galaxygrrl

Hi all!

Well after a year I finally seattled my lemon law case today.

Well, anyway, I settled for 90% of what I paid for the car. Given the car has almost 25,000 miles on it, that seemed like a pretty good deal to me. A little more than $2,500 for 25,000 miles and 18 months of car seemed like I came out ahead. The other option was to go to court and I just wanted to avoid that.

I'm trying to decide what to get next. I like the SLKs, but I'm thinking about a 3-series ragtop or a Saab too. Car shopping is so much fun. Athough after two lemons a Honda ia looking pretty good.

Thanks for everyone's support -- Bueillewinkle, awiner, Revstiker, Tommy, Fuzzo, and Bob especially.

Cheers,

Beth

PS. MarkL, life would be dull without your ongoing flames. I might even miss them, but I don't think so. :p

LorinserCClass

Hey if you are considering the 3 series ragtop, you should really look at the A4 Cab as well. They are a few G's cheaper and on top of that the Audi dealer/sales people aren't snobby like those **** BMW dealers/sales people(according to my experience). 3.0 CVT is silky smooooth!

oggle

How exactly do lemon laws work?

My C320 has had this recurring fuel problem since I got it. Whenever I fill up at the pump the triggers on the pumps keep clicking (like when your tank is full). I've taken it into the dealers 3 times already and they still haven't fixed it yet.

tom incredibie

at least yours doesnt over flow what was the issue with your car galaxygirl?

Mach430

--Not a lemon law issue, but definitely a pain in the ***! There are only a few stations I can fill up at in less than 10 minutes!

Guest0001

btw what are good gas stations? i usually go to chevron or mobile.

oggle

So you have that problem too? How come the dealers can't fix it?

tommy

PLEASE STFF for her problems. They've been posted here a zillion times, and we don't need to set MarkL off any more.

I'd look at the RX-8; very, very nice, only $27k, and it should be very reliable.

nevide

RX-8 and Z4s are the ugliest looking cars in the whole wide world. Why do ugly cars always gets good enignes? I'd think of the CLK if you have the extra dough and want's a ragtop coupe. Else, I'll think of the mini? Those italian job minis looks hot. Other than that my choice is "OUR" honda accord alias TSX.

mctwin2kman

My wife and I drove a TSX this weekend. I did not realize I needed to rev high to get that VTEC crap to work so I shifted at 4500 RPM, this was just fine as the car still moved quite well. Not to mention that everything is standard equipment on them and there are no true options except the Nav system. The price is even the same for a 6-speed or Auto. Not to bad a vehicle for $26K. She wants one for her car replacement next year. It was honestly the first time I have driven a Honda/Acura and one with i-VTEC, which I did not even realize I had to be above 6000 RPM to get her into action. I was still impressed with that vehicle. It will definetly step on the toes of the A4 1.8 and the C230 Sedan as well as the 3 series and the S40. You get a lot of car for $26K, leather, heated seats, moonroof, Xenons, Auto or Stick, power everything and a 360 Watt Stereo with 6 disk changer. All Standard, not to mention the steering wheel buttons felling like they are teflon coated, and they will not break like the Benz ones. Plus it is a Honda, so it will most likely last forever. Anyway, I love my Benz and will never get rid of her, but this new Acura is definetely worth a look.

GalaxyGirl, Congrats on it being over now. So you can move on to bigger and better things. Good Luck ont he next one.

MarkL

I'm not saying any more on the topic -- I wish Beth good luck with her new car shopping...

neptunespeed

Congratulations on the whole ordeal being over for you. Maybe you should stay away from MB's

I test drove the TSX as well. It was a few thousand under the C230 sedan. However, since it's currently a new "2004" model, dealerships will barely give around $700 off MSRP. MSRP has a $2000 markup from invoice. So you can just imagine how much money they're really making. I decided I'd like to buy a MB for $1000 under invoice as opposed to paying $1000 over invoice for a Honda. But the TSX is definitely a LOT of car for your money.

Good luck with your quest for a new car.

-Thach

Vince

congrats!!!

I'm still going through mine with the same lawyers that you have so i'm hoping for the best. I think i want to get an s2000 next. I want something that's track ready.

Buellwinkle

Woohoo Beth, you made it! Keep us posted on your shopping successes. Stay away from German cars, they don't agree with you.....

session

Sounds like a reason to enjoy another beer with me when I come back out to SF.

Congrats.

MB-BOB

I genuinely do NOT understand this issue. Filling my tank works just like every other car I've ever owned... no problems whatsoever.

Beth, glad to hear your case is "Seattled"... but I thought you lived in San Fran...

I thought you were looking into a G35 Coupe? If you buy the manual tranny, it comes with a hand brake for those hills.

My wife's HONDA CR-V, assembled in Japan, has an auto shift lever that moves back and forth between Park/Reverse and Drive just fine, but it won't return to Drive if you manually move the lever into the 2nd or 1st gear ranges. (There's a mechanical override feature requiring a screwdriver... hmmmm?) I'm sure it's just a linkage adjustment at the dealer, but it just goes to show that you can have problems with any car. Luckily she never has to select 2nd or first manually.

Honda doesn't understand what drive-away auto door locks are, and the seatbelt retractors work E-X-A-C-T-L-Y like my C-Class.

MarkL

Really! We got a 2003 Acura TL for my wife in January -- several oddities for a ~$30K car. No auto locks (even via the shift lever), and the weirdest thing I ever saw: if you activate the power window lock-out on the driver door, even the driver can't work the other windows -- stupidity! At night, the lights in those other window switches are even turned off on the driver side so you know they're not available. But, it does have retained accessory power, which surprisingly, the C's don't have...

Matt230K

Even my '92 cavalier would lock the doors when I put it in gear.

But I still didn't like it because it wouldn't unlock when I put it back in park. And with that car, I could care less if the doors are locked while I'm driving.

MarkL

Yep, that was weird too. The "cheaper" GM cars would do auto lock but not unlock. The more expensive ones would also unlock. I mean, if you're gonna do it, do it right! :p

Hey, but I bet it also had adjustable auto-volume for the radio - a Grand Am I once rented had that.

galaxygrrl

Thanks everyone! I'm pretty excited. I just can't figure out what I want to buy now.

Cheers,

Beth

Matt230K

I don't know, I think I changed to a CD player within the first week.

Jim Banville

Just a thought on buying a new car : I will NEVER buy another FWD car again. They ALL suffere from torque-steer and what REAL car drives itself from the front tire?!

KWiK

Get another MB. Getting a new car every 12-18 months for just a little $$$ and putting up with some loaners sounds good to me.

BenzC240

Yeah, this supports what i have been saying all along, the car as a whole sucks. If you buy another german car u r basically taking the same risk in getting junk all over again. save your self a huge headache and go with lexus or infiniti, your chance of a lemon is waaaaayyyyyyyy lower. Good luck to u

Matt230K

No, I think you're way off there. The car as a whole is great. It is fun to drive and very safe. The mechanicals are very reliable. But the electronics seem to be lacking. This is what causes most problems. So, as a whole, the car is good. But the electronics suck. And most of that is not directly from MB, but because of MB choosing cheap suppliers.