kamilapal

Hello


This is my first post and unfortunately already about some issues ,with the car , dealership ,and MBUSA maybe somebody could help , here it goes :


I always wanted a Mercedes and when the time came to purchase a new car , my husband surprised me with mildly used 26k miles 2009 c 350 .The car is gorgeous ,drives like a charm and I love it but god does it have issues .In three months after purchase I had more issues with this car , than with five other cars I owned combined ! Including :

-Command screen not responding/fully opening/closing

-Drivers window not fully closing/auto close not working

-Wood trim cracked (after a very cold night) drivers side

-Two speakers started to rattle /distorted/unbearable sound

-Cup-holder chrome trim started to peel eventually fell off

-When trying to input phone # (won`t let me transfer via BT ) #4 button cover simply dissolved and fell off

-Depending on the weather visible condensation inside front headlights (xenon)

-Sat Radio stopped to work after last visit at the dealership

-Gearbox shifts like in a 2003 mustang GT (jerks ,choppy)from 1 to 2 gear under moderate load

-When starting the engine , first thing in the morning(cold) , I can hear a specific clicking sound coming from the engine , I believe related to inadequate bearings on 272 engine , becomes more audible with mileage


That completes the list of sorrow


The car is under factory warranty , not a CPO , so as soon as the problems started to pop I decided to visit my local dealership , infamous Fletcher Jones of Las Vegas .I was blown away by the fact that such a powerful and popular brand with unmatchable history and heritage would treat it`s customers so bad . I called them to set up the appointment ,but after I was told ,that since I didn`t purchase the car at this location, I won`t be provided a loaner , (BMW , VW, Honda even Hyundai I owned no problem)I decided to call MBUSA . Kristan turned out to be pretty accommodating , agreed that it wasn`t exactly nice of them ,and after I gave her the list of issues she immediately called the other location (also owned by FJ), and to my huge surprise ,I was provided a loaner and a promise to fix all the issues bothering this beautiful car0 . When I turned up at the dealership I was blown away by the amount of people waiting at the service department , like on a busy weekend here on the strip , cars literally coming in and out , one after another ,and a line consisting of sedated(7:30 am), dissatisfied owners 0 .Not discouraged a bit by this depressing view ,I marched towards my appointment and met with my "certified MB technician" .I gave him the list , and as he was making some notes I noticed that he simply did not listen at all. I asked him to examine the least visible issues , like the clicking sound on startup , and choppy transmission , but he replied that "our certified team will take a look at it and provide necessary adjustments/fix the issues " without even looking at the car .than I was trying to show him the recording of the clicking sound from my phone (in HD)but he refused and became defensive , assuring me about the quality of the car , and his "team" .I guess I really wanted to trust him so I finally agreed with him, and left the car for the "professional examination" Three days later I was contacted by the dealership to pick up the car . My "Tech" informed me that yes they fixed the evident issues like -cup holder, command not opening/closing , window not closing etc , but here is what I was told about those most expensive, hard to prove (but visible and audible to a blonde ) but well known issues , before I was rushed out and "taken care of" :


On condensation : "condensation is a natural phenomena and occurs in the head lights with change of weather conditions " - BS out of 5 cars I owned NONE was showing this "natural" feature 0

On clicking sound on startup : "This is normal sound coming from the fuel injectors " -BS Not only this is a widely known issue , but also the car sounds like it there are no fluids in the engine , it is very loud and humiliating in public 0

On transmission shifting like it was driven by an uneducated stick operator : : we didn`t see nothing wrong , this is a regular operation " - BS the car not only jerks but under a load you can here a sound ,like heavy piece of metal falling on another piece of metal 0


Confused and feeling like my IQ has suffered an irreversible damage , I decided to write an email to MBUSA wanting some answers .0

I wanted to submit my "experience" and the recording of the sound but to my surprise ,there is no option to attach anything nor I could find any e-mail addresses associated with the HQ (manager , CRM ,CEO) .So I decided to write an e-mail asking about some guidance on how to deal with this issue and also described the entire situation . Since usually during the day I`m at work and unable to answer the phone I picked "contact by e-mail" to avoid unnecessary delays plus I wanted to have a written answer to my inquiry .

Few days later I received a phone call0from , I assume the manager of CRM at MBUSA Olivia ,but of course wasn't able to pick up .I waited for my day off and called back stating that I would prefer to be contacted by e-mail but since she obviously wanted to talk to me, I left a certain time when I was available later on that week. Another week has passed without any contact from MBUSA ,so I called again stating the hours I will be available that week .After two days Olivia calls me again of course during the day, and leaves a message ,that she can`t reach me and she will try later 0 .After a month of games like this , finally I decided to contact current CEO Stephen Cannon (after hours of digging through the web finally found his e-mail ,not avail at mbusa website) Stephen.cannon@mbusa.com

I didn`t get any respond directly from him but my favorite Olivia called me yesterday , and WOW again I was blown away by the quality of service provided at MBUSA .I was basically told (in an unbelievably dry and ostentatious manner )that they don`t have any power over the dealerships as they are mostly privately operated . Also asked me why I contact them instead of going back to the dealership , when I said that at this point the dealership clearly simply wants to get rid of me and talking with them does not bring any resolution and explaining for the 100th time the issues with my car (during which I had to ask her if she is still there as she wasn`t responding at all nor she seemed interested at all)she replied that again it is up to the dealership to diagnose the and resolve the issues. So I told asked her if I could submit the recording of the sound , and told her that I have not only joined the MBWORLD and there is a lot of owners with similar issues but I also hired an independent MB technician who confirms the inadequate bearings issue as well .The answer was that everybody can post anything online and that no other technician than "certified MB technician " is qualified enough to make this statement .She agreed to set up an appointment at a local FJ dealer (loaner- maybe) to reexamine my claims .I still didn`t get any response from the CEO , I`m unable to provide the recording , and I really don`t know how to proceed further ? Anybody with similar issues ? Where can I complain ? Is there a

way a could get an opinion of some kind of an expert witness specializing in Mercedes , valid in case I want to take them to court ? Is there a way to force them to issue a written answer / statement .Please help .Thank you


Kamila

Moto_Guzzi

W204 V6 350(2008)

1-Body/shape=Excellent design and strenght done by engineering group-A
2-Electronics=EIS Dropped me next to road, my rating=2/10, I now don't trust the electronics(Base on comparison to other cars).When will I walk again-? Done by engineering group-B.
3-Mecanicals:
Engine=POWER-No complaints, good enough for me.
Sound-Sounds like a Ford-V6 on startup and idle, inexcusable
Designed by engineering group-C

Gearbox=No complaints, good enough for me.
Differential=No complaints
Designed by engineering group-D

Suspention=Failed in two ways
1-1st the front suspension bushes replaced at around 15 000Km after it chewd up the inside of front tyres.
2-2ndly the Advanced Agility option, the shocks appose instead of
absord certain frequency of ripples in road, compared to other vehicles
on samr road.
Designed by enineering group-E.

Finally:
Engineering group-A=Great job, you love your job and it showed.
Engineering group-B=You are lazy, outsource to much, and lack in jobfulfilment.
Engineering group-C=After a 100 years of engine design, you still cannot do it properly, shame on you.
Engineering group-D=I like you, I think you did a great job, the only ones that can screw up your pride is the dealers.
Engineering group-E=You symply is incable of learning out of experience.
25Mil km's of testing....That says it all.


So I have now a car with a perfect body, diff and gearbox, the rest is an embarresment.

Mercedes, its a shame when the owners should educate your engineers, a real shame!

chipsandbricks

would you be willing to sell your headlights?
I would be willing to pay 300 for both and maybe yuo
could put the morney to new parts.

you can contact me at cleelandtravis@gmail,com
or traviscleeland@gmail.com

Demvang

It needs a reset Happened to me after a window regulator replacement.