I just received a call from an escalation manager at MB USA denying my goodwill repair of the dashboard peeling/coming apart on my 2019 E63s.

The car went out of warranty last year (only 44k miles currently) but this problem only started approximately 2 weeks ago. I immediately reached out to Mercedes of Clearwater as they have serviced my last 5 AMG's religiously. They gave me a quote for the dash of 3k + 2.1k in labor and taxes. I asked if there was a goodwill option at that time and my usual service advisor recommended me reaching out. I submitted the claim and the person I initially spoke with did communicate they should be able to cover this repair. My service advisor reached out Monday to tell me MB USA was willing to cover the parts but not the labor leaving a 2k+ bill. While not great, definitely better than the original amount. She said I could reach back out and inquire further. So called yesterday to speak with them, they took all my information again and today was called back from an escalation manager whom said he was the final word and nothing would be covered as I was the 4th owner of the vehicle (it was the only designo grey E63 within 500 miles for sale in a 6-month period). Never mind the 5 other cars purchased and the 100k+ in services paid for. While I do like this car, I probably should have purchased a Panamera turbo instead as I was torn between the two. The interaction with their escalation manager clinched that decision for me.

Has anyone else had any issues with communications from MB USA and what route did you take next? I had already scheduled the service appointment for Monday and the dealer already ordered the parts, but not thrilled about my repair bill more than doubling overnight.

 

you state you are the fourth customer, but did you buy it from the Mercedes dealer? Many warranties and goodwill are only available to the original purchasers, especially when time has run out on the original manufacturers warranty.

Have your dealer take it up with them. They ordered the parts based on mb. Was that in writing, or email? Sounds like the final word was made by a ******** on a power trip. He was probably on tictok while he was sending the email so he can show his followers he’s a big boy. He may think he has the final say, but I’m sure he doesn’t own Mercedes-Benz so reach out to that person’s boss and just let them know of the shady experience and reneging that took place with that person. This likely won’t get you anywhere but it’ll take 10 minutes and ruin that persons week. They live and die on reviews and feedback. No offense to anyone but he is literally just a customer service advisor, no different than when calling Netflix for a credit if you have an issue. Whenever a person says they are the final word I laugh uncontrollably and ask why they answer phones if they are the boss. It becomes comical how stupid and ignorant they act. He’s the lowest of the decision makers and if he had any real ***** or honor, he would realize that you were made a promise that he fails to stand behind, even if someone made a mistake. Total scumbag. As many will say, all manufacturers have taken a dump on their customers. You might not get better service elsewhere, but at least you can take your money to someone different for a different experience. I will never buy a bimmer, especially from bmw like I once did due to them acting this way towards a known defective engine which was short lived and discontinued and even forced a model change. Money talks, and walks. Repeating for the same outcome has the definition of crazy. These low level employees don’t even realize the economic consequences of their actions. That $3000 part probably cost them $200 to make and they could’ve just stuck with that and kept the customer for life. One of my favorite bike manufactures changed their warranty, but as a lifelong customer and apostle of the brand, they take care of me under every circumstance because that low totem guy I have a great long relationship with eventually ran the entire US part of the company.

Good luck.

And since we are now under extreme censorship and lose our ability to edit, the starred word is D I C k H ea D.

 

I had been dealing with same issue, but they have denied any assistance to have the dash repaired. MB USA customer service has become nothing but horrible.
My service advisor stated that service manager denied to escalate to their regional.
If you are able to have positive outcome, keep us posted. There are a lot of MB owners that are having same issues with dashboard leather coming off and bubbling.

 

Sorry for the delay but was able to get this largely resolved. I did not purchase this vehicle from my usual dealership. My dealer had no e63's while I was shopping around for a replacement for my facelift w212 e63 but I had purchased 3 other AMGs from them so we have a good relationship.

I told my advisor and the service director about my interaction with someone from MB USA and both agreed it very strange. They had an email in writing outlining the payment authorization and split costs for the repair and said they would move forward with it. Dropped my car off last Monday and picked up a GLS63 loaner (really nice car btw). It was ready Thursday morning, and they charged me less than originally quoted. Overall, still annoyed with the call I received from MB USA but happy the service department took care of everything. I did receive a feedback email on Terrance's (MB USA rep that called) customer service. I will be sure to outline everything though I doubt anybody will read it.

 

Interior trim issues are rarely covered by warranty or goodwill, unless it clearly is a manufacturing defect. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the W213 uses real leather for the dash. The problem with leather on the dash is that it dries out and shrinks from exposure to the sun and UV and that will eventually cause it to separate from the dash. One or more of the previous owners likely had the car parked outside in the sun. That's a bad idea with a leather dash. MB Tex is the better material to cover the dash and upper part of the doors as it doesn't dry out and/or shrink. Surprised they initially agreed to a goodwill, but I'm guessing they overlooked that you are not the original owner. Even so the car is 5 years old and I'm surprised they initially agreed to a goodwill repair. BTW, most leather conditioners make the issue worse, because they are silicon based. Silicon accelerates the shrinking process. So not knowing how the previous owners treated the leather, there's pretty much no chance MB will cover the cost.

 

I mean, makes sense?

Trenton O. Gibson
tgibson@highline-autos.com
Highline Autos
Direct: 602.909.9216
Office: 480.348.0777

 

We have seen though that loose interior parts can become hazard to the driver and lawyers have successfully won these cases. A little bit of glue or leather or trim in your eye at high speed could be catastrophic.

Good job to ops wonderful dealer that helped him out!

 

who did you deal with at MB Usa?