Pseudomaniac

Longtime car guy / multiple Mercedes buyer/owner.

Wife and I decided it would be nice to have a convertible for the summer, as with young kids, we've succumb to an MDX being the daily driver (replaced my CLS550-4Matic). I shopped the Cincinnati area, and my criteria (CLK63 AMG or E550 A207 with an M278) weren't available anywhere. I mean, like minimal options even in a 500 mile radius.

Started finding 2014s E550s seemed to be the better route (don't really want to pay to fix an 08 AMG Mercedes and the money was comparable on purchase prices).

Ultimately, it lead me to MotorWerks in Chicago, who had a 49,000 mile lease return 2014 E550, with the P1 and P2 packages, AMG sport package, and fresh rubber. Pictures looked good. Interior is a "I haven't seen another like it" Cappucino leather / tan combo that pops. I really wanted Red - but beggars can't be choosers.

Here's where the red flags SHOULD have started going off, but wanting the car, and again, being of limited options, I persevered.

The salesperson that replied to me, let's just say is somewhat English as a third language. Admire the determination it must take to work like that, but isn't exactly who you want to exchange with in a mostly online world. I tell them, "Hey, here's how the numbers work. You have to come down to X on the car, I will put X down, I'll let you earn the financing kickbacks, but I'm an 800 credit buyer, and here's the rate I'll accept. My requirements weren't unreasonable - on the edges of what I knew could be done. I know this dance.

The salesperson shot back that if this were going to work out, we'd need to stretch the intended downpayment (6k) to (16k) and she'd think about it. Now in America, when a straight shooting buyer says, "this is a toy, if the numbers work, we'll do it, if not, we'll move on" you don't shoot back "well, triple your downpayment and we'll talk". Live and learn though right? I thought it was dead and continued shopping.

So the sales manager, a few days later throws a line my way and says "hey, were you still interested in this?". I again explained my no-nonsense "I'm not wasting anyones time" approach. "Hey, I'm buying this sight unseen. Here are the numbers. Make them work, great. Can't? Have a nice day. Car needs to be immaculate."

He returns a much more reasonable counter offer. We hash out the specifics. I wanted to have an expense of $400 a month, he comes back with $419. We keep my 6k down. (The salesperson wanted 16k. See, I wasn't being unreasonable at all.)

They send over additional pictures. A blurry video with the saleperson talking about how gorgeous the car is and how there are no issues anywhere. They assure me it's all ready to go.

I wire them the money, and use the shipping company they recommend. Shipper picks it up that day and calls to say "Hey, is it okay to deliver in the middle of the night?". I say "hell yes!" thinking, cool. I'll get this thing the same day I bought it, from Chicago, and check it out.

Shipper never shows up. It's 10AM the next day, and I can't get ahold of anyone. After berating the logistics coordinator, the car appears about 11:30, with the windows partially down on a rollback, that's driven through a storm system. (Maybe SOMEONE notices the windows aren't shut on a convertible before loading it?)

They drop the car off. Immediately it's apparent that no one gave two ****s about the appearance of the vehicle. The interior hasn't been cleaned. Trunk carpet is ripped. Interior carped is stained and ripped. There's a keyfob missing. The manuals are missing. The security lugnut key is missing. Interior plates are cracked. There's a massive gash in the paint on the drivers door. Other less major things, but things that SHOULD have been pointed out nonetheless.

I drive it. From 25mph stops, I can feel the front end of the car vibrating. From 45, it's audible. From 65, it's audible with a pulsing squeak. Front rotors are warped to hell. Very apparent. Literally anyone that drove the car at even parking lot speed, who knows ANYTHING about cars, knows the rotors are warped.

I get busy detailing on it, so I can assess how bad the damage truly is, vs me being just a very particular car guy.

10PM rolls around, and I go to start it, so I can put the top up and put it away for the night. Click. Click. Click. No start. Front battery is near flat. Rear battery is near flat. The jumper positive terminal post is exposed, meaning that to get the car on the truck, they jumped it. To get the batteries charged enough that it started for me and to get it off the truck, they had to have driven it a bit, and because they drove it, KNEW the brakes were ****.

So clearly, I'm IRATE at this point. Partially with myself for not dually verifying and asking questions and being an ******* buyer that does these things, but also for presuming that a Mercedes dealership wouldn't try something like this.

As politely as possible, I inform the sales manager and sales person what they're going to do to remedy the situation. Replacement of pieces. Keyfob provided. Battery replacement. Brake replacement.

They offer meager provision on resolution. I correct them.

They dispatch a truck (without asking me) to come get the vehicle to the local Merc dealership to check out the batteries. I inform the Merc dealership they're replacing the batteries and brakes, and to send the bill to Motorwerks. The service manager knows me. First name basis. You buy a few AMG vehicles and do 10k of Renntech to a CLS550, you get to know people.

Service manager says "Pseudo, I don't get it. This car has 260 miles left on the warranty. We're replacing the batteries, and I'm turning them in as warranty work. We'll go over it and do the same to anything else that needs it."

MotorWerks offers to put $500 toward whatever is needed on the brakes. I told them, the brakes will be right, and I'll be out no expense for it. The outcome remains to be seen, as I've not had the vehicle for 3 days now. Maybe I get it back tomorrow. Maybe it's right, maybe it's not.



Arrives with the windows down


Cracked cupholder cover.


Might have mentioned that one. Bare metal?


Floor mat or ashtray?


Someone loved McDonald's.


2 minutes with a residential carpet cleaner and Dawn. Imagine what a commercial one would have done.


Not even 24 hours and it's on a rollback to the dealership.


What we should have been doing this weekend...


Trunk carpet....

Mr. Toad

While shopping for my car last summer, I also was looking for something specific (it's hard to find a nice used model that doesn't have a black interior) and my frustration tempted me to cast my net nationwide, thinking I'd have it shipped like you did. Fortunately, I eventually found what I was looking for in a neighboring city, about two hours away.

This is why buying sight unseen just isn't a good idea. Reading about your experience is both heartbreaking and infuriating; best of luck to you in getting this resolved.

Pseudomaniac

How long you think these were in there?

alfaromeo

Wow, this is horrible. I live near Chicago area and hear bad stories about this group. I read posts a few years ago about people purchasing vehicles from them, not MB though. A group of people negotiated a group deal on VW Routan. The email communication went well. But when the group of people arrived at the dealership, the sales changed their tone and tried re-negotiate price one by one and played all dealer tricks. The group had to fight hard to protect their wallet. At the end, they left dealer with their vehicles along with bitter taste in their mouth.

They claim they are the largest dealership in the area, but I think I would avoid dealing with them based on PO's experience.