Jeff Ostroff

Here is my dilemma in 2018 I purchased a prepaid 60-70-80k Pre-Paid Maintenance Plan for Mercedes-Benz of Coconut Creek FL to save me from paying $4100 if I were to buy them without the plan. They charged me $2000 for this prepaid maintenance which I later found out most of you on this forum reported only paying $1400 which made me even madder. But at least I was able to use the 60K service, and the 70K service. But due to COVID shut down in all the hectic life that was going on I was unable to get to the 80K in a timely manner and so now when I brought it in to get my 80K service they told me the plan expired.

I was extremely angry about this because I thought a prepaid plan means that you have everything paid for already and that it doesn't expire there's no reason for it to expire especially in light of COVID.

But I wanted to find out if any of you have run into this problem and how you got it resolved because they also gave me no contract paperwork when I bought this, only an invoice, no contract explaining that there was an expiration date I would never in a million years have bought it.

In fact, I argued with the service writer when he first tried to pressure sell me, I said if there is an expiration date and I don't want it as I thought it was like a standard extended warranty and he assured me no, there's no expiration date you simply pay in advance now and when your time comes to get the service done it's covered.

So this turns out to be completely false and I want other people here to understand that when you buy any of these prepaid things make sure you're showing something in writing the full contract before you even give them the money that's why he held back showing me the contract as he knew I would have found the exclusions that say it's not covered that it has an expiration date. Another warning for all of you is sometimes the service writers can be the worst slimiest scammers in a car dealership worse than the car salesman.

They often when you bring your car in find a million things wrong with it that they think you should take care of when there's really nothing wrong at all. The last time I bought my car and they found about $4000 worth of work that they said needed to be done I called the amount on it and said this is completely bogus and then they backed off saying well you know you don't have to get it done today it's just something that you wanna have on your road map to make sure it gets done.

KEY08

How did you arrive at the $4,100 figure for those mileage services? I know it would cover spark plugs and transmission services, but what else is in your tally besides oil and brake fluid? I’ve had those services done at my dealer and can assure you it didn’t come close to $4,100.

E55Greasemonkey

These are mileage based or once a year services, whichever comes first. I'm sure the dealership never closed for COVID, so it's your fault for not servicing the car.

Jeff Ostroff

The way I arrived at the figure was at the time the high pressure service writer servicing my car wrote down on a piece of paper how much the 60K service was, and the 70K service, and the 80k service. those added up to $4100.. When I called today to find out how much does an 80K service call cost they told me it was $1400

Jeff Ostroff

Well I'm sure it wouldn't be long before somebody like you would come in here and blame me for it very callously you don't know anything about me. Unfortunately with some extremely difficult times we have one daughter with Paranoia schizophrenia and another daughter with autism which sucks up a lot of our time period plus during the shutdown which you claimed nobody closed but that's a complete lie, everybody closed for about 3 months down here in Florida. I was out servicing all of elderly and disabled folks and shut ins from church who couldn't get food couldn't go out couldn't find wipes couldn't find alcohol I was the one driving around at Very early hours everyday trying to make sure I was in 1st in line to be able to get 1 or 2 items delivered to people. One calamity after another occurred. I had multiple multiple funerals to attend probably over a dozen last year alone in 3 this year so far. So yes it was extremely difficult for me to get in there to get this done. Could I have tried harder yes possibly. Heck I couldn't even get my taxes done until October and paid penalties for that as well.

But you're completely missing the point the dealership lied to me and told me there was no expiration date on it when they sold it to me. And they never sent me a contract and they never gave me a contract. I've even called twice over to their finance department who they keep telling me to go talk to, won't return my phone calls or send me a copy of the contract. So my next call will be to the Florida Attorney General's office and we will see then who was at fault.

S. Madman

Check with MB headquarters, and see if they can assist?

nc211

99% of dealer service is a scam in general, period. Get an indi, and be happy. These are just man-made machines, and most indi’s I know are Sr. tech’s that blew out of the dealership after years of work to hang their own shingle, and charge about 60% of the cost. Most who focus on the MB are likely qualified to perform warranty work on the car as well.

that being said - I don’t ever recall a time period on a pre-paid service, nor do I recall a specific mileage range to be in for the service to be done. If I were the purchaser of the contract, like you, and I had 50k on the car, there shouldn’t be any qualifier for me to bring the car in and order the 80k service to be done if I wanted and redeem my prepaid coupon for it.

They don’t want to honor it because the world probably costs 40% in general today than it did when you bought that contract. I’d call MB USA on this and get them involved to call the dealership. Although the dealership is an independent operator separate from MB, they represent the brand to the general public and therefore have an obligation to do so in good faith and above board service. What you’ve got here is neither of those two, and it damages your perception of Mercedes Benz in general.

I’ve had a few issues with my local dealerships owned by the Penske Group here in the DC region, including out-right straight-up fraud in the most undeniable manner. They even filed a claim for the 3rd Party tire/wheel coverage for fixing a bent rim, that they never even touched! That’s when I learned the trick to owning a Mercedes happily. Buy it from the dealership, and take it to the indi. Don’t waste your money on prepaid stuff, tire/wheel warranties, rust undercoating and lifetime car washes. Just buy the car, and the car only, and flee the scene with it.

and for the record, I’ve had mine for 5 years. It’s 8 years old, has 62k mikes on it. I’ve had the motor mounts, transmission mounts, transmission fluid, spark plugs, countless bent wheels fixed, front differential leak fixed, many routine services, blown speaker, loose trunk spoiler, and I’m probably at that $4k mark in total repairs myself. You’re talking about fluid changes here in general for these prepaid services, with one set of spark plugs. Doesn’t make sense to buy prepaid services!

edit - almost forgot the new Michelins, two sets of brake rotors and pads…

KEY08

unfortunatrly, they probably inflated those service charges to sell you the “50% off” deal.
If you can verify your spark plugs were changed (50K service) and transmission fluid change (70K service), then follow the other advice and get an Independent shop to do an oil change for you. ( $150?). Not sure what is all going on at the 80K service by your dealer other than lining their pockets.
Take your complaint up the ladder with MB. I’m convinced you will definitely get help.
And thanks for helping all of those folk during the pandemic. You are a good man 👍

ClasseMiaMadra

At 60k, my 2016 E 4M wagon needed transmission flush. This alone makes the packet worth it, according to my indie. He charges 1,200 for that alone. So I had it and was happy to drive it in take a loaner and let them look at what they can find to charge me for. I asked about getting another 3-pack but those are glorified oil changes. Even the dealer seemed surprised at me inquiring.
2cts

Fliplegend

The A7 service around 60K really only has 2 big ticket items, spark plug and trans service which could be upwards of $2K depending on the stealer.

JALLEN4

What a fantastic and informative post! I had no idea that an "INDI" automatically became a Saint and all dealers, or at least 99% of them, are the Devil! It is fascinating as well to know all people who work for an "INDI" are Senior Techs and must continue being trained on the new product and knowledge yearly by Mercedes.

I have owned multiple Mercedes for years and have had all of them serviced at various dealerships when called for. Now I find out I was taken advantage of 99% of the time. The things we can learn from amateur forum posters!

nc211

To each their own. My opinion is based on these
true life events across 4 different dealerships over the last 5 years on two Mercs.

bought the car as a CPO. It had a humming noise at highway speed. Took it to dealership, said a bent wheel. Held the car for 10 days. Called to tell me it was fixed. On my drive home, same humming vibration noise. I checked the wheel, the same marked bolt was on the same marked hole at the exact same market spot, and the wheel was just as dirty as it was when I took it in.

problem? How does a CPO leave the lot with bent rims?

problem. Rear lip spoiler was coming off at the corner. I took it to same dealer, figuring what are the odds. All it really needed was some new double sided tape at that corner. They said it needed a whole new spoiler. So I went along. 10 days later, I get the car back, and the trunk is all scratched up from them installing the new spoiler piece. 6 months later, that corner piece is loose again, wasn’t installed correctly (and no automatic car washes - I do it myself).

problem - have pulsing brakes. I take it to a different dealer, they say a caliper adjustment is needed. I leave the dealership to a horrible screeching noise. Turns out the dust shield wasn’t installed correctly and it ruined my new rotor. Didn’t make it ¼ of mile on that one.

problem - I hit a pothole in Indiana. Bubbles the side of the Conti tire. I get it to the dealership for a new tire and to confirm no damage to the rim. I drove home with humming and vibration. Thinking bent rim after all. Turns out, they put a used Conti tire on there that was defective.

problem - I get the recall for the power steering rack bolt. Take to a different dealership (now my 4th). They replace the bolt and align the car. I pick it up, and on my drive home, it’s painfully obvious it was not aligned. Wheel is off center by a decent amount and car feels like it’s crabbing down the road. I call them, they say “oh yeah, we ran out of time, bring it back next Thursday and we’ll align it”.

problem - this on my new $90k X167 - power window issue. Track defect. Take it in, they fix it, tell me it’s ready. I go to pick it up, and get about 30 feet from the he dealership and realize sitting in the back seat is the rest of the door trim pieces that weren’t reinstalled.

problem - I call for a quote to have the transmission fluid changed. $800. I laughed.

Problem, I finally take it to a trusted indi in my area, have a PPI performed to find all of the issues (212) to decide if i want to keep it or not. Car has 40k miles. They come back and ask me if I had messed with the transmission fluid before. I said no. They show me where TWO of the pan bolts had been sheered off by sloppy work. I pull the service records. See the previous owner had it in for a transmission shifting complaint at the dealership. They changed the fluid. Guess what….

so, that’s 4 dealerships in 3 states that I’ve had absolute BS service from.

solution - ask who owns an older MB at the gas station who works on their car, and take it to them. Indi!

no problems since, and a transmission fluid change is about $350 with the new filter and fluid - genuine MB parts only.

I love the cars. Don’t like their service. Just my opinion. Perhaps you have one that isn’t that way, which is great to hear! Me? I’ve yet to find it, and now that the 212 is out of warranty, I’m not willing to pay a premium for the risk and hassle of subpar results, if history is any indicator for the future for my own experiences….

places

Seriously? MBUSA won't touch this. LOL.

KEY08

I know you have owned Mercedes dealerships and have contributed many important and useful posts over the years here that have clarified the dealer’s position on many issues. What is your take on this original posters claim that the dealership has denied his 80K service that he paid for up front? Did he just miss the service window and they pointed to something in the contract that canceled their obligations?
TIA

E55Greasemonkey

The PPM service contract although sold at the dealership is administered by MB. Most of the money for the contract also goes to MB with the dealer retaining a small amount for selling the policy. After that, the maintenance is handled by the dealer as a warranty repair....meaning MB pays the dealer for the parts and labor when the service is performed. Once the service contract expires, the dealer has no way to recoup the costs from MB, just like when your 4/50 warranty expires. Obviously in this case the dealer isn't willing to pay for your maintenance out of their pocket.

JALLEN4

I think Greasemonkey made an excellent post about this. As he pointed out, Mercedes administers the program and the dealer has nothing to gain by rejecting the service. They not only alienate a customer, they also do not make the profit they normally would by doing the service. There is a legitimate reason the claim was rejected and somewhere along the line the OP either doesn't agree or does not want to understand. I am sure a call to Mercedes would produce an answer.

nc211

I agree, I think maybe there is more to the story here that we don’t know. It just doesn’t seem right that it would be an agreement bracketed by either time or mileage (within reason of course). OP says he bought it in 2018, that’s just 48 months ago.

maybe I missed it, but how many miles are on the car now?

want to also say to jaleen that I do respect your opinion on MB dealership services. Perhaps I should caveat my own comments to my own experiences over the years, which unfortunately have not been good by a decent margin. I really wish thst wasn’t the case. I think in my market, where there are a billion mercs roaming around, the demand is too high on the dealership networks to warrant enough time for them to do it all. Hopefully others on here have a better experience than I have regardless of cost…

Jeff Ostroff

I DO understand what is going on, I know there is an expiration. I know I missed the window. The problem is I bought this plan NOT knowing there was an expiration or mileage window. my complaint all along was the dealer lied to me when they sold me the service plan, saying to me there was no expiration.

Why don't YOU understand Jallen?

Mercedes won't show me the contract either!

I have called them twice they keep giving me the runaround, and sending me to finance. Finance won't call me back. Now I have to make a trip over to Mercedes to try to find someone in-person to try to get a contract and you know that will result in a dead-end. Why don't you understand that Jallen?

Does anyone here have a copy of the contract verbiage they can post here?

Also have you noticed the common complaint among the other folks here about bent rims, etc? This is a major problem with Mercedes. I just got a cracked rim last week, took it to a wheel repair specialist, and cost $120 to have the 1" crack repaired. They told me they get more Mercedes rims than any other car in for repair, they use brittle metal formulation that causes their rims to crack when you hit speed bumps.

Jeff Ostroff

BTW, The service writer who scammed me is no longer with Mercedes. I still have the original sales scam pricing written down on the service writer's desk pad "from the desk of...", showing the cost of services that he told me I would be saving:

60K service $1562

70K service $1360

80K service $1184

Total is $4106. They charged me $2000 for prepaid maintenance, claiming a savings of $2000. I called the other day they told me 80K service would be $1400, so as far as I am concerned, Mercedes scammed me out of $1400.

places

Sounds like you've spent more than 1400 worth of your time on this. It's over, perhaps you should move on. Lesson learned.

kajtek1

I can only wonder how people spend $2000 on "handshake" contract and not knowing the details. ?
Did they present you with copy of contract when they denied the service?
That could be a case for small claim court, but court does require proper documentation.

nc211

At a minimum they at least owe you the contract language. It has to be boilerplate is my guess.

but again, how many miles are on your car?

cetialpha5

You should also get the VMI. I got the VMI on my used car and it showed the prepaid maintenance on it. The previous owner didn't actually use it but it had expired years ago so I knew not to bother to even try and used it. Any service writer should be able to get you the VMI. I suppose once you find out the expiration date you could always call up MB and ask if they would extend it a little. I'm guessing he only missed it by a few months.

Senecat

I love doing all my own work. Get to hang out in my garage, tear apart my car, take my time, do solid work, learn a ton. You know, man stuff. It's so awesome.

cetialpha5

Or you only saved $600 on the prepaid service instead of 2000. You could always go to an indy mechanic, prices are probably much lower. I think 80k isn't really that much, just an oil change and brake fluid flush. It's basically just service B which should be a lot cheaper. I think plugs and transmission fluid should have been done earlier, that $1400 quote might include fluff like injection service or some magic engine flush or whatever that's not needed.

https://www.yourmechanic.com/schedul...&mileage=80000