half of instrument cluster out
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Newbie
Joined: Sep 2015
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2001 Cadillac STS
half of instrument cluster out
I am looking to buy a 2008 E350. Test drove it a week ago and everything seemed good. I am not local to the dealer so I had my brother take it to the pre-purchase inspection. Shortly after heading to the PPI, my brother noticed that the left side of the instrument cluster was not working. When he returned to the dealer after the PPI and told him about the issue, the dealer said it was probably a fuse. I called the dealer a short time later and he was a little po'd, saying that the mechanic who did the PPI shorted out the cluster(he must have checked the fuses already). The cluster was not working BEFORE the mechanic received the car. My question is, this is South Carolina and between my test drive and the inspection day we had record amounts of rain. Could this have caused the problem and if so what might have happened?
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 14
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2001 Cadillac STS
I can't imagine that water entered the car due to high water levels in the lot since there was no such evidence. Maybe a leak around the windshield caused enough moisture to short something out?
Last edited by sonors; Oct 8, 2015 at 03:40 PM. Reason: typo
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From: Down Unda
W204 C63 AMG, W212 E250 CGI, C207 E250 CGI
let me get the story straight. since the dealer says the PPI mechanic shorted it, are they asking you to pay for it?
if not, a cluster could be costly (around north of Plutoe's estimate of a grand) so i would haggle for the price or walk away. an 08 350 is not rare so you can always find a better deal.
if not, a cluster could be costly (around north of Plutoe's estimate of a grand) so i would haggle for the price or walk away. an 08 350 is not rare so you can always find a better deal.
Last edited by beejAMG; Oct 11, 2015 at 04:40 PM.
Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Sep 2015
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2001 Cadillac STS
He didn't ask me to pay for it. I think he's upset because now he has to sink more money into this car before he can sell it. I called him today to assure him that the mechanic had NOTHING to do with the cluster going out and that he should focus on something else that might have caused it.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 3,133
Likes: 134
From: Down Unda
W204 C63 AMG, W212 E250 CGI, C207 E250 CGI
i wouldnt even think twice about that dealership. you havent even signed the dotted line and youre already been given this BS. what kind of after sales service can you expect from them?
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2011 E63, 2013 CLS63
Clusters for non-AMGs are pretty cheap actually and all you need to do is swap the board and you keep all the odometer info and what not. You can haggle over that though but it's not even close to a grand to fix if it's just the cluster.
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Thread Starter
Newbie
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 14
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2001 Cadillac STS
beejAMG,
This is not an MB dealership. It's a used car dealer so they don't do service. He had the car priced right due to an SRS light on the dash. The PPI showed pages of codes which, combined with the cluster going out, caused me to pass on it. Shame. Car looked, drove and ran great.
This is not an MB dealership. It's a used car dealer so they don't do service. He had the car priced right due to an SRS light on the dash. The PPI showed pages of codes which, combined with the cluster going out, caused me to pass on it. Shame. Car looked, drove and ran great.
