C350 May Go Back!
 

I purchased a new 2008 C350 and took delivery 8/25/2007. I purchased it at “American Service Center” in VA. Prior to the purchase I informed the sales manager that I will register the car in Oregon as that is where I live. I showed him my driver’s license and current insurance card.

Sale’s manager says “no problem” and introduces me to a sales associate. I take delivery of the car and drive to Portland, OR. I go to the Oregon DMV and they instruct me on how to register the car. I complete a form and attach a check made payable to the OR DMV and send it to MB Financial (MBF) as they are the lien-holder. This was September 21.

The OR DMV gave me a temp plate with 21 day expiration. On the 19th I call MBF and inquire about the forms that I sent them. They tell me that they had not received any paperwork from the dealer so they can not do anything with the forms. :nix:

I called the dealer. They were shocked and surprised that MBF had not received the paperwork. They would look in to it and get back to me. On the 21st I went back to OR DMV they issued a new temp plate and informed me that this is the last one as they can only do two per 12 month period.

I have not heard back from the dealer and the second temp plate expired. New car is in the garage as I can not drive it without plates. I called the dealer and they say that I will receive a FedEx package with a set of temp plates to hold me over until I get the OR plates. I wait and no FedEx. I call the dealer; they cannot provide a tracking number for FedEx.

I have now called the dealer, MB Customer Service, and MBF each about three times a week. MB Customer Service: Sorry but each dealer is its own business. MBF: Sorry we are a third-party to the transaction. Dealer: We have mailed the paperwork to Oregon, DMV, did they get it yet?

I have informed each of these entities, that if OR DMV cannot confirm that plates are being processed by Friday, the 9th, the car will be towed to the nearest MB dealer, Phil Smart, Seattle, WA and I will start proceedings to have my down payment and every monthly payment refunded.

thats sad. but why did you not buy the car from your region. this would have saved you a lot of hassel. I hate dealers anyway. In my life i only liked one dealer and he was some guy and did all the work right.

Yeah, when I first read about your car, and plan to buy in the East and then drive it West, I did wonder about this.

When we bought ours from Rasmussen in Portland [we live in Vancouver WA, just across the river], I told them up front that we were leaving on a long trip, and that I wanted to insure that we had permanent WA plates and registration before we left.

No problem, they said, and both the F&I person and the salesman personally followed up, with the docs Fed-Exed to the Vancouver DMV office the next business day; we were able to pay our tax and fees, and walk away with our plates and reg, less than 4 days after we bought the car.

Of course, we had no loan, so there is no lien-holder. In your case, it's clear that the selling dealer screwed the pooch big-time. Good luck, though, on getting MBFin to intervene - remember, it's your credit rating on the line, so be very careful how you handle it with them. If you have any way of establishing a WA residence, you might try for a temp plate there, but of course then there is sales tax to pay on the transaction.

Keep us informed on how this turns out. In the past, we have occasionally had registration problems in California [this is only the second car we've registered anywhere but CA], so I take a pretty aggressive, "proactive" approach to this issue. I don't take the dealer's word for anything, and I insist on followup with DMV if things don't happen in a timely fashion. You shouldn't have to worry about this, but....

:hammer: Man that sucks....

Oregon has no tax on automobiles, right?

DMV? What's That?
 

What's all this business about going to a dmv and what not?

I never thought Jersey was different that anywhere else, but doesn't the dealer put the temp on for you, you drive car home, to work, to illegal late night pit bull fights in Atlanta and back, and meanwhile some gopher at the dealer runs to the dmv, hits the dmv's "dealers-only" line, gets permanent plates and registration for you, and then about a week or 10 days later calls you to come in so they can affix the plates?

I'm hoping with my first "luxury" car (ha!) purchase, the the merc dealer will come to me to put the plates on. We'll see. (I have noticed that whereas most toyota, chevy and even acrua dealers will put the temp tags in rear view window, several local merc dealers actually put them in the licsense plate frame, in some sort of plastic wrap, so that they won't leave a sticky mess behind as if you have them attached to your rear window)

So, what's this about going to the DMV? Is that the price you pay for clean air, scenic wonders, and low taxes?

Every jurisdiction is different; in California, it's almost always handled by computer [between the dealer and DMV] and by mail [from DMV to your home address]. If you want the dealer to hang the plates, they do it gladly.

Yes, Oregon has no sales tax, period, on anything. As a WA resident, but with Portland OR being my closest dealer, they have to notify the WA DMV, and from there you can either do it in person [we are two blocks from a license office, which is usually dead quiet - we've never waited longer than 5 minutes to be waited on], or by mail, depending on circumstances. Because the car was purchased in a no-tax state, I have to pony up the appropriate sales tax and reg fees, and they hand you the plates and reg. Except for the chatty clerk who was a German car buff [we jabbered for quite awhile], the whole thing takes about 10 minutes. WA is one of those states where the sales tax applies only on the difference between the new car and the old - CA collects on the full sales price on the new car, regardless of the trade-in's value.

If we had been OR residents, the dealer in Portland would actually have been able to issue the plates and attach them, right at the dealership.

In other states, other ways of doing things....using go-fers, doing it all by computer, etc. But fundamental in every case is the dealer getting the appropriate paperwork [or computer records] in the hands of the DMV in a timely fashion - when they don't... bad things happen.

Oregon DMV, towed to Phil Smart? You've got quite the commute.

Doesn't WA have some f'd up law they put on the books back when tabs were $1600/yr that if your car is in WA state for more than 6wks out of the year it has to be registered here? I don't remember how that worked, but I remember it was to prevent people registering their car out of state to get around the exorbitant tabs.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't get my hopes up with them giving you any kind of refund. MBF doesn't care. MB customer service, you may want to bump it up to the regional manager in the area you bought the car so he can talk directly to the GM of the dealership to get somebody in gear. I'd also take that approach yourself. Quit dealing with the F&I guys, and just start talking to the GM of the dealership. I've had to do it quite a few times, and as long as you approach them with the attitude that you're hoping they can help straighten something out for you, they've been happy to help. Most times, they've got enough on their plate already, so if they get customer service issues, somebody below them gets told to get the **** taken care of immediately. If you come at them on the attack, you'll get shuffled into the, 'we'll deal with the a-hole when we get time ... maybe' pile.

Unfortunately, I think it's going to come down to you and your original dealer getting it worked out.

I was working in Washington, DC at the time. The local dealer in Portland, OR only had C300s and the way that they were equiped they cost more than my C350.

"When we bought ours from Rasmussen in Portland [we live in Vancouver WA, just across the river], I told them up front that we were leaving on a long trip, and that I wanted to insure that we had permanent WA plates and registration before we left."

The dealership is next door to the Pentagon. They told me that with al the military sales that they do it would not be a problem.

Thanks for the advise. I have had many talks with the owners of the dealership. I am now working in Seattle, WA, a few minutes from P. Smart. I have put my Z$ OR plates on the car to go to Portland on the weekends. I will buy another C350. and let the lawers work this out.

These things surely can destroy the enjoyment of your MB ownership. I am surprised that the dealership that should be familiar with the license plate problem does nor solve the problem immediately.

That is very unfortunate and I hope everything will work out for you.

God Luck

Jorg

Dmv
 

<<What's all this business about going to a dmv and what not?>>

I never thought Jersey was different that anywhere else, but doesn't the dealer put the temp on for you, you drive car home, to work, to illegal late night pit bull fights in Atlanta and back, and meanwhile some gopher at the dealer runs to the dmv, hits the dmv's "dealers-only" line, gets permanent plates and registration for you, and then about a week or 10 days later calls you to come in so they can affix the plates?>>

Jersey IS different than everywhere else.

But what you describe is precisely what happens in Washington State. My paper temp tag expires 12/1 and I'm not going to think about this until then.

MB Central (NJ office) has taken over the handling of my issue. They have fedex all paperwork to the OR DMV. They provided me with tracking number. OR DMV confirmed receipt of paperwork. They mailed a new temp plate as it will take three weeks to process paperwork. MB Central mailed a $500 visa card for my trouble. We are all smiles now.

Good to hear that MB customer service exists in that way. Just had to get the right ones attention.:y

Congrats. Sounds like MBUSA came through for you. Hope it also puts the dealers in a bit of hotwater. ;)

I too am glad to hear that a rational solution to this has been found. [Don't hold your breath, though, waiting for the selling dealer to apologize or even get their hands slapped.]

For a $500 visa gift card, who cares if their hands get slapped. Time to go shopping. :)

Glad to see MBUSA doing the odd good deed every now and then...