No MBLN

ser·vice: Installation, maintenance, or repairs provided or guaranteed by a dealer or manufacturer.

The definition above is the one that most people – myself included-- use when they think of the word “service”, especially as it relates to their beloved automobile.

Unfortunately, that does not extend to the ownership and management of Mercedes Benz of Laguna Niguel.

I purchased an S500 from Mercedes Benz of Laguna Niguel in 2006, and have faithfully utilized their service department for all of our scheduled, and non-scheduled, maintenance needs.

Recently the “SRS” light on my S500 was on, and I dutifully took my car in to have the problem fixed at Mercedes Benz of Laguna Niguel. The next day I was told the problem was solved, however as I drove off the lot the light came back on and they asked me to again leave the car in their service bay.

Imagine my surprise and horror when, two days later, I received a call from the dealership explaining that my S500 had fallen off the service hydraulic lift (an 8-foot drop), and my car was totaled. Employees at Mercedes Benz Laguna Niguel confirmed that when my car fell, the impact shook the ground so much it was felt in the showroom.

Although this accident happened on Wednesday, I was not notified until Thursday, after the dealership contacted their insurance company and accident investigators.

When I returned to Mercedes Benz of Laguna Niguel, the car was indeed a total loss. Something went very wrong in that service bay – details that I still have not received -- and through no involvement or fault of ours, our family was now without a car that we truly enjoyed.

I have accepted my insurance companies total loss settlement. What I haven’t accepted, and thought the citizens of Laguna Niguel and the surrounding communities might find interesting, is that the dealership continues to refuse to explain why the car was on the lift in the first place, what happened to cause it to fall off the lift, and why our family was not notified sooner.

In addition, they failed to meet our expectations regarding a fair-value replacement and were profoundly lacking in customer care.

I was a Mercedes Benz owner for 12 years and always had service performed at Mercedes dealerships. I purchased the S500 at Mercedes Benz Laguna Niguel, paid for it in full and had every service performed at that dealership.

After this experience, I an now the proud owner of a 750li BMW, and wanted to alert other customers in Laguna Beach about what might happen if they take their beloved automobile in for “service” at Mercedes Benz of Laguna Niguel.

RichardM98

I am very sorry for your loss. No comment by dealer is just the lawyers advising not to give any info to prospective litigants. It's the way the world is these days.

No MBLN

Thank you. It was an unfortunate event. We just want to make others aware of the situation. We would not want someone else to go through this.

91RS

It isn't like they did it on purpose, accidents happen. Like you said it was serviced many times before and never had a problem before. If you were unhappy with the amount offered from the insurance company you should have declined it and fought them to get more money.

ScottW911

This entire story is BS.

Thread locked.