An extraordinary catastrophic event??? What's so catastrophic about a check engine light? You make it sound like losing three engines at 37,000 feet! Also, IMHO this is becoming much less common. There was a time when my shop almost always had a balance-shaft job in progress. These days we get maybe one or two a month, and MB has paid for all of them. So much for your conspiracy theory.

Lastly, where someone buys and services a vehicle makes all the difference in the world when it comes to goodwill consideration. You may not agree with it, but that's the way it is. Goodwill assistance is offered to regular customers as a reward for their loyalty.