Black_Mercedes

Hey i sold one of my cars to a nice guy out in hollywood area.

I sold one of my w203 the car was listed that it had issues. He took it to mercedes in van nuys to get a quote and see whats wrong with the car.

When i sold the car i didn't know the seller is responsible for making sure it passes smog. This was my first car i sold myself.

Here is the quote which is crazy.









Ive been working with my car for a long time now and i know that this quote is nuts and over quoted up the ***.

1. The purge valve takes less then a min to change under the hood and the labor of 326 dollars is crazy.

2. Lateral Acc Sensor is another easy change which is in the truck and takes less then 2 mins to install. Another 326 dollars quote for labor.

3. I sold the car and told the owner about the noise from the center dash which is only 1 stepper motor. quote of 2.2k to fix

4. The collapsed mount is due to the car being a 2001 c320 which is an old car.

5. Oil leaking from the rear main seal i never seen the car leak oil and the car drives perfect.

6. Oil leaking from filter housing is an easy fix.

I sold the car as is title. Im kinda stuck on what to do. I know i have to fix the purge valve so he can pass smog.

But i don't think im responsible for any of the other stuff because most of it was stated when i sold the car.

Advice would be great thanks guys

VVF

I would tell him all this, and show him how easy is to replace the purge valve, show him how he would replace the lateral acceleration sensor by himself, and say something to the tune of "see, and this is $300 in labor; same deal with other quotes"

WTF - engine mount is leaking oil? Who cares

My opinion - he bought the car knowing about the problems. Now it's his responsibility to fix them/ live with them.
A friend of mine bought a 2002 c230, while the owner didn't tell him it had a defective cam adjuster. Now the friend is facing an ~$2k repair.

Moviela

If the purge valve is part no. 000-470-71-93, $ 102.00 is a good deal. RM European lists it for $ 185.

The seller has to get the car smogged. If it is too much to repair that fits with Gov. Brown's plan to get us all riding the bus. You should replace the valve get the smog "certificate" and transfer title if you have been paid.

The stepper motors seldom fail. It is the link, a cheap piece of plastic, that fails. They are cheap, but it is still an all day sucker to get the dash apart.

All of the repairs beyond smog are not your problem if you sold it as is, no warranty.

Black_Mercedes

Thank you i was already paid. I was going to take care of purge valve. Which will solve the check engine light and will be able to pass smog. All other issues like you said im not responsible for.

Yeah the plastic part on the motor fails it failed on other w203 i ended up breaking the link so it stopped making noise haha it worked

What is crazy is the labor rates they are charging for the purge valve and lateral sensor.

The collapsed mounts you can't even notice the car doesn't shake while its at idle.

He wanted me to give him 500 dollars to help him fix the repairs. Which is crazy. I told him i will fix the purge valve and if he buys the lateral sensor i will fix that as well.

turbonos7

Damn! Those quotes ARE crazy! But hey... it's Hollywood and dude is rolling up in a MB so go figure... I agree with VVF, you should do the stuff you're going take care of in front of him and help him realize how much the shop is exaggerating the quotes and or severity of the problems to him. Good to know that fixing my own stepper motor issue saved me over $2K! Going to call GEICO next...

The Jury

Well that solves it....... I'm opening up a purge valve repair business in Hollywood.

Boom vang

A high end dealership in Hollywood uses a written quote on paper is so 1970's. With those prices you would think that they could afford a computer and printer.

With over $6600 in repairs it would be better to scrap the car and use it towards a lease on a new car.

Sounds like a true definition of 'Stealership'

Black_Mercedes

I think you and i should go in business together

He Sent me this quote last night. i emailed him back shortly after saying i will do it for him and buy the part. He already jumped the gun and is having mercedes fix the top 2 and wants me to pay him 500 dollars. I attached a 30 second video of me taking it apart on my car and sent it to him.

He asked for my opinion and just had Mercedes do it without communicating with me

Javvy

or it could be a way the buyer wants to extract monies from you.....cook up a really high bill and then ask for some in return ....fix the fmog realted issues by yourself and call it a day...or just tell him to f u c k off as the sale was for an as is car.....tell him to fight it in court in the sale.....read up on the law in depth and be more knowledgable then him on the law....I am sure that if you sell is as is this law might not apply.....

my 2 cents

Javvy

tommy

Since you didn't read up on what you had to do before the sale, the law is on his side. Now, the quibbling over how much it should cost is for the courts. I'd suggest splitting the difference with him and chalk it up to lesson learned, before you drown in legal fees over a small amount of money. Unless you want to be stubborn, of course, and if that's the case, might as well sell your other Benz to pay for it.

VVF

+1 on that.

I've been scammed by sellers in the past, but have never expected that buyers would scam you too though!

The Jury

You are under no obligation to pay for repairs at the most expensive place in town. You could have easily bought the part and had an indie shop do it for $50, $100, whatever price. Buy the part if he will release all liability, or tell him to shove it. Otherwise all you have to do is prove you could have done it cheaper when you appear in court. Of course I live in the land of freedom...... outside california.

Black_Mercedes

I sent him a video on how fast it was to change the part and mercedes knocked 200 dollars off for that problem. The mercedes place i take my car to. They have a computer print out not a piece of paper with writing on it. You would think a mercedes dealership in Hollywood area would have computers by now??

On the paper there is no labor time at all which makes it seem fishy.

I know dealerships mark .5 for half an hour or 1.0 for an hour and so on.

i called the dealership around me and they charge 120 an hour for labor. So something seems wrong here.

Well he sent me a text saying he fixed the first two on the list. Which the second one im not responsible for because i showed him it had that issue.

The funny thing is he didn't even test drive the car he showed up with his wife. Looked at the car 3 mins later he said he will take it. He came back 3 days later with cash in hand.

He also had his friend drive the car home. He never test drove the car at all. I told him he needs to drive it when we first met. He said no it looks great.

I told him i would send him a check for the part for the check engine light and also pay for the smog.

Boom vang

I think that I would call Keyes to see if they give out handwritten estimates, seems a bit odd these days. If they don't then the buyer is trying to scam you

SunnyRayToronto

"I think that I would call Keyes to see if" they could do simple math,.... Another reason the quote should have been done on a computerized system,... some idiots can't add.

Look at first item,...
Purge Valve (for Check Engine Light):
$326 labor + $102 part = $428

Look at second item,...
Lateral Accelerator Sensor (for ESP light):
$326 labor + $155 part = $381 *** Same labor cost with more expensive part but yet lower net cost? WTF!
$326 labor + $155 part = $481 (correct addition)

Khan28

Hmmm I get the feeling the buyer is trying to get a ton of free repairs from you. A hand written document in 2013? I'd call BS on everything until I actually talk to the advisor that did the write up and take it from there. What is with California and it's ridiculous laws? Here in Canada all I have to do is put "as-is" in the ad and that's it, the new owner can get a temporary permit and drive it home. Whatever happens after that is their problem.

FrankW

$326 labor charge...it takes 5 min to replace the thing.

marcanders

Someone who knows the laws in CA better correct me, but I think as a seller you are ONLY responsible for the car passing the smog test and that is it! IIRC.... Noise from the dash is NOT your problem and other things aren't as well. Even if you didn't tell him about it, doesn't everyone say to have a car checked out by a mechanic before you buy it?

edgarinho10

I want to make $326 every quarter hour.

The fact that he went ahead without consulting you changes the situation. It's one thing to outright deny to help him and another for him to expect you to pay such exorbitant prices.

Black_Mercedes

Well i haven't really heard from him anymore. No text messages or emails. The car was sold as - is. I even gave him 500 dollars off the listed price i sold it for. Then i wrote on the pink slip that he bought it for 2k just to save him some more money.

The written quote just seemed fishy and when i showed him the video of how long it took to replace i could tell he got mad. He said he wish the option of me installing it for him was there. I mean when he sent me the email of the quote i got right back to him.

He said it was already to late. Honestly its not my fault if you jumped so quickly for them to fix it.

The last message i got he said he had Mercedes fix the top two.

His local mechanic said he could fix the rest for 1200 dollars.

Whats odd is why didn't he buy the part and have his mechanic do it to save over 700+ in labor.

Sunnyray- I didn't see that until you showed me. Advisers don't really make mistakes like that without catching them.

Ill post more updates. If he messages me back. His wife told him to stop messaging me 3 messages ago. lol

tommy

I think you're giving them too much credit.

turbonos7

Black MB, tell him I'm in SoCal and I'll fix his stepper motor issues for $500 even. I even have the linkages for the footwell that I bought for mine and ended up not needing since mine has upgraded ones already. I paid $16 for a pack of two linkages but just for him I'll take $160 since he's in such a "giving" spirit. Oh and I'll use Microsoft office and at least give him an itemized receipt with the parts/labor breakdown and hopefully correct math!

edgarinho10

Hell I'll fly out and personally do this myself for $500!

Black_Mercedes

haha everyone is so giving =D i even offered my help but he didn't want it.

Anyways haven't heard from him in a few days lets hope it sticks.