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  #1  
Old 08-24-2012, 08:41 PM
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Question Certified Pre Owned question

Aug 24, 2012

A few weeks ago I purchased a certified pre owned 2009 CLK from the Mercedes dealership in Tampa Fl. The car had more miles on it then I wanted to see but it had the right color and options that I wanted. *The salesmen was very persuasive in his sales pitch. He emphasized *that the car was a certified pre owned car, that it had gone through 150+ inspections, that anything that was not at 70% of it's life had been replaced. "Things like tires and brakes had to be at at least 70% or they would be replaced." with that being said I went ahead and bought it. I also went ahead and bought the extended warranty.*

After few days of driving the car I hand washed the car and noticed that the rotors had a large ridge worn into the rotor. That got me thinking that maybe the dealer had not checked out the breaks and rotors as they said they did. I called my salesmen and told him of my concerns. I asked if he could check the maintenance records to see when the breaks were last changed. He said sure he would do that for me and call me back. Again he reassured me that the breaks would have to have been 70% or better to qualify to be a certified car. *He never called me back. I had a few medical issues which put me in the hospital and unable to follow up with the salesmen for a couple of weeks. I had been living in Jacksonville Fl so driving back to Tampa fl was not a short trip. However I did get down to Tampa this week and expressed *my though again to the salesmen. He had the service records pulled up by the service manager and I was told that the breaks had been checked and that the pads had 6mm left on them. That was just over 50% left on them and that was all that was required. I told him that the salesmen had told me that they had to be at least 70%. He said the salesmen was wrong. I spoke to the salesmen again and again he said 70% was right. He went and talked to the service manager and came back and told me that if I paid for the parts they would put them in at no additional cost. I told him no that the whole brake job should be done at no charge. He said that his sales manager was not in, that he would see what he could do for me and get back with me in a couple of days. This has not happen. I asked the service manager on my way out if he had spoken with my salesmen. He said yes and said he set him straight. That 50% was the right number. When I got home I looked it up on the Internet and confirmed that my salesmen had mislead me. That 50% is what is shown on the requirements for a certified car.*

If I had known how weak the certified car requirements really are i would not have bought this car or paid the extra bucks to get a certified car. * *

Ok here's my questions

Do you think I have a case to get my breaks done at no charge?

How do you go about filling a compliant with the Better Business Burial or Mercedes.

To be truthful I am so pissed off about the misrepresentation by the salesmen that I would like to make them take the car back.

Any input on this would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Domenick

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  #2  
Old 08-25-2012, 02:57 AM
compress ignite's Avatar
Drone aspiring to Serfdom
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: 32(degrees) North by 81(degrees) West
Posts: 5,554
1st RULE

"If a salesperson's lips move,They're LYING!"

An old Real Estate Maxim: "If it Aint' in Print,It Ain't."

Your NOT having a Pre-Purchase inspection done by a Professional MB Tech
at any place OTHER than the selling dealer condemns you to the Dunce Hat.

Basically,You're Screwed.
Caveot: Depending upon how interested the Franchisee,Manager and Area MB
rep are in "GoodWill" you may have some hope.
2nd Caveot: How Much free time do you have to devote to making their life
a little less comfortable?
(A.K.A. How well can you portray a Screaming Ass in a Tasteful manner?)

1a.I sure ain't driving from Duval to Hillsborough to have the Brake work Done.

Start Praying the Salesman's PFD is Defective,If So... It sure looks like By Thursday he'll be
"Sleeping with the Fishes" somewhere out beyond Eggmont Key.
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  #3  
Old 08-25-2012, 03:15 AM
Jim B.'s Avatar
Who's flying this thing ?
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: N. California./ N. Nevada
Posts: 3,611
Arrow The used car dealer's customer "due bill". Check YOURS..

Somewhere in all the different paperwork you signed there is a clause that reads, "Oral promises or representations made by the dealer are not binding."

ALL used car dealers have that.

Next time, have the salesman or sales manager include what you want done on the "due bill" they have to provide, and for you to sign.

Often as not under "work to be performed they will put "No promises express or implied; vehicle sold "as is" with all faults" on the due bill. (Commonly they just slip the due bill a you with no explanation and tell you it is just "more paperwork" to sign and explain nothing
---THIS is where "Perform brake job, new pads/rotors included" should have been written by you or them.


What does it say on YOUR due bill for this used CPO 2009 Mercedes Benz you bought at the dealer?
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  #4  
Old 08-25-2012, 03:23 AM
compress ignite's Avatar
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Location: 32(degrees) North by 81(degrees) West
Posts: 5,554
Mercedes

1-800-222-0100 will get you into Mercedes North American Customer Service.
(International Customer Service is in the Netherlands)

When you speak to N.A. Customer Service ,demand a Face to Face with the
Mercedes Area Rep. (to take Place In your home town "River City")

Find out the Franchisee's name, approach Her/Him Telephonically.

The BBB and/or C of C are just a trip down futility lane.

You're dealing with a corporation who is 100 Years Ahead of You in the Game.
(And for the last 20 Years they've been Ignoring Good Business Sense,when it
comes to Customers.)

Is there any Chance that you could be "Elderly" ?
If so you could try to Burn them for "Elder Abuse."
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  #5  
Old 08-25-2012, 10:32 AM
Grok this
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Texas
Posts: 232
Quote:
Originally Posted by DOMENICK View Post
Aug 24, 2012

A few weeks ago I purchased a certified pre owned 2009 CLK from the Mercedes dealership in Tampa Fl. The car had more miles on it then I wanted to see but it had the right color and options that I wanted. *The salesmen was very persuasive in his sales pitch. He emphasized *that the car was a certified pre owned car, that it had gone through 150+ inspections, that anything that was not at 70% of it's life had been replaced. "Things like tires and brakes had to be at at least 70% or they would be replaced." with that being said I went ahead and bought it. I also went ahead and bought the extended warranty.*

After few days of driving the car I hand washed the car and noticed that the rotors had a large ridge worn into the rotor. That got me thinking that maybe the dealer had not checked out the breaks and rotors as they said they did. I called my salesmen and told him of my concerns. I asked if he could check the maintenance records to see when the breaks were last changed. He said sure he would do that for me and call me back. Again he reassured me that the breaks would have to have been 70% or better to qualify to be a certified car. *He never called me back. I had a few medical issues which put me in the hospital and unable to follow up with the salesmen for a couple of weeks. I had been living in Jacksonville Fl so driving back to Tampa fl was not a short trip. However I did get down to Tampa this week and expressed *my though again to the salesmen. He had the service records pulled up by the service manager and I was told that the breaks had been checked and that the pads had 6mm left on them. That was just over 50% left on them and that was all that was required. I told him that the salesmen had told me that they had to be at least 70%. He said the salesmen was wrong. I spoke to the salesmen again and again he said 70% was right. He went and talked to the service manager and came back and told me that if I paid for the parts they would put them in at no additional cost. I told him no that the whole brake job should be done at no charge. He said that his sales manager was not in, that he would see what he could do for me and get back with me in a couple of days. This has not happen. I asked the service manager on my way out if he had spoken with my salesmen. He said yes and said he set him straight. That 50% was the right number. When I got home I looked it up on the Internet and confirmed that my salesmen had mislead me. That 50% is what is shown on the requirements for a certified car.*

If I had known how weak the certified car requirements really are i would not have bought this car or paid the extra bucks to get a certified car. * *

Ok here's my questions

Do you think I have a case to get my breaks done at no charge?

How do you go about filling a compliant with the Better Business Burial or Mercedes.

To be truthful I am so pissed off about the misrepresentation by the salesmen that I would like to make them take the car back.

Any input on this would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Domenick
BBB complaint process is a farce. Their website is United States and Canada BBB Consumer and Business Reviews, Reports, Ratings, Complaints and Accredited Business Listings
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  #6  
Old 08-25-2012, 12:10 PM
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MTI MTI is offline
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You're unlikely to recind the sales contract, however you have a very interesting claim for damages for misrepresentation (multiple times) over the brakes and any other parts that should have been serviced, all of which would likely qualify for "small claims" court, which can be the consumer's best bet.
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  #7  
Old 08-25-2012, 12:52 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MTI View Post
You're unlikely to recind the sales contract, however you have a very interesting claim for damages for misrepresentation (multiple times) over the brakes and any other parts that should have been serviced, all of which would likely qualify for "small claims" court, which can be the consumer's best bet.
Agreed. I've taken 2 used car dealers to small claims, as well as a mechanic, and have won each case. One was recent, and was settled out of court. The dealer claimed everything had passed on the safety inspection, but upon deliver, I noticed that the back door wouldn't open, nor would the window. I had also noticed that the tires were swapped out for a set of heavily used ones that wouldn't pass a safety inspection. After speaking with the owner of the dealership, I had them served with papers for small claims...which garnered a prompt phone call and financial remedy, as well as me dropping the case.
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  #8  
Old 08-25-2012, 08:55 PM
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Location: Milford, CT
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Did you by any chance put the down payment on a credit card? If so do a charge back.

After what a friend went threw I'm an advocate of putting as much down on a used car as possible with a credit card, preferable one with teeth like American Express. $5k-$10k would be ideal so you can charge it back and get their attention.

Although in your case you probably waited to long.
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  #9  
Old 08-26-2012, 08:25 AM
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Thanks for taking the time to read over my post. I am going to be calling the dealer again on Monday to see if I get any action.
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  #10  
Old 08-27-2012, 12:31 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by compress ignite View Post
1-800-222-0100 will get you into Mercedes North American Customer Service.
When you speak to N.A. Customer Service ,demand a Face to Face with the
Mercedes Area Rep....

You should give the dealer a chance to do the right thing before you take it to the next level. Contact the sales manager and make him/her aware of the problem. Believe me, the dealer would rather you NOT call MBUSA!

If the dealer won't handle the problem then calling MBUSA is a good idea. Making demands isn't. Just tell the CAC rep. what your issue is. MB takes customer satisfaction issues very seriously, despite what you may have heard elsewhere. If it comes down to MBUSA getting involved I doubt they'll help you out. They'll tell you that the dealers are privately owned and operated, and that the issue is between you and the dealer. They will, however, lean on the dealer if they think you're owed something.
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  #11  
Old 08-27-2012, 02:33 PM
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Location: TX
Posts: 3,978
Having worked in a dealership myself, anything that is in black on a piece of paper with authorized signatures is the only ticket to something done or owed or claimed.

I bought a CPO Altima, I had seen the car a day before and it was near closing so I came the next day, I was very throrough in checking it - even removed the locked dipstick to check the color of the CVTF.

It had very good Continental tyres on it, meanwhile my wife had took a picture of the car with her phone, fast forward, when we buy the car and took it out onto the freeway it started a very nasty rumble, I stopped and checked to see whats up, the rear tires were shot, cupped, worn, etc.

Go back and the dealership tried to pull a fast one claiming that I had curbed the car and caused the problem and I was completely out of my mind saying that the car had very good tyres yesterday, coincidentally my wife noted that the wheelcaps are different from the picture in her phone too.

I pulled out the CPO and vehicle safety inspection, and told them that if you pasted a pass sticker on this car with such bad tires, you better get your act straight. I put up an email with Nissan USA and got new tires and brakes too.

I have been to them for an engine noise issue - it literally grumbles on startup like the crankshaft is spinning dry - they have tested oil pressure and its perfect, they did replace the timing variator as they suspected it to be bad, but still is does the same thing and also makes an odd noise at idle speed too. Which Im told is normal. It doesnt consume oil.

Ive also been told that the CVTF cooler I added would void warranty..
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  #12  
Old 08-27-2012, 05:12 PM
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Location: Dayton, Ohio region
Posts: 302
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zulfiqar View Post
Having worked in a dealership myself, anything that is in black on a piece of paper with authorized signatures is the only ticket to something done or owed or claimed.

I bought a CPO Altima, I had seen the car a day before and it was near closing so I came the next day, I was very throrough in checking it - even removed the locked dipstick to check the color of the CVTF.

It had very good Continental tyres on it, meanwhile my wife had took a picture of the car with her phone, fast forward, when we buy the car and took it out onto the freeway it started a very nasty rumble, I stopped and checked to see whats up, the rear tires were shot, cupped, worn, etc.

Go back and the dealership tried to pull a fast one claiming that I had curbed the car and caused the problem and I was completely out of my mind saying that the car had very good tyres yesterday, coincidentally my wife noted that the wheelcaps are different from the picture in her phone too.

I pulled out the CPO and vehicle safety inspection, and told them that if you pasted a pass sticker on this car with such bad tires, you better get your act straight. I put up an email with Nissan USA and got new tires and brakes too.

I have been to them for an engine noise issue - it literally grumbles on startup like the crankshaft is spinning dry - they have tested oil pressure and its perfect, they did replace the timing variator as they suspected it to be bad, but still is does the same thing and also makes an odd noise at idle speed too. Which Im told is normal. It doesnt consume oil.

Ive also been told that the CVTF cooler I added would void warranty..
If the oil passages are clogged, the bearings could be getting gaulded. Keep all documents from all visits. If it fails and can be blamed on them not finding the problem, you may have some rights as a consumer...
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Meet on the level, leave on the square. Great words to live by

Were we directed from Washington when to sow and when to reap, we should soon want bread. - Thomas Jefferson: Autobiography, 1821.
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  #13  
Old 08-27-2012, 05:45 PM
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: TX
Posts: 3,978
This car is known to be plagued with engine problems in the 4 cyl, mostly in the cat convertor disinegrating and its dust getting sucked into the engine. causing some nice catastrophe, some people have had timing chain guides snap off too.

One day I decided to cut open the cute little OE oil filter they sell for this engine (about 1/16 the size of an MB unit), it had extremely poor material which was already separating from its edges. I use MANN in mine, along with dino oil with 5W40 rating as recommended and keep all reciepts.

Dont know what sort of practice they follow, uptil now they have tried to prove me a liar 100% of the times Ive been there.
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1995 E300D - The original humming machine (consumed by Flood 2017)
2000 E320 - The evolution (consumed by flood 2017)
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  #14  
Old 08-27-2012, 06:51 PM
jplinville's Avatar
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Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Dayton, Ohio region
Posts: 302
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zulfiqar View Post
This car is known to be plagued with engine problems in the 4 cyl, mostly in the cat convertor disinegrating and its dust getting sucked into the engine. causing some nice catastrophe, some people have had timing chain guides snap off too.

One day I decided to cut open the cute little OE oil filter they sell for this engine (about 1/16 the size of an MB unit), it had extremely poor material which was already separating from its edges. I use MANN in mine, along with dino oil with 5W40 rating as recommended and keep all reciepts.

Dont know what sort of practice they follow, uptil now they have tried to prove me a liar 100% of the times Ive been there.
Sounds like the dodge dealership I used in the late '90's...nothing was their fault, it was always mine, even when they recalled the head due to poor castings.

That was the first dealer I took to small claims, and won. I ended up with a fresh new engine on that one. They had just replaced the head, but admitted to re-using the cam seal...long story short, I was stuck on the side of the highway with a seized engine with only 34,000 miles on the clock.
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Meet on the level, leave on the square. Great words to live by

Were we directed from Washington when to sow and when to reap, we should soon want bread. - Thomas Jefferson: Autobiography, 1821.
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  #15  
Old 08-28-2012, 01:47 PM
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Location: Nova Scotia, Canada.
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Find the dealers with exceptional customer orientation. They are out there but probably not all that common.

It is the best way for a dealer to build almost automatic repeat business. I have heard over the years that the car the person purchased was okay but the dealer sucked all too often.

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