin, said that he had been calling the wrong number trying to get a hold of me.

Kevin said that they had diagnosed my car! He said that there was evidence that a rodent had chewed through some wiring (something NOT covered under warranty). I asked if they even checked the thermostat, and they said no, that the electrical issue was a brick wall and that they could not diagnose further until the problem was fixed. I asked if they could check the thermostat physically, but that too was shot down. He said that they had hooked up my car, and the codes pulled... get this... were codes for rodent damage (). Then he said that this is what was causing my air conditioning to act up and the check engine light to show (then corrected himself to just say causing my problems). He said this was the case because the chewed wires were around my ambient temperature sensor. This was a red flag to me because, when I first took my car in, while doing the physical inspection of the car, I heard the words ambient temperature sensor. Sounds like they found it BEFORE they even tried to do an electrical diagnostic.

He quoted me $155 (ish) for the wiring harness repair, and said that it was only $25 more than the amount quoted to me when I took my car in for "just in case this isn't covered by the warranty." I initially said no, and that I'd take my car back. I planed to take it to my independent shop to get the out-of-warranty work done.

When I got to the dealership, they had my car ready. I went to get my keys and they were trying to charge my $125 (ish) for just the diagnostic (that they saw in the first five minutes of me being there). I stepped out to check with the guy thats splitting the cost with me (my father), who asked to talk to the service representative. Kevin then told my dad that the deal he had offered me was to not charge for additional labour to fix the wiring harness, but just $25 for the parts. I hadn't understood that from what he told me before. We decided to go ahead and get the work done.

I just got my car back and drove home, and it seems to be fine, although the engine temp seems just a little high. It's not over 87˚C though, so it's fine. The aircon on the other hand blows almost painfully cold now . With the windows down and the AC turned all the way to cold and the blower on the lowest notch (on my feet), it get's too cold to stand after 5 minutes or less. Great for these FL summers. I still don't get how my ambient temperature sensor would cause my car to overheat but it's fixed now and I don't really care.

Thank you all for your help!
By the way, Matt, picture of wheel below, so you can make fun of that too!

 

That dealership is so full of it. Drew please tell me you asked to see this rodent damage? I have but one thing to say:



If I'm EVER down that way again, I'm mopping the floor with someone at that dealership even if I have to BS a problem or pretend to be interested in buying one of their cars. I'm just doing it out of spite. You have lots of warranty left - if anything else happens take it to another dealer or give them a chance and the first time you "smell a rat" (lol) involve MB Customer Care.

 

I wish I could say I asked to see the damage... but I didn't. It would have been the next thing I did, but the verbal *** whooping my dad was giving this guy distracted me. I would have liked to handle it myself (it's kinda a rich-bich thing to involve "daddy"), but I have to run everything by him to pay for it, and he didn't give me the chance. I only have to deal with Duval during the summer if I have a warranty issue, the rest of the time Brumos Mercedes-Benz in Jacksonville is my dealership. Great service and home-made cookies... the best oatmeal raisin cookies you've ever had!

 

The Benz dealer I was at last Friday had "Cafe Benz", a gourmet restaurant on site. It was very nice - just not nice enough to make me ever go there for non-warranty issues. No thanks. Some things I read on this board.. people pay way too much for maintenance. Brakes, for example. I just bought my car new rotors, pads, and wear sensor - for like $250. I get a local guy to put them on - charges $50. So all new brake parts for $300 when the dealer wants like $1100.

 

Oh, I know that they charge alot, and I have stopped going there for non-maintenance work. Brumos is just a class-act dealership. They will ALWAYS try to fix before they replace. They service representative that I go to at Brumos, Lee, will always give you a straight-forward answer. He'll start with the, "this is what's recommended" spiel, but will then say, "but this is BS, and you don't need this until whenever." Great guy. Even when I went in for a tire patch, the guy I got put with (who didn't know me or my dad) gave me the same respect as anyone. As far as I know, they don't have a café, buy the Brumos Porsche down the street might, or Brumos Lexus next door. They did replace a drivetrain with 100,000+ miles on it for free because of a problem that "never should have happened." And have been known to drive you to a restaurant and pay for your meal while your car gets service if it takes longer than it should, but that's rare.

 

Oh I used a dealer called Atlanta Classic Cars in Duluth, GA exclusively. They would always give you a new MB C300 as a loaner if you wanted. If you went on Tuesdays, they had a person on hand to give you a free massage. They had an on-site golf course and a golf instructor also free if you wanted. They would also take you to a movie and pay for it while your car was being serviced and then pick you back up. The benefits were awesome - but the prices for regular service is extreme and not worth it.

Edit: I just saw the curbed rim.. what did he hit, a building?!

 

Wow, that's nice. Though at Brumos I can always get a brand new C350. I've also gotten before an E350, and an ML320.

 

I got a new C350 one time, the rest were C300s. It's weird when I read about dealers who give out loaner Camrys (not that a Camry is a bad car). I'm glad you got this issue resolved, even though you did have to pay $25 unnecessarily and you get jerked around. You in school in Jacksonville?

 

Oh, I guess I wasn't clear... the total came to $155 The deal was that I'd have to pay $130 if I left without the repair, and that the fix would only be $25 MORE (no labour for the fix, but labour for the diagnostic).

Yes, I'm in Jacksonville for school... UNF. I'm really living almost to St. Augustine, is South (south south south) Ponte Vedra Beach, almost to Vilano. So really I'd say I live in St. Aug before I'd say Jacksonville.

 

I just opened EPC Net and my Macbook said "The certificate is signed by DAIMLER AG do you trust?" I thought that was pretty funny.

Anyway, I see now what your post said. I was confused about how much it cost. Call them and demand to see the rodent damage!