When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Was considering buying a 2014, E63 sedan from Exotic Motors in Rolling meadows. I took it to my local Mercedes dealer for a prepurchase inspection and I am glad that I did.
The car needed A LOT of work, Exotic Motors treated me poorly, so I am posting this as a Public Service Announcement to help others avoid spending $700+ on an inspection (or worse).
What happened:
Day 1 - Test drove the car. Suspension felt rough, felt a hard shift or two, and the engine bay was suspiciously clean. Otherwise, nice looking car. Put a deposit down on the car and paid my local Mercedes dealer ~$700 for a prepurchase inspection.
Day 2 - Mercedes dealer found $16k worth of repairs. Labor costs probably high, but I've used that service shop with great confidence in the past and have no reason to believe they identified any issues that did not need fixing.
Day 2 - Exotic Motors manager calls to say Mercedes estimate has inflated labor costs, and their expert (Horse Stable Auto) quoted the same work for $3700. Exotic Motors manager offers to "split" the repair bill by reducing the price of the car by $1700. I asked them to send me the Horse Stable estimate so that I can confirm it addresses the issues Mercedes spotted; they said they would send it but they do not.
Day 3 - Exotic Motors salesman calls to say someone else wants to buy the car (i.e., the car I put a deposit on), so they need to know if I accept the $1700 discount deal immediately. I say I'm still waiting for he Horse Stable estimate; says he'll send it over in 5 minutes.
Day 3 - Exotic Motors salesman texts me a $4000 estimate from Autohaus. I call Exotic Motors and ask (i) why the change in shop, and (ii) why are the service hours so suspiciously calculated (e.g., 9.27 hours and 19.55 hours). Exotic Motors salesman tells me he could not find the Horse Stable estimate because the manager was off that day, so he called his friend that owns a shop and had him create a $4000 estimate. Oddly, salesman seems completely untroubled by the fake estimate.
Day 4 - I call Exotic Motors and tell them to return my deposit.
Day 5 - Exotic Motors manger calls to say the car isn't sold yet and ask if we can still make a deal? I tell manager that his salesman (i) told me the E63 was sold, and (ii) sent me a fake estimate for the repairs. Manger sends me the Horse Stable estimate - it is NOT $3700; it is $6000. I ask for my deposit back again.
Moral of the story: watch out for WDDHF7GB2EB010533 and Exotic Motors in Rolling meadows, Illinois.
Wow. I’m starting to think I need to advertise doing those cam cover reseal jobs…they keep going up and up! I thought $4k was pretty steep but within stealership realm. $8k jeeebus. I would do it for $1k labor, and parts are not that high
Wow. I’m starting to think I need to advertise doing those cam cover reseal jobs…they keep going up and up! I thought $4k was pretty steep but within stealership realm. $8k jeeebus. I would do it for $1k labor, and parts are not that high
Wow, if you you have extra customer, send them my way, Lol. I did it all myself in a few hours with basically no direction back in the day and im not a mechanic and I work in my driveway or the street. If just resealing those covers, these guys are talking over 8 grand in labor. Parts to include tensioners, check valves, all sensors, cooling lines, and thermostat is only 12-1300 dollars. Even adding a water pump doesn't get it anywhere close to reasonable. This should take a tech no longer than a day to complete so are they 800 dollars an hour labor??!
Im not sure what this dealer was smoking because the rates at my local dealer are nowhere near that cost. Id have to find my cost on motor mounts when I had them done at a dealer under warranty, but it was less than two grand and maybe closer to one.
