Transfer Case replaced. Warranty expired. Benz gave me $4,350.00.
 

And I only paid for labor which is $600.00.

The story goes;

Vibration and shuddering were very severe at a sharp turn and a very low speed for months.

I first went to a hi tech transmission shop and they said to change fluid for $375.00. The possibility to haved the same symptom after fluid exchange was high so I decided to go to the dealer for this matter.

I was first shocked at the quote I was given to replace the transfer case. It was almost $5,000.00. The service rep then said he would try to give me a discount after talking to some managers. After 15 minutes of waiting, he came back with a quote of $600.00. I initially also thought a discount could be around $500 to$ 600 maximun and I was concerned I might have to buy a black market transfer case and bring it to a transmission shop to save some money. $4,950.00 was too much for me now.

But then I was shocked again to find that $600.00 was not a discount amount: it was the total quote after being given a discount of $4350.00. I was speechless. The rep said that it's the courtage from the Benz and he hopes I use their service for the maintenence for the future.

It was a pleasant surprise under this time of the weak business and economic condition.

*BTW, I called "another" dealer (while the Transfer Case was being replaced) to see if there was any recall on the transfer case for 2005 E500 4Matic since I kind of saw it in the bulletin. The other dealer said yes there was a bulletin for the transfer case recall for 95 E500 4Matic, but it's not applicable to my car according to my BIN.

Hmm...Maybe I am the only one who's excited..obviously. LOL!

Congrats, sometimes companies will extend this so the failures numbers don't reach so high that they might have to issue a recall.

Service Campaign 2007100004 models 203/211/220 4matic model years 2005-2007 replace transfer case. Have dealer check VMI (vehicle master inquiry) to see if your vehicle is included. If it is request $600 reimbursement because it is a cost free repair even out of warranty.

211 up to VIN X224020 if not included in campaign, first repair attempt dealer will change oil if problem continues transfer case is replaced. Mention DTB P-B-28.50/11 under factory or extended warranty. Out of warranty, produce a copy of DTB and request goodwill repair since MB replaced transfer case installed at production with modified version.

could you send me a copy of this campaign please? i hope my vehicle is included in this campaign

I called the other dealer and they said after requiring my VIN that they do not have any open ticket for my specific car after checking VMI. I called twice and the same answer.

I believe the dealer that gave me a free transfer case did indeed a goodwill repair without me asking for it. I though showed some pity and shocked look when I first saw the quote for $5,000.00. lol

I am very happy they covered most of the cost but they still initially quoted you 5K.

Maybe the service rep had it in mind that he could do something about the high price before showing the quote. He asked the chief mechanic for a quote and $5k was what he came back with: while we were waiting for a quote the service rep said he might be able to give me a discount.

But not this much I expected.

Maybe they were aware of frequent cases (of transfer case troubles) for my kind of cars and unofficially they were giving this kind of discounts previously.

Or maybe they liked me and my car with no obvious reason-it might happen, you know. LOL! :zoom:

Regardless of the reason, be happy and give this SA a six pack. This strengthen the relationship and after the six pack goes there, you will be amazed what else he will do for you. I tell you that from my own experience. 40 and 50% discounts on labor and parts, coming in without appointments anymore, driving my car in front of others and get handled faster, and last but not least, if I tell them what they need to do b/c of researching here and getting detailed stuff from Konigstiger makes it a much more pleasant dealing with them at the dealership.

I couldn't agree more except give the service rep a $25 gift cert to any of the eateries nearby.

That's certainly a cool idea, too. I'm a fan of giving and taking and it give me great pleasure when I can make these guys happy with little things but get good "rewards" back as described above. Other things were German candy and chocolate, shot glasses from the father land (whenever I go back to visit) and such as they work for a German company.

I definitely agree with you guys. When you take care of the people that take care of you you will always be on the favored / priority list. Plus its good Karma :y

Not to be a wet blanket, but a broken transfer case requiring $5,000 to be replaced at 50,000 miles on a $60,000 (new) car worth maybe $20,000 now is NOT a good thing to happen. In fact, it simply should NOT happen. MB is to be commended for taking responsibility for their poor quality transfer case and replacing it, but let's face it, this should not have happened until well past 100,000 miles, maybe 200,000 miles in a car that expensive and (supposedly) well engineered.

Sooo, the 2004s are not included because...?

No known problems with the 2003/2004 transfer case OR too old for MB to give a damn?

Curious minds in Florida with a 2004 E-500 4-Matic would like to know..:D

what if its been changed but is starting to go bad again??

seems like a decent deal

with the DTB it says that they can change the fluid and then if it doesnt resolve the problem they would swap out the TC. doesnt that mean even if the VIN is so called " not infected" just the fact that its the same year and all

I drive w211 04 and have changed the transfer case TWICE already and the problem is still there. When transfer case oil is replaced the shuddering stops for a few weeks then back on again. When I had the transfer case replaced twice there was no shuddering for about 6-8 months for each, but then it starts happening again. Now I am about to replace the transfer case for a third time. THERE MUST BE SOME OTHER ISSUE AFFECTING THE TRANSFER CASE.

The orignal TC was fine for over 120k km... but ever since I have had issues, despite replacing it twice as mentioned above.

Anyone here was able to resolve this matter PERMENANTLY?

Konigstiger, do you have any idea why it is not resolved?

P.S.: Would also like to add that MB has extended goodwill offer and for all the transfer case oil changes the 2 transfer case replacements I only incurred $500 in losses. But extended TC warranty ends next year and I would like to get to the bottom of it before that.

MB EXTENDED WARRANTY COVERAGE
 

Do you know if the MB Extended Warranty covers the repair of the seat belt lock on the 2003 E500?

What part # is currently installed TC was replaced several times -- 2202800700 is current in addition, serial # should not be between 115925 & 137342.

Fair point. To be honest, neither MB nor BMW are all-wheel drive experts; they are late to the game and their early designs are pretty awful.

I'd go Audi or Subie if I needed AWD (holding my nose) on a sedan. Not good to have people learn on your dime.

I believe I may have been misled by my service advisor. It seems while I was told the second replacement was a new Transfer Case - upon rechecking my reciept bills looking for the part # - it seems the new Transfer Case was, for some odd reason, replaced with a "rebuilt" transfer case!! WTH!! I have had a rebuilt transfer case while being told it was new. I suspect they lied to me as well with the first transfer case replacement, which happened within the warranty period... no wonder why I have been suffering from this problem consistently... This is unbelievable... unacceptable!!! I have to deal with them on Monday!

Odd, that they can do that here in the US. In Germany the dealerships are not even allowed to sell you used parts even upon request by the customer.

You mean to tell me that if your Alternator fails, you don't get a "Rebuilt/remanufactured" Alternator? You get brand new, never been in a car before inside & out unit? That doesn't make sense. How can they make any money... & where do the burned out alternator carcasses go? Many times they just need to be rewound and/or a new bearing & some spray paint to be as good as new.

I'm telling you what's a fact. Friend of mine owns a dealership in Germany and they have to discard old parts. Not legal nor allowed under the hand to resell them. How they make money? Just like here: Ridiculously overpriced parts and labor.

You can go to a chunk yard like here and get used parts but that's your own game. Dealerships have to sell you brand new out of the box parts.