Broken Key Dispute: Please Weigh In w/Opinion - Page 5 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

dieseldiehard · #61 11-30-2009, 05:52 PM

When that locksmith got the key into position #1 he should have stopped and the fact he switched it back to lock where it was again stuck, tells me he is inexperienced. I believe AAA contracts with indy locksmiths.
This reminds me of a story about a AAA tow truck driver who was sent to a MB owner in distress with a dead battery. The guy promptly attached a set of jumper cables in the wrong polarity and sparks flew when he made connection to the Mercedes battery along with a comment "Oh *****"!
Then the car was no longer able to start, even when the polarity was connected properly. The car was towed to a dealer where the bill went over $2K as I recall, several modules were fried.
After the owner took possession of the repaired car he noted his clock had stopped. AAA balked at paying anything more and said something like we depreciated the clock because these things wear out. Members were asked to comment and the owner took the comments/posts in and showed his AAA representative that 100% of the members said if the clock worked before then AAA should have included it in the repair bill because Mercedes clocks do not generally go bad *(OK, one exception is that damn capacitor on the clock boards that get leaky and the resistor burns out and we all know how easy it is to repair that for less than a buck

Eventually after further complaints I believe they finally caved in and replaced his clock.

AAA is run by a bunch of Attorneys, just ask any AAA member who gets hit by another AAA driver and has to ***** to get little things fixed, AAA is run by a bunch of chiseling lawyers set to make their profits over the happiness of customers. OK, flames off.
Your best option looks like a partial settlement,
BTW there is a device made that is a key Vibrator, made for this reason,. I saw one once! its basically an orbital sander with an air fitting and a post that clamps on to the head of key.
I can remember wishing I had one when I jiggled a key in a 123 for 15 minutes until it finally clicked over to the on position. these things take a lot of patience, that is obviously what the AAA locksmith didn't have!

The locksmith got paid for coming to the scene and trying to start the car, anything he did additionally could have made more $$ for him, but when he broke that key off he was up the creek and had to send the car to the dealer, so he actually did himself no favors that day.

DDH

Quote:

Originally Posted by shertex

UPDATE

Have been in dialogue with the very friendly and courteous district manager for AAA Mid-Atlantic. What eventually became the focus of the discussion was the fact that the locksmith, in his effort to turn the key, was able to get the ignition into the ON position at least once. So the question becomes: was he negligent in not "quitting while he was ahead," i.e. simply getting the car towed in a condition where the tumbler could easily be removed?

The contention of several locksmiths is that, if you are able to get the key to turn at all, there's a high probability that you'll be able to loosen things up since it's a STUCK wafer and not a BROKEN wafer (if the wafer is broken, the key will not turn even once, or so I am told). Their contention is that it is very rare to be unable to turn the key again having gotten it to turn once.

My contention, bolstered by my conversations with an MB service advisor and my indie tech, is that, if one is fortunate enough to get the key into the ON position, one should not continue turning the key back and forth.

AAA has made a goodwill gesture offering reimbursement for a portion of the additional/unnecessary repair expenses.

It still seems to me that the locksmith should have known enough to leave well enough alone....