MB Fanatic

Don't give into them. Be persistent yet fair and demand a complete vehicle replacement at this point. The Lemon Law is on your side.

I hope it works out for you Kaila, since if this had happened to my car or my wife while she was with our 3 daughters, I would probably go nuclear.

MomsBenz

I am so not good at this and to make matters worse my husband is off fighting wild land fires and can not help me right now. I know I need to be more firm. Ugh, MB Fanatic do you want to come down and do my dirty work I feel like I am walking in circles. Where do I start? Do I go directly to the owner of Caliber?

MB Fanatic

Yes start with the management of Caliber. They are the ones who will get you your car lemoned. Also call MBUSA and ask they send a regional service manager out to look at the car. Arrange a time where the both of you can meet in person (preferably at Caliber). Also, tell him that this is the 3rd time they are attemping to repair this problem, and that in California you have already reached the qualifications for Lemon Law. If they refuse to replace the car, tell them you will get a Lawyer who specializes in Lemon Law and they will be held liable.

Im sure it won't get to the legal part and they will make right of the situation.

MomsBenz

Thank you. I will call on Monday. I really appreciate all your help MB Fanatic!

MB Fanatic

Don't mention it, thats why we have this forum. I would offer to throw up a little meet somehwere around OC, but I am going to India for about 3 months come Sunday. Opening my latest hotel and I want to be there for everything

MomsBenz

Wow, Very NICE! Enjoy your trip and your success! Congratulations. Hopefully when you get back I will be sporting some pics of my NEW ride Hope you can keep in touch from India. Your help has been invaluable!

MB Fanatic

Oh for sure. I always check MBW from Mumbai. I would go crazy if I don't logon lol. Again, dont thank me haha. Its a pleasure helping people.

I just hope MBUSA does what is right.

MomsBenz

I am glad to hear I will still be able to pick your brain from half way around the world I will definitely keep you posted on what is going on. I know what you mean about not being able to log on, I might go crazy as well

dmfick

I woul dgo ahead and put a lomon law notice letter in front of the selling dealer and MB USA. You can probably do this without an attorney - here's alink to the CA Attorney General's Office on the topic.

http://ag.ca.gov/consumers/general/lemon.php

I am in Maryland and had to invoke the lemon law to get enough attention to my cruise control problem. lthough we did not end up going the lemon law route, the dealer did repurchase the vehicle at full depreciated value, and I bought a new '08, which has been perfect (for four months so far).

Here is a link to the MD AG's web site for lemons - has a description of the prcedures to follow and two excellent resource links - a complaint form and example letters to send to the dealer and MB USA:

http://www.oag.state.md.us/Consumer/lemon.htm

Here's an example of the letter that they suggest:

Contacting the Manufacturer for the First Time
If Your Vehicle is a "Lemon" Under the Lemon Law

Consumer's Name
Address
City, State Zip Code
Telephone Number
Date

Manufacturer's Name
Address
City, State Zip Code

BY CERTIFIED MAIL
RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to notify you of the problems I have had with my[Year, Make, Model and VIN# of car] pursuant to Maryland's Automotive Warranty Enforcement Act, Md. Code Ann., Com. Law II., §14-1501 et seq.

I purchased my car from [Name of Dealership] on [date of purchase.] Approximately [amount of time after purchase], I began having trouble with [description of problem]. I took my car back to the dealer on [Dates of Repair Attempts] to have this problem corrected but to date, the dealer has been unable to do so. Thus far, [my car has been out of service for a total of [number] days/a dealership has attempted to repair this problem [number] times.] Attached are copies of the repair orders that document the dealership's attempts to repair my car.

This problem substantially impairs both the use and value of my car. Therefore, unless you are able to correct this problem within 30 days of your receipt of this letter, I request that you [repurchase or replace] my vehicle under the provisions of Md. Code Ann., Com. Law II, §14-1502.

Please contact me at the above address or telephone number to arrange a mutually convenient date and time for you to inspect my car and make the necessary repairs.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

Enclosures

MomsBenz

You are AWESOME! Thank you so much. I am going to get working on that letter right now.
I can not believe how much help this forum has been! You guys are all the greatest!

JimBarnhart

Do you have any relatives that could maybe give them a call, say a brother, father, son, friend, etc? My personal experience, not with this dealer, but in general is that the car industry seems to have more 'female inferiority complex' than most businesss. Maybe a phone call from a strong male will get them moving quicker.

I think you have a great story here. Your husband is risking his life for others on the wildfires, you are home managing to get by, you have a $70K vehicle that has been in the shop 3 times for dropping dead involuntarily. When I lived in San Diego years ago I remember '5 on your side' or something like that on a television station that might work too. The person might want to mention this as a possible avenue as a threat. Seems like a simple phone call from an interested 3rd party might just get them thinking we don't need any bad publicity here.

Keep strong and keep the faith - you have a compelling argument.

MB Fanatic

Kaila, any updates for us? Have you called MBUSA yet and told them the possibility of court action given the unreliability of this one specific GL450?

MomsBenz

I did type the letter up, but have not sent it. I got a call today and the SA told me that they took our 6 control modules and hooked them up to a computer and left them for the weekend. The analysis came back that the problem lied in the rear lift gate lock/latch. He said the computer showed that was keeping an open circuit and they are 98% sure this is the problem.

So now, do I wait for it to die again or proceed with telling them I am done with this car? I really want to believe they have fixed it, but there is still a part of me that will never believe them.

MB Fanatic

Don't believe them since I don't buy the BS that they hooked up the modules to SDS or whatever other computer system to test it. Next time the car dies, they will claim its another module. At this point, requesting lemon status is the only route IMO.

MomsBenz

I agree. Wish me luck........

oknish

Wish you luck.

JimBarnhart

Go Get Em

MomsBenz

Ok boys, I did it!! I just got off the phone with MBUSA and gave them a complete list of complaints. They are sending out a regional rep to inspect the car and go over all the mechanics notes to date. So far they were VERY apologetic. We will see how nice they are when things get down and dirty!

dmfick

I doubt that you are up for a new car yet under lemon laws. The laws vary by state and are very specific about how to qualify. Generally the manufacturer gets three full shots at repairing the problem. If I read your posts correctly, they are on their third (documented by a work order) try. If so, hopefully this will be the charm and you won't have to hassle with the buy-back. I know you may not feel comfortable with the GL's reliability going forward, but my experience is that after they actually find the problem, MB gets it right and you shouldn't have any more issues with that particular problem. If it happens ONE more time, however, you should be able to go through the lemon claim process and prevail.

MomsBenz

I agree, the California Lemon-Aid law states that there is no set number of attempts, however the guidelines state the manufacturer or dealer hasn't fixed the same problem after four or more attempts; the vehicle has been in the shop for more than 30 days (not necessarily in a row) for repair of any problems covered by this warranty (I am going on 17 day accumulatively)

I have a hard time believing them when they say it is fixed. I pray it is. My children and I need reliable transportation. I just pray we don't have any big fires and I can't leave.

ETA: I am just glad the "higher ups" know what is going on so if and when the 4th occurrence happens they are prepared.

MomsBenz

I just found this in my California Lemon-Aid handbook:

Is there a need to have four or more repair attempts before I can take advantage of the Lemon Law?
"No. The manufacturer is obligated to repair serious warranty problems and is allowed a "reasonable" opportunity to do so, even without regard to the Lemon Law Presumption. If the problem is very serious, a "reasonable" number of attempts will ordinarily be fewer than four but more than one."

So now we just have to figure out who deems the problem "serious". I feel it is serious, being stranded with 3 kids is no laughing matter!

Stumblefoot

I feel for you, especially with your big trip coming up. I know if it was me, I'd be worried the entire time I was so far away from home. Be sure you know where the local dealers are located, in case you run into trouble.

I can't remember exactly where you said you were going (Glacier Nat'l Park?), but if you're heading to Montana, Newbie-2-MB might be able to offer some dealers up there.

MomsBenz

We are headed to Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana. Glacier Nat'l Park, Yellowstone, The Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole. I will definitely find out where the dealers are. My NAV should show me too. A contact name for any would be greatly appreciated. Thankfully my husband will be traveling with us (unless any more fires break out)

The Rep from MBUSA is suppose to call me today with a direct contact number and of course his name. I will let him know I will be traveling 2000+ miles and that failure is NOT an option

Newbie_2_MB

There is only 1 dealer in Montana and that's in Missoula. We met the owner, Lew, who is a very nice guy. It's a combo MB/Chrysler/Jeep dealership. There are a couple of dealerships in Idaho but we didn't get a chance to visit them.

JimBarnhart

I now know why MB dealerships come up first on the list of POIs on the nav screen.

Nice work getting MBUSA involved. You are doing great.