BklynMarc

Recent events have me questioning the repair work that a local dealer has done on my car. Without inundating you with all the details, I brought the car in for a major service about three months ago and had a lengthy list of repairs done. Relevant here, I was told that two items were resolved satisfactorily, one involving new parts. Total bill over $4K.

As an added variable, I've been traveling for work since the repairs and with the holidays, I have not had a chance to observe the car much. It's been driven infrequently.

Fast forward to last month. A heavy rain reveals that one of the problems that I was told was resolved was not. I take the car back to the dealer, thinking that it will be an easy fix. I even suggest what I think would resolve the matter. They keep the car for a week, "running tests". Next thing I know is they are telling me that a part needs to be "replaced and painted" to solve the problem. I ask why they have not tried my solution but agree to the work. Long story short, they replace and paint the part, but the problem is not solved. Then they do what I asked them to do in the first place and the problem is finally corrected.

When I showed up to get my car, instead of a $150 bill (for the parts and labor of the parts I suggested), they wanted to charge me $1200 for all the unnecessary (and ineffective) work that they "did" in "solving" the problem. When I asked for the replaced part (as I did when I lived in CA), I was told they didn't have it. We discussed the bill and I did not pay them close to what they wanted, but it made me raise an eyebrow. Use the above as part of the necessary background.

Part of the work that I had done three months ago was for my Keyless Go. I had replaced the batteries in my key fob enough to know that the problem was in the driver's door handle. The other doors worked fine. I had gotten to the point of using the rear passenger door handle to lock the car. The dealer claimed then that I needed an entirely new handle (new part), which I agreed to. Total cost to replace the handle-- around $450 (including labor).

Since the repairs, the "new" handle has not worked consistently. I've taken it back once for them to re-examine (and curiously, they forgot that they had "replaced" it). I find that I am still using other doors to get into and lock my car. In light of the history described above, I look at the door handle skeptically. On close inspection, the handle looks just as worn as the comparable passenger side handle. Did they even replace the part? How can I check? I want to know before I go back.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

moosejaw

There is a lot of info to absorb here but my two cents.....
1. I thought door handles were pre-painted from the factory?
2. Trying to charge you for work that didn't resolve your issue should be on their dime. It's bad enough that dealers charge you "book time" which has plenty of markup on it. Now they are trying to pass an overhead cost onto you because they lost so many man hours to remedy the problem. Worse off is that you had to tell them how to fix your car. That's BS!
3. Always ask for your old parts back, you have to be up these dealers butt every single second. Take the time to understand why they are charging you for these things. Your never going to know about your door handle as a lot of time has gone by. Depending on the color, it should have brand spanking new appearance. Touch it, feel it. Does it seem as smooth as a baby's bottom?
4. Note that most of the dealers customers in the service dept don't question their final invoice. Note that most ships in the NE have shop rates that are easily +/- $150/hr which is a lot of overhead to cover.
5. Remember if your car was repaired at a MBUSA dealer, there is a year warranty on parts.
6. Be tenacious with these Muthasuckas just as were when you negotiated to buy your car.

novae500

looks like they didnt replace the door handle but troubleshooted it and worked. Closed othe ticket on this and said fixed. When they billed you for a new door handle??

BklynMarc

Moose,

Sorry for the confusion. There were two separate instances of work done, one involving painting. I was vague in my description to avoid alerting the dealership, in case they monitor these sites. The second problem was water leaking into my trunk. When they "repaired" it the first time, they claimed that the drains/vents that direct water away from the car were clogged, allowing water to pool and compromise the seals. Accordingly, they removed all the debris from the vents and charged about $300.

So when my trunk was wet after the first rainfall, I took it back. This time, they claimed to have found the problem and said that it was due to a warped back panel. The service advisor claimed that my car must have been hit (prior to when I owned it) and they needed to replace it the panel (and paint it). [They did not realize that I am the original owner of the car and I know all the work done to my car.]

After replacing the panel, water still was seeping into the car. At that point, they tried replacing the rubber seals at the back of the car. Problem solved. BTW, replacing the seals is what I suggested from the outset.

In response to your comment, I did get back the $300 from the work that was supposedly done. I was not going to allow that double charge to happen.

Apparently getting your parts back is subject to state and local rules. I know that there is a law in CA that allows you to demand the parts that are replaced and they usually just put them in a plastic bag in your trunk. I'm unclear what the laws are elsewhere, but I am sure that you can demand them. I should have done that BEFORE the work was allegedly done, but too late now. I will know in the future.

BklynMarc

That's what I am thinking. The handle had a fail rate of about 60% before the repairs, meaning that I could only lock the door about 40% of the time using the keyless go handle. After the work, it fails about 95% of the time. It seems to get better when the car is warm or has run for a long time (over 2 hour drive), but it is still unacceptable. I expected a new part to work flawlessly. It does not work at all.

On the itemized bill from when the repair work was done, they billed me $245 for the part (211-760-11-70-9197) and another $200 for labor. The description for the work is "replaced outer door handle drivers side with new handle."

I'd like to see how I can verify that the handle was not replaced. I need that information to figure out what to do next. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, it could be another faulty part which they would need to replace again (but in light of all of this, I doubt it). The worst case scenario (from someone that I would hope to trust) is fraud.

novae500

which dealer was this done at? so others can avoid!

Peter_02AMG

I had the same problem with my driver door keyless go. It went totally dead one day. SA told me they need to replace the handle and sensor and they need to keep my car over night to send the door handle out to get it painted.

They did replace the handle and sensor because I noticed they did a crappy job painting the handle, there was over spray on the chrome part of the handle and when they put the rubber button back on the handle it was not flush within the square hole.

Look for over spray on the chrome part of the handle and the rubber button it should look newer than the other 3 handle, that how i knew they replaced the handle and sensor or you can remove the handle which i heard is very easy to do without removing the door panel and check to see if the inside or sticker is new or old..it should show from aging.

moosejaw

So after repainting a part of car that did not need painting, did you get your money back from "Said Dealership"?

BklynMarc

MB of Alexandria

BklynMarc

Thanks. I will check that out tonight.

To get back to a comment that Moose made earlier, it did not feel new or different when I got it back a few months ago. I do tend to notice these things. I wonder why I did not notice that.

BklynMarc

I paid them what I thought was reasonable for the repair. I am still evaluating what to do further. Gathering the information about the handle will be key. If I can show that they billed me for work that they did not perform, I will have many avenues for getting most of what they billed back.

At a minimum, I'm thinking a letter to MBUSA. I do not rule out legal action and I would be very amenable to talking to a local paper about the issues that I have had.