MsMercedes

I bought my C230 about a month and a half ago. I truly love the car. The car has performed flawlessly, with excellent fit and finish, etc., and is solid as a rock.

My problem lies in the alignment. If any of you recall my past posts, the car has pulled slightly to the right ever since I rolled off of the lot with it. When I took it back to the dealership, they told me that it was out of alignment ( as if I didn't already know that ) but that they didn't have the equipment that was able to work on 2002 models yet, and if I wanted it aligned they would have to send it elsewhere and be billed to them. Yesterday my boyfriend took it to a tire center the dealership sent him to and had it aligned, but on the way home he said it was still pulling to the right but worse now. The tire center told him that the car wasn't out of alignment but the steering wheel was skewed to the side so they aligned it to make the wheel straight. Now is that brilliance or what??? I always felt that the car steered straight, no drifting, but that the steering wheel was crooked. If you tried to straighten out the wheel, you would drift to the right.

So, tomorrow I call the dealership again, whom I can tell are going to be ******** about it. I work nights, I live an hour from the dealership, and they only provide shuttle service...no loaners. I'm going to tell them next time I drop the car off that somebody needs to take me to work and come get me at 1:30 AM and drive me 50 miles home, then come pick me up and take me back the next day to pick up my car, or else I need a loaner car!! I bet I know what the result of that will be!

My question is: I am preparing early in case they can't get the problem worked out. I love my little coupe, but I won't have a car that pulls to the right and ruins tires, especially when I commute so far to work. If I pursue a lemon lawsuit, can I use an out-of-state lawyer? I live in Illinois, but I would feel better using a lawyer that users of this forum have gotten results from in thier lemon lawsuits. Any advice would be appreciated.....just in case.

Any advice on what I should tell the service department to look for when they look at the car again? I wasn't sure if anyone elses dealership ever figured out why these cars seem to be prone to pulling to the right.


Thanks
Michelle

revstriker

Michelle, sorry to hear about your troubles. I think it's a good idea to start thinking about a Lemon suit, but first I would contact MBUSA. It doesn't seem right to me that the car has a problem that is covered under warranty, which is also no fault of your own, and they want to charge you a fee to fix it. If the dealer does not have the equipment, and they are authorized to do warranty work, then they should pay any transportation charges. I know that loaners, and shuttle transport is typically up to the dealer, so you may be out of luck there. It sounds like he has no competition for MB in the area, so he feels no need to offer this. Anyway, lodging a complaint might be the first step for you.

As far as a lawyer goes, I would imagine as long as they are certified to practice law in your state you should be ok. However, I would be more comfortable with an in-state lawyer only because I would think they would have more experience within your state. I'm sure someone here that has pursued the lemon law will give you a more accurate response.

Not sure it was a good idea to bring your car to the tire place though. This could prove to be a problem if MB says the alignment problem is because of that, and therefore, is not covered under warranty.

galaxygrrl

Michelle,

Scott is correct, See if MBUSA can help. I would also talk to the the service manager and the General manager of the dealership too.

OK, here is the deal on lemon law suits. The law varies by State but usually you need to take your car in for the same reason 3 or 4 times with no relief, so you are a not there yet. You do need to give your dealership the chance to fix it, I'm sorry they are being unhelpful.

The key to lemon law suits is to save every piece of documentation you get. So, everytime you bring your car in, save the receipt for the work. Keep a record of every conversation you have with MB, your dealer, etc. The records are the heart of the case.

Also, it's best to have a lemon law lawyer if you take this route. You don't want to go to court, you just want MB to settle. Try www.lemonlawamerica.com. The site will list lemon law lawyers in your state.

Good luck

Beth

MsMercedes

Thanks guys. Everything you say is exactly what the state of Illinois' website on Lemons says as well in regards to the 4 time repair attempt rule and the documentation. I'm not leaping to action just yet, but in case I have to I want to be prepared in advance with the knowledge I need. I have a feeling that my dealership isn't going to be able to fix the problem, and the only other MB dealership is 50 miles the opposite direction. The reason I didn't buy from them is because even the sales department acts like they couldn't care less.....I can imagine what service is like.

Actually, Revstriker, they aren't trying to charge me for this, they are just sending me elsewhere and then having the bill sent to them.

Thanks for the link, Beth, I'll check it out.

galaxygrrl

Michelle,

There has been a lot written on lemon laws on this board. You might try searching.

Wish I knew less about the lemon law.

Beth

Duffer

But going to a lawyer should be your last resort.

If the dealer doesn't handle it well or does not have the equipment, then another dealer should be tried and/or Mercedes Customer Care should be notified. 800-367-6372 ext 6399

Usually, if dealers cannot fix the problem, a regional tech will enter the picture.

Good luch

MarkL

Michelle, I've got a question since I'm a little confused after reading your post. Are you saying that the car didn't pull "by itself" to the right, but if you held the steering wheel in the exact straight-ahead position, your car would aim to the right? If so, this is not a "pulling" problem, it is, as you stated, simply a steering wheel position issue.

When someone says their car is pulling to the right, this means that if you take your hands off the wheel on flat pavement, the car doesn't track straight. On the other hand, it is very common for the steering wheel to need a slight adjustment to point dead center to go straight. The two issues are distinctly different. Also, you need to be careful in evaluating the pulling problem since many roads are not exactly flat and the car will tend to head toward one direction. I would suggest taking it out on a multi-lane highway, get in the middle lane and see how the steering reacts.

Also, a lot of the board members seem "lemon happy". I mean, if you haven't even given your dealer one try at fixing a problem you may have incorrectly described, I think you need to give them another shot. My suggestion would be to contact the service manager at your dealer and arrange to have him or her drive in your car with you so you can both agree on exactly what the problem is. I'm sure they will be very happy to accommodate this request. Good luck!

galaxygrrl

Mark, talking about me perhaps?

Michelle, Mark is right, you need to give the dealer and MBUSA a chance to fix your car.

It sounds like your car has been in the shop only a couple of times. To give you an idea of what you need to experince for a lemon law suit, my car has been in the shop about 10 times each for the seat belt and fuel gauge. MY VW was even worse.

I hope for your sanity, you don't end up lemoning. The issue sounds like it's with your dealer. Your should fine another one or have a Senior Tech called in. Keep us posted!

Good luck.

Fuzzo

hey All,
I just got back my car from the dealer after 4 visits for the pulling to the right option.. the guy from MB headquarters had the car for 2 days and returned to me all fixed and going straight. It does pull to the right or left depending on the curvature of the road... so I guess it's time for me to take the POS sign off my sig...

Michelle, here's what happened to me. I took it to the dealer 3 times for the same problem. They rotated/reblaanced and realigned all 3 times and it didn't work. The dealership told me that this is a known issue in MB's and that there is nothing I can do about.... yeah right!!! so I wrote a letter to MB and their warranty guy called me and said when he was going to be at my dealer and to bring it 1 more time. THe 4th time was the charm coz it's fine now....

you may have to resort to writing to MB to get your car fixed...

good luck

MarkL

Fuzzo, glad to hear it. People might ask if you know what they did to fix it. Any details?

Fuzzo

they replaced the camber bolts again.. the warranty guy said that it wasn't put on correctly the first time.... i don't know how true it is....

MsMercedes

Hey, Fuzzo, that's great to hear that you got this thing figured out finally!

Fuzzo

I'm glad as well... i'm just pissed it took 4 trips to the dealer and a letter to MB to get it done.... regardless..bottom line.. it's done.. now to sell it off

anyone interested in my car

MsMercedes

Huh-uh, noooooooooooooooooo wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!