FYI all,

My tranny failed at 800 miles. The replaced the valve body assembly. It worked but did not feel right. The car would leap forward sometimes at stops light your foot slipped off the clutch in a manual. Not a good feeling. Was called yesterday they want to replace it again because they have a new updated assembly. Also now want to replace my engine. Lets see bad trannies and now a new engine after only 4K miles. I have a meeting with the zone rep. on Monday. 2 options, replace the car or refund my money. If its the later I will never buy another MB product and will tell my horror story to everyone I meet. VP of sales here so I meet alot of people. Atleast MB is finally going to actually discuss this lemon POS with me. Not a great experience for a first time MB owner. Our Jag was rock solid as compared to this. But I do have a meeting. Good luck with your trannies and engines.

 

yea and???

 

Looks like anyone with the new 7 speed auto will be needing a new valve body assembly wouldn't you think? Maybe the plan is to wait until you have to be towed in from who knows where. They are already on the third version it sounds like. I am sure if all is fine they would not have called me in to replace mine for a second time. What about the customers that have version one? Oh I know ML God, just wait until it leaves them stranded somewhere, or stopped in the middle of the road like happened to my wife. All part of the MB experience. Then again it is a Chrysler product. We all know the fine transmission history there. Thats why my Dodge diesel truck is 6 speed manual.

 

so this might be a good idea to purchase the extended warranty?

 

The MB extended warranty is the worst in the business if you read the fine print. I would make sure I have everything in order before your warranty runs out. With the crappy quality being put out by MB I would be looking to trade
before you get a ton of miles on her. Then again most serious problems tend to pop up early on new models like ours. I would be asking my dealer questions regarding tranny updates if i owned one. Good luck.

 

How is it the worst? What does it not cover that others do cover?

 

Hey Sparkie...dont listen to him. He is just a bitter old man. There extended warrenty covers everything except audio and interior/exterior trim....everything else is covered

 

It is expensive and the way it works is different then anything I have seen before. I forget the exact details but it actually expired before you would thing it would when compared with every other manufactures i have seen. ML God is just your typical dealer ahole who runs his mouth so you can get sucked into more money from MB. Look at the details. They have changed it from years past just like the maintence program. And ML im 38 and pissed at the lack of response and test that MB has put into this car for its engine ( Oil burns) and Tranny that needs its 3rd valve body assembly. The biggest problem seems to be MB's bad attitude which is very reflected my the someone exhibited by ML God. Just pay your money and if you vehicle is POS
just shut up and take it because they need to keep selling it to other. The lack of concern or help from MB is perfectly reflected by ML God. It just be the corporate culture and training. Thats all I can figure out with this moron.
If he worked for my dealer he would be eating through a straw at this point.

 

Please don't take this the wrong way, but people are people. You catch more flies with honey, so to speak. It's possible that you just got a bad car. I think if you approached your dealership and MBUSA in a nicer manner, you'd get a much better response. Calling people names and getting angry only makes them want to turn away from you and not help you. Don't misunderstand my intent here, however. I completely understand your frustration with paying a lot of money for a car that hasn't even met minimal standards. Just remember, it's not each individual's fault. It seems to me that you if could find the right person through MBUSA customer service, that would be an excellent start. Just try being a little nicer in your approach. My two cents.

The other option is that if you hate the car so much, you could just sell it. You might lose a few bucks, but it would rid you of your constant frustration which might be worth it.

 

Hi sparky, I agree with you 100%. I tried the nice easy approach and I could not get anyone to even talk about the car. The scary part is we actually love the car just not the problems. I have talked to customers service aqnd they say they will contact the dealer and I will get a call back and you never hear from anyone. They screwed up 2 oil consumtion tests already. I told the last time to please have the manager or owner call me before I come and pick up the car again. If they don't i am going to get ugly and head for the show room floor and start telling my horror stories to customers. Guess what,
no call back. I get there and they can not even tell me how much oil it burned in the last 1200 miles. They are still trying to measure it on the stick!!
MB says you change the oil and put in the 8 litres of new, drive it and then drain it all and measure what is left. Simple and tells you how much oil it burned. They can not even do that right now they want to replace the engine and rebuild the tranny again. I went to the show room and talked to a family buying a new MB. I told them to run for there lives. I have 4k on my car
a rebuilt tranny and a bad engine and MB and the dealer refuse to discuss it.
The salesmen came up and said thats not fair. I went off on what is not fair is the lack of response from them and MB. I agree the dealer got stuck with this car that MB built. MB wants to bury there head in the sand and hope I trade the car or go away. I can not do that. I will file a class action and pound them in court if that is what it takes. When you buy this class of car you expect a little bit more. After I did the show room thing every one wants to talk now. Now they know i am serious and what I am willing to do. I can swing by anytime to talk to customer and thats the only thing that got their attention. Hurt them in the pocket book and they get the message. It to bad it has come to this. I am VP of sales for north america so I know a little bit about customer service and dealing with the public. My wife and I both tried to be nice thinking the dealer and MB would do the right thing. I could not even get a return phone call. So now we will do it the hard way. I finally have a meeting with the MB zone rep on Monday. I will be nice and see what happens. If I get know where I will be back on the showroom floor for another demo. If I have to park the car in front of the dealer ship with signs and a bullhorn I will do that. I do not like being ripped off. I am sure MB wants me to do exactly like you said. Trade the car and move on and I am sure most people would. It just is not in my Italian NDA. I am not going to take the hit on this POS and walk away with out them taking a few hits them selves. I deal with a lot of executives from major companies all over north america. Just telling my story every chance I get is cost them cars. I know of 4 already and and its only been six weeks. They bought a Porche, Lexus, BMW and an Audi instead of MB products after hearing the lack of service I received. I deal with companies in the construction industry so it tends to be people with money and who like nice fast cars. I myself am the king of fast toys and everyone I deal with knows my knowledge of cars, motors and fast toys so I get asked for advise all the time. Know the first question I get is how is it going with your wifes MB. Well let me tell you!!!!!!!!! Now I am begining to believe that this dealer has no clout with MB and no ***** either. If they replace the car I will probably go through the dealer closer to me. I went to Phil Smart because my friend recommended them and had owned 7 from them. He bought a new 745 BMW last week. Hope everyone else has better luck them me. I understand the issues with new motors and trannies and the bugs that need to me worked out. The problem is how the manufacture deals with those issues and there customers. Now I understand all the talk about the lack of customer service from MB. I figured the dealer would step in and handle it but they just to be scared of MB and will not question anything. Very weak!!!! Just keep an eye on you oil consumption and trannies because they have problems. Trannies all have a bad valve body assembly from what my deal just told me. So get them fixed before you are left on the side of the road like my wife.

 

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know if the SLK 55 AMG has the same transmission as the ML500? We've picked up both cars this week, and it would sure be upsetting if we ended up with problems on both.

Thanks!

 

I've had a lot of cars in my life, and I've only had one strand me: 2005 Jaguar XJ8L. I guess it all depends on who you ask. I used to drive Jaguars from Hertz for a company car, but after going through six of them in a two month time span, I've changed to Audi A6's. I also never had a mirror fall off of a car before I drove a Jaguar...

Sorry to hear about your wife, but I think it's perspective. You would never drive another MB and I would never drive another Ford PAG product.

 

By the way, I don't care if you're Bill Gates, MBUSA has more money than you. I hope you have millions of dollars to file a law suit to recoup the cost of your car from them, and get some personal satisfaction out of it, because I guarantee if you choose to play hardball instead of working with them, they'll keep you sitting in court for years.

btw: They'll also most likely get a gag order until the case is settled, so as much as you'll want to call the NBC Nightly news, and post nasty threats on a message board, you'll likely find yourself on the recieving end of a counter suit if you don't obey.

 

I have more fun getting this guy so pissed off. Me I dont own MB I dont really give a **** about the company...I am just there to repair cars and get a pay check...but seeing this guy get so pissed off is a blast....Mr Internet tough guy....eating through a straw huh....care to make it happen?

 

I feel sorry for you. There is no way I could deal with Mercedes customers on a daily basis -- I hate to even be associated with them. I think one of the reasons why I have no problems with my dealership is because I'm one of the few people who isn't a pain to deal with. If something's wrong, I just want it fixed. I don't care how long it takes. They give me a car to drive, and if I don't like that car, I'll go home and drive one of my own.

 

You are right about that...I would say 80% of our clients can be a pain. We are a very big dealer with a ton of business. We are booked 2 weeks out for service. We do everything we can for our clients. BUT there is only so much we can do. We are only a dealer we are not owned by MBZ nor do we own them. I do everything I can possible to repair these cars. I try not to take it so personal. The sec I start dealing with a customer like redvette i walk away. It isnt worth it. Let him throw his tantrum. I didnt design the car, I didnt build it. I am just there to help....If thats not enough then...ohh well

 

I guess these are the kinds of customers you should expect when they want a rolling status symbol, instead of appreciating the car...

 

BINGO

 

They car would actually have to run properly and get you to where you need to go. I guess that to much to expect from MB. All the chevys I had never had any issues like this POS. I guess im stupid and should have stayed with Chevy. I figured MB would be reliable and have good customer service. How wrong I was. Have had to go to these lenghts before to get anything i owned fixed. Hell these idiots can't even fill the oil level currectly. I guess its just me that when you pay for something you expect it to be right or at least get fixed. Less the 5k and on its 3rd tranny rebuild and needs a new motor. Now theres quality. I do not like making payments on a POS that spends 50% of its time in the shop where knuckle draggers like ML God experiment on trying to fix it with out having a clue as what to do. Its a hassle running back and forth to let them experiment and do their R & D testing. You would think that would have been done before they released the car. How wrong I am. If the dealers had to make the payments on the car while they tinkered with them I would bet everything would happen faster and done right. Let me know were you work ML I would happy to drop by sometime. I am sure your dealer dosn't let you even talk to the customers because you don't have the brain power to deal on that level. Why would you be so opposed to me letting other members know the potential problems with there vehicles. I just don't get it.

 

I admit that my car is a hanger queen, and I don't really care. I knew all of this when I bought a Mercedes and set my expectations properly from the get go. Maybe you'd be happier with a certified pre-owned Lexus with the Lexus of warranties.

By the way, as someone who appreciates the technology and the engineering, I know that it takes someone far more educated than a "grease monkey" or a "knuckle-dragger" to work on a Mercedes. Maybe if you didn't take the "I'm better than you" attitude with the people at your dealership, you might get somewhere. See, the thing is, when you take that attitude, they'll stand back and wait for you to flex your financial might and trade your car for a different brand. They couldn't give two craps about helping you, because you're so much better than them that you obviously don't need their help.

 

I tried being nice and getting them to fix the car. Actually the wife tried several times. I travel for a living and really don't have the time to play these games. She want a safe reliable car and made a mistake going to MB. The Jag she had was way better if you can believe that. When I get lied too and jerked around thats when things change. Go back read some of MB Gods posts. He has the same attitude as MB. I would have a Lexus and would have been treated right from the begining if the 430 was not so ugly. I still like our SLK 350 but it is just a lemon. I do not blame the dealer for this but at least they could make some sort of effort to make it right or at least get MB to contact me. MB tells me to go to another dealer. Thats not right either. The whole customer service thing is just plan bad. I worked for a German Co. and they all still have the master race attitude. If they are that good this car would not have all these issues or least they would be working to trade me out of instead burrying there heads in the sand. I would not have taken the Ahole approach if they had tried to do anything to help. Funny thing is now they are actually doing something because I am hurting them in the wallet.
I am willing to stop by regularly to talk to customers if that is what it takes.
Seems to be the only thing they understand. But you have to do what you have to do. It doesnt bother me at all the play the ahole role. Actually its good for me to blow off the steam that way. I feel great afterwards to actually get something moving forward. The wife tried being nice and they treated her like an idiot who didn't know anything about cars. Her father was a wrench and tow truck driver so she knows enough. When the car will not move in any gear you have a problem. When you start it up and it beltches smoke like 63 Nova you have a problem. When it eats 9 qrts of oil in 4200 miles you have a problem. MB actually said a qrt every 800 miles is normal to her. Thats 16 qrts between oil changes. You think they have a problem here.
I hope you have better luck with yours. They are not all bad but the trannies are. I would have mine checked out before the warranty runs out. But maybe you do not mind writing big checks. Have at it. I prefer to tackle the issues early on.

 

Dunno. My car ate its first transmission at about 3k miles. They flew some guy out from Germany and had my car for about a month while the transmission cleared customs. I haven't had a problem since. They car went into "limp home" mode, and I had no problems getting it replaced. They didn't even screw around with it, they just outright replaced it.

Have you tried going to a different dealer? Even if you have to drive for a while to get there, it might be worth the effort.

 

I'm just scared that the value of my car has dropped since i had to replace the tranny at 400 miles

 

Mine doesn't show up on carfax, so I'm not too worried.

 

yeah, but it should show up on the service history