hpd177

After three months of owning and driving my 08 E350 , w/ 1800 miles on the odo, I have been informed by the dealership that my car has three bent rims. I noticed a vibration in the steering wheel at highway speeds shortly after I picked up the car. I ignored it until now. I thought I was driving carefully, plus the roads on Long Island, NY aren't that bad. The dealership recommends that I replace the damaged rims at a cost of $1300.00. I feel that is ridiculous. I leased a MB with the expectation that the car was built with superior quality not inferior quality. The service rep stated that the inner portion of the rim is made of lightweight aluminum and can bend realitively easily when you hit a bump, pothole or bubble gum wrapper. What's next I must leave the car in the garage when it rains for fear it will melt. I have decieded to go a rim shop that my buddy used for both his clk500 and cls 500 when his rims bent. To replace the rims now then potentially have the same problem and expense next month would be silly. Well please drive carefully so you do not encounter the same problem . I now know that Massapequa Mercedes will not do much for you. Lastly, when I scheduled my appointment I was was promised a MB loaner car. The smoke filled Pontiac they gave me instead is such a joy. Mercedes luxury in name only.

Phin

"What's next I must leave the car in the garage when it rains for fear it will melt".


Sorry to hear about your rims bro,but this line cracked me up.I have 19" rims on car,so I'm very careful(can't miss them all).It can be like driving through a mine field in some parts of Los Angeles.

konigstiger

MBUSA covers wheel alignment and “road force” balancing for the first 12 months/12,000 miles (whichever comes first) to address varying steering/vibration problems. Although not common, vehicles do deliver with out of round tires and damaged wheels. Did the tech physically inspect each wheel to determine the severity of the so-called bent rims is definitely your fault? It is unfortunate that you did not bring the vehicle in as soon as you felt the vibration and therefore a tough call at this point. Nevertheless, have the service manager review the matter and if uncooperative, escalate it to the area MBUSA rep for review/consideration for no cost replacement or, at the very least, a substantial discount given the low mileage if proven (without a doubt) to be your fault.

MB420dronell

If your rims are bent, no need to buy new ones, just send them out to www.fixrim.com. Costs about $120 per wheel. Good luck.

Barry45RPM

Unfortunate moral of the story: Don't ignore it when your car is telling you it isnt right.

If you'd have brought it in as soon as you noticed a problem, the mileage would have been much lower, the car closer to its delivery date, and you'd have had a better leg to stand on. Its a tough amount for you to eat, but lines have to be drawn somewhere. I live on L.I. too, 18's do bend more easilly than 17's, and MUCH easier than 16's. I would politely ask to move it up the chain for review, as stated above. He (Konigstiger) knows what he's talking about.

MB Massapequa was just sold so all the people are new there, but they are good operators (also own Hassel BMW in Freeport & a ton of others around the world). Don't write them off yet.

LRM1

Someone I work with has an 08 E500 and went through the exact same thing. They claimed all four rims were bent and he needed new ones. His car was three months old. He says he's never hit a pothole hard enough to even notice it. So far I don't detect any vibration at higher speeds but since finding out about my buddy's problem I drive like an old lady on side streets and swerve to avoid acorns.

My Audi went 2.5 years with 18" rims and nailed potholes head on. Got flat tires, but never a bent rim.

This seems to be a common problem and frankly should be brought up with Benz. If so many people are having this issue, they could be threatened with a class action - it's BS to buy a $50-$60k car and have the rims bent so easily.

LaicepsYdobon

My dealership offered me tire and wheel protection. I paid a one time fee of of $850 and have lifetime warranty on my tires and rims. If I blow a tire I don't buy a new one I just get it replaced for free. If I mess up a rim I don't buy a new one I just get it replaced for free. I live in Jersey and the roads are pretty bad here so I'm happy to have this protection. I suggest you check with your dealership if they offer this protection plan for you. And as for the loaner car it's totally a dealership issue. At my place I always get a brand new MB loaner.

j_belll

haha im always dodging from left to right.

vettdvr

Is is as good as they claim?

pmb600

I'm sorry to hear your problem, that certainly is frustrating, but unfortunately it is not Mercedes' fault that rims are bent so easily. This is the consequence of everyone wanting huge wheels these days. The fragile wheels are not unique to Mercedes, trust me.

The loaner thing does confuse me. Did you buy your car at this dealership? If so I would certainly expect a Mercedes loaner.

hpd177

Thank you for all of the replies. To answer PMB600 question I did purchase the vehicle at the same dealership were it is being serviced. Something else funny happened today in regards to my vehicle. I received a voice message from my service rep. He asked "when will I bring the loaner car back since they are in high demand". Since I was not given a loaner , I received an AVIS rental car, I don't know why he is hounding me about loaner car shortages. We had already discussed that I was not going forward with the new rim purchase they suggested. So "silly me " thought I could pick up the car. Nope they need another day to do an alignment on the car. It has been a complete aggravation dealing with these people. I will bite the bullet and repair the rims on my own, but what annoys me is that I have no confidence that this dealership will handle any future problems any better. The pretty showroom and good looking cars do nothing for customer satisfaction. I can only equate my experience to a strip club. You go inside the models look great, you spend a lot of money, but you leave feeling unsatisfied.

LaicepsYdobon

[quote=hpd177;2770618]The pretty showroom and good looking cars do nothing for customer satisfaction. I can only equate my experience to a strip club. You go inside the models look great, you spend a lot of money, but you leave feeling unsatisfied.[quote]

So, when you leave the showroom do you have glitter all over your pants ? (Sorry I just couldn't resist)

lkchris

They do a good job, but it's a bit inconvenient to have your car up on blocks for a month while they do their thing.

Polar Bear

AMG wheels look great, and I am tempted, but I know what my ex-girlfriend went through on her 2006 CLK350. She had three wheels bend on stock 17" wheels within 20k miles, and her car was a lease. That car went through wheels/tires like crazy - out of pocket of course.

Barry45RPM

Try Wheels America in Wyandanch for a repair 631-253-0278 www.fixrim.com

LRM1

Talk about irony. Have this post yesterday and hit a tiny pothole tonight going into a gas station at 5-10mph tonight and POOF! PSSSSSSSS. Flat tire.
Friggin Audi had a real wheel and tire, no biggie, fix it while I can. Now I have to take 1/2 tomorrow to pay through the nose for a new tire and I'll probably hear the rim is bent (at 10MPH!) God help them. I know a good class action lawyer who's a real scumbag when it comes to this.

This is beginning to sound like a planned scam to me.

TuneTime

hey HPD... i used to work at that dealership.... actually from opening day 2002 i think to about a year ago.....

Trust me im not defending them by any means.... they prob put the car in the air... stood under it... spun the wheels by hand, saw them wobble or have a bend in them, and put it back outside 5min later..... From working at a dealership for years in the service side helping customers and working in the shop i have seen tons of bent rims... and i can say from knowing that MBUSA (like a warranty issue) will do nothing for a roadhazard.... Now thats not to say that a dealership on their own couldn't do something... It's strickly an internal decision.. iv'e seen them go half/half, seen them buy one for a customer, eat the labor and of course seen them do nothing.. theres a 80% new crew over there now... it was more "mom and pop" when i was there and things were done that you wouldn't expect from a dealership... (good and nice things)... But all this ends up to is your probably SOL....

Hey if you want call your service advisor in the am and PM me the part #'s of the wheels you need.. I have friends over there and if i can do something for you i will... if i go in and buy them i can prob save you something...

Barry45RPM

Yeah... Stuart didn't make any real money there, but it was a much looser place.

TuneTime

im talking pre-Stuart.... those were the looser years by far.... the Wayne era....

Barry45RPM

Early Carmans Road?

TuneTime

yeah..... i miss those days....

I might know you barry..... im Jay, used to be in service...

LRM1

Just got back from the dealer. Actually it was much less painful than Iexpected. $225 for a new tire, balance, install, tire tax and they threw in rotation. Tha'ts very fair. This having been the first tire I lost on this car, and the fact that they're Pirellis, I figured at least $350.

Dealer had it done in 20 minutes. Great service my dealer has.

KennyDFW

"I leased a MB with the expectation that the car was built with superior quality not inferior quality."

This is the part that made me giggle........

konigstiger

Agree, normal road hazard damage - nada. However, in this case if the owner had returned once noticing the so-called vibration shortly after taking delivery the local MBUSA rep (given his/her interpretation) could have assisted monetarily (local rep call) if the SM allowed it to escalate this far. This together with dealership “give on cost” would have led to a no out of pocket repair for the owner.

Gullwing

I just hit an island a few days ago hard, doors unlocked. Put a bubble in the side wall of the tire but did not bend the 18 inch sport wheel.