Luxury franchise dealership dishonesty...

[Mister 7]

Originally Posted by kell490

The examples your referring to were fatalities caused by manufacture design which they knew was a problem. Those cases law firms are happy to file lawsuits without even costing you a penny because they know the pay off will be big. The fact that someone died means the damages will be very high.


Disputes with dealers over service work isn't the same dealer in this case has the deeper pockets. I find actually going to your local news station gets more results. That kind of publicity on local news station hurts worse then any legal action.

This is good advice. At the very least, completely slam them on every online outlet there is. Just make sure you don't slander them/say something not true.

Twitter, Facebook, Yelp, Google Reviews, everything you can think of.

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by kell490

Disputes with dealers over service work isn't the same dealer in this case has the deeper pockets. I find actually going to your local news station gets more results. That kind of publicity on local news station hurts worse then any legal action.

I tried this. My local news station had done a near identical story on a woman battling a Volkswagen dealer. Unfortunately, they said indirectly that a story about a Mercedes-Benz or another luxury marque was not going to be able to be aired.

[BeyondtheHorizon]

This entire situation is VERY easy to avoid.

Simple rule of car purchasing:

1)ALWAYS have the car inspected by YOUR INDEPENDENT mechanic BEFORE purchase. Anyone that won't agree to that...RUN!

And make sure the place you take the car car has a dealer level scanner and really goes through the car. It should cost about 100 bucks. Any reputable dealer will let you take their car to your mechanic. It's close to a guaranteed sale for them since you're now spending money as long as they were honest about nothing wrong with car.

It's amazing to me people still buy used cars and trust the dealers to inspect the vehicle. You will save so many headaches by doing this simple thing.

[kell490]

I have never found an honest mechanic I just work on all my own cars I fix everything even overhaul transmissions. With YouTube I can figure out how to fix anything. I only buy Japanese, or American cars because parts are far cheaper then European cars. I try to buy from private parties because dealers are professional thieves in my opinion. Any industry where the entire work force is paid by commission just can't be honest.

[Blondebaerde]

Originally Posted by Hiruko

I wish respondents would read beyond the original post. I have not used an attorney. I recovered $2,000, and the AG wants to try for more.

To those respondents who want to continue to attack Mercedes-Benz and my decision to purchase and lease Mercedes-Benzes, I don't care what you think about the brand. I did not ask for your commentary on that.

To those who discouraged me from pursuing this, I have proved you wrong. Never accept this kind of behavior from any business.

Okay, responding to a later post. OP, thanks for continuing to dog down the thread.

1. I have no use for M-B, to say the least. You do; fair enough. Please consider Porsche in the future, due to objectively higher quality. I've had two, they are fine cars (911s). I do not believe the data support that M-B, BMW, Audi, or Porsche has as high quality as (most) JPN, though. Such is life.

2. I'd lease just about anything, after careful research on how repairs work. I've never leased, though. Someday, maybe. If you're covered, who cares?

3. Yes, I'd dog down any repairs with a dishonest dealer, and making their life a ___ing hell on social media in ways they've never even heard of. I have a hundred friends in various exotic car clubs and could squeeze just about anyone, with sufficient support. Not a threat, a fact.

4. My first 911, ten years old at the time, had a Check Engine light come on during the test drive, while the salesman was driving(!). I went back next day, they gave me the diagnostic from the Porsche tool, and sure enough: common problem with 996 911s: ignition coils. They replaced several and showed me the bad parts. We re-test drove that 911 and all was well.

I bought it, no warranty other than the dealer's good name. And they do have a good name to protect, still.

Never another problem with the car that wasn't considered normal wear and tear for 911 Turbos after that. Not cheap to fix but no major expenses, either, and I used an independent who is known-good here in my area.

If that dealer had tried to screw me at any point, a quarter mil in business from me alone, and millions from others, would literally walk out the damn door in the ensuing months. And they know it, I made it quietly clear who I am connected to at Porsche and Audi in-particular and who my pals are out there in the wide world of public opinion. Just how it is and I'm a massive contributor to various major social media platforms around automotive performance matters.