Advice
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Advice
Was going to post this on the CL forum but it seems all the action is here so here goes..
Just purchased a 2011 CL 550 4M with about 20k miles on it. It was CPO and has about 1.5 years left on the warranty.
After driving for a week or so I noticed a slide vibration and the car just felt off in general. Brought it back to the dealer and they found all the rims were bent and they unbent them. Drove another couple days.. car still felt off they again unbent the rims more and replaced the tires saying there were flat spots due to the car sitting in the showroom.
After a few more days of driving I thought I was going nuts because the car still felt off to me, so I brought it to another MB dealership and asked the foreman to take a quick look. He lifted the car and showed me all the rims had tons of repairs done to them and one of them had even been welded.
So I took it back to the dealer where I bought the car and asked them how they certified a car with bent and welded rims and they gave me some story about how it was painted and easy to miss and they would replace all the rims with new ones. So they are currently in the process of that.
My question is, should I put up more of a stink with the dealer, I don't want a car full of skeletons that may pop up when the warrenty is over.. What do you guys think is a good course of action here?
Just purchased a 2011 CL 550 4M with about 20k miles on it. It was CPO and has about 1.5 years left on the warranty.
After driving for a week or so I noticed a slide vibration and the car just felt off in general. Brought it back to the dealer and they found all the rims were bent and they unbent them. Drove another couple days.. car still felt off they again unbent the rims more and replaced the tires saying there were flat spots due to the car sitting in the showroom.
After a few more days of driving I thought I was going nuts because the car still felt off to me, so I brought it to another MB dealership and asked the foreman to take a quick look. He lifted the car and showed me all the rims had tons of repairs done to them and one of them had even been welded.
So I took it back to the dealer where I bought the car and asked them how they certified a car with bent and welded rims and they gave me some story about how it was painted and easy to miss and they would replace all the rims with new ones. So they are currently in the process of that.
My question is, should I put up more of a stink with the dealer, I don't want a car full of skeletons that may pop up when the warrenty is over.. What do you guys think is a good course of action here?
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Joined: Oct 2013
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I agree with Jason. See how the car rides with the new rims. If it doesn't ride well, return it and get a different CL. It's strange how a Mercedes dealership could have certified a car with a major defect.
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That's my worry as well, they said they didn't notice it because the weld was painted and some people are more sensitive to bended rims than others.
The only other potential issue I noticed on the car was the gas milage i was getting. I was averaging about 13-14MPG with 60-40 Highway/city driving which seemed pretty low. Especially since the previous owners avg MPG was listed on the trip computer as 24 MPG. Don't know what to think of that, I really wasn't pushing the car too hard
I don't know how to feel about the car at this point, I suppose I could ask for another CL with similar specs, because I don't know if I can trust this one now.
The only other potential issue I noticed on the car was the gas milage i was getting. I was averaging about 13-14MPG with 60-40 Highway/city driving which seemed pretty low. Especially since the previous owners avg MPG was listed on the trip computer as 24 MPG. Don't know what to think of that, I really wasn't pushing the car too hard
I don't know how to feel about the car at this point, I suppose I could ask for another CL with similar specs, because I don't know if I can trust this one now.
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Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 350
Likes: 2
none
That's my worry as well, they said they didn't notice it because the weld was painted and some people are more sensitive to bended rims than others.
The only other potential issue I noticed on the car was the gas milage i was getting. I was averaging about 13-14MPG with 60-40 Highway/city driving which seemed pretty low. Especially since the previous owners avg MPG was listed on the trip computer as 24 MPG. Don't know what to think of that, I really wasn't pushing the car too hard
I don't know how to feel about the car at this point, I suppose I could ask for another CL with similar specs, because I don't know if I can trust this one now.
The only other potential issue I noticed on the car was the gas milage i was getting. I was averaging about 13-14MPG with 60-40 Highway/city driving which seemed pretty low. Especially since the previous owners avg MPG was listed on the trip computer as 24 MPG. Don't know what to think of that, I really wasn't pushing the car too hard
I don't know how to feel about the car at this point, I suppose I could ask for another CL with similar specs, because I don't know if I can trust this one now.
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2016 C300
Not sure how you bend all four rims, and more than once apparently. It's possible the prior owner had aftermarket wheels he wanted to keep and swapped some refurbed rims when he traded the car.
The dealer is correct, once a wheel has been welded and painted it can be hard to tell unless you're really looking for it.
Didn't the car seem "off" on the test drive?
But the dealer is eating around $4000 worth of MB wheels so I'd see how she rides with those. if you were thinking about aftermarket wheels yourself at some point, now would be a good time to approach MB and see if you can use some of that wheel money on something else. All the same to them and might save them some money as well.
The dealer is correct, once a wheel has been welded and painted it can be hard to tell unless you're really looking for it.
Didn't the car seem "off" on the test drive?
But the dealer is eating around $4000 worth of MB wheels so I'd see how she rides with those. if you were thinking about aftermarket wheels yourself at some point, now would be a good time to approach MB and see if you can use some of that wheel money on something else. All the same to them and might save them some money as well.
Last edited by Mike5215; Jan 3, 2015 at 08:46 PM.
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It did seem slightly off, but I guess the air suspension and dampening in the car are good enough to mask it enough to just make a real sight vibration while driving the car.
Yeah they are eating a good amount, I actually wanted to get a different style of rim but they told me since the tire/rim warranty was tied to that specific stock rim I wouldn't be able to do that.
I guess I'll just see how the car drives when I get it back and see if they find anything on the fuel economy piece. It all just feels a bit skeevy to me because the car was supposed to be CPO by the dealership.
Yeah they are eating a good amount, I actually wanted to get a different style of rim but they told me since the tire/rim warranty was tied to that specific stock rim I wouldn't be able to do that.
I guess I'll just see how the car drives when I get it back and see if they find anything on the fuel economy piece. It all just feels a bit skeevy to me because the car was supposed to be CPO by the dealership.
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2016 C300
I guess if it was minor enough to elude you on the test drive it was probably easily missed in the certification process as well. They do inspect the wheel face for curb rash and defects but they're not going to dismount tires and inspect the wheel barrel for welds.
With respect to CPO, there is no specific wheel and tire warranty...tires aren't warrantied by MB at all, they just need to meet minimum tread depth requirements to pass. I don't think they warranty the rims specifically either. This sounds more like a goodwill move by the dealer to fix a problem they missed during certification. My guess is MB never hears a word about it, the dealer buys the wheels at cost and eats it.
Here's whatcha do. Take those 4 brand new OEM rims and get them off the car immediately. Ebay the set and then get yourself what you want (or vice versa). Either way, the car should ride great.
With respect to CPO, there is no specific wheel and tire warranty...tires aren't warrantied by MB at all, they just need to meet minimum tread depth requirements to pass. I don't think they warranty the rims specifically either. This sounds more like a goodwill move by the dealer to fix a problem they missed during certification. My guess is MB never hears a word about it, the dealer buys the wheels at cost and eats it.
Here's whatcha do. Take those 4 brand new OEM rims and get them off the car immediately. Ebay the set and then get yourself what you want (or vice versa). Either way, the car should ride great.
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