seattlecarfreak

I brought my car into the Mercedes dealership to fix a problem with my shifter.. and was about to pick up the car in the evening, but they weren't able to finish up for the evening and left the car on the hoist to finish up in the morning.

Apparently today I was told I would be hit with an additional unrelated $3000 bill, as both of the rear suspension struts failed "overnight" and there is a huge puddle of hydrolic fluid on the floor from them (which i've never seen in my life appear from my car.) and the body of the car is sitting on the ground at the dealership and can't be moved until the struts are replaced.

Keep in mind, i've never had any problems with this car in 4 years, the car only has 20,000 miles (out of warranty unfortunately) and the suspension worked perfectly when I drove in to the dealership.

I was told, that they must have "failed" overnight while up on the hoist.

I tried to rationalize with the service manager that the odds of this happening, especially with "both" struts is unimaginable.. yet was met with a response.. "these things just happen.."

So my options are to spend $3,000 ($1800 + $1200 Labor) to have it fixed or call a tow truck to get it out of the dealership, as it can't be driven with the body on the tires.

I don't quite know what to think here.. but my main question is.. is it possible that both struts can just fail overnight while left alone, with nobody in the shop? I was told they did and it was an unfortunate situation for me.. etc.. etc..

Anyone have any advice on how to pursue this? Should I give them the go ahead and just bite the bullet? Can anyone explain how both rear struts could possibly fail overnight, sitting on a hoist? (I have a feeling a technician screwed up somewhere.. I can't fathom this simply happening, without the car even being turned on.)

Kar don

possible, but unlikely. Are they sure it is BOTH struts and maybe not a line fitting somewhere? In my opinion they "caused" the failure because it was on their property... you have no idea what is done behind those closed doors. I would want some goodwill credit for those struts.

Kinda like them saying your tires are flat and you need to buy new ones after it was in their shop.

amgme

something smells fishy here. could be possible the struts were damaged by them and they put in on the hoist to check it out. also did you take a odometer reading before you dropped off the car?

johnny5

I believe it depends on how they had it stored that night. They may not have had the car well hoisted and maybe screwed something up. It could be a possibility that they screwed up the brake lines and they broke. Either way I believe they screwed something up and trying to di*k you on paying for it. I would seek legal advice. Besides any car that is in there hands they are held reliable for.

I dont think a car could go to crap in just one day of sitting there.

Yacht Master

My guess is that you have ABC and the tech left your cars ignition (key less go?)on all night with the ABC trying to level the car all night, finally blowing an extended strut. What ever happened the dealership is at fault.

seattlecarfreak

I talked to the service manager at 5:30pm last evening and they said the car was almost all put back together and the tech was just finishing up with it while it was on the hoist and I would be able to pick it up early in the morning.

They indicated, just to make sure everything was ok, they would call me in the early morning to let me know when all was done. (this relates to the minor shifter problem I originally brought the car in for...) I didn't hear back at 1:00pm, so I called back and was fed some story being told the car was still being worked on and had another problem they discovered in the morning and that she would call me back as soon as she heard back from the tech.

She seemed to fumble on the phone with me, trying to get me to disconnect, instead of allowing me to ask questions.

She said "she couldn't answer any questions at all until she spoke with the tech" and she would call back as soon as possible.

Then I received the call a few minutes later, indicating that when they arrived in the morning there were puddles of hydrolic fluid on the ground. (why didn't she tell me this in the previous call? hmm...)

So..

A) The car had no problems 30 minutes before closed on the hoist
B) The car was not moved, not turned on, and still on the hoist and then the struts just happened to fail overnight according to her, which caused the entire rear of the body to fall on the wheels when put down.

Obviously they were able to drive the car up on the hoist without problems, as I didn't hear any problems the previus night. They apparently failed while "up on the hoist, with the car turned off."

I'm trying to rationalize to see if I have any leverage with anyone at the dealership to indicate that this must have somehow been their fault.

Since I wasn't there, I can't prove anything, but I'm thinking I have some ground, since apparently these parts failed overnight while the car was turned "off".

The odd thing is, apparently there was no leaking at all during the entire 12 hours they were open.

Yet, while they were gone, it leaked all during the night, with the car turned off. Any tech experts, have any reasonable explanation if this "could" happen mechically or if this was definately a mistake by them?

johnny5

There not making any sense. One minute its being worked on, next minute it failed, next minute they said there was fluids all over the place and than next they said it just happened. What the hell are they talking about. Screw them take it to upper management the people your dealing with have no idea and cant get there stories straight!

JackStraw

Isn't your car still under warranty?

Don't know if this kind of problem would show up on the computer diagnostic, but it would be interesting to see what it said and when it was run.

Murtaza

It happened on their property while they were handling the car. They should be 100% liable, especially with both struts failing at the same time, thats fishy...

seattlecarfreak

no it is not under warranty. the $3,000 bill would be my responsibility.

what would the computer diagnostic show? is it able to distinguish the exact time/date of abc failure?

my main thing I might have some ground with.. is the car was driven up on the hoist.. and apparently the failure happened while the car was turned off.

also, in regards to the failure happening on their property in their hands. Is there legal ground with this? Since I drove the car to the dealership, and in their hands, with the car allegedly turned off.. a part failed..

There was apparently less than 100 feet of driving on the car before both of the struts apparently failed. From the service bay, to the hoist.

I am not very technical, so am wondering if this is even possible with an electronic strut? What it comes down to, is it possible for both of the struts to fail "only" when the car is turned off and stationary?

Could have leaving it up on the hoist during the night caused the electronic rear strut to fail? i'm thinking it was trying to maybe stabilize during the night.. and couldn't and failed.

After all.. don't struts begin to leak.. and then after many months to years.. fail, instead of just failing immediately while the car is turned off?

I just had my 20,000 mile inspection done 150 miles ago by them and everything checked out perfectly. I paid $400 for this inspection and they checked the struts, as it is checked off and didn't report any problems.

a few weeks later they both leak all over the ground and failed.

JackStraw

No, it won't tell you what time it failed, but you could see what time they performed the diagnostic and if everything was ok at that time and compare that to the time they called you to alert you of the problem.

In any case, I agree with what everyone else said here. If everything was fine when you brought it in, then they broke it and they should fix it and eat the cost.

Murtaza

It happened on their property while they were handling the car. They should be 100% liable, especially with both struts failing at the same time, thats fishy...

JackStraw

I'm looking at the printout of a computer diagnostic that was performed last August. It gives the exact date and time at which it was done. Everything came up negative... (I had asked them to check if my intercooler was working). There is one test looking at the ABC control unit which came up negative. Can't say whether this would be the right diagnostic for your problem, but there might be clues to what transpired somewhere in the service department's computer.

RoydRage

Something's Screwy Louie!

I think the chance's of both struts failing exactly at the same time are Impossible.

I think the other poster could be correct.. They leave the cars ignition on all the time when they are working on them... I have seen this.

My car was at the dealer for 3 recalls, and when I got it back the right rear was up in the air 8 INCHES!

It went back and forth 3 times before they fixed it... Was an ABC control module.

either they broke a line, and thus both rears are down. or they left the car on, or the tech Beat the ***** out of the car... I've seen this too... Are there more miles on the car then when you dropped it off?

I would fight like hell..... Send a letter to MB Customer service in Montvale, NJ. they read them, and react. Also... CC that to the General Mgr of the dealership... Explain your points... That it is impossible for both struts failing exactly at once... See if a parent company owns the dealership, and also copy the letter to them.

Good Luck....

This is why I *ALWAYS* worked on my own cars even just getting the parts for free and me doing the labor if the car was under warranty... But with these machines unfortunately this is not possible... You need too much info, and the star diagnostic machine... You can't even replace a lot of the parts without programing them in the computer.

Best,

RoydRage

Yacht Master

Can you post the dealer name and number?
SA name?

Yacht Master

Can you post the dealer name and number?
SA name?

bltserv

The dealer is responsible. Do you have another dealer up in Seattle you can call ? Can someone in here refer a Seattle SA.
Call another dealer and get a second opinion first.
I think you are getting yanked.

These cars are made to take some abuse. But the ABC can be the weak
link at times. And leaving it on a hoist and losing both struts sounds
like a dealership error. Both struts just dont "go" on their own.
I think the key is "leaving it on the hoist overnight". Thats not a normal
thing for this car and ABC.

StephenK

From what I have seen at a few different dealerships, would make me think this was somehow a blunder of the tech or techs working on your car. As much as we want to think they are highly trained individuals, lots of dealerships have a hard time finding and keeping quality individuals and hire almost anyone that comes along. My local dealership that I will not go to, has their techs work on Mercedes, BMW, Porsche, Audi and VW. Do you think each tech can be highly trained on all these cars???? Escpecially with how technology is advancing so fast these days.

I would get the dealership manager involved and show you weren't there for that problem, show that the car has not been worked on for that issue in the past and basically, they broke the car while it was in their possession, however it happened and they need to fix it at their expense.

If they are reputable, they should make this situation right.

mjr24

Call a lawyer, this is an obvious decision and had you done that yesterday instead of posting here to people who have no clue legally, etc....this would have been taken care of likely. You aren't going to get much help here and I don't think you should be responsible for that money either.

seattlecarfreak

I already talked to my lawyer.. and unfortunately since there is no "proof" that they are responsible for the failuire, there isn't much I can do, unless I file an actual lawsuit of course.. which is pretty pointless for a $3k repair job.

Musikmann

Since you also have a Porsche, I'd like to mention an incident with a local Porsche dealer when I had one. I took it in for something (too long ago to remember) and when I returned to pick it up I was told "your starter failed by coincidence while we had it here". WOULD YOU BELIEVE, what they did was offer me a push start (a couple employees manually pushed me so I could pop the clutch to get it started) and showed me the door. I was ready to explode when my girlfriend who was with me said to forget it. I have never forgotten about that, and have told everyone I know in this area driving Poochies exactly what I wrote here. That happened in the early 1980s and that damn place is still a Porsche Audi dealer.

tiggerfink

This might sound odd, but the better business bureau may be able to help you.

I have to say my dealership is good at admiting things and fixing it on their dime, but they suck at fixing cars. My dealership is a little better now at fixing MBs.

johnny5

SeatlecarFreak


Im just curious have you figured out what to do?

seattlecarfreak

well they finished my car and didn't have much of choice.. they offered a discount of the final price by offering the parts at cost + labor 10% off.. big wow.. oh well.. it's working fine now..

Musikmann

At least they met you "half-way" if you can call it that. I think a fairer way to have treated you would have been everything at their cost. My dealer's owner said they keep about $70 of the $92/hour they charge.