Thanks...just wanted to make sure Spinny understood the details.

Just wondering:

A. If a vehicle under warranty is brought into a shop with serious mechanical issues and;

B. If the issues are immediately diagnosed and an immediate offer is made to begin those repairs and;

C. The owner of the vehicle does not allow the repairs to proceed,
insisting instead that the vehicle be replaced with a new vehicle;

Does the Lemon Law clock stop ticking while the matter of vehicle replacement vs. repair is considered by the involved parties, or does the clock continue to tick?

Just curious. I'm on record here as voting for a new car for Spinny. Wish my vote counted.

Just a quick update. The car is still in the shop. I was told 7 days ago it would be ready in 1-2 days. Guess they are having problems. I don't even bother calling anymore.

I believe the car has been in the shop for.. 38 days now? It's been in the shop longer than we've owned it. Feels great making payments on a car that you have hardly driven!

Sounds like a very sour fruit............

completely false. Ferrari's from the 348/355/testarossa era required their engines to be removed for timing belt changes, which is between 3 and 5 years, not oil changes.

Since the 360, the belts can be done with the engine in the car. From the 430 on, the cars use timing chains.

****ing numbers matching? are you clowns serious.

Try to find your vin on the engine block.

this is not a 60s muscle car.

Not to mention, do you think any 2nd hand buyer of a plain old e350 gives a **** if its the original motor? Its a new engine from MB...seriously?

hmm, i used to really like benzel busch, but after my excellent former SA left, that place has gone down hill in a hurry if you ask me.

Don't even get me started on prestige.

While I think you should have been fine with a new replacement engine, a rebuild is unacceptable.

Check the lemon laws in your state. Most states qualify a car under the lemon laws at 30+ days. Get a lawyer and quit screwing around with this.

Depends. The owner has an obligation to allow the dealership to repair his car so the owner can't just stall and hope for 30 days. The dealership would have to show that they could have reasonably repaired the car in the allotted timeframe.

He just needs to get a lemon lawyer and get it done.

Thanks for your reply. That was my gut feeling as well, with respect to both the law and the need for an attorney.

However, from Spinny's last response above, sounds like he already gave them the go-ahead to perform the repairs: "....The car is still in the shop. I was told 7 days ago it would be ready in 1-2 days....."

Good. So now he needs a lawyer to protect his rights. Lemon lawyers cost nothing. They write a few letters, file suit, settle with Mercedes, get you a new car and Mercedes pays them.

Isn't America great?

What a sh*tty situation! MBUSA needs to take care of you and realize that it's their flub, and the customer is suffering!

I've heard of people getting taken care of very well from MBUSA when their cars have been problematic, with easy lemon process, and them getting them into a new car, then I hear stories like this where they're treated like dirt. Almost makes me think it depends on the individual you talk to. The unfortunate inconsistencies of corporations not run to the "T" enough. For a good example of how it's done right, look at Apple. A giant corp run like a Mom N Pop, strict guidelines so usually customer service is consistent.

M-B, BMW, et al, you hear horror stories, then you hear great stories. Too mixed up.

I wonder how much is due to the dealer and service department/manager, and the relationship they have with MB.

In my own experience, I had a catalytic converter go bad, along with all the associated parts like O2 sensors, etc. on my last Benz. Happened only a few months just after the long, separate warranty on those parts ran out. (Had to keep that car a long time, aka kid in unexpected 6 year doctoral program).

The total bill would have been almost $2,400. I guess my long time association with my dealer - giving them all my service business exclusively - paid off. And I think they really know how to treat people decently and retain the loyalty of customers.

Anyway, they spoke to MB for me, obtained the parts and did enough repairs to quiet the car down and get me through two years of state inspections. Total cost to me: $0. No arguments, no hassles, no angst, no lawyers. No kidding. Funny, a well known Phila. area lawyer actually owns the dealership!

I get the feeling (I'll never know for sure, of course) that if I had gone to MB directly and was working with another dealer, the outcome would not have been as favorable.

Part of it is your dealer but much of it depends on how well you understand your rights and the law.

The OP will continue to get the run around until he lawyers up. At that point Mercedes will settle very quickly.

We have had a lemon Law lawyer for weeks now. We finally received the car, a week after we were told it would be ready and 44 days in the shop. They had to repair the engine twice, it failed QC.

This is now in the hands of the lawyers so we will just hope for the best.

Good Luck...again! So sorry you had to be dragged thru the mud on this... Wish the best outcome for you!

I'm sorry to hear that the car died with less than 1K miles - that really sucks.

If I were you, I'd take the rebuilt engine and make Mercedes throw in a bunch of extras. You don't want to fight this in court - it will cost a lot of time and money, and you can bet Mercedes has qualified lawyers. I'm not a lawyer, but I know you have to send a certified letter to the manufacturer saying "this is your last chance to fix it" after the repair period (20 days?) has passed. Furthermore, lemon law protection doesn't apply in cases of abuse or neglect - which the Mercedes lawyers will strive to prove. And who knows what NJ courts consider to be abuse/neglect? What I'm saying is Mercedes F-ed you, but instead of spending another $10K-$60K fighting this in front of a judge, get Mercedes to give you every single prepaid maintenance, warranty, wheel/tire protection, etc. for free. Then you have nothing to worry about, and you won't feel swindled. Its not fair, but that's life. You gotta make the best of the situation, at the end of the day its just a car and not worth driving yourself crazy. Good luck.

I'm very new to this forum, but Spinny's experience was very similar to our experience with my wife's 2010 ML350 Bluetec when the turbo blew at 350 miles. It was an uncontained failure and threw bits of impeller through the entire engine compartment. Total fluke that probably won't happen in 10k builds. Our initial demand was the same as Spinny's, new car no exceptions. Our difference was that our dealer totally worked their magic to make it happen. 3 days later, brand new ML with better options at no additional cost to us. I totally agree that its the dealer that makes these things turn out well. Spinny had the bad luck of getting poor dealer support.

This is really bad (and wrong) advice. The OP already stated that he has a lemon lawyer.

If you knew anything about lemon lawyers you'd know that they get paid out of the settlement and not by the car's owner. In addition, it is way too late for the manufacturer to claim it is the owner's fault - they just spent a ton of time and money trying to fix it on their dime. That was the time to argue "you broke it"

It was and been ruined, and you are right. On a car with 900 miles with that type of issue, is a replacement really over the top? I don't think so, but an engine replacement would have been acceptable.

Spinny,

What is the status now? Any updates?

+1

First of all, why don't you say why the advice is bad/wrong - that might actually help the OP and validate the point you're trying to make. Secondly, not all lemon lawyers are paid on a contingency, some are paid a flat fee, others have hourly rates - a quick google search will reveal this much. If you're position is that my previous advice was wrong because all lemon lawyers are paid on contingency, then you're point is moot.

While I agree that MBZ is at fault and should compensate the OP for his loss, my point is that they will probably fight it to the bitter end. If you knew anything about lawsuits, you'd know that they waste time and create a lot of needless stress. In my opinion, I'd prefer to have MBZ insure and warranty everything on the car for life, rather than give me a new one that I'll eventually have to spend considerable amounts of money on.

Welcome - and it's welcome news you bring.

As one who doesn't know a whole lot about the mechanical side of cars, all I can say in response to a blown turbo and the resultant damage you describe is, "WOW!"

Your experience is exactly what I would expect from MB and from the dealer who sold you/your wife the car. Spinny's ordeal is indeed grossly inappropriate treatment IMO, to put it mildly.

Thanks for posting upbeat commentary in this downer of a thread. Hopefully, Spinny will have a satisfactory outcome when all is said and done.

Actually, the reason why you keep hearing stories about people dumping MB's and going to Hyundai is because the American dream is pretty much over. The U.S economy sucks right now and people no longer can afford a brand new Mercedes. You can thank Hank Paulson and George W. Bush for that.

Now take the first flight to Hong Kong and see if you are going to find any MB at a Hyundai dealer... You won't.

+1....lol...when the facts are on your side, argue the facts.