Ok I give up. I REALLY want to love my E320 but here is the final straw in the "Quality Ownership" experience.

10/02 Take delivery
4/03 Nav Fiasco
6/04 Entire Engine replaced
See this thread for that story...

https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w211/72372-great-service-department-but-you-re-going-replace-what.html

This week. Out to Dinner with my wife for our anniversary, go to
park the car and IT WILL NOT SHIFT INTO REVERSE!!!

Turned the car off to see if that helps. Car will NOT START AT ALL,
called the help line, Car Towed, dinner ruined, cab home.

Cause? Missing or broken clip on the transmission that engages the gears.

Dealer is meeting with Factory rep. tomorrow.

Call me fussy, but is demanding that your car start, shift into gear and be available to drive on a regualr basis a bit too demanding for a $55k car?


And you wonder why MBZ is getting hammered in the quality polls?

 

Google "Lemon Law Attorney Los Angeles", if you're serious about seeing a lawyer about your car and not just venting.

 

sorry about all the problems with your car, hopefull your dealer can resolve everything. GL la.

 

Hi,

I bought a 2001 C class in late 2000. Car was fine except it kept "bucking" at very slow speeds. After over a year of this they finally replaced the torque converter. I picked up the car and drove home. My wife drove it to work with no problems the next day. When she returned home that night, I heard her pull into the garage and I heard the brakes squeak. While it was in for the torqu converter I asked them to look into the brakes as well. Well of course they didn't. Anyway, when I heard her pull in I ran out to the garage and asked her to reverse out and pull back in so I could hear which brake was squeaking. She put the car in reverse and gave some gas and the car moved forward!!!.... almost crunching me into the back of the garage wall. Well I yelled that she was in drive not reverse and she assured me she was in reverse. I got her to put on the emergency brake and I got in the car and sure enough all positions on the gear ship lever were forward!. I turned off the car and then could not restart (as it was in drive). I pressed the wrench button and told the representitive to come get this POS. They did and after a day told me that the clip connecting the lever to the tranny was "not replaced" when they did the tranny work the day before.

So, my wife informed me that she would never set foot in that death trap again and I agreed. After several weeks driving a loaner the dealer provided and many many phone calls with the MB area rep. They agreed to a buyback and I ordered my 2003 E. The E with the exception of the NAV debacle, has been great. I sympathize with you on the gear shift lver incident. It scares the hell out of me thinking this clip holds our lives in its hands. I would refuse to take possesion of the car back and ask for a buyback. I know its a minor thing but with all the other problems you have had, I think this is a valid request. Be sure to only deal with the area or district rep. The dealer will not do anything.

Best of luck.

 

what a hassle it is to have to deal with all those problems, i have dealt with helping my customers who have had problematic cars get new ones from benz, here is what has worked for us. demand a meeting with the district service manager from mercedes, he will meet you at the dealership where you service your car, do not threaten him with a lawsuit, it takes many years to settle you will suffer more than anyone, explain your concerns, and tell them you no longer will accept the poor reliability your car is giving you, they should offer you a cash settlement to buy a new e-class, normally making up the difference between what your car is worth and what the new one costs, if you need help with the process send me a pm and i will walk you through it.

 

Thanks.

Will do. I WILL ALWAYS TRUST a fellow Chicagoan with advice!

The dealer here has been great (Beverly Hills Mercedes).
So I am willing to trust
them on the first round of talks with the Factory.

Stay tuned...

 

LA320OWNER,

Check your pm immediately!

 

pm ??

 

private message.

 

I'm sorry about the problems your car have been causing you. That's just unbelievable it occurs in a $55K automobile.

 

Perhaps your dealer didn't replace or maybe damaged this clip when doing your engine swap???
Goodluck with the rep...