Has anyone ever had their car in for service and the dealership have an accident with the vehicle?

Our 2004 E320 wagon has been in for service since the first week in February awaiting parts related to the fuel tank issue. We finally got good news yesterday morning that the tank & sender came in and the car would be ready in a couple of days after being told last week the parts would not be in until sometime mid-March.

I then picked up a voice mail message late in the afternoon yesterday asking me to call someone whose name I did not recognize who said it was urgent and that my vehicle had been in an "incident".

It was a Service Manager calling to tell me that the technician was taking the car for a test drive and was hit by a dealership maintenance worker.

I don't have much details yet beyond that the damage was to the driver rear fender area & assurances that they will take care of everything.

He told me they have video we can come look at & they will be doing an accident report but need to wait for their insurance estimator to come out which will not be until next week (and we are having snow & ice so may have delays as there have been many accidents past few days).

Truthfully I am in shock. Perhaps this happens with some frequency but I can honestly say I have never heard of something like this happening & would appreciate any advise or thoughts on how we make sure our best interests are being looked out for as this is a weird situation.

He told me they would get the vehicle to their body shop today and start working up an estimate but to expect 4-6 weeks for repairs.

Not sure at this point if we should get a check and move on and look to find another pre-owned wagon (none at any local dealerships).

Should I call our insurance agent? Prefer to not go through them but would dealership lowball the estimate? If we have them do repairs and have issues later, what happens? What about diminished value? Looking at KBB I'd say the car was worth $9-10K as trade-in to dealer before this happened.

Also we had some service done on the car while waiting for the warranty items - ball joints, bushings & control arm - $1,700 which obviously we would not have had done if we were going to trade.

Any thoughts or suggestions on how to handle are appreciated. Thanks.

 

What a nightmare this has been. We have our black E320 wagon at the dealer right now and I'm hoping they can avoid wrecking it. Your car with 90K is probably worth a lot more to you than KBB. Our car has more miles yet I would never part with it for $10K. A lot of what I would do in your situation would depend on the amount of damage. If the damage were in the front and just fender/bumper/hood that would be an easy call. But you say damage in the rear and 4-6 weeks for repairs? Oh man... what a nightmare!!
If you were planning on keeping the car for a long period of time and assuming the damage can be repaired, I'd ask for at least the $1,700 that was done while the car was in. Keep the car as planned and worry little about resale value because if you're keeping it another 3 to 4 years it shouldn't matter as much.
If you were planning on trading/selling the car in the next year or two I would be in the 'you broke it, you bought it' frame of mind. I'm sure the MB USA system has a nice CPO E350 Wagon that they can take a hit on and work a deal with you. Obviously the $1,700 is given back as well. Getting a CPO at their cost would probably be a great deal if you were going to go that route in the future anyway.
If it were me, I'd want my $1,700 back and a 3 year warranty.
Best of luck man, you certainly deserve some!!

 

First red flag, they will take it to their body shop???
It is your right to take the car to the shop of your choice. Just what is the estimate going to do, they are obligated to pay to fix your car.
Call your insurance company and they will take it from there.
Years ago I bought a new ford pickup which developed a leak in h the windshield, took it in for warranty, the dealership called "their glass shop" which resealed the windshield, damaging the aluminum hood and wiper grill in the mean time, leaving knee sized dents. After all was said and done, I almost ended up with increased insurance premium because they said it was like that when it came in, lying through their teeth.
Again you are entitled to take the vehicle to any shop of your choice, which I did. My insurance company did a follow up to find out the truth
In Canada any insurance recommended shop entitles you warranty on all work done for the life of your car as long as you own it. Also if not completely satisfied the shop must make it right, no matter how many times the work has to be done.
Call your insurance company and make them aware.

 

Make sure the accident report includes who is at fault and who was driving each car and if they were on the clock when the damage was done to your car. Get copies of everything and make sure any promises are put in writing. The dealership has total liability regarding this and must supply you with a like car free or charge until they have yours repaired to your satisfaction. You should not pay any amount of money and you may have to make a claim for diminished value.

 

You are asking a lot of questions.

The answers vary from state to state or province to province (I'm presuming you and the car in question live in the North America area due to your English).

You don't have your state posted. So nobody can give you information that pertains to your state.

In California, you would be able to choose your own repair facility. The dealership may ask you take it to their facility that they have a contracted rate with, but you may not like the facility for various reasons. This is the case with most states.

In California, you would not normally get diminished value. As the State of California does not recognize diminished value. However, regardless of whether your state recognizes diminished value or not, you can always ask the at fault party for diminished value.

Lastly, these things happen. I wouldn't go blame the dealer or be upset. But, it's important that you politely inform the dealer where you want the car repaired if you have a preference.

Last Last thing, most of the people here who are offering you advice are not giving you state specific advice nor are they lawyers. Not saying any of the fine posts above mine are incorrect, but treat everything said here with a grain of salt. Best thing to do is to call a friend who is a lawyer or call your lawyer (hopefully it's one who is aware of laws in your state) and ask about what kind of rights and privileges do you have.

 

Thank you all.

I am supposed to get the accident report and an initial estimate from the dealership by end of day.

Truthfully if the vehicle had been in an accident anywhere I would be taking it to the dealership body shop so this is not about taking anywhere else. I just want to feel that the proper repairs are being done if we decide to go that route & that they do them regardless of what their adjuster may quote.

We have been back and forth on keeping or selling this car since January. We love it & love not having a car payment but have also thought it may be time to move on but we only wanted to replace with another preowned wagon and there have been none available locally and new wagons are way out of the budget.

Our sales rep had previously checked dealer records to see if any were coming off lease but none until 2016 & they will not get a preowned vehicle from another location.

I have been checking used inventory at dealers by distance & found a CPO wagon about 300 miles away that is not the perfect combo of colors & options but we could live with it.

It has low mileage & a good asking/starting price so I asked the service advisor to talk to management to find out if they will assist us with working a good deal on this car even though it is from another dealership in terms of price & logistics.

Here are photos they sent me this morning of our poor baby.

 

No need for anger or blame. These things happen. What's important is that they treat you fairly and fix it properly (as in the same as if a customer brought it in and someone else was paying for it).

I might insist that if the dealer is doing the repairs in house that they do so without an insurance claim (ie no Carfax reports). The damage is small and readily fixable so that shouldn't be an issue.

ORRRRRR, if you are already thinking of trading it in, now is your best chance for a great deal.

Tell the dealer that you were already thinking about it.... so if they can find you a "blue cpo 2013 or newer e320 wagon with option a, b and c with less than 29000 miles for $35,000 after trade in" (or whatever your specific desires are).... "let's get it done now and I don't care what you do with the one you wrecked".

They will be (or at least should be) very motivated to make you happy even if they don't make a penny on the deal. :-)

 

I would recommend finding out if your MB dealer's body shop is actually MB approved. Years ago the dealer backed my car into something and messed up the bumper. They told me they would fix it and they did but less than two years later i noticed the paint pealing and looking back on the records and found out they used some random body shop and did it on the cheap. I took the car back and they told me tough luck they fixed it once and it was not there problem anymore. So yeah get your own estimates from an approved place even if they have to tow your car to the nearest big city to have the work done. I would also have the alignment checked and the rear end fully inspected to make sure no damage was done. I also hope you have a Mercedes Loaner car that is an E class or higher.

 

4-6 weeks for that amount of damage!? What planet are they on?

 

^^ this too. I'm seeing a 4 day dent. Dunno how much crack you have to feed your shop rats for them to take 6 weeks for that.

 

Well they got the rim too

 

Accidents do happen in dealerships and any reputable dealer would make it right. Dealers will also over promise so that if the work is done quicker it just turns out a plus. Easier to say 4-6 weeks than 2 weeks and **** you off because it takes 3-4. Whoever thinks that the damage that's done will take 4 days is crazy. There's quarter panel, dog leg, possible wheel damage and door skin damage. If someone thinks that that takes 4 days to fix its a **** job and will be bad. Sorry for your luck but you do hold bargaining chips for getting compensated.

 

I had a honda civic that got drilled in the *** while parked. Kings autobody did two rear quarters, rear hatch, bumper, rear floor pan, and some frame pulls... all in 5 business days. And the work was flawless. I was amazed. I have a decent eye for spotting damage / repair / paint mismatches / etc... and I honestly had a very hard time finding evidence of the repairs.

So while I can't say how long it might take to get MB parts... the work itself is a 4 day dent by my actual experience. I'd accept 2 weeks to get it done. But 6 weeks? Hardly.

 

The thing that jumped out at me was new ball joints and control bar links for $1700?

Why are you taking it to the dealer for this stuff.

Recently -- new CV joints, less than $100 for parts and less than an hour at $105 to put it in.

New sway bar links (the expensive ones for the 4matic Airmatic on the 500), $104 each from a dealer through ebay, and like 1.5 hours of labor from my mechanic, so less than $400.

You are getting raped.

 

Wow...rare to see Keyless Go on an S211. Yours is the first besides mine that I've seen so far.

 

What a mess, sorry to hear that happened. In the end at least they were truthful about what happened and it was an accident, therefore they will probably work to make this right - just make sure you know your rights for your state (as you are inquiring about) and don't be afraid to raise hell with them if they don't compensate you properly. In cases such as this, if negotiation or reimbursement goes south, usually the threat of a lawsuit is enough to get them to pay up, but legal action can be a long and tedious process where no one wins. Hopefully it will never have to get to that stage and insurance will take care of it.

As for the car, I know it's just a car but I feel the same attachment to mine in that I chose it for the perfect subset of options/colors/etc so sorry this had to happen! For me, I would not want to drive around in a car that has an accident record as when you go to sell it, it would be a nightmare.

 

I don't understand what the big deal is. They said they'd fix it, they have a body shop they use, go visit the body shop if you want and discuss what will be done and how long it will take if you're uncomfortable, then ask the dealer to give you a loaner while your baby is in the shop. Seems like they are willing to make you whole. Problem solved.

 

I would contact my insurance agent, just to let them know about the accident and that you are working with the dealer whose fault it was it get it repaired.

 

This is probably a good time to think about trading in if you are interested. The dealer should be very accommodating. This dealer can definitely get you a car from a neighboring dealer. They owe you big time.

I would recommend waiting to see what the estimate is for the damage. You have the right not to have it fixed and keep the money. It looks driveable so you can always trade it in with the damage and pocket the cash.

 

Yes, actually I had a similar issue. I had my ML in for service a few years ago in Alexandria VA. I was standing in the parking lot WATCHING them bring the truck out. The service guy pulled in a parking spot and hit the telephone/light pole. I literally saw him do it. I immediately walked over and stopped him and asked him what the f*** he was doing. To my terrible surprise, he didn't speak English. So I broke out Spanish. He immediate shut up and walked back inside. My truck was 2 days late at this point. I argued and all they offered to do was give it a wash. Wasn't worth jacking up my insurance rate over a small crack on the front bumper. I will never go back there.

On the flip side...Sun Motors in PA where I bought my E class has done nothing but fantastic work. Including fixing issues other people caused. They truly care about their customers.

 

I would have called the cops. It's probably a hit and run in most states. The cops will demand stuff like to interview the spanish-speaking guy and to see the surveillance video. I think the dealer manager would under the circumstances act quickly to smooth things over.

 

I say this in a respectful tone, not as smartass sarcasm: don't answer questions your own insurance company hasn't asked.

The bent car is in the hands of the dealership that dinged it. They confessed it was their error and they committed to righting the wrong. Let them proceed. Your insurance company doesn't have a dog in this fight ... and at this point it's not even a fight. Your insurance company doesn't have a "need to know" about this incident.

Let sleeping dogs lie, Mate.

 

Sorry for not responding sooner but we learned they are going to total the car. The estimate is pinging the value meter. They have been very forthright about everything and have said they will work with us to get a good deal on another vehicle.

Obviously we could never buy a comparable car for the check we are going to get from their insurance and our best option is to find a car at this dealership as I understand dealers do not swap preowned vehicles like they do with new cars.

We thought we'd have a few more years with no car payment and $2-3k a year in service. I really don't want to buy a preowned that's about to go out of warranty and have a car payment and start having to pay repairs.

Sadly they have no preowned wagons & there are none in the area. We can not afford a new one for $70K+ no matter how good a deal they do.

They are checking to see if any leases are coming up and have told us we can keep the loaner we have for as long as we need to until we are in a car we want.

We are "wagon" people although I do like our GLK but don't want 2 of them.

Went to look at the BMW wagon, Volvo V60 & Audi Allroad but they don't hold a candle. They seem so foreign. We have been driving MB's almost exclusively since the 80's. We're old! Might have to do a preowned E-class as the C-'s are too small.

Went to say goodbye yesterday afternoon and retrieve our stuff. We are despondent. It feels worse than when our '72 280SEL passed way 20 years ago.

What is reasonable for us to expect they might do beyond the insurance check?

Thanks.

 

I know what you mean about being wagon people. I am the very same way. I never thought I'd drive a BMW, but I bought one to replace an Audi allroad, and 2 Audi A6 Avant (totaled one after another).

The BMW 535xI is really nice. I still love my E320 sport wagon and now has close to 110K miles, yes with SBC and air suspension.

Their insurance should be able to offer you enough to buy a similar wagon (at least that is what they do here in CA). They'll show you some vehicles with the same year, and similar mileage, with their offer. The three wagons above that were totaled, all were paid by the insurance with enough to purchase a similar car. Although, upgrading to a newer year will be money out of your pocket. The idea is to look for a car that you want and can live with as far as payments are concerned. The dealer should be giving you a loaner so there shouldn't be any hurry in choosing.

These accidents do happen. I had a shop before and that is why we have a shopkeepers insurance for just the reason you cited.

 

I would do a nationwide search for a comparable wagon with similar miles, options ect. That way you know about how much you should get. Then up it a few thousand because of the time wasted and so on finding a new car. Now the Insurance won't give you the extra but the dealer should if they are being reasonable as they did wreck your car and since they can't put you back into a comparable car you are having to find it on your own.