2006 ML350 - What would you do?
10-15-2012, 10:40 AM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Framingham, Massachusetts
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
C300 Sport/G35S
2006 ML350 - What would you do?
(Cliff's Notes at end)
I had previously owned a 2007 Infiniti G35S sedan, Ivory Pearl with black leather interior, 6 speed manual, rear wheel drive, Premium Package, Bose system, and dealer installed clear bra and window tint. It took me years to find this car and I got a great deal on it.
As things in life tend to change, my wife and I determined we would get a lot of use out of an SUV; house projects, the dogs would be more comfortable in it, and perhaps trying to have kids in a year or so. We wanted to stay in a premium brand, and being totally happy with her 2011 C300 (Mars Red, 6 speed manual, rear-wheel drive, multimedia package, heated seats, and pano roof) we became very interested in the ML's.
I found a 2006 ML350 with 58k miles. Three owners, all services and TSB's were up to date. The price started at $21,995 which was close to the higher end of what I really wanted to spend. I found that the truck had been on their lot about 90 days so I waited, and each week the price went down, all the way to $18,995 so I put a $1,000 deposit on it and went to see it.
This thing was super clean inside and out, it still looked new except for a couple minor things you'd have to really look for. It rode awesome, and I was impressed with it in every way. The dealer paid off my trade within $150 of what I owed and we made a deal. Now here's where it gets bad.
September 22: Took delivery. Driving from the dealer back to my house, within 20 miles the display tells me to check the coolant; the temp is still OK. Stopped at Petco, and having owned a GTI which did the same thing with no consequence, I just thought it was a German car thing. Left Petco and headed the rest of the way home, coolant light again. Also during this ride we noticed a burning smell but there was a junky car in front of us which is what I thought was causing the odor.
That night, driving out to dinner on the highway, the low fuel light (3/4 tank full) blinks rapidly and the display tells me to check the filler cap. Great, so I'm thinking the idiot who filled the truck for delivery either did so with it running or didn't tighten the cap. It was raining at night and on the highway so I didn't pull over to investigate. Just before we get to the restaurant, the CEL comes on; expected for a loose gas cap if unaddressed right?. This is within about 75 miles total travel, keep in mind.
September 23: Checked the gas cap and the cap was a bit loose before it clicked. Scanned the CEL and got codes for "EVAP system large leak" (expected) and "Secondary Air Injection Malfunction" (what? strange.) Cleared the codes and went on my way.
September 25: Taking a coffee break at work, letting my colleagues drive it and check it out, the CEL comes back. Now I'm angry/concerned. Call the dealer at about 3:45pm and state what's been happening. Talked to my sales guy who told me to bring it in and they'd have a loaner waiting and he apologized thoroughly for what happened. Go out to the truck at 4pm and it doesn't start. Tried 5 times and it timed itself out trying to start.
Called the dealer again and spoke to my sales guy who sent me to the sales manager who sent me to the service advisor who sent me to the service manager. The service manager says he doesn't know what they can do and they need 24 hours notice for a loaner car. At that point I asked what kind of car he drove and said I'd take that in a worse case. He got the point. I was sent back to the sales manager who said he'd call the two towing places they use and see who was available and call me in five minutes. Now I'm in Westboro, MA and the dealer is in Warwick, RI (43 miles one way) and he's trying to get tow companies out of Providence, RI to come up. I called him out on it since there's no way they'd get a truck out of Providence in rush hour, up to me, and back to the dealer before 7pm when they close so I can get a loaner. I told him to put someone in the loaner and send it and they can wait with the truck because I refused. (Keep in mind I've been trying to start the truck the whole time; plenty of battery power, the thing just won't ignite but it cranks hard.) Sales manager says he'll call me back in five minutes. On the 27th try, the truck starts and reeks of gasoline. I call him back and say I'll just drive it down at this point since it's the only way to get the ball rolling.
I get there and there's a 2013 C300 waiting for me to take as a loaner.
September 27: The dealer replaced the air pump and the charcoal canister for the EVAP system. Took it for two drives to test it, washed it up for me, and drove it once more. CEL came back on. They'll update me tomorrow.
September 28: The dealer doesn't know what's wrong at this point and now the truck isn't starting again. They put their best tech on it and will try to solve it by Monday.
October 1: Still the dealer doesn't know what's wrong and is working with MB Germany to figure it out.
October 4: The fuel pump looks to be bad so we are replacing that and the truck should be ready tomorrow.
October 5: The fuel sender on the fuel pump we got was bad so we need to exchange the part for another one, it should be ready on Monday. Also waiting on a hose that hasn't come in yet as they're replacing all the hoses that go to any replaced part.
October 8: Still waiting on the hose, should be in by Wednesday.
October 10: Still waiting on the hose, broken clip on the top of the fuel pump access panel and we need to order that. Should be ready Friday.
October 12: Fixed clip, drove it and the air pump relay blew and melted the fuse box. Need to replace fuse box.
October 15: They haven't called, nor returned voicemails I left on Friday and Saturday. I am more than angry at this point.
Cliff's Notes: Traded a perfectly good working vehicle that I loved towards a 2006 ML350 with 58k miles and all services done. ML throws CEL within the first 100 miles driven, as well as coolant light and burning smell. Dealer has had the ML for 21 days and I do not know when I will get it back at this point, nor do I or should I want it back.
What would you do?
I had previously owned a 2007 Infiniti G35S sedan, Ivory Pearl with black leather interior, 6 speed manual, rear wheel drive, Premium Package, Bose system, and dealer installed clear bra and window tint. It took me years to find this car and I got a great deal on it.
As things in life tend to change, my wife and I determined we would get a lot of use out of an SUV; house projects, the dogs would be more comfortable in it, and perhaps trying to have kids in a year or so. We wanted to stay in a premium brand, and being totally happy with her 2011 C300 (Mars Red, 6 speed manual, rear-wheel drive, multimedia package, heated seats, and pano roof) we became very interested in the ML's.
I found a 2006 ML350 with 58k miles. Three owners, all services and TSB's were up to date. The price started at $21,995 which was close to the higher end of what I really wanted to spend. I found that the truck had been on their lot about 90 days so I waited, and each week the price went down, all the way to $18,995 so I put a $1,000 deposit on it and went to see it.
This thing was super clean inside and out, it still looked new except for a couple minor things you'd have to really look for. It rode awesome, and I was impressed with it in every way. The dealer paid off my trade within $150 of what I owed and we made a deal. Now here's where it gets bad.
September 22: Took delivery. Driving from the dealer back to my house, within 20 miles the display tells me to check the coolant; the temp is still OK. Stopped at Petco, and having owned a GTI which did the same thing with no consequence, I just thought it was a German car thing. Left Petco and headed the rest of the way home, coolant light again. Also during this ride we noticed a burning smell but there was a junky car in front of us which is what I thought was causing the odor.
That night, driving out to dinner on the highway, the low fuel light (3/4 tank full) blinks rapidly and the display tells me to check the filler cap. Great, so I'm thinking the idiot who filled the truck for delivery either did so with it running or didn't tighten the cap. It was raining at night and on the highway so I didn't pull over to investigate. Just before we get to the restaurant, the CEL comes on; expected for a loose gas cap if unaddressed right?. This is within about 75 miles total travel, keep in mind.
September 23: Checked the gas cap and the cap was a bit loose before it clicked. Scanned the CEL and got codes for "EVAP system large leak" (expected) and "Secondary Air Injection Malfunction" (what? strange.) Cleared the codes and went on my way.
September 25: Taking a coffee break at work, letting my colleagues drive it and check it out, the CEL comes back. Now I'm angry/concerned. Call the dealer at about 3:45pm and state what's been happening. Talked to my sales guy who told me to bring it in and they'd have a loaner waiting and he apologized thoroughly for what happened. Go out to the truck at 4pm and it doesn't start. Tried 5 times and it timed itself out trying to start.
Called the dealer again and spoke to my sales guy who sent me to the sales manager who sent me to the service advisor who sent me to the service manager. The service manager says he doesn't know what they can do and they need 24 hours notice for a loaner car. At that point I asked what kind of car he drove and said I'd take that in a worse case. He got the point. I was sent back to the sales manager who said he'd call the two towing places they use and see who was available and call me in five minutes. Now I'm in Westboro, MA and the dealer is in Warwick, RI (43 miles one way) and he's trying to get tow companies out of Providence, RI to come up. I called him out on it since there's no way they'd get a truck out of Providence in rush hour, up to me, and back to the dealer before 7pm when they close so I can get a loaner. I told him to put someone in the loaner and send it and they can wait with the truck because I refused. (Keep in mind I've been trying to start the truck the whole time; plenty of battery power, the thing just won't ignite but it cranks hard.) Sales manager says he'll call me back in five minutes. On the 27th try, the truck starts and reeks of gasoline. I call him back and say I'll just drive it down at this point since it's the only way to get the ball rolling.
I get there and there's a 2013 C300 waiting for me to take as a loaner.
September 27: The dealer replaced the air pump and the charcoal canister for the EVAP system. Took it for two drives to test it, washed it up for me, and drove it once more. CEL came back on. They'll update me tomorrow.
September 28: The dealer doesn't know what's wrong at this point and now the truck isn't starting again. They put their best tech on it and will try to solve it by Monday.
October 1: Still the dealer doesn't know what's wrong and is working with MB Germany to figure it out.
October 4: The fuel pump looks to be bad so we are replacing that and the truck should be ready tomorrow.
October 5: The fuel sender on the fuel pump we got was bad so we need to exchange the part for another one, it should be ready on Monday. Also waiting on a hose that hasn't come in yet as they're replacing all the hoses that go to any replaced part.
October 8: Still waiting on the hose, should be in by Wednesday.
October 10: Still waiting on the hose, broken clip on the top of the fuel pump access panel and we need to order that. Should be ready Friday.
October 12: Fixed clip, drove it and the air pump relay blew and melted the fuse box. Need to replace fuse box.
October 15: They haven't called, nor returned voicemails I left on Friday and Saturday. I am more than angry at this point.
Cliff's Notes: Traded a perfectly good working vehicle that I loved towards a 2006 ML350 with 58k miles and all services done. ML throws CEL within the first 100 miles driven, as well as coolant light and burning smell. Dealer has had the ML for 21 days and I do not know when I will get it back at this point, nor do I or should I want it back.
What would you do?
Last edited by BoostedThrills; 10-15-2012 at 11:00 AM.
10-15-2012, 06:49 PM
#2
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Australia
Posts: 625
Likes: 0
Received 4 Likes
on
3 Posts
X350d GLE500e 2017, ML350 BlueTec 2012(sold), A200 2013, ML350CDI 2009(sold), Aston Martin DB7 2003
You're angry, and so would I be.
All of this is probably due to one silly thing which by the sound of it, the dealer doesn't know. He will find it, or replace it. Until then he will only be able to tell you the latest theory of what the problem is, so expect a little BS.
In the mean time, you do have a reasonable ride. Be patient, let them fix it and fix it properly. Do not demand it back with a band-aid repair. Accept it back only when fully fixed and test driven regardless of what they say in the interim.
All of this is probably due to one silly thing which by the sound of it, the dealer doesn't know. He will find it, or replace it. Until then he will only be able to tell you the latest theory of what the problem is, so expect a little BS.
In the mean time, you do have a reasonable ride. Be patient, let them fix it and fix it properly. Do not demand it back with a band-aid repair. Accept it back only when fully fixed and test driven regardless of what they say in the interim.
10-18-2012, 01:23 PM
#3
Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Lake Tahoe
Posts: 131
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
w164 (ml 500)
You're angry, and so would I be.
All of this is probably due to one silly thing which by the sound of it, the dealer doesn't know. He will find it, or replace it. Until then he will only be able to tell you the latest theory of what the problem is, so expect a little BS.
In the mean time, you do have a reasonable ride. Be patient, let them fix it and fix it properly. Do not demand it back with a band-aid repair. Accept it back only when fully fixed and test driven regardless of what they say in the interim.
All of this is probably due to one silly thing which by the sound of it, the dealer doesn't know. He will find it, or replace it. Until then he will only be able to tell you the latest theory of what the problem is, so expect a little BS.
In the mean time, you do have a reasonable ride. Be patient, let them fix it and fix it properly. Do not demand it back with a band-aid repair. Accept it back only when fully fixed and test driven regardless of what they say in the interim.
Mark
