On December 21st we had a flat and called MB Roadside Assistance to change the tire. When the technician came we discovered that we did not have a spare tire!

We bought this car new from a local dealer. It has never been out of our control, never even with a valet, only for authorized MB service, from 2 local dealers.

We returned to the selling dealer, where some early service work was done. The service advisor there did nothing for us. Then we went to the dealer where we have taken the car for service the past 2 years. The service advisor did nothing for us, either. He asserted that somebody had stolen the spare. I maintained that a tech misplaced it during service work. The car had just been in for Service B in November. That would have entailed checking this spare. We are not going to this dealer any more and reward this bum for basically accusing us of trying to pull something.

I am not one to back away from a fight. The last battle I had as a consumer was against T-Mobile. We signed up for cellular telephone service and for 6 months my wife kept returning to Costco to the T-Mobile kiosk to try and get our rebate straightened out. Clearly they had no intention of paying us the rebate. Tired of being nice, I filed formal complaints with the local county consumer protection agency, with Costco, the Federal Trade Commission, Federal Communications Commission and State Attorney General. It was only after filing these complaints that T-Mobile decided to credit our account with the rebates.

At this point, I intend to pursue an appropriate remedy. Obviously I know where to complain and all, however it is ironic; we would have expected this kind of nonsense from General Motors.

I suppose that before you drive your car away from MB service you have to make sure it is complete.

 

I wanted to know whether this has happened to anybody else and what was done about it.

I have already drafted letters to the 2 dealerships' general management, and have filed complaints with the local consumer protection agency, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Better Business Bureau Online, as well as copying in Mercedes Benz USA. This is basically a warranty issue, faulty warranty work, that gives rise to rights under state and federal law.

This was a pretty simple thing for one of them to have fixed, and my being nice by going there in person obviously did nothing. That's it; I am through being nice, ever, about anything. Cross me and there will be h-e double hockey sticks to pay.

After this, I am through with these dealers down here. I need to find an independent shop.

 

This could have happened anywhere and unfortunatly you have no proof or even an inkling of where it happened. Numerous people have had access to the car. Could have happened when you had possession of the car in a parking lot or your driveway unattended and unlocked. Its even possible that the car came to the selling dealer without one and it had been stolen while being transported. I can certainly see your frustration but to actually put the blame on any of the parties is irresponsible. Why not just submit an insurance claim for the missing spare and save yourself all kinds of grief and lost time.

 

Because the insurance company could raise the same defenses as your post suggests. Moreover, it is not an appropriate loss for the auto policy to cover. Anyway, I am already getting some traction (no pun intended) from the complaint I made with the Better Business Bureau Online. Today I received a voice mail message from an individual who works for the parent group of these incorrigible dealers asking for more information. The tone of the message was pleasant, helpful sounding.

 

Did you check for the spare, jack, and tool set when you took delivery of the car?

 

No, should I have to do that? And should I have to check it every time I take the car in for service?

 

Yes, you should check for the spare and associated tools when you buy a car......new or used. So you don't know if you never received it from the start or if/when it was removed. Four years later you want the dealer to cough up the tire because it's missing and you don't know when it was missing but since two dealers have had access to it you're sure it was one of them and you arbitrarily picked one to be the culprit. Pretty cheeky if you ask me, and you did. No sympathy here, good luck.

 

Agreed!! He is looking for someone to blame for what was his own oversight and carelessness. He seems like the type of a guy who will file suit over anything just to recapture a nickle. He seems also to have an answer for everything. Sort of exactly the type of person I would not want to do business with. His BBB complaint must have the people in that agency even though they have no teeth at all laughing at him. He is a real joke!!

 

!

 

I remain unconvinced that the new car dealer is obligated to make whole, and to
restore the missing spare. I've worked as a member of a citizens auto
arbitration board before and one of the key ingrediants is whether a complaint
was lodged in timely fashion. Applying that one criterion here, the test would
fail. There is a certain degree of good faith involved and in this case, I see no
reason for a dealer to be held to the fire on a missing spare based on one's own
drawn up assumptions over a period of 4 years.

The nearest relief I can identify is from the Service B dealer...and whether, in
fact, spare tire check was verified as part of this dealer's Service B.

The longer an error remains unnoticed the more likely you will fail in your
recovery. There are rare exceptions, of course, e.g. you discover a year or
two down the road that your vibrating/heated seats are simply the economy
model or some such.

 

I should have told my stolen spare tire story. Years ago I had my spare tire stolen. It was when the spares were mounted vertically in the cars to one side of the trunk. You new it was there, or gone, when you opened the trunk. I was in and out of my trunk at every customer stop I made, from 2 to 8 times a day, so I new when the theft occurred. I complained to the multi level indoor parking garage manager and he told me to tell the police. The police didn't even want to write up a report but I insisted. They said it happens all the time. Trunks are as easy to get into as doors, some are easier. Spares get stolen because they are usually new and not used and quick and easy to get to. Also they are easy to fence because they are too hard to track, unlike rims, and have good resale value as 'new' tires. How do you know the tire wasn't stolen after your last 'B' service before you discovered it missing? You admit to never seeing the spare so how would you know? Now you're blaming others, making accusations that have no basis other than your belief, and badmouthing Mercedes Benz and the dealers because you feel violated. It's your responsibility to know whether or not you have a spare and you failed that test. Own up to it. Who's being the jerk?

 

The dictionary defines "jerk" as a foolish or stupid person. Sosh was being a jerk when he wrote that I was "a joke." He does not know me and has no basis to write that. Also, this ad hominem attack is inappropriate and against forum rules. I violated those rules, too, by responding in kind, but I am not going to allow somebody else to get away with needless insults and barbs.

I am only making a claim here, and the basis for it is circumstantial, but highly credible. Jails are overflowing with inmates who were convicted based upon circumstantial evidence, where the burden of proof is high.

Your situation was different, as you used your car in business and a lot of folks had access to it and the opportunity to steal the spare.

Calling me names and deeming my claim and assertions laughable does nothing to analyze the situation.

 

Thank you for your insight. The selling dealer placed the car in demo or alternate transportation service on 8/30/04 and we bought it in December. At the time it had only 100 miles on the odometer. The car has been in service for 3 years and 4 months. I don't want to believe (or shudder to think) that the selling dealer would have delivered the car without checking the spare tire, however anything is possible (the very analysis others are using against me, insinuating theft occurred). I agree that it is probably the last service B that should have uncovered a missing spare, if it was missing.

The service advisor at the selling dealer told us that he recalled that their Roadside Assistance technician mentioned going to change a tire and that the spare was missing. He heard that somebody spoke to service at the dealer where we had been having service and learned that they had an extra "C" class spare lying around.

 

Maybe it's yours Glad it will work out for you.