Letter! Letter! Letter! Letter!

 

Thanks for the message!. Still considering my options but will keep you guys posted.

 

Dealer had asked me to contact MB USA after repeated repair attempts. I had a previous MB that had no problems and I really liked the car. On this issue, I will not be coming their defense in their handling of this situation. If they are frustrated with my emails and calls, they should simply take the car back. I would glady leave the brand and get into a competing vehicle.

The entry luxury segment has become uber competitive with many great options. Resting on "the best or nothing" tagline is simply not enough.

 

You shouldn't have been put in the middle of this. At this point, your service manager should be in contact with your case manager trying to work out a satisfactory conclusion to this.

 

Check out this thread, and see if the front end noise on your car is the same as you are can hear in my video? In my case, the dealer replaced both front shocks, but also replaced both motor mounts. I have had the car back for less than 1000 miles, but so far, so good (touch wood). Might be worth bringing this solution to the attention of your dealer.

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...replacing.html

 

Thank you for sharing. A little concerning this is happening so early in the ownership experience.

 

I for one had a brand new Mercedes C300 that had wind noise over 85 dB and the dealership agreed and they are good people who admit they were aware of this same wind noise on all of their C class loaners but feel stuck when the official stance of MBUSA is this obvious and shockingly loud wind noise on highways is simply a design characteristic. My dealer took the car back. They apologized for not letting me know before I bought the car that they have had this problem with every one of their C class models. They have now made all of their existing C class cars loaner cars. They tell me they are not going to recommend this car to anyone or order more until MBUSA comes up with a better way to handle customers complaints which are absolutely within reason for a $50000 luxury sports sedan. MBUSA telling professional people who purchase this car that they are all crazy and that they are all collectively hearing things is not working because the dealears are siding with their customers. In fact it was the owner of my dealership who told me they noted this wind noise on every single one of their C class loaners and it was not at all unique to my car. Design characteristic is a cop out and my dealer is now recommending the CLA model over the C class. I have a good feeling it will be dealers who will be the loudest voice not the owners and MBUSA will have no choice but to address the issue. It is imaginary according to the MBUSA representative I spoke to because he hasn't noticed it on his C300 on his way to work. Either he is lucky or he is lying or he is deaf. Not sure which is true. This MBUSA representative who has told this same story to multiple other owners who happen to live on the West Coast has 7 technicians and the owner of my dealership to debate the wind noise with. I guess he can tell them they are crazy too.

 

yea going to pick up the car from the dealer on saturday, this will be one of the things i will document before signing the paperwork

 

What is more amazing is the Test drivers for MB during testing must have been deaf.
I mean I see so many threads on hear in regards to wind noise that this problem is not a lemon kind of deal and that it is indeed a problem with this model. Yet MB wants to sweep it under the carpet. All of MB's test drivers should be fired.

 

Dealer just called me that they replaced both drive shafts. However, they are still hearing suspension noise. They are going to order more parts.

This is the second MB dealer attempting repairs. Doesn't sound like the "best or nothing" to me.

 

this sounds pretty disconcerting...they should put you in an S550 Coupe loaner as a courtesy

 

A few years back we had a GMC Acadia that we bought new in 2008, never really had any issues until December 2010 and then it was one Gremlin after another, had it at the dealership numerous times and had a friend that worked for Saturn that had explained to me that the lining of the Pano roof was a known problem to leak, since we don't have much rain here in Cali the problem never came up until we had a good rainfall that December and after that it was one problem after another. I was going round and round with GM and all they would do is call me to tell me that they were going to have someone call me, never was there any real help. I finally went to my original dealer that sold us the car and the Service manager just immediately gave me the name and number of Lawyer in Glendale that does Lemon Law settlements and once I turned it over to them, I basically got out of the car and was reimbursed all expenses...this was 31,000 miles and almost 3 years later. Basically the Customer service departments are there to string you along and tell you sorry for all your trouble, but at the end of the day the legal department is where they avoid trying to spend too much money and hassle, at that point it is where they settle and make you go away! Contact a Lawyer that specializes in Lemon Law Buybacks, you will save yourself a ton of grief and hassle and be able to move on.

Jim

 

One of the reps at MBUSA told me that their legal department gave them an "order" not to speak with me. They also said I should not reach out to the Customer Assistance Center.

I told him that I'm happy to comply but I would no longer be able to keep the vehicle if I can't get support for the car. I told them to take the car back. I also asked them to provide a place, time and location so I can hand over the keys to my C300.

I have been in contact with a BMW dealership for a 328i Xdrive and a Lexus dealership about an IS350. They are willing to offer conquest to get into their vehicles.

My shock absorbers, two front drive shafts and engine mounts have all been replaced in the past week. How is this the "best or nothing"?

 

Sounds like you probably threatened legal action. Once you do that, no one is going to talk to you unless it's a lawyer to lawyer.

 

Why aren't you talking to an attorney at this point? Now that you've got their legal peoples feathers up you are going to have to either get a lawyer involved who specializes in this kind of thing, put your own "lawyer" cap on (good luck with that) or just dump the car for a big loss.

 

I suspect we have detail on one side of the story...

 

You old cynic, you

 

Exactly.

Once I threatened to "Lemon Law" my current Grand Cherokee to the Customer Service advisor, he said he must end the conversion, and later discovered that all communication from Chrysler/Jeep had ended.

To this day I haven't heard a peep from Chrysler/Jeep, not even a survey.

 

Always two sides of a story

As it seems, the dealer is doing the best he can. MBUSA is already taking the cost for all parts being changed I believe?
So either the OP has threatened the staff or been aggressive, or MBUSA is at fault here.
I can't remember them giving StanNH any indication they didn't want to speak with him, and he was quite vocal (but probably firm and polite).

To start checking out lexuses and BMW's, and asking for money back before the dealer has given up is not the correct way to do it.
Of course BMW want your money so would Volvo or Toyota.
If you had opted for a similar car from the dealer as StanNH did, that might be the easier way, but it seems you are having second thoughts about going for Mercedes and just want to get your money back so you can buy a bmw/Lexus?

 

Here in the US, most states have a Lemon Law which can be invoked if the car can not be repaired after three attempts, or is out of service for more than 30 business days. That can vary somewhat by state, but this is generally the way it works. The state's Attorney General's office will then negotiate a settlement between the buyer and the manufacturer.

In my case, I did not qualify for the Lemon law. I was then left to negotiate an acceptable deal with the dealer and MB-USA. It does no good at all to be rude or loud ... all that this accomplishes is to generate animosity between the concerned parties. The dealer is the key to a successful conclusion, in that any dealer has discretionary "customer satisfaction" funds available, and also has some pull with MB-USA. I was lucky in having a very sympathetic dealer, and also a very competent and concerned Case Manager at MB-USA. Along the way, I turned down a couple of offers from MB-USA, as well as one from my dealer. In every case, they improved their offers as the negotiations continued.

I was always courteous and patient, and never raised my voice or was in any way abusive or confrontational. After the deal was done, and I had my new car, I received unexpected gifts from my dealer in appreciation for the understanding and courtesy I showed them. I never threatened litigation, and never insisted on conditions we all knew were unrealistic.

I don't know what is going on with the OP's situation, nor do I have any idea why he was essentially banned from MB-USA's support services. Regardless, at this point, this car can not be far removed from entering Lemon Law status and, if that happens, that might be the simplest way out of this mess.