nbar1

For some background, I made a post here about the front tires on my C300 4MATIC w/ 18" wheels being almost bald at around 5k miles. Luckily, MB replaced those tires for free, but it wasn't the last of my problems. You can see that post in my post history. The tires I have are the all season Conti RFs.

A couple months ago, at about 14k miles on my C300 I noticed that the front tires were once again about ready to be replaced. I called my MB dealer and was told this time that it is normal for these tires to last 10k miles (keep in mind I had them replaced at 5k). I was pretty shocked by them saying this, but I figured it is what it is. After bringing it up to a couple different people I was told I should call Continental and see what they say. I did that this past month, and was told the tires on the front and rear have a 55k mile warranty. I was pretty shocked and told them what MB said and they told me MB was wrong. FWIW MB never suggested calling Conti, the suggested I pay to replace all the tires. The Conti rep walked me through measuring my tire tread and while the rear tires were fine for the milage, the fronts needed to be replaced. Since the car is AWD, Conti suggested replacing all 4 tires and they told me they would cover 80% of the cost of the tires. This was great news to me and I set up an appointment with my MB dealer and let them know what Conti said and provided them all the info.

Well, I drop the car off and get a loaner, I get a call a couple days later saying my car is ready to pick up and my bill is $532. I was pretty surprised because that didn't seem like 20%, but I was told Conti covered 80% of the rubber, while I paid the remaining 20%, $160 for mount and balance, waste fee, disposal fee, $25 in wheel weights, and the taxes of the total amount. Conti paid $835 and I paid $532.

I asked if and what MB would be covering of this, and they said nothing. I expressed that I don't feel I should have to pay that amount because this should never have been an issue, but they didn't budge and refused to cover any of it. At that point I just paid the bill and left. I was just going to drop it because in the scheme of things it's a good deal to pay $532 for 4 tires, but I turn this car in in April anyway and I can't get over the feeling that I got screwed by my MB dealer on this and they should be covering the balance Conti didn't cover. FWIW I rarely drive the car, and when I do I do not drive it fast or hard, and they checked the alignment etc and found no issues why the tires would wear so fast up front.

I already do not plan on keeping this car after my lease is up, since the value is much less than the buyout and also the tire issues, but this whole experience is giving me a "what to expect in the future" vibe from the dealership and is really turning me off of MB as a whole. I guess my question is, is this reasonable for MB to not take responsibility or should I escalate this beyond the dealership level?

Thanks,
Nick

dol4er

Tires on the front and rear have 55k mile warranty? That doesn't sound right to me...

nbar1

Yes, they are warrantied at 55k miles over 6 years.

Racin_fool

I worked for MB for over 14 years and never have i seen a tire last 55k miles on a Mercedes. Doesn't matter how slow or fast the vehicle has been driven. Mercedes does have a semi-agressive alignment specs for most of their vehicles. I would pursue the issue with Conti if you really feel like you are being messed around. As for Mercedes, you might be able to escalate it as a one time goodwill, but if you are expecting free tires every 5-10k miles, good luck with that.

nbar1

Thanks for the reply. I don't expect them to last 55k miles, but that's the warranty Conti offers on a pro-rate plan. That's why they paid 80% of the tire cost. My question was more around MB charging me for mount and balance, weights, etc when IMO I shouldn't even be replacing the tires once at this point.

Hapa88

A few things here. I checked this out on TireRack and am using the information I found on that website.
According to TireRack, the OEM 18" wheels for a 2015 C300 4Matic are the Continental PROCONTACT GX SSR which are MOExtended tires. They aren't specially labeled as "Run-Flat" because MOExtended or MOE tires do not have the same speed and distance endurance of conventional run-flat tires.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...lar=Base+Model

The warranty according to TireRack is 55K Miles/6 Years, whichever is first. The mileage warranty drops in half if you have staggered tire sizes.
If you have the Base or Luxury package you have all 4 tires the same size at 225/45-18 - 55K/6 year warranty
If you have the Sport package you have staggered wheels/tires with 225/45-18 fronts and 245/40-18 rears - 27.5k/6 year warranty

On to dealerships. A big misconception is that the Mercedes Benz Dealership is not Mercedes Benz. They are essentially franchise operations, independently owned and operated, that handle Mercedes Benz vehicles. Dealerships set prices however they see fit (within reason) for parts and services. Like any business, they're ultimate goal is to make money by charging for all parts and services and you'll see higher prices than independent shops. Warranty claims generally won't get them as much money as if they sold you a part or service instead (at least its much less hassle for them).

TireRack charges ~$910 to $930 +tax & shipping for the set of tires. I would expect the dealership to have slightly higher prices which is why it looks like they charged $1044 or so (based on $835 being 80%).

Do you have a full break out of the numbers? I'd like to see what the $532 includes.

What I do already see is what appears to be double booking of charges. You said $160 for mounting and balancing + $25 in wheel weights. "Balancing" at every tire shop I've seen includes weights in the price.

nbar1

Thanks for the reply, I've uploaded the invoice here, although I've blocked some personal info out: https://imgur.com/a/Onye6

dol4er

Warranty may be related to the rubber, to the shape and etc. but it can never be related to the wearing of the tires. I can burn the tires in one week, and then what? New tires? I don't think so...

The fact that you got new tires in the first place is because they don't care about this insignificant expense and want you to be happy, but a second time? You can go for new tires every 5k miles... I don't think so.

You can even find bald tires of the same size and model every now and then and go for new tires, meanwhile selling the previous tires.

nbar1

Thanks for the reply. The tires were replaced pro-rated at 80% under Conti's warranty, on the tread life. I understand what you are saying, but you are wrong and I'd advise you to do some research on it since your current posts do not contribute anything.

Hapa88

There are two statements here and they mean different things and different costs to you.
1) "Client spoke with a rep from Continental.. Doug... Continental will fully cover front tires, will cover 80% of rear tires". I read this as: Continental will pay for the $499.10 of the front tires and 80% of the $545.10 for a total payout of $935.18. If they paid $935.18 toward the total of $1253 for just the tires, that means you owe $317.82 for this part. You'd owe $432.90 on the whole bill because of Sales Tax of $110.08 and the Key Fob battery of $5.

2) "Continental approved 80% discount on tire costs." This is different and means Continental will pay 80% of the total of $1044.20, or $835.36. If they paid $835.36 toward the total of $1253 for just the tires, that means you owe $417.64 for this part (your 20% is $208.84 + the labor + fees + wheel weights). It looks like they got to the $532.72 by adding in the Sales Tax and the Key Fob battery.

Looks like the dealership went with Option #2.

nbar1

Yes the first part was my understanding when I talked to the dealership initially, but they had called me and let me know Continental was covering 80% of all four, which I okayed over the phone.

Regardless of the end result, what I'm really wondering if this is typical and these costs should fall onto me or I should push harder for MB to cover it.

duffo77

one advice of me, check the tire pressure more often like you did before, I had problem with front tires and after I discovered that if all 4 wheels go down with pressure together, computer will not show any error.
it does happened to me, after 1-2 months pressure has dropped about 0.3 bar (the same problem on winter and summer wheels) and tires were gone much quicker. this can take off half of lifetime on tires.

Hapa88

The treadwear warranty is related to the wearing of the tires, specifically. This article goes over the basics of treadwear warranties.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret....jsp?techid=34

Details of the specific Continental warranty can be found here under Section 5, Mileage Warranty:
http://www.continentaltire.com/sites...9_1_16.pdf?us=

There are specific conditions spelled out in each manufacturers warranty that would void the warranty if there was evidence of misuse or improper maintenance of the tires. Doing burnouts, for example, would void the warranty as it's defined as "Negligent and abusive driving" and is not covered per Section 6.

duffo77

:/

Hapa88

Unfortunately, I would think the costs would fall onto you, unless you can prove there's a fault in the car.
Who checked the alignment? The dealership? Or a third party company?

fabbrisd1

Well... 1st things 1st...

1. Continental does not provide Tread Life "warranty" on the original tires installed at the factory - and those original "OE" tires do not come with Road Hazard either. Yes - it was the dealer - and not Continental who bellied up for your 1st replacements - and you still blame-the-dealer when they stood by you

2. This whole discussion started up because this was "2nd set" of tires - so the 1st Replacement Continentals (provided N/C by Mercedes after the owner "burned the thread off" in 5K miles) did come with Continental tread life "warranty" - the OP would have to tell us if he elected to buy Road Hazard on the replacements.

3. At my dealership - I would say my shop cost is about $40 a wheel/$160-4 for the labor and monkey work to pull off old tires and remount new tires w/balance.

You either drive like a bandit - or set your own tire pressures - or both - I am not a fan of Extended Mobility - I change them out for "standard" tires and leave the originals in the garage for when I reset/rebuy

4. Frankly - I don't get why someone thinks Mercedes "owes you" anything when you are the one running thru tires every 5K miles - Extended Mobility's will "probably" go out reasonably to 15K-20K - for a rational owner/drive - I change my ExtMob tires out for "standard" 1st thing - put the OE's in storage until I am looking to trade-in or sell to move to the next Mercedes.

Keep the beat !

Terry Fabbri

nbar1

Sounds like you're having a bad day. Continental and my dealer split the cost the first time around, as the tires were apparently in a recall. Feel free to browse my post history as I suggested in my OP. I was not prompted to buy any road hazard protection for my second set (only front) as MB just replaced them and I was on my way. As previously stated, I do not drive in any way I wouldn't consider normal, this is a second vehicle and rarely even sees over 45 mph.

Now if you reread my post without the stick in your ***, I was asking if this is normal/my responsibility or I should pursue it further as it seems very odd to go through tires so quickly. I am not trying to leech on my dealership to pay for it, but as a smart consumer I don't find any pleasure in paying for something I shouldn't have to - which, according to other posts in this thread, it seems reasonable that I would pay these charges as I already have.

Edit: just to add, my main vehicle is a Tahoe and I have no issues with the tires at all.

Glyn M Ruck

Our experience in RSA is that OE Extended Mobility Tyres (MOE tyres) do not give good life at all. Exacerbated by enthusiastic driving. No Benz will do 55K miles on a set of tyres. In fact they would battle to get 55K Kilometers. A maximum of 40K kilometers would be more typical with conventional tyres. Most people here fit conventional tyres with Michelin PS4's probably being the most common fitment.

hyperion667

Seems as if Conti prorated a set for you.....it's not the dealers responsibility to keep tires on your car....MB eat tires plain and simple.

Glyn M Ruck

Indeed. Conti will go bankrupt trying to compensate Benz drivers that don't make 55K miles. It is simply not realistic. The compound would have to be so hard that it severely compromised grip.