As the title says, got a 2020 GLS450 last week and 3 days later with 68 miles on the oedometer, had to tow it back to the dealership (car hesitated to accelerate and couldn't drive up a slight slope, check engine light came on, stickers over parts of engine scorched by overheating). Today after a week, got a call from the dealership with the great news: The part needed to fix the car won't be available for at least another FIFTEEN (15) WEEKS.

The car is sitting in the dealership with 69 miles on it now. My bike rack is still attached to the trailer hitch.

I didn't get a GLS because I enjoyed burning more gas or paying extra for maintenance (my 2017 GLS that this one replaced used to go through brake pads twice faster than oil changes). I got a GLS because I need a reliable 7-seater with the extra room for my family. The loaner they got me is an E350 and the attitude was basically "take it or leave it". When I requested a comparable SUV, the best they could offer was a GLC. Needless to say, our family plans for last weekend were ruined and it seems that it's going to be the same for this weekend and the ones to follow for quite some while... Same with my biking plans and more.

I am still in disbelief over this all and not sure what I should do. I contacted the MB customer service asking them to replace my brand car with a similar one and they said an executive is reviewing my case.

Is there anyone here who has had a similar experience? What are my options? Should I get a lawyer involved? Will they just replace the car in a matter of days as they should or force me to jump through countless hoops to make me give up? I am at my wits' end...

 

First - what is the part that will fix it? You need to know what that is.

Second - tell MB Corporate to take that new part from another GLS that hasn’t sold and put it on your car. Or replace the car for a new one just like it. 68 miles isn’t even a drive home from the dealership for many customers!

Had an old neighbor who spent $85k on a new 2018 Yukon Denali (basically a suburban) that replaced their 2015. Car had 10,000 miles after 3 months when the AC died, just as summer approached. The dealership told him the same thing - 4 month wait for the part. He wrote to GM to complain, and wouldn’t you know it, the part magically arrived a few days later. Came from an unsold one.

but really curious what the story is on yours. Get the scan report for your own records.

 

Are you in the US? If yes, read up on your state's lemon law. 15 weeks, if that turns out to be the case, exceed the time aspect of most lemon laws, to my knowledge.

Agree with the suggestion to ask exactly which component, and part number, is needed to repair the vehicle. Then tell them to pull it out of a GLS sitting on their lot.

 

Thanks! They said it is some wiring harnesses that needs to be replaced but good idea, I'll ask them about the exact part number(s) tomorrow.

Once I heard the 15 weeks, the first thing I asked them was to remove the parts from another car on their lot and used it to fix mine but they said they couldn't do it (I guess with limited inventory they don't want to put another car out of commission). I will follow up with the corporate office tomorrow and see what they say. I am in California btw.

 

California has one of the best lemon laws in the country. I would do some searching on this forum on how other people proceeded with it. YMMV, but I would definitely start the process now just in case and to record everything that happens.

 

So basically you made it through the first ¼ tank of gas ever for the car...

dealership will not be of much help. You definitely need corporate squarely in your sites on this. No way on earth this is a 15 week thing. Corporate can get the part directly from the factory in Alabama. The dealership cannot.

what a bunch of bull....

 

Well I had asked the dealer to deliver the car to my home last week, so out of the current 69 miles on it, just around 22 miles were my driving...

I just checked and in California, the car should be in the shop for repairs, for more than 30 days total to qualify as a lemon. Tomorrow it will be my 9th day, so 3 more weeks and it will be a lemon. I do hope by all means that I won't need to wait that long and hopefully the corporate office will help me out tomorrow. Will see and will update!

 

File whatever paperwork the California lemon law requires, and notify the dealer and MB corporate in writing you have opened a lemon case.

 

 

The lemon laws still very much favor the dealers. In California you have to wait for 30 days out of service. In Texas you have to give them 4 chances to repair the same problem. There are very few cases that are going to fall outside this.

 

Let them know you are posting your experience on MB boards but I would also start hitting Twitter. Most companies have a service that monitors for negative Tweets and they respond quickly. They should provide you a replacement out of inventory optioned the same or better than what you paid for at zero cost to you.

 

So I got a call from corporate office last Friday and they assured me that they are working on my case but said they could not promise anything. No further update on that. Here is the email I just sent them today:
************************************************** ****************
Dear XXX,
I hope this email finds you well. I am following up on the status of my car/case to see if there have been any updates.

Just a reminder that today, Sept 22, marks the 16th day since I took delivery of my new 2020 GLS450, and 13th day since the morning of Thur Sept 10 when my new car broke down after I had driven it for just around 20 miles (the dealer had delivered the car to my address on 9/7/20 so the rest of the 69 miles currently on this car is not even me driving it).

Since then, I had to spend the better part of 2 days out of my busy schedule in the dealerships in person (on Sept 10 and 11) plus more time spent on several phone calls.

We are now also just a few days away from our long-planned family trip. I and my family have been looking forward to this trip from a long time ago and we do want to make the drive in our own car, not a loaner car that I never chose and were just put into it out of necessity and being out of option.

And having said this all, it brings me to the main question: WHAT ELSE IS MBUSA WAITING FOR IN ORDER TO MAKE THIS RIGHT FOR ITS LONGTIME LOYAL CUSTOMER?

Is the corporate still investigating the Lemon laws in CA? (it's just a quick googling for me: >30 days in the shop.)
Is the corporate still waiting for the dealer to provide info? (They are just a quick call/email away.)
Is the corporate still waiting for the part to appear? I'm sure if they could repair my car, they would have done it in the past 13 days.

I keep wondering how many more MB customers are out there like me who get a brand new top-of-the-line car that breaks down within first few days and miles. I doubt we are that many (otherwise MB sure has a huge quality problem). If I am just one of the few, then what is stopping a multi-billion dollar company that builds and sells thousands of cars each week from jumping on this case and fixing it right away? I am frankly at loss.

If this cannot be fixed right away, what is the value of Mercedes Benz brand? What does the three-point star mean?

With every day that passes, my frustration builds up and my confidence in your company is further eroded. I'm sure it's not free for you either - you are still paying for the loaner that I and my family are forced to drive unwillingly (as your first dealership told me - "take it or leave it").

During our conversation last week, I told you that if it were me, my name, my company, my brand and my reputation, I wouldn't be wasting any time and would have arranged for a similar or better replacement car to be delivered to my customer address ASAP. I still believe that is the right, responsible and ethical course of action specially for a company of your standing. I trust you will be doing whatever it takes to make it right without further delay.

I look forward to hearing from you.

 

I just got a call from MBUSA saying that they decided to buy back the car. They didn't have any other info and said it is done through another company/entity and I should wait to hear from them within a week or so and they will be able to answer all the questions.

It's a relief, and I am grateful to MBUSA for taking responsibility for it and acting relatively quickly (as opposed to waiting for lemon law to kick in) but I am left with more questions now.

Has anyone here had any experience with this process? Will they offer me a replacement or just take the car back and then I should go back and start the shopping process from scratch? What about all the expenses (title/registration, etc)? I know under Lemon law the dealer should reimburse the customer for all those costs, but since the car is not officially a lemon yet (a bit over 2 weeks away), what will happen in my case? Lots of questions...

 

The only experience I have is that GM once bought back a car from me due to an emissions issue but it was a couple years old. They paid me cash and it was like selling the car to anyone, I signed over the title to them. Transaction was directly with GM (Pontiac division at that time), the dealer was not involved.

I suspect you will have to start the order process all over again or find something in inventory. I would definitely lean on your dealer to sell you at cost, since they made their profit on the first car. I doubt they will cover registration/title but maybe you can get them to throw in some free accessories like rubber mats or something to make up for it.

 

I have experience with a buyback from another carmaker.

Buyback means just that, they buy the car from you. You give them the car, they give you money. Just like buying an ice cream cone.

Unless stated in writing, you get no compensation for costs, pain, suffering or anything else. You get no replacement vehicle. You get a check. Then you are free to purchase the vehicle of your choice.

It’s simple.

 

Let this be a lesson, never buy any car on it's first year of being released.

 

I totally agree, and also it's always more challenging to negotiate a good deal when a car is relatively new. Unfortunately I am usually on 3-year leases, so sometimes the timing won't be ideal...

 

Thanks! It was leased, so I assume the check will be for the same amount as my drive-offs I paid 2-3 weeks ago when I got the car? I put 0 down but placed 10 MSDs so it came to around $13K.

 

Really - MB stepped up to the plate - I am sure you will get this settled - as the BEST solution for you is Buy Back - let's "assume" for now you get back all the cash you have in the transaction - and your paid lease payments too.

Time to look forward thru this situation - you will be grateful to put this in the rear window and not look back.

 

This. Especially with so much tech in today's cars. However it happens every time there is a new release. People get all worked up and need to get the brand new models and then they end up with issues.

 

thankfully no issues yet 🙏🏻

 

Not always the case. As I explained above, there are many like me who are on fixed-length lease contracts and the timing of getting the new car is dictated by their lease maturity date. I personally don't care much for driving the latest model and would gladly take back my trusty old 2017 GLS450 instead of this one, but the lease on that one is already ended so I'm out of luck and stuck in this situation.

 

I wish I could say so, but it's not over for me yet. I understand that cars break down and it's not the end of the world, but a case involving a car in this class that breaks down at just 68 miles requires a bit of more attention from the manufacturer. There are people in this forum who wait for months to get their new build. How will they feel if their brand new car turns out to be a lemon after driving it for a few miles and then they are told by the manufacturer that here is your money back and feel free to go back to the end of the line and order a new one if you want (which means waiting another couple of month)?? In my case, I just picked one from the lot, but when I did it, the inventory was a lot better than now and I am out of luck finding a proper replacement. I am not even talking about all the hardship and frustration I suffered during the first week of my ownership given this unexpected turn of events. No, I certainly do not think that "MB stepped up to the plate" in my case. I tend to think that they failed miserably. They offered to buy it back, since they knew after 2 more weeks it will be a lemon and then they will have to take it back and pay me my money anyway as per the state's law, so I guess they just decided to do it now instead of waiting a few more weeks and paying for my loaner...

This is by no means in my rear window. I still need a car, and this time of the year is most difficult time to get a new car as both the 2020 and 2021 inventories are very limited/non-existent. For those who order a new build and wait for month, they still have their existing cars to drive. For me, I had a car that returned to get this new one, so I am unfortunately still living through this nightmare and I am almost considering to forget about getting a new car and just rent an SUV for now (which means paying the same amount of monthly payment I had for my GLS to drive a Toyota or Ford for now.)

 

Yeah I get it. It's best to try and cycle out into a year two or higher if possible. I've on occasion ended up a year one models and overall been lucky but still try to avoid at all costs. Hope it all works out.

 

Extension of a lease or purchase+finance of the vehicle is almost always an option. This increases flexibility at the end of the initial contract. Do you agree @rayzam ?