So on December 27th I dropped off my new to me CPO 2015 S550 at the service department. 26k miles on the ODO (2k are from me). I had a short list of items and concerns. It all started after I purchased the car on 6/7/18.....After driving it for a few days I noticed a vibration as well as a rear door sunshade that didn't roll all the way up so I called my service advisor and dropped it off on 6/11 and got it back on 6/13. They replaced the rear sunshade assembly and road force balanced the tires (the new tires they put on when it was CPO'd). I called my service advisor the day after I picked it up and mentioned that the vibration was still present. He said bring it back in and we'll take a look. I also called my salesman and gave him an earful on the paint condition and how poor it is after I washed off all the instant detailer they put on prior to my purchase. I mentioned that the paint condition is below grade for a CPO car... He offered to have it clay barred and detailed... Which I passed on as it needs more than that. Due to my work schedule, bringing the car back to the service department was on hold. In the mean time I did drive the car... a whopping 2000 miles in the almost 6 months of ownership. I eventually had a short list of concerns for it to be worth while to schedule an appointment. My issues were:

Vibration that was still present.
Stumbling idle when in gear while stopped at a light.
Hard upshift / downshift when driving in stop and go traffic.
Inoperable internet radio, No cellular signal bars shown.
Inoperable right rear inside door handle (They didn't hook it back up after they replaced the sunshade).
Forward looking camera in the grill would open and close repeatedly and then give an error 50% of the time.
Rear camera view displays objects further than they are.
Adaptive headlight error message.
Pre-Safe error messages.
Command touchpad randomly gets very hot on its own.

So fast forward to December 27th 2018, I pull up to the service department at 9am for a drop off and quick chat with my SA regarding the issues. While I am sitting there I hear a woman say "ooh ooooh ooooh, Wow that was close"... I look outside and see that one of the dealerships car shufflers has gotten close to my car while backing out another car, I go outside to take a look and I wish it was a close call but it wasn't... The idiot backed up and hit the right rear corner of my bumper, the paint was smeared off down to the base plastic and there were gouges as well... About 8 inches long and 2 inches wide of damage!! So now my simple service entails a trip to the bodyshop. I expressed my concerns about the damage and that now the entire bumper needs to be repainted as it's a metallic color. They say no problem since it's their fault. Fast forward to Feb 1st.... I get a call from my SA saying the car is ready (10 days at the bodyshop alone). I come down Saturday the 2nd with my daughter to pick up the car.... I open the trunk to get her booster seat out and it's full of panels!! The interior trunk trim panels were off and laying there, There were modules dangling wiring harnesses. My SA was not there but I grabbed my salesman and said "look at this ****". He was bummed. I then backed the car up so it was not under the shade of the awning... I wanted to see the paint repair in the sun. Not happy.... Now I have a bumper that does not match the rest of the cars already battered paint job. Now today.... Monday the 4th, No call from my SA. I'm headed down to the dealership to speak with management today. I'm also very pissed off that they have replaced the 4 brand new tires they put on in June with Goodyear F1 run-flats... If only one was bad why not just replace the one!!!! When my SA called to say it was ready he went over what was done.

The vibration was from a bad tire but upon that discovery they noticed they had put the "wrong" tires on the car during the CPO process so they corrected it by putting on the MBOE specified run-flat tires instead of non run-flat tires. He spoke of it as if I just was stoked 4 brand new tires... I voiced my dislike of runcraps and that I was not happy at all.

They replaced the entire command head unit.

They replaced the forward view camera.

They hooked back up the cable to the door handle they skipped the first time.

Software update for the shifting issue.

Software update for the stumbling rough idle issue.

Recalibrated the rear camera.

Could not recreate headlight message.

Could not recreate Pre-Safe messages.

Could not recreate trackpad heat issue.


I've yet to see the paperwork but I'll post it up here later. So 39 days without my car, I bought this car mainly because I need a comfortable seat... I have a spinal cord injury that makes sitting unbearable unless I'm sitting in a seat that is just right in firmness / softness and adjustability. I could have handicap plates if I want but have not taken my doctor up on the recommendation. The dealer offered a loaner car... I could have borrowed a GLE or a C-class which I passed on, If I wanted an economy car.... I would have bought one in the first place and of course..... They don't have any S-class loaners available. The family and I had been looking forward to our yearly "after the holidays" trip to Carmel... A nice 3 hour coastal drive down Hwy 1 in the S550.... I was especially due to the comfort of my new ride, Well that didn't happen... Had to drive my gigantic Dodge Ram 2500 MegaCab diesel truck instead... Which has become uncomfortable to drive since my injury unless I sit on a $400 cushion meant for wheelchair bound people. Now with the runcraps I'm sure the car is going to ride stiffer.... We'll see. Having to make a car payment for a car that's not in your possession sucks, Having them put on run-flats sucks even more, I was going to order a set of Vossen 20" M-X3 wheels in textured bronze.. Keeping the stock MB width and offset and then simply taking my old tires off and putting them on the new wheels.... Now I have to spend another $1800+ on tires if I do order the Vossen's as there is no way in hell I'm putting run-flats on them.

I'm headed to the dealership now.... I will post an update.

 

 

 

I did inspect the car.... All the flaws were hidden from the instant detailer spray. It was not waxed, it was spray bottle instant detailed. After 2 hand washes... it washed it off and revealed a much different looking finish.

 

What color is the car?

 

Black Ruby

 

I had the same thing happen to me many years ago. Car looked pretty good, figured I would bring it up a notch. Well on day one after a wash and strip before polishing and sealing I realized they had glazed the car. When you strip it to bare paint it is what it is. The glaze has silicones and fillers which make the car look great, but it is filling and hiding all the swirls and brush marks. It will wear off and wash out. Also a black car. BMW 750, paint was as hard as concrete, could not polish it. Took it right back to the dealer. We agreed what what was done, and they had it professionally corrected and polished perfectly. To the tune of almost 1000 dollars! They had the car for a week, and touched every inch of it. I am very ****, and explained that when I dropped it off. The exceeded my expectations and it truly looked better than new. This was no detail job, it was a professional shop. These days I don't get excited about any car till I go over the paint at great length. Final inspection is under fluorescent lights before I purchase. Good luck with getting things corrected

 

 

Got the car back on 2/4 and dropped it off again on 2/12. It has to go back to the body shop as they carelessly re-installed the bumper and all the gaps are off and lines don't match up.. Let alone not replacing 4 fasteners underneath so the lower portion of the bumper is well... Floppy. Some missing clips for the trunk trim as well. When I had dropped it off December 27th I stated the drivers side door does not hold itself open if parked at a slight angle... Well ****, They replaced the drivers door lower friction hinge, And who else to perform such the job was their raved about body shop who did the bumper. They had to remove the door to do so. Great... From my experience, Once you take a door off it never goes back the same. So now the door is about 1/8" inch higher on the top corner, The gaps are off, The rubber seal on the door now sticks out further than the lip of the roof. The inside door panel trim lines are completely off from lining up with the trim lines of the dash. According to "locate my vehicle"...... It's at the body shop now. If they would have told me the door has to come off to fix the issue I'd have said no thanks and dealt with it.

The runflats suck, I've put 300 miles on them, stiff and hard. Not a nice tire compared to a identical sized 20" non runcrap tire. I keep looking down at the sport / comfort button when I'm driving as I think it's in sport mode when it is actually off. With 20" runcraps and sport mode engaged it feels far from any sport tuned suspension I've ever felt. Not forgiving, jarring hard jolts and bumps.... Now I hear squeaks, creaks and noises from interior panels and such. When you have both roof sunscreens open there is a significant creaking sound from under the headliner. Do not get runcraps.... Sit it out and wait for the flatbed or at least slime the offending tire and try to make it home if applicable.

They performed a software update that was supposed to take care of the stumbling idle issue, Of course the paperwork says no issue detected and no fault codes. I asked my service advisor why they just stop at what the computer says and don't get hands on? He said MBUSA does not pay for hands on troubleshooting. The car should idle smooth as silk without a hiccup or burp... Mine does and it bugs the **** out of me. Feels like a stumble, almost like a misfire. Tach needle shows slight flutter when it happens. RWD S550 in neutral with engine up to temp and no AC on... I should not even be able to tell if it's running or not. My ML63 did'nt stumble. My truck doesn't, The GLE350 loaner I have right now doesn't. SA tried saying "it's normal". Well, No... It's not normal. For all I know, The people who leased it filled it with regular and we have a dirty plug or injector. No codes doesn't no issue.. Where are all the real mechanics these days? Anyone with a touch of smarts can read a play by play teardown and parts swap as per what the computer says to do. We'll see what they say this time around, It could be a funky plug, a funky coil pack (that isn't throwing a code), a faulty throttle body actuator (that isn't throwing a code) or perhaps a vacuum leak somewhere. ****, I'll go buy 8 plugs and one brand new coil pack from parts department, swap the plugs and run down all 8 packs with the new one... If no change is noticed then that eliminates the plugs and coils.

When I went to pick it up on the 4th and got home... It had done the "Self Heating" trackpad issue. The issue they could not recreate... I flew back to the dealership and had my SA come out to the car and feel it. He was tripping out as it was about 110+ degrees and it's not part of the heated panel setup. I guess they are going to dig into that... This time around. I also brought to their attention the dangerous condition of the windshield. When it's raining and you have the wipers running you can hardly see out the windshield.. It's etched with millions of hard water spots or some form of etching.. When the wipers wipe across the glass it highlights all the spots and if it's in the evening and you have oncoming vehicles with their lights on... You can not see at all. It's easier to drive without the wipers on. Hopefully they'll replace it as it should have been caught during CPO inspection.

The transmission shifting seems to be better with the update but then I've only put 300 miles on is since 2/4 and I've yet to be slugging along in traffic... Which is when it is most noticeable.

Still no internet radio as before but everything else "internet" related works as before.. Traffic cams, web search etc all work... Just no internet radio. MBrace says dealer must perform a certificate refresh.. Dealer says refresh was performed when the head unit was changed.


So I have a 2018 GLE 350 loaner which I must say..... Has a better sound system than the non-3d Burmeister in the S550. The GLE pumps hard, tight low bass, neutral mids and clean highs. The S550 non 3d system has misplaced lows, barking mids and tinny highs. I listen to everything and I rock out loudly... The Harmon Kardon equipped GLE gets the thumbs up for sound but I don't like the "iPad mounted on the dash" display look though.. Hoakey.

 

Sounds like you have quite a lemon, and now having been touched and opened up it is *******ized. Sure this wasn't a flood car? Thats a lot of issues for a w222 all in one car. I would be working with the manager about them taking this car back in and finding you a replacement. At some point you are going to get out of this car and it's going to cost you...do it now with them involved understanding the issue.

 

 

Hope everything turns out right. You should demand the most out of the CPO warranty. The Harmon Kardon sound system sounds amazing in my W212 as well but, I also have 3D

 

I wouldn't jump the gun and call it a lemon just yet... Let's see if they sort it out.

 

 

Unfortunately, lemon laws only apply to new cars.

 

 

I had the jerking at idle issue.. Had to take it in a few times but they fixed it with a software update, no problems now.

 

They performed the update... It did not fix the rough idle.

 

 

I would check CarFax reports and other mechanical data on this car. The previous owner should be contacted to see if these issues were there before turning it in.

 

I did as well as looked over the VMI / Service history, It was a lease return, Some old lady a few towns down the road leased it for 3 years... CarFax is clean, Nothing out of the ordinary on the VMI / Service history.

 

Just in the comfort ride department, I agree with this 100%! You will NEVER get a comfortable ride with 20" inch wheels and rf's. Get yourself some 18 inch wheels and go with the tires Streamliner recommended.

Now as to your car in general, I would definitely see if you can deal yourself out of this car into another. With the problems you are encountering in such a short period of time, I see only heartache on the horizon. It happens with luxury cars; you got one of the unfortunate "problem" cars.

p.s. I would go with a different dealership if I were you if you have another one nearby. Their work is definitely subpar.

 

 

I've already stopped by the other local dealership whom I went to with my ML63 and met my new SA for this S550. Once I wrap things up with these guys I'll be seeing the the other dealership. This is the second CPO vehicle that I've purchased from this dealership. My salesman is a top notch guy, He goes out of his way and hooks me up constantly. Sadly their service department is somewhat of a failure. The dealership was sold and now it's under different management since I bought the ML63.. I guess that doesn't necessarily mean things run differently. My ML63 has a knocking bumping sound from both front airmatic struts..... I took it to the service department 5 times for the noise... Even drove around with the head mechanic who acknowledged the noises and basically told me that's normal and to enjoy the car. I then dumped them and went to the other MB dealership who's only 25 miles away... I dropped of the ML63 and 5 hours later the SA calls me and says "Yep, my top mechanic drove it around and confirmed the issue" and then said "So we'll be installing 2 new front struts under warranty" and "Lucky for you, these struts are $1800 each". I picked up the car and the noise was gone, it was perfect. The next day I called the nearest pizza place to them and sent the service department 12 X-large pizza's and some sodas for lunch as a thank you. A week later I received a card in the mail, It was a MB star logo card signed by the entire service department thanking me for the lunch. I still have it somewhere in a drawer here.

I'll for sure be ditching this service department after they fix what they F'd up. This GLE 350 they gave me is crap, I called my SA the next day asking to change it out with the E class I was supposed to get... No call back... Thanks buddy.

 

Then for the love of God, why did you go back to the dealership that gave you such crappy service on the struts? You can always buy your car at one dealership and have it serviced at another. No way would I trust the service department to continue to fix up this car; I would go to the other dealership. Especially after they f***cked it up the first time around.