stevertum

Last August I purchased a Certified Pre-Owned 2002 CLK55 from Mercedes-Benz of Tysons Corner in Virginia. The entire sales experience was about like buying from a fly-by-night used car lot, but I managed to escape with my car at the agreed upon price without being caught by their horribly-disguised bait and switch scheme.

I have had no problems with the car until now. In early July I discovered that the radiator clutch fan was completely detached -- it had been resting in the engine bay since I bought the car, so it was impossible to notice that it was unattached when the engine was not running. Apparently the two electrical cooling fans were sufficient to keep the engine cool.

The car is still under warranty. I am now in Houston, TX, so I took the car in to my local dealer, Mercedes Greenway. They of course couldn't believe these guys had let the car leave the lot in such a condition, but couldn't repair the car under warranty, purportedly because this was not a failure or defect but instead an error on the dealer's part. Greenway in Houston has been very cooperative, especially since none of this is really their problem. Of course Tysons Corner disclaims all responsibility -- this disclaimer came through my service consultant at Greenway, as Tysons Corner refuses to call me back. MBUSA is no help at all. They keep bouncing me around between the dealers and refuse to let me talk to any regional director or any higher-up at the call center. Their standard answer is "every dealer is independently owned and operated."

I have yet to see a copy of the warranty, but regardless, MBUSA should support the car based on their extravagant marketing claims regarding the CPO program: "we stand behind you," etc. The dealer is also responsible for the problem, but since they are in Virginia I have shaky legal leverage over them due to jurisdiction issues.

If anyone knows of someone I could contact -- a regional manager for TX or VA, someone at MBUSA -- I would be very appreciative.

thanks,
Stephen

Fast55

I wish I had good news for you, but I'm betting you're on your own. MBUSA doesn't care about you or the cars they sell, especially not used ones. The good thing is, after this nightmare is passed, you should be able to enjoy the car. The quality didn't completely fall of the map until the 2003 and later models, so hopefully that'll be the last of your troubles. I miss my 2002 E55, but can't wait to see the 2006 go.

Musikmann

My '01 E320 was a CPO too when I bought it, but I have not had any trouble with it thus far (crossing my fingers after hearing your story).

I had a brief encounter with Tyson's Corner myself regarding some used E-Class I found on the MBUSA website pre-owned search feature. If I remember correctly, it was only an automated response thanking me for my interest, and that someone would be in touch soon - yada, yada; no one ever followed up with me.

Good Luck,
M

stevertum

Fast, thanks for the empathy. I'm beginning to think you're right -- it's looking pretty hopeless. I did get a call back tonight from the customer survey line; the woman was nice but clueless. She admittedly didn't understand the nature of the underlying mechanical problem, not surprisingly. I think I'd already read your saga about your E55. It's even worse in your case since the car is brand new. I hope you have some luck with that.

And Musikmann, you're right, those guys at Tysons Corner are jokers. They should be on a used car lot selling Kias here in Houston.

Fast55

Yeah, it's a real shame. What's really troubling is where to go from here? Sorry BMW, the M5 is too expensive, short on torque, I-drive sucks, and while the car handles well, it doesn't ride well over less than smooth pavement. Jag? A Ford joke. Anything more exotic is just more of a headache.

Vik888

article

That article shouldn't surprise you. Looks like nothing has changed if MB still can't break into the top 13!

Fast55

That's nothing. You should see what Consumer Reports thinks of MB. They definitely aren't much of an authority on vehicles, but they are good at reporting what consumers think and have experienced. MB's are pretty much "not recommended" because of several factors, the most telling of which, is that the predicted reliability is "much worse than average".

Musikmann

Fast55,
Although I agree with everything else you said, and we are in definite agreement that Consumer Reports is less than a authority on automobiles, I personally prefer the reviews given to them by the likes of Car & Driver, and Road & Track.

I don't mean to start an argument, but they just seem to be prejudiced against Mercedes, and SO pro-Lexus. I don't think it's something they have against all german cars, because if I remember correctly, they've liked some of the others.

One thing I do like about them, is that they seem to use a large sample size, at least in their number of tests. It might be due to financial constraints, but I'd like to see them test more than one vehicle within any certain model year.

Lastly, I used to contribute financially to their foundation - Consumer's Union, and I think they are a useful tool when you are ready for a household appliance (just one example).

Their mission is clearly stated, and I don't think they are subject to bribes or any political pressure. It's just that their relentless bashing of Mercedes really gets up my nose.

Regards,
Musikmann

Fast55

I'm not sure I agree with you. They may not be C&D, (who most definitely IS biased in favor of BMW), but generally gave the "E" class a good review. Their problem with the car is the trouble reported by owners not the car itself. In particular, MB is reported to have huge numbers of electrical/electronic problems. In another thread, members were discussing the mfg. rankings and a few surmised that, as a group, we may be causing the recent lower rankings of MB because we are much more particular and had higher expectations as a group than we would for say, a Hyundai. I don't think that's the case at all. I've owned Toyota, Honda, Chevy, GMC, Pontiac, Porsche, Jeep, VW, Audi, etc. etc. and if anything, I think I might be a little easier on MB. The reasoning is that as the cars grow more complex, more is likely to go wrong, so the more I'd tend to let 1 or 2 little things go without a gripe. I was brutal on Toyota for the littlest things during ownership because of their "flawless" reputation. I guess the difference is, they listened.