cityscape

Im considering purchasing a '01 C240 which is 1 year old and was bought back by Mercedes for an "Ignition Key Malfunction" under California Lemon Law - This is stated on a document which the seller (independant dealer) is required to have on the car. The car is a good deal and drives great and only has 4000 miles. The "Ignition Key Malfunction" doesnt sound like a serious problem and Mercedes has taken the car back and supposedly fixed it. Should i be concerned about this given that the car is still fully under warranty and Mercedes has reconditioned the car? Is there any long term repercussions this defect may have that i'm not familiar with besides the title having the lemon buyback notice which i have factored into the price of the car?

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

cityscape

Also, does any one know what this "Ignition Key Malfunction" means? - i have read several threads that there may have been some problems with the key and the ECM on 01 cars.

KWiK

"DON"T BUY IT" !!!!!

The reason MBUSA bought it back was because they "...supposedly fixed it" several times. If they couldn't fix it before the buy back, what makes you think they could after?

"DON"T BUY IT" !!!!!

Hal H

If you decide to sell the car in the future and a prospective buyer runs a report from a database such as CarFax, etc. this will show up as a buy-back vehicle from a mfgr.

This could have negative implications to any other buyer and adversely affect resale value.

Not as bad as a 'salvage' title, but no one may want to touch it.

Buellwinkle

My 97 Infiniti I30 was an arbitrator ordered lemon law buyback. The problem was the A/C. Now some poor sucker is going to buy that car and realize that the problem is intermittent and Infiniti at two seperate dealers with factory rep assistance couldn't fix the problem. What do you think, did they really fix it after I turned it in or did they wax it up and sell it? I can also tell you that I abused the crap out of the car because I new they had to buy it back in any condition and I was mad at them. Would you want that car? Not me. And Hal H is right. In many states the car gets a lemon law title that is similar to a salvage title. When you go to sell it will someone buy it? Will the insurance company insure it? Big risk, low payback. Also why do you think the dealer won't sell it? It was put out at a dealer auction and a used car lot bought it to make a big profit on it.

galaxygrrl

Don't buy it, the few thousand dollars that you save is not worth the headache. My guess is the problem is not fixed, so why risk it.

Beth

cityscape

Thanks everyone for the feedback - i appreciate the advice for caution to balance the "gee..i gotta have it knee jerk reaction i was feeling .

I did some more checking up on the car - no body work and no accidents confimed by a body shop. Carfax checks out that it was leased in Feb 01 and then bought back by Mercedes under CA lemon law in Feb of 02 and then sold at a "Manufacturers Auction". I called Mercedes and based on the VIN they gave me the name of the original dealer in Southern California (im in San Francisco). I called them and they confirmed that the car was theirs and that this was a "minor problem" in general but wouldnt give me any more details about this particular car. So its a C240, White with C1/C2/Command/Auto w/4K miles. I may go and start the car about a thousand times tomorrow but im sorely tempted - i'll let you guys know what i do - thanks for the feedback and oh..the asking price is 31K.

Fred123

Do you know what "Ignition Key Malfunction" means? The reason I ask is that I have a 8 month old C320/c2/nav that intermittenly displays "visit workshop" when unlocking the car with the key button. Dealer can't repair and I am persuing the lemon law. Over the past 3 repair attempts, dealer has replaced numerous items that still have yet to fix this problem.

This car also experiences numerous electronic glitches (nav screen freezes, lose radio functions, seat and mirrors do not remember postions, Radio refuses to power down, etc.) I have a feeling it is all related, I just can't see this many items malfunctioning due to individual issues.

revstriker

I have to agree with most of the posters here. I would not touch this car with a 10 foot pole! From what I've read here, it seems that MB just doesnt take cars back, but they have to be forced to take them back under this law. Perhaps the Ingnition Key was the listed problem that they took it back under, but maybe it had other problems as well. I do think this will effect any resale value.

Just for comparison, I ran this car on KKB and got a private value of $32,300 for excellent condition (there was no option for Command, so you can add that to the price).

Don't think it's worth it.....

BrabusCClass

I agree with everyone and would not touch it. MB will not readily take any car back unless forced. Which means there is a serious problem. Dont risk the headache for only a few thousand gained.

atsang311

I had "Ignition Key Malfunction" (cannot lock/unlock or even start the car) experience just about 1 months ago. I had both smartkeys replaced twice, then finally my car was towed to the dealer. My car was in the shop for about a week, they changed the electronic ignition switch and reprogrammed all the smartkeys. It was not a good experience at all. Even though all the costs and car rental were taken care by MB.
It is not a good idea to buy a fixed "lemon car".

bagwell

Hell, offer them $25k and have in writing that they will give you at least an '02 E-class every single time you have to bring it in for service!!!

mleskovar

First check into it further....look at the entire service history. I bet there are a couple people on this forum that have worse repair records. 'Buyback' could have been a way for the dealer to get out of an existing lease to upgrade the customer. Get in writing from the dealer what your expectations are if the key problem continues. Also make sure the serials on the keys
are "112xxxx" (I think that's the number). New model + new technology always takes time for the mechanics to figure out what's wrong. The same problems we're having today will be fixed first time in two years from now...or they won't be having the problems in the first place.