Ray J

About a year ago, I ordered a pair of W211 Xenon lights thru Peter @ Wheel Experts for my 2004 E55 (his old project car). The selling dealership agreed to pay for the lights since the salesman had told me the car had Xenons, but in actuality it did not. Therefore, the dealership called Peter and asked him to order the lights for me. About a month later, the lights arrived perfectly with the boxes in perfect condition to the dealership in Houston. The dealership then shipped the lights to me here in Dallas, which also arrived in what appeared to be perfect condition. Upon installation of the lights here, although the lights functioned, one of the light adjusters was damaged, and the beam on one side was basically pointing straight down and could not be adjusted, while the other side functioned normally. I emailed Steve and he said there was nothing wrong with the lights when he shipped them, but he would be in Dallas in a few weeks and he would look at them in person.

Upon his arrival in Dallas, I met up with him and he confirmed what the installer already told me - the adjuster on one side was broken. However, he claimed the damage occured during shipping, but since some time had elapsed, we could not claim the damages from the carrier. At this time he reluctantly agreed to replace the light. (Incidentally, Wanda (Steve's partner) had told me in a seperate email that the install he was doing in Dallas for another E55 owner had the same problem on the light he installed for him, so obviously I am not the first person to have this problem)

Now, the lights were boxed extremely well, with packing stuffed on all sides, and there was no damage whatsoever to the boxes of the light itself physically. At one time, he agreed to replace it, but almost a year has gone by since that time, and we still have no replacement light. He is now ignoring email requests from Peter @ Wheel Experts and myself. He had been promising a resolution, but then pulled it back in the last few months and said that since it was damaged during shipping, he would not be liable.

What should I do?

Ray

DerekFSU

That stinks. Steve seems to get a bit of business from this forum and I have recommended him highly. I sure hope he makes it right with you. Waiting a year seems to be long enough.

BMWEATR

HMM tough one, since he (i think) said he would take care of it, he should live up to his word! not take back his promise later. even if it wasn't his fault. can't the part just be returned? why didn't someone just do that from the beginning.

lee2375

I certainly hope he makes this right, it has been a thorn in my side for almost a year now...lord knows we have given him enough time and chances....

c55m8o

I hear they break easily in transit. ...the insides of those wood crates they come in should have shaped foam shippers and other padding as if you were shipping a $1000 bottle of wine. Should be a thing for shipping insurance to take care of, but time is everything with claiming a loss. I would suspect MBenzNL to eventually get out of the Xenon biz cuz'adis kind'a thing.

Ray J

thanks guys, I really find it hard to believe that this was done during transit. The tech and Steve showed me what was broken and it was the inside supports, not just one, but if memory serves me right, 3 out of 4. If it was banged it should have cracked the housing or smashed the light, both of which are in perfect condition. I just don't understand it. The packaging was very good too, with the lights suspended in a box and lots of styrofoam...

benzmodz

You want Steve to take responsibility for jobs performed by other installers and by multiple shipping companies. If you can come up with a reason why someone who was supply only would do that then it deserves a new light.

Picking on Steve will do two things. Nothing and nothing.

Since in Australia those people who complain like there is no tomorrow get special treatment and in Europe it is actually the opposite. So saying it was Steve's fault is something you need to do with considerable caution as he is not known for being unreasonable to reasonable people.

The problem as I see it is that too many people handled the products. Impossible to know what went wrong.

benzmodz

It doesnt make sense that someone can say how it should be if it isnt that way. I dont make these lights and I dont think you make lights so how do you know how it breaks ?

c55m8o

tho what you describe is the -very- same thing I've seen broken ... in transit. No, the glass survives. It's those stupid little plasitc posty things that go. ...believe it.

CE750

I had steve install several items for me on his Aug visit to the US.. he worked tirelessly and did great work.

The very morning that he left my house to go back to the airport, I called him to report that the folding mirror (which appeared to have worked fine the night before) stopped working right.

He attempted to give me some tech support that didn't help the problem, and then told me to send it to an address in CA (Mark Cumings) and he'll send me a new one right away..

Well, before he ever got back home, Wanda his sister had already emailed me that the new mirror was on it's way.. With in a week I had it installed, and then shipped the bad mirror out..

I couldn't ask for better service.. I don't see how you would get different treatment from me, unless there is another side to this story?

Steve has an impeccable record on this board and other boards as a straight businessman who does great work for a great price. This has been my experience.

benzmodz

There is nothing wrong with the sales and support Steve provides on his own work. How someone can warranty the work of others is beyond me. It would be like someone sending me a claim for 2 billion dollars because Columbia didnt come home in one piece.

lee2375

so in your opinion, who is at fault? I know when I ship something out, I have to take responsibility for it if the shipping company does not. However, if my clients goods arrive damaged, I help them process a claim with the shipping company. Of course if I ask them to file a claim and they dont, then obviously I cant help them. However, by the time he came out to look at them, the time available to file a claim had expired. In my opinion, he should have asked us to file a claim immediately had this been the case, rather than tell us he was going to come look at it in person first.

Anyone on this forum who has ever dealt with me knows that in the last 5 years, that I am a reasonable person and I can honestly say we have never had a dissatisfied customer. I believe that I am a reasonable person and a good businessman, and I honestly don't think I am asking for something unreasonable. I have stepped in many times at my own cost when my vendors will not help, which is what I will do in this case, even though I offered a favor to the dealership based on my previous good relations with Steve. He and I did business many times in the past, with absolutely no complaints from me, hence I did not hesitate to volunteer his services when the dealership was looking for a way out.

If I could get Steve to offer me a replacement light at his cost, I would accept that as a resolution with no hard feelings. Even though I am not liable at all in this situation other than circumstantially, I will still be the one who in the end will have to pay for the new light. Now THAT is customer service.

caliboy

WOW MAN!!!!!!
I THINK I HAVE HEARD OF YOUR COMPANY ON THIS BOARD MANY TIMES BEFORE>>>>>>> I AM IN THE MARKET FOR A NEW SET OF WHEELS FOR MY 05 C230........WITH CUSTOMER SERVICE LIKE THAT I WILL CERTAINLY BE GIVING YOU A CALL! GREAT JOB SIR!!!!!!!

STEVE.......I think you should do your part now to! This board gives you aloooottttttt of business and up until now your image had been pretty good. Don't ruin it because I planned on getting those very same lights from you installed on my car.........I'm a little reluctant now.

MARK CUMMINS

It looks like the Lights were sent to The Wheel Experts...Then Shipped to the Dealer ...Without anyone Inspecting the lights?..yes The Box MAY look undamaged...but was it?I Have seen How things are treated ..Parcels are footballs..or wheel chocks...
I Think The Lights SHOULD have been Inspected at the FIRST stop..at The Wheel Experts...BEFORE being sent on to The Dealership...
Then IF a claim needed to be made One could have done so at the FIRST stop....Or Were the lights damaged in transit to the Second stop?
I Have seen how the lights are sent and they are sent Zipped tied to prevent (THINGS) from breaking..But accidents do happen..

And a Claim SHOULD have been made ASAP...to either the Shipper or Steve..
Not a Year later...or Even Six Months...

schwarzwagen

funny you should mention wheel chocks... I had a customer call me today to inform me that her package that she received from us looked like it had been run over. seriously run over, she was quite certain of it.

benzmodz

Ok so you lose in the short term but maybe you can fix things up in the long term.

Any ideas how much a genuine 18" C55 rear rim is worth ?

Or a front and rear 17" 2006 Style III ? (the new ones in all of the AMG books) - obviously also for a C55 and staggered.

benzmodz

Better a wheel chock than a porta potty.

MBenzNL

Ray, Peter, we have been over this several times.

I send one set of good - non broken lights per USPS from california to houston (peter)...I send 2 boxes - 1 light per box...and insured each box for 750USD.
IF the light got damaged during transit from california to houston - it should have been mentioned upon arrival in houston and it could have been sorted out with USPS as the lights were actually insured.
Apparently nobody checked the lights and the lights got send to a dealership in dallas (which again is shippinmg during which the lights could have gotten damaged)...at the dealership somebody must have received the headlights and must have unpacked the headlights...who ever was responsable for that did not mention damage to anybody, not to ray, not to peter and not to me.
The lights get installed by mercedes techs at that dealership and there still isn't anybody who notices any damages to the lights.

I have been mailing back and forth with both ray and peter about the problem that the dealership techs have with aiming the lights and have offered to diagnose the problem myself during my 1 night trip to dallas where I looked at the lights of ray's car at 1 at night...it only took me 2 minutes to see that the problem headlight had internal damage - why couldn't that have been diagnosed by the mercedes techs who installed the headlights? It is something that is noticeable when you handle the lights.

I had shipped one extra headlight to the US back then that I was willing to send as a areplacement but needed that one myself as I brought a set of 211 bi xenon headlight on the plane to dallas and the luggage people at the airport managed to damage the same side headlight as the one in ray's car.

I then shipped another (new) 211 bi xenon to california that I offered at less then costprice (as I truelly do not think that I am the person to blame due to the fact that 1) I send the headlights insured and 2) nobody knows wether the headlight got damaged during the first shipment, the second shipment or installation), but as far as I understood from the received emails this offer was not good enough as I apparently was expected to pay for the problem myself. This offer still stands (which I emailed peter the last time I was in the US - 1 month ago), but I am not going to pay for the whole problem myself as I don't think that is fair (since nobody knows when the headlight got damaged and I actually paid insurance incase this would happen during transit from california to houston).

Out of the 250+ W203 bi xenon headlights we send out in the past, something similar happened to 4 or 5 sets and we send those people replacement headlights...I woulld have done the same here if peter would have notified me of having received a broken headlight before forwarding the headlights.

greetingz,

raymond g-

Read and re-read. I think it's inconclusive as to where the fault lies....
certainly nothing compelling me to shy away from any prospective business
with Steve. Claim and counter claim...no winners. Have worked as arbitrator
here in Seattle with auto repair claims. These are the trickiest as it
calls for someone (eg arbitrator) to bring it to a close. Anything less is
simply mediation and not binding....and calls for both sides to back off and
lose....to some degree.

Ted Baldwin

............I have modified my car several times and have suffered every possible let down even if it was nobody's fault. My comment about this thread is that modifying your car by a non-local vendor is a big problem even when the vendor is nice and competent. IT is a CERTAINTY that issues will arise even when nobody is at fault. Everyone in the chain will blame the other person.........at the end of the day, you the car owner is left stranded. If you didn't pay by paypal or by credit card or if your vendor is not US based, you are simply SOL.

Ted

Kev04C320

Paypal has a 45 day policy so it would have been too late to dispute as well.

However, in this situation, there're too many factors invovled since the package was sent from Cali to Houston and then to Dallas. No body knows what could have happened to the lights. When I ordered my W203 BiX lights from Steve, I immediately hooked them up to my car just to test and see if the lights worked even though I have not had the car programmed. Therefore, I don't think the deal that Steve offers is not unfair.

benzmodz

If you simply relied on the corner store you would be driving a black Model-T Ford 2005 edition.

CE750

IT's clear that Steve INSURED the lights for their shipment to their destination. That tells me he's covered. The lights should have been verified operational at that location, then Steve (or his agent) would be liable.

The minute they were shipped again, the new shipper takes liability.

This smacks of common sense.

If steve offered to sell you a new one for below his cost, why didn't you accept then?

E55Freak

Steve, no need to explain yourself. A lot of us here on the board know your rep.

Jakpro1

I have not had the time to sit down with a pipe and fireplace and read this massive post all the way through like War and Peace, but it seems the problem lies with not checking the box and just sending it to the dealership. REGARDLESS, the customer is always right provided he is not trying to pull a scam. As a small business owner, I totally feel for Steve as we are not pulling millions per year and losing a grand or 2 is hard....but sometimes it is necessary. I have had a few projects that I just prayed would end as quickly as possible as they were "snake bit"....sounds like this one was a classic.

I will use Steve and have recommended him to many.....just sounds like this experience was snake bit. It happens....only tidbit I would offer is sometimes you gotta lose on a deal just to get it outta your hair. Perhaps the replacements should have been offered for free instead of at cost.....regardless of who was at fault. It would have never made it to the forum and life would have moved on.