neveo

+100

C32madness

Skeeter I did not realize you are local.

Looking at the pictures I don't believe solving the problem will be hard. Screw dealing with lawyers and fighting the dealer and MB. Take your car over to SCARGO in San Rafael and have them repair the area. This is the custom Porsche shop I mentioned earlier. I have been working with them for 6+ years and the fabrication work they do is amazing. Reconstructing the damaged area will be easy for them. This is by far the cheapest, fastest and best approach to solve the problem.

I know its a bitter pill to swallow since the repair should be covered by MB. While we all know that its unlikely that the pulley caused the problem but the burden of proof is now on you. Their legal position will be that you modified the car and the additional strain from the motor caused the failure. I am sure in the warranty details it is covered. It is now up to you to prove otherwise. That will involve resources that are not cost affective. It will require a structual engineer to prove that and a lawyer to argue the position. I am sure MB will have the opposing team doing the same thing. Thier pockets are deep and I would not want to have a battle of $$$ with them.

I am willing to bet that SCARGO will do the repair for less than $1,500.00. I am also willing to bet that cost of litigation will start at 10k.

Best of luck with getting your car repaired.

cte430

I may be mistaken but according to the MM act the burden of proof is on the manuf. that the mod caused the failure. Either way though, this will take a LONG time and $$ to settle. He may win but I think he'll be without his car for quite some time while this gets sorted out.

SLK55R

again ... before it was entered into the system ... I would agree it would be less of a headache to just get it repaired outside of the system.

BUT now that his car is marked he should fight this. Not to mention the burden of proof is on the MANUFACTURER ... not him.

Skeeter

Yep, the only way through this now is by going through MBUSA. C32, I will DEFINITELY take it to SCARGO as a last resort and thank you for the lead. But there is NO WAY they should mark my car in the system, let alone refuse warranty coverage, over a mild modification that gained me 18 hp.

I spoke to MBUSA today and was treated very politely. I hope that we can get someone to look at the car and agree that there is nothing here worth fighting over. They will investigate and get back to me next week.

Hopefully another inspection will reveal that I'm still under warranty and can then trade the car in on a CLS55 or maybe one of the new body S series. The S63 probably isn't going to be up to snuff; maybe the S600? A steep price difference; I'll test drive and see if the new S feels like a boat or a performance sedan and go from there.

Of course the other option is they screw me, I'm forced to file against EVERYONE from start to finish, and have the repair done on my own dime, documenting EVERYTHING for litigation and lining up witnesses. Already found a great mechanical engineer with several relevant degrees who does stress failure analysis work. There is no way they'll be able to sustain their case, just no way.

I suspect dealing with MBUSA will yield results (or not) within a few weeks. I will keep you all up to date and hope this one goes away quietly and with no drama. Hopefully they take a second look and reconsider without further complications. Hopefully.

Thanks to all who've offered advice and references. Keep 'em coming, I'm far from out of the woods on this one.

Skeeter

jangy

Jeeez. What a pain this has been!!!

rich644

Skeeter,
Any news since the factory rep has returned from vacation?

Skeeter

The nightmare continues and legal action is soon going to be my only option.

I never heard back from MBUSA (six days after first contact). In the meantime, I moved the car from MBSF to a more friendly dealership that has been honest and fair with me in the past. If anyone deserves my future business, it'll be them (FJ in Fremont).

Yesterday I called MBUSA again, to tell them where the car was and to hopefully hear some good news.

The CS rep told me that the notes indicated that the repair was denied due to 'extensive modifications', and that installation of Renntech software allows the car to be put into 'dyno mode', which lets the driver do huge burnouts, putting undue strain on the subframe. This is why the car was marked 'Status 8'.

I politely insisted that this was rubbish, that any E55 could be put into dyno mode, and that there is NO evidence that the car was ever abused in this fashion.

She told me that I should contact the dealership where the car was located in order to have them request another regional representative to look at the car, and that she would note my request to be contacted by the rep as well. She said she'd put in a request for another inspection as well, but couldn't guarantee that the rep would contact me.

So today I call FJ to give them the update only to hear that they received an email from MBUSA that was sent to all dealerships in the area telling them to be on the lookout for my car and to DENY all service without question. Unreal. FJ was again pure class and after some talking they told me that they would try to get a regional rep out and try to get us all in one room to talk through the decision.

But he told me frankly that MBUSA is NOT mod friendly, and that even a small modification will result in Status 8 and denial of any damage even remotely related to the modification. Of course never mind that this flies in the face of FEDERAL LAW

The guy at FJ was extremely nice, appears to be motivated to try and help, but gave every indication that this wasn't going to result in a reversal of MBUSA's position in his opinion. And that the factory wasn't exactly speedy in getting stuff like this done, moving at governmental speed. He asked me if I wanted to pick the car up meanwhile, since it may take a weeks to get this arranged. I told him that I'm not sure the car is safe to drive and would leave it there, though it did drive fine from SF to Fremont FWIW. But no sense taking risks, although think of the damages against MBUSA if they released a car to be driven off if a massive failure resulted from the non-repair... Not smart.

So look, I know I've been a SAP up till now, refusing to proceed scorched earth and start with a lawsuit for 1)injunctive relief to have the 'Status 8' removed, 2) lost use of the car for ~1 month so far, 3) depreciation for the same, and 4) full repair cost or a buy-back. Further ammo will be the discovery demand which will require them to disclose all records they have showing stock cars which suffered the same failure, covered under warranty. I'm confident that there are quite a few out there.

This along with a bluntly worded letter to every manager up the chain all the way to the CEO telling them that they lost not only a long time customer, but an evangelist for their products who has generated a half-dozen sales for them over the last few years. Off to look at an M6 or maybe an Aston Martin. I'll miss that blown V8 forever, but this treatment is beyond reprehensible for a manufacturer of premium performance cars. Much as I'd like to swallow my pride, take the financial hit, and buy a CPO'd CLS55, I'll never do business with someone who screws me like this, no matter what they sell or how much I want it. Never. BBB complaints, posts to boards, and a full negative campaign to follow.

But even as a lawyer with friends who do this for a living willing to comp me their service (they'll get paid by MBUSA if they win though), I do NOT want to go down this road. 1) I want to stay with the MB brand and get another MB as my next car, and 2) I just can't believe they'll look me in the eye and screw me like this on a car this well-built with SUCH a minor mod. I'd rather shake hands than crack the whip in court, even if I win. The best fight is the fight you never have to engage in.

So at this point I don't see why I shouldn't give them two weeks or so to make things right, against all odds. Then I can use my extreme efforts to resolve this amicably as ammo in court, demonstrating that they refused several reasonable offers to settle this for nothing more than the cost of the repair and a keystroke in their system removing the unjust 'Status 8' designation over an 18 hp mod. Damm, I could get ~18 HP from intake, a K&N filter and the SL55's throttle-body. Unreal.

But sand has nearly run through the hourglass. One, two weeks, maybe three more MAX if there is movement. Then we take the gloves off.

Yes, to all those who've told me from day one to get this in court, serve them with papers and send a demand letter, you are probably right. It sounds like I'll end up there anyway; the difference is the month + without a nice car to drive, which has been killing me. I derive huge pleasure from my main car (currently the E), and it's been rough to drive my crappy second vehicle for this long. The lost usage during this process this will add up to damages in the end though, assuming I prevail. And I'm VERY confident I will. That Magnussen-Moss act is a mother and stacks the deck in our favor.

I'll keep you all posted. I don't want to come down to negatively on MBUSA yet, as they haven't screwed me with finality. So I'll stay optimistic and hope that this was all a bad decision made by an individual or two. This happens in any organization and all will be forgiven if they do the right thing soon.

More to come,

Skeeter

komp55

Very sorry to read this latest news. What's amazing is that there are a signifcant number of MB dealers around the country that sell and install Renntech products. I simply cannot imagine that they are informing their customers for the Renntech products that "Oh, by the way, if you install this it will totally void your warranty." It definitely seems like a legal case in which you can prevail since federal warranty law is pretty well established, and I have little doubt that MB counts on the vast majority of their customers whom they attempt to or do screw on warranty issues to be sheeples and take it bent over holding their ankles. I don't know if I would even grant them another two weeks to reconsider; you've been way more than patient already.

Maybe the take away from this type of bad MB behavior is to make sure your swap off your mods before taking it back to the dealer after something breaks. A real PITA if it ever becomes necessary, but perhaps the only way to take away their ability to say the mods caused the issue.

ChicagoX

The fact that they won't even guarantee a CALLBACK should tell you that you should move sooner, rather than later, IMHO.

They have made no goodwill attempts on any front. You are being stonewalled. Call an attorney.

Best of luck.

Carl Lassiter

Sound advice, and I second the good luck wishes. Should be a slam dunk for you, but having to go to court is a real pain in the ***.

rich644

I'm not a big fan of resolving ones problems through litigation, but this has officially crossed the line.

They have clumsily attempted to misrepresent your modification (the dyno mode ability) in order to avoid their obligations under the federal laws and then they had the ***** to send out an e-mail blast encouraging their dealers to deny you the service you are entitled to. All this from a problem which one of their dealers likely created in the first place.

This goes beyond simple stonewalling, take the fight to them, and sue their asses!

Also think of ways the MBworld army can get involved to make their lives as uncomfortable as possible. (provide contact info for all involved)

Hell hath no fury like a bunch of car fanatics scorned.

OzE55

Demand that they put in writing, "for my legal representative to review", the exact reason for the status 8. Do this through someone of importance at the regional office - not the telephonist.

I would be tempted to make an appointment at thier office (or show up unannounced and be prepared to sit there for the day till you "speak to someone with authority") to show them the photos etc. " This happened because the dealership tore out the bolt with an impact wrench (or whatever) and now they're lying to cover it up."

Shift the focus from the mod caused this to the dealer broke it (show engineering report) and is covering up.

"I want it fixed and I will sue you and the dealer, if it isn't" - as you walk out the door. They will have a risk management system at MB that mandates that all threats of legal action have to be passed up the chain. Thats you best hope.

cte430

While many dealers sell/ install Renntech (same as in the porsche world) this changes nothing if a problem occured with the car and a regional tech had to come in. Of course the dealer who sells mods will do more to go to bat for you than skeeters, don't think for a second if a major problem occured and the car was modded you would not be screwed.

The warranty comes from MBUSA, not the dealer.

cte430

I like that idea! Tell us the e-mail address of the owner of the dealership and have every member here write to him.

komp55

Pretty sure most people know that; the issue is whether MB dealers selling and installing Renntech parts should have an affirmative duty to disclose to customer that installation of said Renntech parts will likely void the MB warranty if at all possible. My guess is they don't disclose; heck, they may even receive incentive compensation from MB for selling Renntech parts that take cars off the MB warranty rolls. Wouldn't put it past 'em.

BMWEATR

my dealer sells renn tech and i was told point blank if i ever had a problem, they would warrenty it no problem.

any way just my .02cents, skeeter sorry about your car, but your being a total jerk off regarding this matter and should of had a lawyer involved weeks ago!! sorry for the name calling but i think you need a reallity check. mb will win this one.

cte430

Ask them to put that in writing. BTW, if you think skeeter should have gotten a lawyer that's fine. Calling him a jerk off? WTF?

CWW

I agree the name's kind of harsh, but let's be real...

He's doing exactly what they're hoping he will do, which is sitting around whining while time continues to pass and they are still sitting on money they would otherwise have had to pay to fix his car. He is every risk-management department's dream.

I'd have been sitting in a lawyer's waiting room the next day.

Moviela

I think it is time to attract the attention of Daimler in this case. The people Skeeter has contacted so far, and they are the only ones he can contact, are in place to watch the company pocket book. They are using a well rehearsed script designed to make him give up and stand in line to be sheared with the rest of the sheep.

I would retain consel, hire an expert, and get a PR hack. I would find out who has given expert testimony for Daimler in the past, and hire him to prevent Daimler from using him. In interviewing PR hacks, find one who was dropped by Daimler. They might have a score to settle and know exactly where needle Daimler in the press to shine the best light on your case.

Skeeter

In due time. I agree that due time was probably two or three weeks ago FWIW. I've never been in litigation with MB before and as a (former) trial lawyer I don't take going to court lightly. If I have to file a single paper it is NOT going to be pretty. And it goes without saying that there is NO WAY that I will ever buy another MB in my entire life if I'm put in this position. NFW.

Sorry that this isn't something I'm taking lightly. I was holding off on posting progress for a while because I wasn't making any and feared pissing off the group or at least making for a boring thread by not going hard enough soon eough. But after seeing a post or two asking for an update thought I'd give one anyway.

I'll do what needs to be done. Make no mistake. If any of you are interpreting my desire to resolve this amicably as an indicator of me beign a pushover, let me be clear in telling you how wrong you are. MB is about to find out the same thing. Nothing gets me more angry than being treated badly by an organization EXCEPT messing with my car. Now we have both, so I guarantee fireworks if the right thing isn't done.

But yes, I will give them time to work this through their procedure. Maybe they are stringing me along, maybe not. I'll know in a week or two, then it'll be that much more convincing in court when I lay out all the efforts I've made to try to resolve this on the cheap. So lost use, depreciation, lawyers fees, etc will be seen as a result of MBUSA's actions, not an over-reaching customer.

Peace,

Skeeter

Yacht Master

Hang tough Skeeter

Skeeter

Ok, the last straw has been reached. I'm well into litigation mode, so hang on to your hats.

What tipped me over the brink, you ask? Well this morning I get a call from the GREAT people at FJ telling me that MBUSA told them that I had to take the car to SFMB to have it 're-inspected'. That the 'appeal' had to be done at the same dealership where the initial decision was made. UNREAL! This, mind you, after I called MBUSA and told them I intended to take the car to another dealership since I didn't trust MB of San Francisco, and was told by MBUSA's customer service rep that this was fine, and to have the 'new' dealership call them to set up an inspection.

So I take a half-day off of work and get a friend to drive me down, wait over a week to hear back, only to get this response! Unbefreakingleavable!

I'm guessing that, since the regional rep is a different person for FJ, they don't want to risk having one regional rep reverse the decision of another. Why they can't inconvenience the regional rep to take the 40 minute drive to please a customer who bought a $90k car from them is beyond me. Especially after I TOLD THEM I was going to move the car and they said, "Fine, let us know when it is moved".

So now, yes, I'm past feeling like I'm getting the runaround and will pick a lawyer and proceed with a claim. I tried calling MBUSA to have one last talk, asking them why they told me it was fine to move the car to another dealer only to now tell me that I can only appeal the decision at MBSF. But I got no call back. I'll try again tomorrow, just so they have all my complaints on record so that when this does end up in court the higher-ups can see what a screw-up this entire debacle has been from start to finish.

The drag is that while I'm 100% confident that I'll win my case and they'll be forced to pay for the repairs, they'll keep the 'Status 8' on my car regardless. Since it is an 'internal' decision with their own meaning, I'm not confident that I can litigate this decision. I can fight every bad denial they make, but I doubt I can force them to remove the mark from their own system.

And sadly I'll never get another MB again. Sad to leave the E behind, she was a beaut and served me well. But no way will I ever give $ to a company that treats a customer like this. I won't go away quietly and I'll extract everything that I deserve on this. I can't believe they are treating me this way over a measly 18 HP modification on a 469hp car. Unreal.

Off we go! Not even sure if I can fix the car and sell it or if I should preserve it in its current condition so I can have an expert evaluate it as it stands. Guess I'll leave that to the lawyers...

Skeeter

SLK55R

as to why they want it back at MBSF is so they can save face and allow the dealership to back up and say they were wrong ... (fingers crossed!)

neveo

if i was in your position i would hire an experienced mechanic to be present at the inspection at MB of SF... just my 2 cents