MomsBenz

Yep you guessed it, my car is dead again. I am waiting for road side assistance now to come and tow it in. This is what, the fourth time in 3 months! I will let you all know what they find (or don't find) this time. I am thinking I just want a new car at this point. Who is it that said I should ask for the owners car as my loaner? STP? I think I will be pushing for that today. Wish my luck!

Trodas

Hi momsbenz,


We commnunicated by email this weekend, on mine they found that the tranny was bad and sometimes what it was doing was drawing eectric while the car was shut off and draining the battery...so they are replacing the whole tranny..hopefully this cures it, keep me posted on your end.

oknish

Sorry to hear this, Mom. Put your foot down and don't hesitate to take it all the way up the chain.

MomsBenz

Thanks guys. This is so frustrating

Trodas: Wow, the tranny. I am glad to hear you are getting a new one. I will keep you posted

Oknish: Believe me, I am not going to be quiet anymore. We are suppose to leave on a road trip to Wyoming in 3 weeks and I need a functioning car. Sigh.... wish me luck

oknish

Wish you luck. And, yeah, it can be frustrating if you are going on a road trip to have a dead car. I would recommend while at dealer you have them contact the regional MB rep also to make MB aware of the situation and also to let them know that you will be hitting the road so "failure is not an option"

MomsBenz

Good idea! I will also have them take care of the Tow Hitch recall while it is there. I never thought in a million years I would have so many car problems in the first 3,000 miles, especially in a MB.

BeanCounter

Mom,

I know this has been previously mentioned, but check the lemon laws in California. You are probably at the point where they might have to fix it this time or give you a new one. I completely agree with Nish, the more people you can get involved in the process (i.e. Regional Reps, etc.) the better. Good luck and sorry for your pain.................

MomsBenz

I have been reading. I do believe this will attempt will be the breaking point. I will involve as many as possible. A new ones sounds really good right now. I am to the point where I no longer believe them when they say it is fixed.

I just got a call from roadside, they are not going to be here for a few more hours. I called at 9:30 this morning and was told they had one stop ahead of me and it is now 1:00p and they are going to be a few more hours?? GRRRR!!

LEOSOPHIE

Sorry to hear about your continuing problems. My brother had a similar problem with an early ML and Mercedes bought it back and gave him a special deal on the new improved model. Maybe they would do the same with an 09.

cablvr

Moms,

I thought CA had a lemon law. I love our collective GLs - perhaps it is time to pursue a replacement GL.

MomsBenz

Well I got her all checked into the dealership finally. Roadside didn't show up until 3:00 and basically jumped it and said drive it straight to the dealership.

Funny thing happened, I was removing the tow ball so they can perform the recall while it was there and for the first time ever the stupid rear lift gate would not function. The SA was standing right there and said, guess I will add that to the list as well. I think I remember reading that there is a TSB out for the power liftgate draining the battery?

Anyway, they sent me home in a very nice brand new 2008 C300. Quick lil car.

I will definitely be pushing for the new one. I think it is the LEAST they can do at this point. Guess now I have to wait and see what tomorrow brings.

JimBarnhart

Here's a good web site for the California Lemon law:

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

Notice that you still could have to pay a usage fee that is pretty easy to calculate.

My opinion is you should decide what you would like for an outcome and pursue that in a calm, but strong manner. Telling the dealer that you intend to pursue legal remedies if you aren't satisfied with the outcome of this discussion. Of course the dealership will want to satisfy you with a fix on your current vehicle.

I can't decide for you but my opinion is I would want a new vehicle. I'd be willing to take another GL and assume I truly had a lemon and it's not a pervasive problem with the model. I wouldn't expect to be driving off the lot with a new vehicle at an even exchange, since CA lemon law will require you to pay the usage fee.

So what's a reasonable trade for a new vehicle? I think the SUV market isn't good in CA, so buying a GL450 at invoice seems possible/reasonable. Maybe that's where you start to decide value of the new vehicle. For trade value of the lemon, I would propose that you follow the lemon law guidelines - purchase price - the usage fee. Of course if they have a GL on the lot that meets your needs, you will have an easier time and a quicker resolution.

Good luck, I feel very bad for you to have such a nice vehicle that is simply not safe. No Mom should be in a position where they have to worry about a breakdown without notice. Our neighborhoods just aren't that safe in America.

MomsBenz

Jim, should I go to the dealer where I bought my GL? I have had all the warranty work done there as well, but this last time I switched dealers to see if a new service department could figure it out. Maybe I should call my SA at my regular dealership and tell him what is going on.
I would take a new GL in a heartbeat and write if off as a true lemon. I have read the law and think the usage fee should be pretty minimal as my first occurrence was at 1,346 miles. Invoice is a great place to start When I bought my GL in March they knocked $10,000 of sticker, I am assuming that is close to invoice? Or maybe they knew it was a lemon, LOL!
It is not safe at all. My husband is a firefighter and gone for long periods of time. I am home alone with 3 kids for weeks on end. I live in the mountains where we have been evacuated twice in the past four years for very devastating wild fires. Yesterday it took roadside 5 hours to come help me. Imagine if we would of been under a mandatory evacuation! I would of had to leave the car to burn. We tried jumping it, but I pulled straight into the garage and the cables would not reach. I am buying a battery pack today like roadside had. The whole thing makes me sick.
Thanks for listening to my rambling. It feels good to vent. Thanks for all your help. I am sure I will be turning to this forum for help/advise through this whole process.

~Kaila

MomsBenz

If I did my calculations right, 1,346/120,000=0.01% so basically 1% would be my usage fee. So I am roughly looking at $7.00 LOL!

JimBarnhart

Which one has inventory of the vehicle you want?

I would use the dual dealership to your advantage, and start with your purchasing dealership. Tell them you thought maybe their service department was just not well trained enough to handle this, so you went to a different dealer for a '2nd opinion' so to speak. It now appears that the problem is very advanced and not solvable by MB - period. So you are back with the dealership you prefer, but no longer have confidence in this vehicle, rather than not having confidence in the service shop. Tell them you intend to service your next vehicle there.

You have a perfect story on why you require safety and piece of mind. That's why you bought the MB in the 1st place.

JimBarnhart

Math is off, but still not much. 1346/120,000 = ~$700.00

MomsBenz

Guess I didn't have enough coffee yet!!

MomsBenz

I was just looking at inventory. The first dealer has my exact same car there. I still need to look at the inventory for the second dealership.

I left a message for my SA where I purchased the car. Waiting to hear back of the names of the owner and customer service managers. I am not good at this type of stuff. Blech!

Newbie_2_MB

If you don't hear back from the SA within a couple of hours, call back & tell the receptionist that you had a fantastic experience with the dealership and you want to write a personal letter to the owner & customer service managers and ask for their names. The receptionist will cough up the names for something positive.

I am good at this type of stuff

MomsBenz

Ahhh, that is fantastic! I love it!!! He did call back. I got the names and his manager is also taking over my case. He has called the other dealership and is sending out their forman to over see the other dealers work. There is a chance it will be transferred back to my original dealership for all to see. I am waiting now to here where it is going to end up so I can flip flop loaner cars.

jongaines

Here's my two cents. If you dealership doesn't give you satisfaction at this point, hire an attorney. We are talking about a very expensive vehicle; I am sure you worked very hard to earn the money to pay for it. Hire some killer to get you the benefit you bargained for when you dropped $65-70K on this car. It will cost a few bucks, but it will no longer be your problem and my experience is that you will immediately get the dealer's and MB's attention.

MomsBenz

I am VERY tempted. I am going out tomorrow to have a "talk" with the owner. You are right, we work very hard for what we have and this is alot of money to cough up. We will see what tomorrow brings. Thanks for your input. I think you hit the nail on the head.

MB Fanatic

Kaila, you bought the car from Caliber correct? Get in touch with the folks there and have the vehicles lemoned. Come on down to MBLN, I will get you in touch with the folks I deal with if Caliber doesnt replace your GL450. Its sad to see a dealer treat a client like this after numerous repairs.

MomsBenz

Thank you! Yes, I purchased it from Caliber. Right now the car is at Walter's in Riverside, and all I can say is I don't understand how they have any clients. I am going down today and demanding my car back and I will drive it to Caliber. Then I will get to talk with the SM first then up the chain. I will let you know how it goes. I have heard GREAT things about MBLN. I appreciate your help. I will be in touch

MomsBenz

Well, not alot of progress today. My car is completely torn apart. They have taken out the middle seats, dvd player and the head liner. They still can not find the draw. The shop forman from Caliber went over to Walter's to meet with their shop forman and put their heads together, they are completely stumped. The words "new car" was tossed around quite a bit today. I guess I need to see what the next few days bring. At least I am driving a brand new C300 for free in the mean time