petee1997

MB is doing the right thing. If I were you I would not push this thing to a shove. They are treating you right and you should do the same.

RickInHouston

You didn't take the phone call from the salesman. I did. He thinks I should pay sticker. When a salesman throws in your face, "No offense, but Star sales 25 cars a month and I sell 250 cars a month", you know you are just a number. Just another number.

I have a plan. I think it's a good plan.

Lanzz

Rick, it is baffling to me how this could happen. (Not questioning that it is happening...) If I understand it right, they buy back your old car, and you call that one even. Once they do that, they want to charge you sticker for the replacement? Feels like they are trying to make up all the money that MB corporate lost on the lemon... As much as I love my E300, if this was my experience, I'd take the buy back and run for something else.

RickInHouston

It seems to be a buy-back with the understanding I HAVE TO purchase another car. It came out of his mouth in such a way that it was, we purchase back your car and you must take our offer. Very different sentences, the previous two sentences are, no?

Thank goodness Houston is blessed with 5 area Mercedes dealerships not all owned by the same people! I'm going to take a half day off, go in as a new customer without them having any knowledge of what has happened and work me a current good deal, if I must purchase a Mercedes. Then use my 'credit' to make the purchase. I'll give "freight train down you throat man" a change to beat the offer. This looks to be my best play at this time.

BTW, I am in no way a Jackass. And gosh darn it, people LIKE me! (SNL reference, get it). Yes, I've had to be a potty mouth, at times, but you do what you've got to do.

PeterUbers

I got $8000 off $77,000 msrp from my brand new replacement when mbusa was ready to do the buyback

I also dealt with a very reasonable customer friendly benz dealership

PaulE550

Hi Rick,

I read your last two comments and you didn't ask anything I would consider either unusual or out of bounds. They were legitimate questions to better understand the process you will be going through and understand the boundaries of that process as it applies to your particular case. The problem or disconnect is the MB sales rep on the other end of the phone was treating this as just a task assigned to him to by his boss to be completed asap and that he wasn't going to personally make a dime from it. So he just wanted to get the whole process done as fast as possible, so he could move on to something that would earn him a commission check. See where the disconnect was?

Was his attitude proper? Hell no. Especially after all the grief you've been through. Clearly it wouldn't have killed the sales rep to say that MB was sorry for the entire process and shown some compassion or empathy. However, his boss may have told him to admit to nothing from the MB perspective in case of a lawsuit. So it is what it is which obviously won't give you the personal satisfaction of some sort of apology you're looking for.

You were expecting to be treated as valued customer, but to the sales rep and likely the rest of the people at the dealership, they view you as a task assigned to them by MB corporate to be completely as quickly as possible. Since MBUSA decided to "make you whole" (sorry for the legal term) by swapping your vehicle, all the questions about what options other than simply being quickly shoved into another E300 are questions that MBUSA would have to tell the sales rep what the answers are. In this process, the sales rep is merely the intermediary.

Now if I were you, one additional question I would have asked is if they would swap you into a new 2017 CLS coupe model at a discount. You would get a proven, stable 4-door platform that would give you the kind of ride you want and avoid the whole C300 tablet glued to the dash look. Unless you absolutely have to have the latest interior style of the E300, which does you no good if you end up another car that spends all its time in the shop, that would be an option to pursue.

If MBUSA says they'll just cut you a check if you simply are fed up with MB after all this, take the cash and check out Audi and BMW. The point is to take your time and make the right choice for you. Let us know how this all plays out.

PaulE550

The reasonable customer friendly part is what seems to be missing from what OP is dealing with. In your case, MB made sure you remained a happy, potential long-term customer. In OP's case, they seem to be treating him as a transaction to be completed as quickly and effortlessly, from their perspective, as possible.

petee1997

Rick asked for a new car and MB is giving him a similar car to his at no cost. If he now chooses to add some options over and above what he had in his car, he should pay for them. Why should he profit from this. His car was in service for a long time but he was driving a loaner car at no cost.

Maybe, now is the time for him to take the cash and sever his relationship with MB and purchase a different brand. This may be the best solution to both parties.

thefisch

Got to get something for pain and suffering IMO.

RickInHouston

Damn, you're good! I think this is spot on.

Shelly401

I agree.....
The buyback should not require you to replace it with a Mercedes......
especially one that you would be forced to pay sticker price.....
They sold you an awful car..... They need to do what is right.....

If I were in your shoes, I would certainly have had enough of Mercedes....

I have been following this thread from the beginning. Its an awful story, and I would have been livid.........
I looked at the E43 and E300......as I was recently in the market for a new car...
Didn't really want the 4 cylinder, and they wouldn't come off sticker price on the E43. other than, "maybe a couple of hundred off " they told me.....
So I walked.....
They called me back a week later, but by then, I had already made a purchase.....

There are many other quality cars available.....

Shelly

RickInHouston

Since it was not 30 days in the shop, yet, for safety reasons it has not meet Lemon Law standard but meet a buy back swap requirement. The buy back is tired to a new Mercedes purchase. I can't change brands.

I'm out on the sedan and an looking harder at the coupe.

Will play two dealerships off each other.

RickInHouston

Not to mention you really have Zero leverage when it comes to buying the car. They (the dealership) knows you have to buy one.

That's the part that sucks the most.

JALLEN4

I am going to put on my dealer hat here and make some comments that may be less than popular...but truthful. Rick in a very short period of time has been very unhappy with many items. He is not happy with the condition of the car or the operation of the car. He has been to two local dealers and is unhappy with both of them. He has complained loudly about the factory response taking too long and expresses unhappiness with the terms of any settlement offered so far.

Having been involved in hundreds of buybacks involving many different manufacturers, I have never seen one that didn't involve some basic items. As long as the customer was interested in replacing the vehicle with a like unit, they would only be responsible for any abnormal damage, a small charge for miles driven, and any additional options on the new unit. If the miles were minimal and units basically similar, most often any charges were waived.

Rick has expressed unhappiness with the car he has based on it driving "too large in town" and being more suited for road trips that he seldom takes. He also complains that he did not receive a good deal on his original purchase and that the original dealer knows that implying they took advantage of him.

If Rick thinks that a voluntary re-purchase by the manufacturer will cure all his ills, I would fear he is wrong. I would doubt anyone is interested in just giving him money so he can go buy another make. I would also doubt they are interested in starting all over again so Rick can get another model of Mercedes at a far better deal than his original one. I also doubt he will get very far attempting to "leverage" multiple dealers against each other while Mercedes pays the bill.

I would suggest Rick has been offered an equitable settlement if they are willing to supply a like car to the one he originally bought for no money. If he wants to get another bite at the apple by getting another model at a better price, he needs to pursue the Texas Lemon Law taking the time and effort required to do so. Either way, it is highly unlikely Mercedes will care long term.

RickInHouston

All of what you said is fair. I agree with most of it. You make it sound like, though, that I am merely unhappy with the car - even if the car was perfect. Unfortunately, the car simply has problems. The car has many, many problems. In the first 90 days - many, many problems. Would my perception of the car, not this particular car but all 2017 E300's, be different if I had gotten a perfect one from the start? Hell yeah! But I didn't. Not even close. There's a big difference in sitting in a car and saying to yourself, "Oh, wow! My car does that!" and "What's that? Why doesn't that work like it's suppose to!"

Why not grab as much of the apple, as possible? And, finally - Yes! I deserve something for the crap car I drove for 3 months. Even if it's not anyone's fault. I also deserve something for the deception the dealership pulled in hiding the scratched body. Very, very noticeable ruined clearcoat.

mjsbenz

Rick,

There are a number of factors at play and several options you can take.

1. The easiest one is for you to swap out your car with a new one with the exact same options. You should not be out of pocket for this type of swap.

2. Same as 1. above but you want a few additional options. I would think if the items are not big $$$$, you might not be charged.

3. If you go from a P2 to a P3,, or some other significant upgrade, you need to expect to pay the difference.

4. Want to go to a different model in the MB line-up, most likely not MBUSA's intentions of making you "whole" but that can be a discussion point.

5. Just get reimbursed for all your costs and take the check and run (not offered but you might be able to push MBUSA).

My advice is talk to your MBUSA case manager directly. The salesman is just mucking up the waters and is likely clueless as to what flexibility you might be granted. Also, ask MBUSA is you can go to another dealer since you feel like you are getting a poor deal. If you are not getting a call back from your MBUSA case manager, you know how to get their attention.

Mark

PS Don't confuse mistakes made by a dealer vs the responsibility of the manufacturer/distributor to own the dealer mistakes. They usually don't. If the dealer treated you poorly, don't use them.

petee1997

You are getting something for all the hassles. You are getting a brand new car. They owe you nothing else. So get over it and accept their reasonable offer.

Cao Black

I don't know which side of the fence I'm on here. On the one hand, I would not want to have gone through what the OP has. He bought "The Best or Nothing" and sadly got mostly the nothing part.

So now there appears to be a resolution, although it's not clear what that is exactly. I suspect that short of going to court (lemon laws or personally) MB is under no obligation to offer any more than a full refund, or like-for-like exchange. And this is where your comments are very pertinent. As a retailer for many many years, I know that "the customer is always right" is a concept...a lofty goal. Occasionally, there are customers who appear to never be satisfied, and under those circumstances the retailer is better off encouraging that customer to shop elsewhere.

off

Indeed, has MBUSA established an allowance you are due? If I recall correctly, you had only a 1000 miles on it.

I had this happen once to me, where I purchased an Acura that had paint damage during transport. I had that car for six months. They did agree to the buy back, but not without a lot of back and forth regarding the depreciated price of the car.

In your situation with the limited usage, and less ownership time in this case, they should fully make you whole.

tresean1

I tend to agree mostly with what you said---in that the OP got the short end of the stick and "less than Mercedes' best".

However, it appears that they are not giving him many options here: essentially want him to play by their rules and "suck it up"; essentially they are saying "take this handout, and you better be glad we are doing this---don't be picky".

In this situation, I don't think Rick is being neither greedy nor one of those customers that are "never satisfied". They gave him the runaround and offered a very bad product, along with a lot of hassle, embarrassment, and headache. Now they are blowing him off and offering him a one-sided deal. At the very least, they should either:
1) Offer a brand new E-class swap (regardless of options---as long as he doesn't, for example, switch to E43 or E400 or E63), with reimbursements for any associated monies (Taxes, travel, fees) paid
OR
2) Offer him another comparable Mercedes model in price, with reimbursements for any associated monies (Taxes, travel, fees) paid on the old E-class
AND
3) Offer a 3yr ELW and Maint plan to coincide with warranty (as goodwill and apology)

4) OR...offer him full refund and let him walk.

Those would be my expectations, and I don't think they are unreasonable at all, given what he has gone through. I don't thik it's fair that the buy-back is contingent on him receiving another Mercedes of essentially their choosing. [God Bless you Rick, I feel bad for you.]

PaulE550

I agree with JALLEN4 that trying to pit one dealership against another for a "better deal" is a non-starter. The buy-back offer is from MBUSA, not from the dealerships. OP could go to 50 different MB dealerships and the deal from MBUSA would be exactly the same. So he shouldn't waste his time pursuing this.

Now if OP doesn't want to deal with the dealership sales rep, who has ZERO say in anything to do with buy-back on the table and is in effect just slowing the whole process down by having to contact MBUSA for each question OP asks, then as MJSBENZ has a valid point in suggesting OP can request to speak directly to the MBUSA case manager assigned to this buy-back to get clarification of the parameters and any options allowable in this particular case.

Basically what OP needs to verify from MBUSA is if the buy-back is limited to strictly a like-kind swap of his E300 for an identically equipped new E300 or whether the buy-back is tied to the price he originally paid for his E300. If it is the former, then his only option is getting another identically equipped E300. That's it. Done deal. Nothing further to discuss.

If on the other hand, the buy-back is tied to the price he paid for his original E300, then the question becomes whether MBUSA would allow OP to do a swap into another MB model of exactly equal price. If MBUSA says he has the option to swap based on price paid, then he potentially has the option to get an equally priced alternative model. This is a yes or no response from MBUSA. It's really that simple and straight-forward. A 5 minute phone call with the MBUSA case manager should be more than sufficient to answer all OP's questions related to the parameters allowed for this buy-back.

As JALLEN4 also pointed out, this is a transaction of limited value to MB. So if the current parameters of the buy-back are not acceptable to OP, then his only recourse is his state's lemon law. However, given the fact that MB has already put a replacement, identically equipped E300 on the table, OP has to view whether whatever incidental additional monetary award he may get via the Texas court is great enough to offset his time and legal fees he will incur. The court may also rule that MBUSA has done all it is legally obligated to do by swapping you into a equally-equipped new E300, so then you've wasted additional time and money for nothing and ended up exactly where you are now. So something to think seriously about. What's your realistic upside to turning down the buy-back offer? Forget about getting an apology. That's not happening in any avenue you chose to pursue. This is a transaction to MB to limit their additional costs on servicing your vehicle and any potential bad publicity exposure going forward. Nothing more.

RickInHouston

Some of you have gone totally off the rails.

1. I can get a similar E sedan. I 'use' my discounted price given to me from that purchase. I probably will pay for any upgrade I might want to add.

2. I can purchase some other Mercedes.

That's all that is being offered. Period.

The only problem I have with this is the dealership has ZERO reason to discount ANYTHING off any other car I pick (that is not an E sedan) because they know I HAVE TO buy something. "Here, Rick, here's a 2017 E coupe. We couldn't sell it all year so we'd like to sell it for the sticker price of $66K. Take it or leave it - Let's go in and sign!" Therefore I default back to the sedan.

Some other dealership that does not know I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place might say, "Rick, we have a 2017 E coupe we're discounting $10K because we want to get rid of all 2017's so we can get a bigger allocation of the 2018s. (BTW, that discount was gotten by a member of this forum very recently.)

THAT'S the only thing I am looking into. And that's not screwing anyone!

There's no lawsuit. There's not Lemon Law. I'm fine with it. Some people get MONTHS of payments back in their deals. Me, none because my loan was set up with three months / no payments. I'm okay with that. I've been bent over for 3.5 months and just want it to end, as well. I've had Mercedes for 15 years and have LOVED THEM ALL. I'm not being a gold-digger. This deal will be good for everyone.

Oh, and you can be assured I'm going to bring up the fact they offered me one year's extended warranty "for being treated so badly" when they denied the buy-back the first time. I'm sorry if you don't agree with that.

JALLEN4

Rick, you need to be careful you are not assuming something that is not true. The dealer knows how the process works and unless Mercedes said you "must" purchase from a particular dealer they know there is a certain competition for your business. Are they normally going to offer you a better price than any you have ever heard of, no! But, that is not new.

You said there were five Mercedes dealerships in Houston. Check their prices if a 300E is not the car for you. Sit down with the dealer you are talking with and explain your position. Are you likely to get the best price you have read about on this forum...no. But, I think you can get a competitive price if you are open and honest with your contacts. Dealer's know if you are playing games but they also are there to make a sale and will work with you if you work with them.

hyperion667

I'd get my money back and go buy a Honda

RickInHouston

I can't. It's not a Lemon Law buy-back. It's a trade assist.