E220 CDI Elegance 2007. 21K Miles.

Riocht

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E220 CDI Elegance 2007. 21K Miles.
Hello, can somebody please help me.
About four weeks ago my E220 CDI just cut out on the motorway the APS light came on, so I cruised into the hard shoulder. I tried and tried to start it but it would not even turn over, so the recovery truck took the car to my home, the next day it started and I drove it to my main dealer. After two days they told me my ECU connections were all rusty and the ECU had to be replaced at a cost of €1800, I had no choice but to agree to the work. I was told it had to be a new part as a second hand unit would not be coded for my car. The new ECU came from Germany and was fitted and the dealer told me the car still had the same problem. Now four weeks later I am still waiting for the problem to be solved. They are replacing the connection pins (lugs) on the plug cables and they have to be ordered from the UK so it’s a slow process. Four weeks today and they told me it should be ready next Friday (five weeks). I purchased the car brand new from them in 2007 and it was the third new Mercedes I have got from them. The dealer told me I was not using the car enough and the drains under the windscreen got blocked up with moss etc. I only agreed to pay for the new ECU and labour charge to change. Can somebody please tell me what can I do to hurry them up as I don’t want to be looking at an enormous bill for all this work.
Cheers and Thanks. Riocht.
 
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Riocht

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Chee

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You only have limited time to edit your post. Once past, only admin can change.
 

Frontstep

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Well Mercedes I presume serviced your car so the nonsense about use can be put to bed as they know how its used.
As to Moss ingress did they either notify you or clean them out during service?
The ECU replacement didn't fix the car and now they are telling you its something else ?
Did they reconnect with corroded contacts ?
Was this the fault all along?
Sight of the old ECU would be useful.
The time taken should not be more than a few hours in any case.
When Mercedes charge you for a service it does include a thorough inspection to head off problems such as this.
 
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Riocht

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Well Mercedes I presume serviced your car so the nonsense about use can be put to bed as they know how its used.
As to Moss ingress did they either notify you or clean them out during service?
The ECU replacement didn't fix the car and now they are telling you its something else ?
Did they reconnect with corroded contacts ?
Was this the fault all along?
Sight of the old ECU would be useful.
The time taken should not be more than a few hours in any case.
When Mercedes charge you for a service it does include a thorough inspection to head off problems such as this.

Hello and thank you for the reply, Mercedes got back to me and told me the wiring loom connected to the ECU was faulty as well so they asked me would they change it. I said if it had to be changed go ahead, they changed it at a cost of €460. I went back to them when they had finished and the car was still acting the very same as day one. I am now looking at a bill for around €2500 and the car still has the exact same problem as the day I drove it in there, over five weeks ago.
 
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dav1971

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Sounds like a case for "don't get done, get Dom"
Hope you get it sorted.
 

travis

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It never ceases to amaze me how garages get away with this practice.
It seems ridiculous that they can charge for parts you don't need, as they guess which part has a problem.
As I understand it, it's because the dealerships are unable to return parts. So the customer picks up the tab. Surely in most cases a part that is fitted when it isn't needed and it's immediately obvious it hasn't helped, should be sent back to where it came from if they don't want it on the shelf.
Taken to extreme lengths they could charge you for a wiring loom when a new bulb was needed.
 
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Riocht

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It never ceases to amaze me how garages get away with this practice.
It seems ridiculous that they can charge for parts you don't need, as they guess which part has a problem.
As I understand it, it's because the dealerships are unable to return parts. So the customer picks up the tab. Surely in most cases a part that is fitted when it isn't needed and it's immediately obvious it hasn't helped, should be sent back to where it came from if they don't want it on the shelf.
Taken to extreme lengths they could charge you for a wiring loom when a new bulb was needed.

They asked me to order a new key and they also are thinking about a new SAM. Where will it all end?
 
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Riocht

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5 Week's now.

Sounds like a case for "don't get done, get Dom"
Hope you get it sorted.

Hi, they checked the Sam unit and said it was OK. Then they asked me to buy a new key, I agreed they got it and programmed it, they tried it and the same fault is still there. So I am back to square one, exact same fault showing after 5 weeks and I am down a lot of cash.
 
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Riocht

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This fault persists

Hi, they checked the Sam unit and said it was OK. Then they asked me to buy a new key, I agreed they got it and programmed it, they tried it and the same fault is still there. So I am back to square one, exact same fault showing after 5 weeks and I am down a lot of cash.


This fault persists, looks like I'm getting nowhere, anymore suggestions please?
 

bob 6600

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Looks like they are throwing parts at it at your expense

They seem to have mis-diagnosed the problem and it is costing you heavily. You need to make them aware of your displeasure and of the fact that you do not have an open cheque book. If the fault is still there it means the parts changed may not have been faulty to begin with. Do you have another dealership that can look at it?
 
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Riocht

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Looks like they are throwing parts at it at your expense

They seem to have mis-diagnosed the problem and it is costing you heavily. You need to make them aware of your displeasure and of the fact that you do not have an open cheque book. If the fault is still there it means the parts changed may not have been faulty to begin with. Do you have another dealership that can look at it?


Hello, thank you for your reply. You are correct the new parts did not change or clear the original fault, it's still there the very same as the day I brought the car to them. Yes there is another dealership about 80 miles away but I do not want to pay all that cash just to start the same process again.
 

jberks

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I don't believe you do have to pay all that cash. My position is that yes you agreed to pay for the parts but that was on the implied understanding that the part fixed the problem. That's their half of the contract. They didn't deliver. You don't need to either.
You are using a Mercedes dealership. They claim to be the experts on these vehicles so you are paying a proportion of the cost for their expertise partially to ensure a speedy and accurate diagnosis. They have wholly failed. Their swap it and see games work on warranty claims on new cars, which is what most of their work consists of. It doesn't when you're picking up the tab.
So I would be refusing to pay on the grounds they clearly don't know what they're doing, so are misrepresenting their services. I'm quite confident a court would agree, if not entirely, certainly proportionately.
However, if you don't fancy that fight, there is another tack. Those prices include a considerable amount of profit. I would get on to the dealer and MB and insist they don't add insult to injury by making a profit on the provision of parts you didnt need. I'd want to see a >50% reduction in those prices.
Sad thing is, assuming you do have water ingress in the ECU, a £200 refurb would have had it sorted.
You need a decent indie.
 

davemercedes

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Riocht

As jberks and others have said, you need to stop talking to the service advisor/manager and elevate the problems to the MD at your dealership and most certainly involve MB Customer Service (I would!). You need to do this NOW if not sooner.

Give him/them your background i.e.: Loyal Customer... Car purchased new from dealership in 200... Third Mercedes etc... Car serviced by them... and then move on to describe the issue that caused you to call for help and lay out - in absolutely correct sequence, what they have done and what they have (or intend) to charge you.

When you get to the point about them telling you the issue was caused by moss/blockage etc, raise the question of the quality of the services for which you have paid and ask why they did not prevent such a problem arising in the first place!.

I would tell them that you are very surprised and quite distressed(*) at the service department's repeated failure to correctly diagnose the cause of the issue which is still an ongoing problem. Do point out that attempting to rectify a problem by repeated substitution of components not only indicates a lack of expertise but moreover this demonstrates a lack of attention to their duty of customer care with these costly failures to provide the service you are entitled to expect.

Then finally, you need to ask them to provide you with an action plan to solve the issue for once and for all and review the charges which have been applied so far together with items outstanding from work in progress - with a view to a considerable adjustment in your favour. Your standpoint has to be reasonable - i.e.: you will be gaining some "betterment" from the work done and parts fitted so far but it is completely unreasonable for them to expect full payment and/or charge any more.

Most of us dislike "confrontational" discussions but you have to be firm (while always remaining polite) and take your time before you respond to any comment or suggestion. In all probability the MD does not know about the level of problems you have experienced and I would expect him to investigate and deal with it promptly and firmly and especially since he will probably think "er... 2007...2014... this customer should be in the market for a new car" (regardless of your situation!). But this is the reason you should involve MB Customer Service "in parallel" - to make sure it is properly investigated.

I hope you get there - and soon. Best of luck.

(*) - Do use the word "distress/ed" in your initial letter - it has a nice "damage" implication showing how much you have suffered!
 
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Riocht

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I don't believe you do have to pay all that cash. My position is that yes you agreed to pay for the parts but that was on the implied understanding that the part fixed the problem. That's their half of the contract. They didn't deliver. You don't need to either.
You are using a Mercedes dealership. They claim to be the experts on these vehicles so you are paying a proportion of the cost for their expertise partially to ensure a speedy and accurate diagnosis. They have wholly failed. Their swap it and see games work on warranty claims on new cars, which is what most of their work consists of. It doesn't when you're picking up the tab.
So I would be refusing to pay on the grounds they clearly don't know what they're doing, so are misrepresenting their services. I'm quite confident a court would agree, if not entirely, certainly proportionately.
However, if you don't fancy that fight, there is another tack. Those prices include a considerable amount of profit. I would get on to the dealer and MB and insist they don't add insult to injury by making a profit on the provision of parts you didnt need. I'd want to see a >50% reduction in those prices.
Sad thing is, assuming you do have water ingress in the ECU, a £200 refurb would have had it sorted.
You need a decent indie.

Hello and thank you, I do need a decent indie but they don't seem to be any around Cork, Ireland. Thank you for the information it really gives me some hope of getting a fair outcome. Much appreciated, Riocht.
 
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Riocht

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Riocht

As jberks and others have said, you need to stop talking to the service advisor/manager and elevate the problems to the MD at your dealership and most certainly involve MB Customer Service (I would!). You need to do this NOW if not sooner.

Give him/them your background i.e.: Loyal Customer... Car purchased new from dealership in 200... Third Mercedes etc... Car serviced by them... and then move on to describe the issue that caused you to call for help and lay out - in absolutely correct sequence, what they have done and what they have (or intend) to charge you.

When you get to the point about them telling you the issue was caused by moss/blockage etc, raise the question of the quality of the services for which you have paid and ask why they did not prevent such a problem arising in the first place!.

I would tell them that you are very surprised and quite distressed(*) at the service department's repeated failure to correctly diagnose the cause of the issue which is still an ongoing problem. Do point out that attempting to rectify a problem by repeated substitution of components not only indicates a lack of expertise but moreover this demonstrates a lack of attention to their duty of customer care with these costly failures to provide the service you are entitled to expect.

Then finally, you need to ask them to provide you with an action plan to solve the issue for once and for all and review the charges which have been applied so far together with items outstanding from work in progress - with a view to a considerable adjustment in your favour. Your standpoint has to be reasonable - i.e.: you will be gaining some "betterment" from the work done and parts fitted so far but it is completely unreasonable for them to expect full payment and/or charge any more.

Most of us dislike "confrontational" discussions but you have to be firm (while always remaining polite) and take your time before you respond to any comment or suggestion. In all probability the MD does not know about the level of problems you have experienced and I would expect him to investigate and deal with it promptly and firmly and especially since he will probably think "er... 2007...2014... this customer should be in the market for a new car" (regardless of your situation!). But this is the reason you should involve MB Customer Service "in parallel" - to make sure it is properly investigated.

I hope you get there - and soon. Best of luck.

(*) - Do use the word "distress/ed" in your initial letter - it has a nice "damage" implication showing how much you have suffered!


Thank you, I will visit the main dealer tomorrow and ask to see the MD, keeping your advice in mind.
 

davemercedes

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Good for you. Just remember - YOU are the "injured" party and it's up to them to solve the problem.

Oh, and when you get the "sorry, he's in a meeting..." response tell them you will sit there and wait until he is free. And when they ask "what's it about?", tell them you'll tell the MD direct and do not wish to talk to anyone else. - The "what's it about?" ploy is the usual way they misdirect all MD requests to a lower minion (so he doesn't get to know what's going on!) ...so stick to your guns.

- Have you called MB Customer Service yet?

- You should do this in tandem and tell them you are going tomorrow to ask for the MD. Hopefully, they will speak to him today and by the time you get there he will already have investigated and be ready to put it right.

I do wish you well - and hopefully the matter will get sorted to your satisfaction. As I said, be firm but always polite - and keep pointing out that it's their problem but it's turned into a costly problems for you!
 
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