Does anyone have experience with MB's buy back program?

Feel free to PM me if you want to privately share your experiences.

 

Are you talking about Lemon Law buy back or just an MB dealer just buying your car?

 

ElCid-
This is the MB corporate program to buy back a car that the service department cannot correct an ongoing issue. This is not one of those "we want to buy your car" letter driven events. They said to expect a call from another company (I something) for the offer.

 

Depending on where you live there are 'lemon law' programs to help you.

 

Indeed there are!

Know all about them here from first hand experience.



Derrel

 

Don't expect MB to buy back a 2010 model. This is not a new car.

 

Don't be so sure!

Here in California, I am sure that would be possible.



Derrel

 

MB bought back my 2011 ML350 after 2 years and close to 23K miles. It is called a Substitution of Collateral. MBUSA takes you out of your current vehicle and puts you into another vehicle and the terms of your current lease or finance stay unchanged.

This would probably be your best shot at getting out of your current vehicle especially a 2010 with xxx amount of miles. The chances of MBUSA giving you a full refund for what you have paid into the car are slim.

See the thread below where I had posted some info back in December.
https://mbworld.org/forums/m-class-w...012-ml350.html

I noticed in your signature that you have a SprintBooster installed, you need to remove that and any other mods you may have. If MB detects any mods you will be sh*t out of luck.

If you haven’t already done so go to the GM of the dealership and get him/her involved in your case even if you have already contacted MBUSA. If by some chance you haven’t contacted MBUSA yet call them and tell them you’re are requesting a Substitution of Collateral.

While I was trying to get MB to get me out of my 2011 ML I found it was very important in my case to have the dealer on my side.

The Service Director, Dealership GM and the Service Advisor all backed me up. When MBUSA was trying to brush me off by telling me that there was nothing wrong with the ML the GM pushed his contacts at MBUSA to do the right thing. I firmly believe that if I didn’t have a decent relationship with the dealer MB wouldn’t have bought back the ML and I would have had to go the legal route.

Hopefully you have been documenting everything since you began having problems. Even if you don't think it's important document it. Keep a log (date and time) of every conversation you have with the dealer and MBUSA. Believe me it can't hurt.

As much as you may want to scream at the dealer don’t do it, play nice with them. Remember they didn’t build the car and as I found out they are usually getting the run around from MBUSA also.

MBUSA really ties their hands in regards to what they will pay the dealership when it comes to repairs. For example; The shop manager test drove our 2011 with me and my wife present and felt the trans buck and hesitate (one of many problems we had).

The shop manager told us that he had just worked on another ML with the same problem and an update to the software seemed to correct it. But since no codes showed on our ML MBUSA wouldn’t allow my dealer to update the trans software. My dealer told me that MBUSA basically told them no code, no pay meaning they won’t reimburse the dealer for any work.

It will take some work and patience but I can say with firsthand experience it is possible depending how everything falls into place.

But again, it’s a 2010 and depending on mileage and any mods you may have done, you may have an uphill battle ahead of you.

Good luck.

 

I've now been contacted by ISG - Impartial Services Group to facilitate this issue. Anyone have helpful hints on dealing with ISG?

CyberGS - I seem to have the dealership on my side, both SA and service manager have helped get the ball rolling. And yes, I plan on "un-modding" the vehicle although the dealership didn't mind the mods when working to correct my issues. The dealership actually tried to assist me with one of my mods without any warranty or other MB issues - they were really cool about this.

Green E-300 DT - You say you have direct experience, can you elaborate?

 

Keep in mind that if any mods were made to the ECM like a tune, sometimes even if the ECM is re-flashed the tune may still be stored in the memory.

If you trust your SA enough, ask him about this. But only if you trust him.

Good luck again..

 

Roger that. My experince was NOT with an MBZ, but concerning another make.

Only had a couple of problems with my 70s era MBZs, and those problems were handled by MBZ to my satisfaction.

My comment doesn't apply to MBZ, but to what goes on here. BB rules favor the consumer for sure.



DHG

 

CyberGS - No mods under the hood, just the SB, power folding mirrors from EU, the EU fire extiguisher under the driver's seat, some door pins and such. It's just the waiting now that is bothing me and not knowing what MB/ISG will come back with as an offer. If I can't move them to the next vehicle, I may FS them here...

 

When I got into it with that other car, I had no idea that it would take one year, but the wait did turn out to be well worth it.

If their offer is not good enough, there is always the lemon-law route depending on your states' laws.

Good luck.



DHG

 

I am fighting a buyback now with my ML350 that piece of sh*** has been in the shop as much as I drive it

 

What program do we have here in Los Angeles? I got a Chevy that's been in the shop for check engine light 4 times now and it's still in the shop! They're working with corporate to try and figure out the problem...

 

California has some of the most consumer friendly lemon laws in the country. You may want to contact a lemon lawyer - the consultation is free and they get paid by the manufacturer. You'll certainly have more luck if you use a lemon lawyer. Google "lemon lawyer" and "California"

 

I did contact a few lemon lawyers and they all want me to sign a retainer that says if I don't accept the settlement they get me from the manufacturer than I have to pay their legal fee's (hourly rate) or $2,500, whichever is higher. Also, they tell me they can't get me the extended warranty I purchased from Warrantech for $1,795 and that to get that money back it would be between me and Warrantech. They also want me to return the car in like new condition which is really difficult for me because I use the Chevy Express cargo van for work and the car has alot of scratches here and there from moving equipment around.

All in all, I've made around $4,500 in payments of which $1,795 will have to be deducted (who knows if I will get that back) and whatever wear and tear the manufacturer will want to deduct from the scratches inside the car.

I'm not really sure what to do here but pray that the manufacturer will be kind and just give me a decent deal.

 

Sorry everyone, NDA says I shouldn't have provided the details that I did. (Thanks CEB!) Suffice it to say that I am being made whole and am very happy with MB's resolution of this issue.

 

wow, that's some great news, samkimg !

 

Wow samkimg that is great news hopefully I get a response as good as yours from my case manager supposably they have 2-8 weeks and we at week 5 so we will see!

 

Be very careful about what information you post about your negotiations with the manufacturer. Too much information could violate your confidentiality agreement with them and cause you a world of grief.

 

Those aren't unreasonable requirements. They are doing this to get paid and they don't want to go through a lot of work just to have the client say "not enough" but you are generally assured of getting more with a lawyer than without.

The aftermarket extended warranty is between you and the warranty company and has nothing to do with GM. The warranty company isn't in breach of any agreements. They sold you an extended warranty for the van and they've held up their end of the deal. It has nothing to do with them if GM buys your car back.

The manufacturer expects to get a car back with normal wear and tear. Wear and tear for a work van is different from a luxury passenger car and the manufacturer knows that - but without seeing the van nobody can tell you if the wear is excessive.

 

Glad to hear it. MB has a reputation for doing the right thing - it just takes a bit of prodding sometimes.

 

.

 

Can anyone tell me what the exact process is to a buyback? Yesterday my husband called the dealership service manager and he reported to him that they really had nothing to do with the buyback? So I am confused