Airmatic Drive to workshop Story
03-01-2008, 07:46 AM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Airmatic Drive to workshop Story
Here is my story:
S430 2002 53,400 miles
CPO (MB Extended warranty I paid 3,000 for) expires 2009
I keep the car in a heated garage only drive in on the weekends.
Yesterday I had a meeting with a client 50 miles away. Went 200yards down the road and a message come on the display stating “Airmatic problem dive to workshop” or something like that. So I pulled over to the side of the road, put the car in park and shut it off and then started it again. The message did not display again.
However, I did not feel comfortable about that message so I drove straight to my dealer and told them about the message. I asked if I did the right thing by coming straight in and she said yes. She asked if I had 30 minutes so they could check it out. I said yes. 30 minutes later she came back and said that they could not find any leaks and they reset the computer to take the message code out. She then presented me a diagnostics charge for $73.00 and told me that if it does fail that I would get reimbursed for this charge as it would then be covered under the CPO warranty.
I was shocked but I paid it and went right to my sales person and asked if that seemed strange that they would charge me for the diagnostics. He said they should not have charged so he went to the used sales manager to run it by her and she agreed that I should not have been charged. So she went to look into it and came back and said that I had to pay because they did not find an actual fault and if I came in with the message still on the screen that it would have been covered. But because I shut the car off and the message did not reappear, there was really no problem and therefore I need to pay for the diagnostics charge.
I could tell that the sales person and Sales manager were embarrassed but they were told that I had to pay.
After I got home I decided to call the dealer manager. I told him my story and he also was trying to defend the service persons initial charge. After 20 minutes on the phone he finally asked what I wanted and I told him that I wanted the charge taken off but more importantly I wanted to know if this is standard operating procedure. He said yes that’s how they work their. I said that it seems like they are desperate for money.
I did nothing wrong. I did exactly what I was told by the message on the screen. I have an extended warranty and this should be covered under it. It’s not about the money for me! So the next time a message comes on I will be thinking do I ignore it? Do I get it checked out? This is a safety message and no charge should be given for the diagnosis. I’m I wrong?
S430 2002 53,400 miles
CPO (MB Extended warranty I paid 3,000 for) expires 2009
I keep the car in a heated garage only drive in on the weekends.
Yesterday I had a meeting with a client 50 miles away. Went 200yards down the road and a message come on the display stating “Airmatic problem dive to workshop” or something like that. So I pulled over to the side of the road, put the car in park and shut it off and then started it again. The message did not display again.
However, I did not feel comfortable about that message so I drove straight to my dealer and told them about the message. I asked if I did the right thing by coming straight in and she said yes. She asked if I had 30 minutes so they could check it out. I said yes. 30 minutes later she came back and said that they could not find any leaks and they reset the computer to take the message code out. She then presented me a diagnostics charge for $73.00 and told me that if it does fail that I would get reimbursed for this charge as it would then be covered under the CPO warranty.
I was shocked but I paid it and went right to my sales person and asked if that seemed strange that they would charge me for the diagnostics. He said they should not have charged so he went to the used sales manager to run it by her and she agreed that I should not have been charged. So she went to look into it and came back and said that I had to pay because they did not find an actual fault and if I came in with the message still on the screen that it would have been covered. But because I shut the car off and the message did not reappear, there was really no problem and therefore I need to pay for the diagnostics charge.
I could tell that the sales person and Sales manager were embarrassed but they were told that I had to pay.
After I got home I decided to call the dealer manager. I told him my story and he also was trying to defend the service persons initial charge. After 20 minutes on the phone he finally asked what I wanted and I told him that I wanted the charge taken off but more importantly I wanted to know if this is standard operating procedure. He said yes that’s how they work their. I said that it seems like they are desperate for money.
I did nothing wrong. I did exactly what I was told by the message on the screen. I have an extended warranty and this should be covered under it. It’s not about the money for me! So the next time a message comes on I will be thinking do I ignore it? Do I get it checked out? This is a safety message and no charge should be given for the diagnosis. I’m I wrong?
03-01-2008, 09:43 AM
#2
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04 S430 (sold),05 X5 4.4i, 02 325i, 87 560SL, 85 Alfa Romeo
As I am not a fan of CPO or EW's this story just adds fuel to my fire also...
IT seems to me that besides the EW, the mere fact that your car was a CPO they should have graciously taken care of it for you.. otherwise it just enforces my thoughts that the whole "CPO" thing is just to attract buyers of pre-owned MB cars back to the dealer at premium prices with no real advantage whatsoever.
What a joke... And I understand your feelings that its not about the money.. Its strictly principle.. True Customer service has gone to the dogs in the country... So sad...
BTW. No I don't think you were wrong at all.. You did exactly what you were supposed to do.. They are DEAD wrong!!! What a shame.
IT seems to me that besides the EW, the mere fact that your car was a CPO they should have graciously taken care of it for you.. otherwise it just enforces my thoughts that the whole "CPO" thing is just to attract buyers of pre-owned MB cars back to the dealer at premium prices with no real advantage whatsoever.
What a joke... And I understand your feelings that its not about the money.. Its strictly principle.. True Customer service has gone to the dogs in the country... So sad...
BTW. No I don't think you were wrong at all.. You did exactly what you were supposed to do.. They are DEAD wrong!!! What a shame.
03-01-2008, 02:32 PM
#3
Here is my story:
S430 2002 53,400 miles
CPO (MB Extended warranty I paid 3,000 for) expires 2009
I keep the car in a heated garage only drive in on the weekends.
Yesterday I had a meeting with a client 50 miles away. Went 200yards down the road and a message come on the display stating “Airmatic problem dive to workshop” or something like that. So I pulled over to the side of the road, put the car in park and shut it off and then started it again. The message did not display again.
However, I did not feel comfortable about that message so I drove straight to my dealer and told them about the message. I asked if I did the right thing by coming straight in and she said yes. She asked if I had 30 minutes so they could check it out. I said yes. 30 minutes later she came back and said that they could not find any leaks and they reset the computer to take the message code out. She then presented me a diagnostics charge for $73.00 and told me that if it does fail that I would get reimbursed for this charge as it would then be covered under the CPO warranty.
I was shocked but I paid it and went right to my sales person and asked if that seemed strange that they would charge me for the diagnostics. He said they should not have charged so he went to the used sales manager to run it by her and she agreed that I should not have been charged. So she went to look into it and came back and said that I had to pay because they did not find an actual fault and if I came in with the message still on the screen that it would have been covered. But because I shut the car off and the message did not reappear, there was really no problem and therefore I need to pay for the diagnostics charge.
I could tell that the sales person and Sales manager were embarrassed but they were told that I had to pay.
After I got home I decided to call the dealer manager. I told him my story and he also was trying to defend the service persons initial charge. After 20 minutes on the phone he finally asked what I wanted and I told him that I wanted the charge taken off but more importantly I wanted to know if this is standard operating procedure. He said yes that’s how they work their. I said that it seems like they are desperate for money.
I did nothing wrong. I did exactly what I was told by the message on the screen. I have an extended warranty and this should be covered under it. It’s not about the money for me! So the next time a message comes on I will be thinking do I ignore it? Do I get it checked out? This is a safety message and no charge should be given for the diagnosis. I’m I wrong?
S430 2002 53,400 miles
CPO (MB Extended warranty I paid 3,000 for) expires 2009
I keep the car in a heated garage only drive in on the weekends.
Yesterday I had a meeting with a client 50 miles away. Went 200yards down the road and a message come on the display stating “Airmatic problem dive to workshop” or something like that. So I pulled over to the side of the road, put the car in park and shut it off and then started it again. The message did not display again.
However, I did not feel comfortable about that message so I drove straight to my dealer and told them about the message. I asked if I did the right thing by coming straight in and she said yes. She asked if I had 30 minutes so they could check it out. I said yes. 30 minutes later she came back and said that they could not find any leaks and they reset the computer to take the message code out. She then presented me a diagnostics charge for $73.00 and told me that if it does fail that I would get reimbursed for this charge as it would then be covered under the CPO warranty.
I was shocked but I paid it and went right to my sales person and asked if that seemed strange that they would charge me for the diagnostics. He said they should not have charged so he went to the used sales manager to run it by her and she agreed that I should not have been charged. So she went to look into it and came back and said that I had to pay because they did not find an actual fault and if I came in with the message still on the screen that it would have been covered. But because I shut the car off and the message did not reappear, there was really no problem and therefore I need to pay for the diagnostics charge.
I could tell that the sales person and Sales manager were embarrassed but they were told that I had to pay.
After I got home I decided to call the dealer manager. I told him my story and he also was trying to defend the service persons initial charge. After 20 minutes on the phone he finally asked what I wanted and I told him that I wanted the charge taken off but more importantly I wanted to know if this is standard operating procedure. He said yes that’s how they work their. I said that it seems like they are desperate for money.
I did nothing wrong. I did exactly what I was told by the message on the screen. I have an extended warranty and this should be covered under it. It’s not about the money for me! So the next time a message comes on I will be thinking do I ignore it? Do I get it checked out? This is a safety message and no charge should be given for the diagnosis. I’m I wrong?
03-02-2008, 07:15 AM
#5
Senior Member
Thread Starter
My wife will not drive the car now because she knows that the arimatic is on it's way out and she is not willing to be stuck on a busy highway in the middle of the night.
I am going to send my story to MB. Lets see what I get for a response.
I am going to send my story to MB. Lets see what I get for a response.
03-02-2008, 07:50 AM
#6
One day I was going over some things about the car with my wife, as she drives it most of the time, and I told her if the message pops up, Car to Low Stop or Airmatic Visit Workshop, please, please, pay attention to it, as the suspension is collapsing. To which she replied - "oh is that all, at least it is not like the BMW we own where they gave the instructions in a recall notice for the auxilliary fan to - Exit the car immediately in the event of a fire."
Ahh, German Engineering!
Last edited by rccmerc; 03-02-2008 at 08:03 AM.
03-02-2008, 10:56 AM
#7
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02 S500 Sport
The first warning will be Stop Ride is LOW!! lol
But im surprised you got the Visit WorkShop before the Stop Ride LOW!
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03-03-2008, 07:32 AM
#9
Senior Member
Thread Starter
I am putting the car up for sale.
My wife will not drive the car now.
2002 s430 53,000 miles mint condition Garaged (heated) CPO one year left on the warranty.
Where or how should I sell this?
My wife will not drive the car now.
2002 s430 53,000 miles mint condition Garaged (heated) CPO one year left on the warranty.
Where or how should I sell this?
03-04-2008, 01:41 AM
#10
By the way Mark, if it fail that does not mean you have to stop the car immediatly. You can drive the car but does not go over 80 km/h and avoid road pumps or any other shocks to the suspention sys and do not turn sharply coz the front tyre having the fail will touch the fender. This is what I recall from reading the car manual when I had the fail.
By the way, any boady knows from where I can buy the repair kit for the front strut and how much is it nowdays ?
By the way, any boady knows from where I can buy the repair kit for the front strut and how much is it nowdays ?
03-04-2008, 09:49 AM
#11
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02 S500 Sport
Was your car low when you came out?
I bet the AirPump just bugged out for a second.
03-04-2008, 09:50 AM
#12
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02 S500 Sport
Or you can prob get a 7 with a few more $.
03-04-2008, 10:29 AM
#13
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04 S430 (sold),05 X5 4.4i, 02 325i, 87 560SL, 85 Alfa Romeo
I know this issue upset you and you wife is pissed.. But you shouldnt over react to this...
First thing is the Visit workshop message it always white text right? This is a non critical alarm triggered by something amiss in the system at THAT moment. IF it was a glitch like the Airmatic Relay Which is prone to failure, then it was temporary and you may never see it again..
Dealer techs are kinda BOX thinkers sometime.. IF it isn't broke when you bring it in.. they can't and won't fix anything. As murphy law states, "your car will always be on its worse behavior till the moment you take it in to get fixed."
I'm not trying to advise you against selling, I'm just trying to be the voice of reason in your time of frustration.
I don't know what you are wanting for your car, but the market sucks for these cars.. The prices are waaaay down and these cars are Haaaaard to sell because most people see them as money pits or some "other kinda persons car" and are afraid to touch them even if they are well within their financial means.
Either way I don;t think you will be able to get rid of it for what yo would need to get.I'm sure you paid above market for it, then you tacked on 3K extra for the extended warranty.. Those are losses that can't be figured into resale or trade so good luck.
FACT: did you know that the number of MB owners who are upside down on their cars are in the high 80's or low 90% range?? that a sad staggering fact that I learned from my Dealer friends in having a discussion with them about the practices of MB financial. Anyway thats just useless but true information....
If issues remain your reason for selling, I can't imagine trading for another W220 of any type between 2000 and 2003. We are in a sad state of affairs when a CPO car turns out to be a CPOL.(lemon). but thats where we are today.
03-04-2008, 12:38 PM
#14
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Everyone thanks for the replys and advise!
What really bothered me is not that I got the message but that I was charged for the diagnosis.
The techs could not find an issue but the code in the CPU stated that their was. I brought the car in a week before when I got the Empty CD Case message on the CD screen. The tech took it out and placed it back in hard and the error message did not showup agian. (I also tried this but did not fix the problem. I even removed all cd's and replaced them).However that time they did not charge me.
What really bothered me is not that I got the message but that I was charged for the diagnosis.
The techs could not find an issue but the code in the CPU stated that their was. I brought the car in a week before when I got the Empty CD Case message on the CD screen. The tech took it out and placed it back in hard and the error message did not showup agian. (I also tried this but did not fix the problem. I even removed all cd's and replaced them).However that time they did not charge me.
03-09-2008, 01:36 AM
#15
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CLK320, S430, F150
Airmatic problems seem to be a major part of the price of admission to the 220 realm. Got a great deal on my '03 with 23k miles and enjoyed several trouble-free months with it. Was visiting family in Palm Springs last weekend however and on the way to breakfast one morning saw Airmatic “visit workshop" (in white) followed shortly by another Airmatic "Stop! too low" warning in red. Given that there appeared to be adequate tire clearance I was prepared to drive back to my dealer in L.A. if the folks in P.S. weren’t up to dealing with it. I didn’t feel “stranded”; just that I might have to “nurse” the car back home. Fortunately the local dealer in P.S. was able to do the repair the next morning, and it cost "only" $800.
Thanks to resources like this forum I knew going in that I’d be paying more for maintenance on the S-class than my CLK and other cars. To me that was the trade-off in buying used luxury for less than half of what the car cost new. Overall we’re still very satisfied with the car.
Thanks to resources like this forum I knew going in that I’d be paying more for maintenance on the S-class than my CLK and other cars. To me that was the trade-off in buying used luxury for less than half of what the car cost new. Overall we’re still very satisfied with the car.
