lyonkster

Just received my 2011 CPO GLK (bought it sight unseen from across the country, based on the dealer's description that the car was like new).

Upon receipt, it is anything but that. Over a dozen dings/dents/scratches on numerous panels - nothing big, but most are beyond paintless dent removal. All were there at time of shipment, as indicated by bill of lading.

Other first impressions:

The car has clearly not been carefully detailed or waxed, but I can deal with that.

Two tires are new, two others are right at that 7/32 limit. Probably can't make them replace them, but still leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

Some kind of rattling noises, hopefully that will be easy to find/fix.

Rotors that are supposedly less than 1000 miles, look pretty grooved.

Transmission whine.

Wipers are totally worn out. I know, small thing, but it just adds up to a feeling that this is a far cry from the type of vehicle that the MB CPO brochure promises: "A Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned vehicle is a clean-skinned beauty, as free of dings, dents, rips, visible scratches, and scuffs as we can make possible, with high quality fit and finish inside and out." That is in fact exactly how the 10 or so cars that we saw at local dealers looked, so I sort of drunk the Cool Aid and assumed that all CPO cars would be like that. Apparently not.

So, my question is, how to best proceed. Should I start with the selling dealer (who is 2000 miles away), with my local dealer, or with MBUSA and have them tell me if this car is considered up to their CPO standards?

Anyone else had this type of experience, and has suggestions/tips of how to best deal with MB?

Anyway, not a good start to my MB experience .

ble2716

That does not sound too good there.
Some of us with 2010GLK had similar whine which turn out to be a faulty transfer case which required the transmission to be replaced.
Good Luck

lyonkster

The transmission whine is probably the least of my concern, since I'd expect that to be dealt with under the warranty.

I'm mostly wondering where to start dealing with this issue, since I feel like the MB CPO program was not really followed here - do I start with MBUSA, selling dealer, local dealer?

ble2716

I do not have answer to your question but would it be easier for you to go to your local dealer (which is closer & more convenience?) to find out.
They might brush you off but at least you who to contact next.

lyonkster

Well I called MBUSA, and told them my tale of woe. They said they'll bring it up to the attention of the regional manager, so we'll see where that leads me.

ble2716

Cyber GS

This stinks, it will be interesting to see how this turns out. Good luck.

lyonkster

Took some photos of the "clean skinned beauty" today. Please tell me that this is not up to MB CPO Standards.

Door ding:



Dent:




Another dent:




Liftgate:




More liftgate:

lyonkster

Some more photos.

Ding/dent:




Long Scratch/ding:




Scrape/dent/scratch:




Just a big mess:




More scuffing:

WhistlesGoWoo

You wonder after seeing that if there are any qualifications for meeting CPO standard as far as exterior condition is concerned. Its unfortunate of course, that you had to buy this over the internet. Did they offer to send any detailed pics before your purchase?

kozak79

Looks terrible. If that's how they describe the CPO in marketing material, theoretically, you should have no problems returning it or getting it all fixed.

Cyber GS

I agree it looks terrible, before having them repair it I would look into returning it and getting your money back.

It looks like this GLK has had a hard life already based on the damage you can see. So it would scare me to think of what else is wrong with it that can’t be seen.

Too late now but you should have refused deliver and had the trucking company take it back to the dealer.

In my experience anytime I’ve have seen CPO’s at my dealer they are in great condition. Detailed very well inside and out even the engine compartment is immaculate.

Good luck, I hope it works out for you.

lyonkster

That's been my experience with over a dozen CPO GLK's here as well, which is why I took a chance on getting one from far away. So far I struck out with the selling dealer, as expected (" imperfections on the passenger side are minor and do not need attention from the bodyshop. It is normal wear that happens to pre-owned vehicles"). Still waiting to hear back from Corporate.

Cyber GS

By any chance do you have any previous correspondence from the selling dealer saying that the GLK was in “mint” condition etc as they were trying to close the deal?

Did they send you any photos that looking at now you realize were taken at angles so that you wouldn’t see any damage?

I would have to assume that any of this info would go a long way in helping you prove they misrepresented the GLK.

BTW – how many miles are on it?

lyonkster

I sure do .

When corresponding about the car, I asked (emphasis mine):
To which they replied:
If that isn't misrepresentation, I don't know what is.

Cyber GS

Another thing. Want to take a guess what would happen if you returned the GLK to MB after a lease with all this damage.

I wonder if MB would consider these ”imperfections” as minor normal wear and tear and not charge you. No way.

WhistlesGoWoo

When you said philly....it is all starting to make sense now. Would have been an instant red-flag for me personally having just traveled there this past fall and i've got to imagine it is the next closest city (other than Detroit) we have to post-apocalyptic conditions.

Cyber GS

It seems like you covered all your bases, this has to be a real "dirt bag" dealer to send you that GLK after you asked all those questions. He blatantly lied.

Good Luck again.

MKenM

I hope you have put the selling dealer on notice and not just by phone. Do your self a favor and don't tell the world about your lack of concern for some of what you describe a minor imperfections. Or I can live with that or that isn't a major concern.

You never know when some of these comments here might come and bite you in the a$$. I guess it depends on how upset you are. I'm sure you are but you have to determine to what extents you are willing to go through.

If you ever decide in the future to buy a vehicle from a remote location join a forum like you did here and ask someone to do you a favor and look at the vehicle for you. You would be surprised when you find out how many volunteers are out there and more than glad to help.

Best of luck in your endeavors and do keep us informed.

WhistlesGoWoo

This is a fantastic idea!

lyonkster

So MBUSA told me that this is of no concern to them, it is between me and the dealer. I asked them why they have this pretty CPO brochure that says to buy a car from across the country with confidence, and she told me that meant that the warranty would still apply. Whatever. Like it's going to be easy for me to fight with a dealer from across the country.

rmfnla

The answer is yes to all of the below. Let’s make this deal!

Sounds like this is all they were concerned about.

Was any of your corrospondance through the U.S. mail?

If so, you might be able to interest the U.S. Attorney in presecuting for mail fraud (or at least use that as a threat)...

cmasten

I learned my lesson on CPO with a Lexus GS that the dealer sold me that had been in a significant crash. I tried to trade it in and the folks at CarMax found inside the trunk the rear end had replacement parts and bad welds. I took it back to the dealer and the local Lexus GM did get involved to get me into an LS.

Overall the mauf sets the rules and its really the dealers that can choose to play in or out of bounds.. sounds like your dealer was at the bottom of the barrel. I just picked up a 2010 GLK in Dec and it was CPO. The pictures online looked too good to be true, 34k miles and it was still wrapped in plastic! sure enough I went down (couple of hours from my home) and it was indeed like brand new. The previous owner used it to commute and had left most of the dealer prep plastic still on it (seats, floors, door sills etc) The dealer went through the entire vehicle, and gave it a 40k mile service, replacing the air filters and cabin filter etc and then even replaced all four tires as they were close to the limit but still in good shape. In the 3 months I have owned this vehicle I have yet to find a scratch or dent, its amazing actually. Its brand new, as described in the CPO inventory search.

From the pics your showing, Im not sure what you could do, other than to see if it had been in a major accident and was misrepresented (how I got out of my Lexus) all the minor scrapes and dents are not enough ammunition for corporate to get involved, but , if you have a CarMax close by I would have them give you a free inspection that you get when they evaluate purchasing your car. Something more significant may come out that you will be able to use to get the dealer to take the car back, at least if that is the case, MB corporate might get involved, which has been my experience.

I sincerely hope you get this resolved somehow. The GLK is a great vehicle and its a bummer you had to deal with a bad dealer as you did. Of all the CPOs that I looked at between three dealers, (maybe 20 in total) NONE had any of the damage you show.

fndlair

My wife and I bought a 2012 GLK CPO at KEYES Mercedes in Van Nuys CA.

The car was a service loaner with 11000 miles on it. We got a good deal.

The deal wasn't without it's problems though. The car was missing various things such as a spare key, Owners Manual, Cig Lighter and cover for the back area. I had to keep on them and eventually called MB customer service for help.

It surprises me how little MB knows about it's dealers. You would think they would keep a tighter reign on them

Cyber GS

What I don’t understand is why would anyone accept a vehicle with items missing, especially a spare key (they are not cheap). Even the owners manual is expensive but at least you could have downloaded it if needed.

I would not have accepted the vehicle, or at the very least had the dealer put something in writing in regards to the items that are owed to me. At least this way you would have some type of recourse if needed.

If they refused I would have simply walked away regardless of the deal. I learned a long time ago that if it’s not in writing, it doesn’t exist.

I’m glad it eventually worked out for you