Hi everyone. I recently purchased a pre-owned 2005 E55 from a MB dealership. I fell in love with this car the moment I test drove it. Of course, being a used car, there were a few problems here and there. The sales said that whatever is pointed out that day will be fixed to satisfaction on a due bill. Further more, he mentioned to drive the car for a week, and he will take care of anything else that's discovered.

Thanks to all the useful information all of you guys post, I found that power loss was an issue with my new E55. I would take a few blasts on the highway, then all of a sudden it feels like the engine is dragging itself up the tachometer. And being passed by an G35 on local road (embarrasing, right?) made the issue more evident.

The sales person agreed to take care of the problem, and sets me up with a specific SA. For 3 days after I dropped the car off, they said the power loss could not be detected. Then on my way to pick up the car (I'm about 30 miles away from this dealer), I get a call saying that a tech just noticed the issue. Since I was almost there, I asked if it's ok that I enjoy the car for the weekend first, since it's been 2 weeks and I've only had the car for about 3 days. So when I dropped it back off, that SA was not there, and wouldn't be back until the following week, so another SA took it in. After 3 days again, she said the issue could not be replicated, and had me pick up the car again. I thought, ok....maybe I should wait for the first SA that stated he had indeed experienced the issue.

I have called and left messages for the original SA for about 1 week, with not reply. I've left messages for the service dept. director, with no response. I've spoken to the sales person, who tossed me over to the used car manager, and he said he would get this taken care of immediately, and still no response. So now it's been a little over 1 month since I had the car, and the issue is still not resolved.

Any advice? Thanks in advance for any input.

 

The pump generally won't throw a code unless the engine is hot. Tell them to drive it hard for a few miles & the codes will pop up. I had to do that with the dealership when mine went bad.

As far as how they're treating you? I'd keep calling them, if you continue to get no love find out who the GM or owner is and contact them directly.

Is the car a CPO? If so, they should have zero reason to avoid this.

 

Honestly, if you just bought the car and love it and want to continue enjoying it, I advise you to have an independent shop put in a new factory spec pump (I would go with the factory bosch pump if you are under warranty, just to be safe) and go on your marry way.

I know, I know, people will blast me b/c there's no doubt your dealership is not treating you right and this is an issue all of us have experienced.

But it won't cost much to have it done ($100-$200) and you won't have to continue to jump through hoops with the dealer.

 

I was told that the car is a "Pre" certified car, Inspections and everything. But the CPO warranty part was left as an option to be purchased by the buyer. Sounds fishy? Anyways, I did purchase the 1 year CPO warranty. As I've read, the primary reason for the power loss could be the I/C pump, but I did not want to dictate it since there could be other reasons as well. I wanted to let them tell me.

So my purchased CPO warranty should cover this? And is this "Pre" certified thing sound right? or did I get swindled into another $1000 for the the warranty?

 

Congrats minus the problems. What dealership are you dealing with?

 

Pretty sure you paid for the one year of warranty that is supposed to come automatically with all CPO cars. I've never heard of lower levels of certification.

I'd def look into this! I'd be infuriated if the dealer pulled a fast one like this. I can't imagine its an MB procedure. MB either certifies a vehicle or they don't. If they certify it, you should get the one year CPO warranty automatically. Get to the bottom of it and please keep us posted.

Fyi...I bought CPO last year and got the one year and paid extra for longer coverage.

 

You will be OK, Do I understand that the dealer has had the car for a month?
Tell them to replace the IC pump and then bench test the old one. if the old one is ok you pay for the new one. Buck up, don't let them push you around

 

Hey thanks for everyone's advice. Since you guys asked...it's Southbay MB. Don't mean to side track everyone's help, but I've already emailed MB USA regarding the "PRE" certified thing. I did see my car on MBUSA webiste under Certified Pre owned, and that's how the hunch started.

So this is where I stand right now. Wait for the original SA (who said he detected the power loss problem) to come back next Monday, so they say, or continue to press on to have it done immediately?

 

Yup. Don't give them the opportunity to believe that you don't know what you're talking about. Just walk in there and tell them that your intercooler pump has failed and tell them to replace it under the warranty that you just paid for.

 

make sure they replace it with the upgraded bosch unit.
on the other hand you can always get the CM30 unit.

 

This is a very easy fix... get it done this week. Tell them its the intercooler pump and it needs to be replaced!
An upgraded one only costs about $100 even! (CM30)

 

Follow up....The service department director finally called me back this morning after another message. So I tell him that with some research, this power loss problem's primary cause is the I/C pump. He then goes on about no engine malfunction codes were thrown in my vehicle. I tell him that from my knowledge (thanks again everyone!) this part when bad will not thrown any type of code. I didn't want to get into circular arguements with him, so I just left it at that. So then I told him forget it, I'll just wait for the original SA, who told me his tech did detect the power loss issue, to get back next week. The director then reviewed my records, and said no such power loss was reported by anyone on the records!

Very frustrating....

Anyways....I'm thinking of just taking my car to Rusnak, it's much closer and the reviews from forum memebers seem good. My only concern is...since everything on my car was promised to be taken care of as part of the purchase agreement, is it wise to just take it to Rusnak? I'm pretty sick of the treatment I've been receiving at Southbay. Dealing with all the run around is one thing, but my main goal is to get my car running the way it should run. Should I hold my steam and let wait till Southbay finishes everything to my satisfaction? Or just go to Rusnak since my car is CPO anyways?

Thanks guys.....

 

If this issues doesn't resolve, may be you should take this matter to GSM or GM. There is no reason that they should avoiding in fixing this car..You still have a 30 day guaranteed window on the purchase. Sometime, you have to be a bad guy to get thing done properly. I would go back to the stealership where you get the car from
this way they have your full information on their database. And they can treat you with dignity and respect as
a valuable customer..

 

Its up to you, how much do you want to deal with?

Personally, I would have had it fixed by an independent shop for a couple hundred dollars long ago.

If it were a $2K job, sure, fight it out. But my time is worth too much to fight this long over a small job (not trying to be smug, its just the truth), but there time certainly is not.

Enjoy the car bud, don't let these idiots ruin it for you. Its not worth it for a $200 job.

My $0.02

 

If you have CPO warranty, what are you afraid of? Bring it to different dealers and claim the warranty there.... may be some socal members here could point you to a particular dealership and SA who are very familiar w/ this problem. My SA and foreman do... but I live in NorCal

But like other members said.... get CM30 pump and have some independent tech install it for you. Total cost = $200 and no frustration. 60 miles round trip on this car would already cost you 4 gallons and 1 hour. Not worth it, IMO.

 

He said it. Just do it yourself and be done with it.

 

So any dealership and/or specific SA recommendations in the Los Angeles area? One that's familiar with our E55s'?

 

Let me also say, while everyone here knows the Johnson pump is superior, my SA directly told me that my CPO warranty will be voided if I put one in my car!!!

I know every dealer is different, etc., etc. I just want to caution you about this. I don't think its worth the risk. I have the newer model (I'm pretty sure its Bosch) pump from the dealer, and it works great.

 

A few points to help get your ducks in a row.

1) Call MB USA (1-800-367-6372) and ask them to tell you if your car is CPO or not (give them the VIN).
2a) Ensure that IF it is a CPO car, that you only fit the Mercedes (bosch) I/C pump. Do NOT go the Johnson CM30 route, as it only takes one bad dealer to assist in making you Status8 (blackballed) and ruining things down the road with any other warranty issues.
2b) IF it's not a CPO car, then look carefully at your Bill of Sale and find out what kind of Warranty you do have. !!!
3) IF it is CPO, you should have had the option to purchase a one or two year Extended Warranty *AFTER* the one year extended CPO warranty runs out. I suggest you educate yourself on the CPO warranty details here: http://www.mbusa.com/mercedes/#/cpoWarrantyInfo/

BTW - you should not have had to pay for the one year CPO warranty if that's what you got - (see point 1) above)

CPO Warranty work can be performed by ANY Mercedes dealer, take it to another one and chalk your experience with the original one down to a bad turn, and if you get a "survey" for the old one... remember who holds the cards. Score them badly.

 

Thanks everyone...for the great info.

Follow up......I called MB USA (thanks D Best) and spoke to a rep about the "PRE" CPO scandle...he said he's never heard of such thing either, and will pass it onto a case manager for further investigation. I'll let you guys know...

 

This is what MBUSA wrote back....

Additionally, for your information,Mercedes-Benz USA, as solely the
distributor of vehicles produced for the U. S. market, has no involvement
in dealer sales or lease transactions. As such, should you have any
further inquiries concerning this matter, please contact the General Sales
Manager....

So I guess I did get swindled on the CPO. At least this situation can be used as a reference for future buyers who checks on this forum.

Good news is that I went for a drive with the shop foreman today, and we identified the problem together. Hopefully this time around it'll be fixed properly and the beast I bought will be unleashed.

Thanks to everyone again...

 

I'm shocked to hear the South Bay is doing this... I've never had any issues with them, and I've purchased all of my current and previous MB's from them. Can you PM me who you're dealing with? I want to make sure I avoid them if I have to take my cars in for any reason.

 

I too had trouble getting my dealer to replace the IC pump because they could not duplicate the problem. So, they'd give it back and say it's fine.

So, I took it out on the freeway which is close by and ran the **** out of it until I could get the SC to shut down every time I went WOT. Then, brought it right back while it was still hot and had the tech take it out. He had no problem duplicating the issue and this time and they replaced the pump.

I think part of the problem is, that for me to get the SC to shut down ,I had to do repeated WOT runs from about 60 to 110 or so. I don't think a lot of dealers do that.

 

I am glad that you and tech foremen are able to find out the problem and hopefully they can fix this bad boy and get you back on the road...

 

Just want to say thanks to everyone's suggestions and help. The closing of this story is that I gave up on Southbay. After saying they changed out the I/C pump, powerless problem remains. Giving up on them, I took my car to Rusnak yesterday. The car was ready by this afternoon.

For the first after buying the car almost 2 month ago, I can finally say I feel the BEAST! It was night and day difference in acceleration.

Now, instead of starting a new thread, I want to thank you guys and tell you that I offically got an E55! Will enjoy the stock power for now until the mod bug bites!