pixmation

Hello,

They question maybe a little sensitive, but I just want to see how different people views and feel of a lemon.

How much trouble will have you have your car before you consider taking the lemon law action?

young

in your case? definitely lemon...

Iceman's C230

Hey pixmation.. What have you been Smoking??

pixmation

huh? what are you referring to?

Buellwinkle

Do you love your car the way it is after they fix it? In my case I would order the car differently so I would lemon law it to have a second chance. For example I would get the C7 package and I would not get black. It's like a "do over" on MB's dime. Also a new one might have some revisions in it for defects they found in the early ones.

Have you spoken to the dealer yet too give them a chance to take care of you?

pixmation

The car is still at the dealership's service dept. It been there since March 11. I don't quite know how to speak to the dealership without sounding like threatening them with a lemon case.

If i get to "do over", I would probably get a red one with C5, C7 and Command, maybe TeleAid as well.

Buellwinkle

That's easy, tell them you want a red one with C5, C7 and Command, maybe TeleAid as well for the piece of crap that's been in service for over a month. Tell them you'll gladly pay the difference in price between the two cars and a reasonable allowance for mileage like 20 cents a mile or something. If you don't want to talk to the owner ask for Mark Hoye, he's my salesdude and he'll figure something out. Did you notice that they are leasing the coupe for $279/mo?

TimmyC230boy

Here is a site that explains lemon laws for each state

http://www.autosafety.org/summary.htm

pixmation

quote from the code:

(2) the vehicle is out of service by reason of repair of nonconformities by the manufacturer or its agents for a cumulative total of more than 30 calendar days since delivery of the vehicle to the buyer. The 30-day limit shall be extended only if repairs cannot be performed due to conditions beyond the control of the manufacturer or its agents.


If the correct part is not available and no ETA, seems like they can extend the 30 days limit.

galaxygrrl

Pixmation,

The dealer ordered the wrong piece twice....right? I would think that voids the extention. It was their screw-up.

Just call that lawyer I listed. They will talk to you for free tell you if you have a case. If you win, you can pick out whatever car you would like. A red coupe sounds sweet!

Here is some wisdom. I tried so hard to work with VW, wrote letters, talked to managers, etc. I banged my head against the wall. It drove me crazy. Then I realized that law suits are part of the auto industry. Car makers expect them, and so that is all they understand. Car makers strategy is to wear you down, so you give up. And most people do.

MB will not give you a new car unless you force them to. The more you talk to the dealership and MB the more frustrated you will become. And to be honest, they just don't care that much. The path of least resistance is hiring a lawyer. I promise, it is much easier than what you are currently dealing with.

Hang in there.

Buellwinkle

I was able to get a new car by asking for one at Jim Slemons (now Fletcher Jones). No argument, just pick the one you want. I paid the difference in price because the new one had metalic paint, I paid the Kelley blue book penalty for excess mileage for all the miles on the car and I paid for a dent to be repaired that was on the car. It cost me about $3,500 but I got a new car, my old one had a dent and had 35k miles on it. I was happy. It only takes a minute to ask and if they say no then do the lawyer. Just make sure you ask the right person and not the service manager as he's defending his turf. Either go to the sales manager, one of the owners, or the salesman that originally sold you the car.

galaxygrrl

Fair enough Bullie, but it cost you over 3k as opposed to $500. Rather put the money in the bank!

jack230

Ordering the wrong part or even just not having the part available in the U.S. would probably not qualify for the 30-day extension under the code you quote. It's "beyond the reasonable control of the manufacturer or its agents." Screwing up the part order or simply not stocking the part in the U.S. won't cut it. If you're telling the story like it really is, you have a lemon law case under my reading of the applicable code section.

Galaxygrrl is absolutely correct. Car manufacturers (and insurance companies, btw) will stonewall you; it's just how they do business. Get a lawyer for a few bucks, and get a brand new car.

pixmation

I sent in a inqury with http://www.lemonlaw-attorneys.com/

They locate in the same city as the dealership, Laguna Niguel.

I will call the salesperson tomorrow. Also if it qualify as a lemon, then say next week they say they fix the car. Then what?

Or what if they fix the car while the lemon case is pending?

Also another thing is my car is inoperatable, and I hire a lawyer, then they are upset and decide take away the loaner car. So I will have no car until the case settle?

galaxygrrl

You need to ask a lawyer all your questions. He or she will have all the answers.

We have stretched the limits of my legal advice on this subject.

In my case, my VW did not really run well, the attorney told me to rent a car and got all the rental car receipts paid for as part of the settlement.

Be firm on price for a lawyer. When I called around, I got quoted anywhere from $500 to 10% of the value of the settlement which would be 3K in your case. Make sure they are a bulldog that will fight to the death for you. MB supposedly is one of the tough ones to settle with.

Pixmation, you should hire who ever you want to be your lawyer. However, I would make sure to have a conversation with mine because I did all this reseach, talked to a bunch of them and picked who I thought was the best. Plus, he got results. Please don't take this the wrong way, but it's just not smart to pull one off the web because of a local address.

Remember your case is against MBUSA not the dealer.

Good luck!

Make sure to post pictures of the red coupe in a few weeks.

Cheers,

Beth

Buellwinkle

A free consultation with the lawyer will answer more questions than any of us can.

When I did my deal with Infinity I still got loaners and the dealer still serviced the car. Remember the case is against MB and not the dealer. The dealer won't even know you are doing this. When the lemon law case is settled, it's the dealer that benefits if you buy another one. Besides, you can still drive the car without an airbag and they legally have to give you the car back, it's not theirs to keep. I believe Beth said her issue was resolved in a week with VW. If all falls apart you can rent a Ranger from budget for $19.95.

Remember, there's a Red C7, C5, command coupe with your name on it.


Beth,
It would have cost me more if I pursued it. Lemon prorates the value of the car to 120k miles from the first time you brough it in. If I used up 1/8 of a $24k car then I would have had to pay them 3k plus the difference in cars, plus the damage, plus $500 to the lawyer. So for me 3k was a bargain. If any of my cars have 35k miles and they offer me a new one for 3K swap I'll take it, lemon or not.

galaxygrrl

Fair enough Bullie! Guess I assumed your car had less miles on it.

My case took about 45 days (but Christmas and New Years was in the middle)

Beth

pixmation

Thank you for all the input. I will see if that firm call me back tomorrow and I am sure will talk to the one you mentioned in San Diego.

thanks.

Edmond

jack230

In most states, though, there is a floor on the amount of miles that you can put on a car before they start to pro-rate the compensation. 18,000 miles is coming to mind for some reason.

Buellwinkle

Of course this depends on individual states but in California you would to have first experienced the problem in the first 18 months. I was driving a lot then, about 35k miles per year. luckily I don't do that now.

KWiK

Here is my $0.02

*** CALL THE Bill McGee (Lawyer) NOW! ***

Do not speak to anyone at the dealer until after talking to the lawyer! Do not make any deals with anyone at the dealership or MBUSA!

The lemon law process takes patients, but is well worth it as long as you get a lawyer.


I had my E320 for 13 months and 24K miles and still got back all my money except for the small attorney's fee.

Call now!

galaxygrrl

That was my lawyer too. He is really good. His name is Bill McGee though.

You need to talk to Randy!

KWiK

oops...got my McGee's mixed up.

pixmation

hi,

Contacted and fax my info to Bill McGee's. Someone will review my case and get back to me in a day or two.

Buellwinkle

Woohoo! You are on your way!