Chip

I am an ex owner of an 03 AMG E-55. I sold the car after an exhustive relationship with a dealership in AZ. The car pulled to the right and the audio phone system failed in hot temps. After taking the car to dealership 6 times they were unable to fix the problems. They kept the car for a month out of the 3 months I owned it. I gave up trading for an ML-500 losing around 15k which was part of the premium price I had to pay for it. Now I hear that there maybe a class action lawsuit from owners that had similar problems. Does anyone have information about this. It would nice to have another one that worked if I could get all that money back that I lost on the defective one?

norb

Class Action Lawsuite? So you an get a $1000 coupon for a new MB? While the lawyers get Millions? No thanks.

moa4r

did you try to get mb to buy the e55 back before you lost the money on it??!!!!

Chip

No they would not just buy it back. I had to trade it in, take the deprecation which they gave me a little break on and eat the premium over sticker. Needless to say they wrote me a check trading in on an ML500

I did look into evoking the lemon law. But I would have been stuck with a car that was not right for a long time while that process took place.

I don't have much faith in class action suits, but I would like to stick it to Mercedes for selling me a lousy expensive experimental car

Mr. Xristo

Unfortunately, you were screwed more than once, and including them "forcing" you to trade the vehicle in for another one.

I dare to say you are f****d now because all is said and done.

Bottom line: You should have played hardball with the dealerships and consulted an attorney, in addition to calling MBUSA to report your problems, instead of dealing with it at a dealership level.

Now, you are out an E55, out $15,000 and the dealership is laughing all the way to the bank.

corgiman

Hey Chip,

Don't feel too bad - you just made a decision that the money lost was less important than your time and effort getting an attorney involved and suing MB over the car. Which may or mat not have been successful. I would have chosen just to be over and done with the deal and move on.

Mr. Xristo

Although I respect the decision he made, and no offense here, but the way this situation was handled are the reason that most dealerships continue to operate and treat people the way they do: because they know 9 out of 10 people will scurry away without any trouble.

Chip

Your right. But I told the dealer that was the last #$%%^ Mercedes I would ever buy from him, wheather I stick with the brand or not. I put my problems up on this and other boards. I tell other people that have or are thinking about a Mercedes about this. So they got the quick kill and did laugh all the way to the bank.

Their stock is down. MB and it's American counterpart is losing money. Their profit isn't what it used to be. For one of the biggest car manufactures in the world that's a bad thing. After what they did to me, I'd like to think I was a part of that. What goes around comes around.

norb

And the bad economy didn't have anything to do with that.

Dr Chill

Audio phone problems and pulling to the right? Any other problems too, because those two are hardly a reason to lose $15,000 and trade for a mediocre SUV. Did you try taking the car to a different dealer? What was done to correct the pulling to the right other than realignment? Yes, if I had the same issues you had, I'd be annoyed, but the supercar performance with everyday manners of the W211 E55 overshadows its shortcomings.

As far as class action suits, I agree with Norb. Only the attorneys benefit.

Mr. Xristo

I am sure he lost sleep that night knowing he lost one customer.

If you are happy with what you did as a result of their screwing you then fine.

I was simply trying to bestow wisdom.

Call MBUSA.

Chip

Drive a 94k sedan with no radio across Arizona while holding it on the road with both hands. No way man!! I didn't want to keep it while I paid a lawyer to fight with the dealership which could of taken months. Should of bought a Porsche which is my only regret.

Next

ThemisN

I dont think you wouldve necessarily needed to have the lawyer REALLY involved...more like a scare tactic. As others have suggested, you should have gone straight to MBUSA. In the end, they couldve made thigns right faster than you think if they knew you were serious.

RedBaron

I called and wrote MBUSA about an issue a while back (prior to the E55) and they basically said they are not responsible for the conduct f their dealers. Has anyone got any satisfaction from MBUSA about dealer complaints?

Vic

Interesting.

I am actually dealing with those exact same issues at the moment. I still have the alignment problem despite three dealer attempts to fix it, and the phone remains a mess despite seven repair attempts. The dealer has indicated that the alignment is within specifications, and that the phone is "operating normally."

I sent a letter to MBUSA indicating that I wanted complete repairs made, or a refund of the purchase price. Basically, this is the first step in invoking the lemon law. I sent the letter two weeks ago.

Since then, MBUSA has acknowledged my letter, indicating that I would be contacted by local personnel. As it turns out, my dealer contacted me indicating that the local regional rep. from MBUSA wants me to drop the car off on Monday, which I have agreed to do.

At this point, am decidedly curious to know what their intentions are, i.e whether they can fix it, or whether they want to propose some sort of settlement. Unless they can fix it (and quickly), the only settlement I am willing to accept will be replacement of the vehicle with a new E55, or a refund.

As a consumer who also happens to be an attorney, I am familiar with the lemon law, and I'm cautiously optimistic that MB will want to keep a customer who has purchased three MBs in a three year span.

I'll let you know how it goes. Either way, however, I do think that you let MBUSA off easily when you traded the vehicle without at least exploring the possibility of a lemon law suit. In most states, lemon law statutes permit collection of attorneys fees in a successful case, and the vast majority of such cases are settled short of an actual trial.

Chip

Actually I agree I should of put up a fight. I drive long distances and it was my only car. I was sick of it and the whole situation. You have to at least be able to have a radio on a long roadtrip. It was fun to drive in the mountains but on the interstate it just drove me nuts.

The dealership in Tucson is well known for bad deals, service, etc. Most MB buyers go to Phoenix to the dealerships up there. So going to another dealer was not an option. I doubt anyone else could have helped me.

My ML500 is not substandred. Everything works and it has been in the shop once for normal service. Not the car I wanted but one that does what it is supposed to in all respects.

Chip

!

jmeyers

I have, or have had, similar problems. The pulling to the right can be solved -- if you are fortunate enough to be assigned a mechanic at the MB dealership who is talented. I was that fortunate and now the car stays nice and straight even with both hands off the steering wheel.

As for the electrical gremlins, I have them all. The most annoying one is that my drive dynamic seats never stop moving. Oh, I know that the side bolsters are supposed to inflate and deflate, but not the thigh bolster or the lumbar support. As for making calls, I never know for sure whether the VCS will work or that the connection will be made or some other little surprise will arise.

So, why am I still content? The answer is easy: my car goes like a bat out of hell with afterburners and that is an intoxicating kick I simply won't go without.

saber

WELL SAID

03_E55

After dealing with the same issue (pulling to the right) for 4 or 5 trips to the dealer, I went to a different dealer and dumped my 03 E55 for an 04 SL500.
Not as fast, but a bit prettier...

Date Bought: 06/03
Date Sold: 09/03

MSRP of original vehicle: 84K + 2K Premium
Trade-in allowance: 79.5K

I have no time to deal with too many dealer visits and/or a lenghty legal process. I just looked at it as a 6 1/2K price for drving the fastest sedan in the world for 3K miles (or ~$2 mile).

My service experience was sub-par at Autohaus of Edens in Chicago. The sales experience was satisfactory (good salesman, mediocre sales manager).

No longer their customer.

TammamB

Well, I'm interested to see what Vic comes up with.

I live in South Orange county and when MBZ Laguna Niguel failed to give outstanding service and didn't properly fix my '91 190E 3 years ago I contacted MBUSA and caused havoc by phone fax and snail mail. Damn straight those *******s fixed my car at a discounted price.

After I bought my c240 and took it in for the A service the car rental manager failed to do his job and made me wait 2 hours while 6 others got rental cars before me, then gives me a SOL attitude. I ran crying to MBUSA who sent me an apology letter and assured me it would be taken care of. Never went back to MB Laguna Niguel to see if that white boy was sweeping floors but whatever.

OK I'll get of my high and mighty horse now.

Basically, reporting these things to MBUSA causes the dealers to scramble, even threatening to notify MBUSA. Especially after MBUSA has been trying to improve it's customer support (meaning customers supporting MBZ) due to the decrease in customer satisfaction caused by the ML.

Enjoy,
TB

arazvi

I am actually drafting a letter to the California Attorney General regarding a 10 month exercise I have been going through with a dealer here in San Jose. The dealer has repeatedly failed to address a number of problems with my E55 steering for nearly 10 months now.

The main problem is steering drift and dangerously loose steering, suspension parts not functioning properly (front sway bar continually popping out of position) and a variety of lesser problems (read shade being fixed 3 times for malfunctioning).

After months in the shop, I finally got the senior rep from MB in the region to support a new steering rack. I am not sure what exactly this entails, but it was ordered from Germany three weeks ago and is STILL not here.

This is frustrating. Especially since I paid nearly $100K for this vehicle and have been unable to drive it the way it was intended for nearly 10 months now.

In addition, during their testing, they claimed that because I had put Bridgestone S03 tires on the car, that was the problem. So, I went out and spent $1400 on new tires and guess what?!? It wasn't the tires. Same problem, actually getting worse.

For those who are not aware, MB recently announced a recall of certain vehicles for steering issues. I am wondering if there is a much bigger problem at MB that we could all benefit from in the form of a massive recall effort.

allenjdmb

getting MB USA on the hook is the solution, you are sadly mistaken. A quality dealer--and there are very few of them left--is more anxious to please you than MBUSA. I am a second generation MB customer, not only of new cars--three in the last 15 months--but of parts and service for my MB business.
The problem is that they don't care.
Their thought is that they have you as a customer, you own an MB, and that's enoughto keep you as a customer. I hope that others will let them know that they are mistaken. Nothing matters now but units--and making sure that they get every penny out of those units. I'm just amazed at how quickly the Chrysler/Western influence has permeated the Benz mindset. What used to be one of, if not the, best mass produced car in the world is now a product of a company driven by greed and milking the brand, and its loyal customers, for all it was once worth. Sad but so true. And I do't think you'll find it to be too much different at the other premium brands down the street. May be a bit different at the Japanese store, even if it's just an act.
I'll say it again, the same thing my regional MB rep told me about a year ago--"We used to make the best cars, now all we make is money".

Vic

Well, to no one's surprise, my dealer (EuroMotorcars in Bethesda, MD) and the MB Zone Rep. tell me that everything is fine with my car, and that they were unable to duplicate the echoing unless they turn the volume up really high.

They suggested that I make sure the volume is really low, and that I try to monitor the conditions under which the echo seems to occur. I'm not sure what the f---- they think I have been doing for the past five months! Of course, as luck would have it, both calls I made after picking up the car from the dealer last night were plagued by the echo, and a blanking out of the COMAND screen for a few seconds. This happened while the volume was set so low that I could barely hear the caller (and my hearing is fine). I guess this is normal operation for an MB, even though a standalone V60 doesn't have these problems.

The other thing the dealer was checking was the vehicle's tendency to pull or drift. Again, they tell me that the alignment is dead-on, and that they were able to drive almost half a mile with no hands on the wheel. Of course, I can only assume that some little f---ing gremlin must have fixed the car after I dropped it off, and then f---ed it up again just before I picked it up, because I haven't been able to get the car to hold a line for more than 500 feet before or after I left it with the dealer yesterday morning.

At this point, I'm not sure what to do, although I am leaning toward beginning a lemon law action, and trying to get someone to tape the echo for me.

ThemisN

Maybe the echo only occurs whenthe car is in motion? Other than that, you do what you gotta do..