My 2003 S55 was towed to the white plains meredes benz dealership 2 weeks ago for repairs, since a person driving a 2000 BMW 325ci feel asleep and crashed into me. Now, this is what really really upsets me. The car went in with 3126 miles and came out with 3948 miles. What can I do?? Obviously somebody took the car out. Please advise! Any help would be appreciated.

I already lefted a voice for the owner of the dealership.. what can i do? legally? what repayment should i be asking for? Thanks!!

 

Hi

Welcome to MBWorld forum.

Looks like the same post I saw on BenzWorld Forum

Anyways, I hope you would get a something for that ridiculous act

 

a9jlu, I am not a lawyer but I would start with a call to Paul Halata's office (President and CEO of MBUSA) . You can reach one of his assistants at (800) 367-6372 and press option 6, then 4 and ask to speak to a customer service representative. Ask to speak to an assistant to Paul Halata and file a complaint. They will send this to a regional manager to investigate the matter. Each dealership is independent and have their own policies regarding internal operations but something like this should concern MBUSA since it reflects on their name. I called the corporate number at (201)573-0600 but I think the 800 number will lead you to the same office. You will not be able to speak to Paul Halata but it will get the attention of MBUSA.

Have they responded in any way? What do they say happened? Do you have written evidence of the mileage when it was towed to the dealership and the mileage when it left?

What would I ask for? Assuming that I can prove that they drove the car for 822 unnecessary miles, I would ask for at least the following:

1. If the car were leased, find out what they would they charge for excess mileage. For example, for a C class, they charge something like $.25/mile so I would ask for $206. I might even double or triple it or maybe settle for $500??? It may be higher for an S55. This would really upset me too! I went to www.KBB.com and the retail for a 2003 S500 with 20,000 miles is $71,765. The retail for the same car with 21,000 miles is $71,240...a difference of $525. $525 is not an unreasonable amount to ask.

2. I assume you got a free loaner. I wouldn't pay for a loaner if you can prove that they took the car out for a joyride.

I'm sure there are others who can suggest other remedies or compensation.

Let us know the outcome. Good luck.

 

Wow, awsome advise!! THanks man! well, i left messages for the owner of the dealership and the manager of the service department.. i just told them that i was extremely upset that i came home and realized my car had been driven 800+ miles while in for serive... i will definitely contact MBUSA about this, thanks for the great info.

the pre-serive mileage was documented by the service advisor himself and is clearly stated on the repair order that I have in my possession.. the only questionable part is the mileage in and the mileage out are the same value.. which means i might have a problem proving that I did not drive the 800 miles myself.... i plan to bring the car in tomorrow morning... it's pretty impossible for me to put on 800 miles from 6pm last night to 8am this morning.. i guess i will have to wait and see what the people say..

plus, i took a photograph on the mileage and the time as soon as i realized, around 10PM.

i'm going to talk to the owner of the mercedes benz dealership, i want to hear how he feels about this matter. i will keep you guys posted. thanks for the advise!!

 

Also, ask for a full tank of gas. I live in the Los Angeles area and today I filled my S500 with a little over 21 gallons of gas at $2.409 a gallon it cost me $51.50!! This was at COSTCO.

 

Before you go gung-ho to the President of MBUSA, talk to the owner of the dealership if you can. You have a good chance that he will address the issue and compensate you to your liking. Plus, MBUSA will ask if you have tried contacting the owner when you call and try to speak to them so maybe this way it will get handled quicker. I was once overcharged at my local dealership, they did two hours of non-warranty work that required no parts but somehow came up with a 500 dollar figure. I multiplied the labor rate by the time they worked and got a refund of the difference.

 

...maybe you should fax this thread to MBUSA and the dealer; wait a few hours and then call them...it's worked before in the C Class forum.

 

I purchased an 02 S600 from MBofWP.

What a nightmare their service department was. It all started when my airbag light went on. Took the car in, they replaced a part in the steering wheel. Took them 2 days but they got it done. No big deal, huh.. Well, driving down the road I noticed right away that in order to drive a straight line, the wheel had to be turned quite a bit to the left. I took it back to them 4 different times to try and get that alignment fixed. Each time they assured me it was fixed. Each time I requested and almost got the car detailed. The first time they brought it out, there was a scratch on the left side. I was livid. Got in the car, they had not detailed it. What really ticked me off delivery was 2 hours behind and what's his name, the service manager guy had told me he had 3 guys detailing the car. Boy was he lying... Anyways...

There were more problems I had with MbWP.. Oh yes, they decided that the steering wheel problem was due to the front end not being aligned. They replaced this and that.. Of course it was not the problem. I was communicating with Pepe, the owner. He was not too happy about the things going on.

They never got the steering wheel aligned. I had driven the car to Texas and the San Antonio dealership fixed it with no problem.
I know they (WP) paid for a detail I had done in San Antonio but hey, the damage had already been done. Oh, I also made them buy me new tires because their front end alignment was not correct and it messed up the tires.

Sorry if this post was jumbled, so long ago I put it out of my mind. Get ahold of Pepe though. He will respond. Forgot what the service managers name was. He tried but frankly I don't think his service guys respected him. If they did, they would have produced results.

Funny, one of the times my son and I were waiting to pick up the car, Bernie Williams comes in to pick up his E Class. My son (9) went up to say hello and the @$$hole just walked away acting as though he did not even notice my son.

That place is cursed... lol... Good luck

 

 

update?

 

I know this isn't a solution to your problem, but once my mom brought her car into the dealership here in Fresno because the digital numbers for the clock were all screwed up, and they had to replace her whole instrument cluster...but when we got the car back, it had about 700 LESS miles than when she brought it in Just a little story lol