Buying from Mercedes Direct - missing docs

[edweb]

In the process of buying a lovely 2001 ML320 from Mercedes Direct - car drives fine, HPI check is all clear (incl. VIN) but here's what threw me: dealer claims not to be in posession of the car's actual service book or the second key. He says the car came in as a part-exchange at the same dealer and the sales exec doing the deal has left the company. They have traced the service history through their internal network (service all done through main dealers); they have now ordered a duplicate service book. Furthermore, because the last owner (dating back to 2002) had a private licence plate the original V5C document with the original licence number is also no longer available.

I know the car still comes with the 12-month Mercedes dealer warranty but being new to the UK I would appreciate some expert opinion / input on the matter on whether these issues appear legit or not

 

[television]

Hello and welcome,,cant be of much help but if from MB the car will be OK

Re the V5 yes that is correct and you get another one but all of the details will be on it.
Dont forget the second key £200

 

[rf065]

Do a search on clocked cars from MB, it happened to someone on this or the other forum very recently, exactly as you have described. There is a thread somewhere.

There are others who are still waiting on the service book 6 months later with no sign of it coming. Sorry to say, but salesmen will tell you anything until you hand over the money, MB or not.

Russ

 

[silverhorse]

yes the second key can cost £110 or so . you should have one free from MB . They do make good profit and can easily supply one. Good luck

 

[simon_wall69]

I think you should make them provide you with a second key as part of the deal as well as a suitable discount for the lacking service booklet. As long as you have a receipt the v5 is not a problem and if you are happy with the car then go for it.

 

[colechelle]

facts are, before you hand over any money, you want the service book,stamped, and the second key, if not you leave it there!!!

 

[stumpy]

Do a search on clocked cars from MB, it happened to someone on this or the other forum very recently, exactly as you have described. There is a thread somewhere.

There are others who are still waiting on the service book 6 months later with no sign of it coming. Sorry to say, but salesmen will tell you anything until you hand over the money, MB or not.

Russ

And as my sister found out MB Direct are a right bunch of Arfurs

 

[Common Rail]

I don't know whether this is possible , but I'd want the car reprogrammed to accept a new key coding plus two appropriately programmed keys. Otherwise (being v.pessimistic/paranoid on your behalf) there's someone out there with an original service book who knows your reg no. and has a key for it. As rf065 implies, inspect the record in that duplicate service book (against the scheduled service items spec'd in the book) before signing on the dotted line

Suggest you get yourself into a position where you are happy to expalin the history to a purchaser when you come to sell it. You'll already be at a disadvantage compared with a fully documented car with 2 keys. Maybe cash could help, so a better negotiated discount now may help, or, given the uncertainties, you may just want to walk away.

Good luck

 

[edweb]

Many thanks to all for the very useful feedback - shall certainly heed the advice!

 

[littlebrooklyn]

There are others who are still waiting on the service book 6 months later with no sign of it coming. Sorry to say, but salesmen will tell you anything until you hand over the money, MB or not.

Russ

We bought our car from a Mercedes Dealership and they had also somehow lost all the paperwork for it. We had no manuals, no service book

It took a few months of phone calls to the Dealership and also to Mercedes Customer Service before we finally got all the paperwork through. The one thing we don't like however is that "duplicate" is stamped all through the service book

 

[Rory]

And as my sister found out MB Direct are a right bunch of Arfurs

Would agree with that - I'm pleased with the car, and the deal, that I got but gave up trying to get missing bits of paperwork from the branch and from MB Direct head office. They are keen to sell cars, but they're really not interested in details.

 

[edweb]

They are keen to sell cars, but they're really not interested in details.

Indeed - the dealer claims to have sold over 100 cars last month :!:

Could anyone please also point me in the right direction to find service intervals and scope of services "A" and "B" for a W163 ML320 to make an informed judgement once I receive the car's service history? Many thanks!

 

[100%Bitch]

Would agree with that - I'm pleased with the car, and the deal, that I got but gave up trying to get missing bits of paperwork from the branch and from MB Direct head office. They are keen to sell cars, but they're really not interested in details.

So would I. The service I got from them was so pathetic I never even went to see the car. One minute they're offering one price the next minute, £3K less. They're a bunch of clowns!

 

[snapper]

merc direct

I went 70 miles to view a car when I arrived they told me it was a special web only price and was now sold !

I looked at a few car on there forecourt and was unimpressed!

Empty drinks bottles, muddy foot prints, crisp packets and yes you guessed it one car had foot prints on the windscreen ( I kid you not)

In general all the cars I looked at were poorly presented !

And after telling me cash was not acceptable which is how , I informed them I was going to pay and not on hire purchase or balloon payments , their interest was lost and so was mine !

so far I have look at fords Vauxhaul jaguar Mazda and a few others

The only one that was even half way to making me feel as though the wanted to sell me a car was chyrstler

Sorry back to the point

If they cant supply the docs as originalls surely that will de-value the car !


Mark

 

[coxyhog]

I would buy another MB,no doubt about that.
But not from MB Direct.

 

[Rory]

Indeed - the dealer claims to have sold over 100 cars last month :!:

Could anyone please also point me in the right direction to find service intervals and scope of services "A" and "B" for a W163 ML320 to make an informed judgement once I receive the car's service history? Many thanks!

Once you get the service book, it lists the work required.

There isn't much difference between an A and B service - more things are checked in the B service and the pollen filter is changed.

Service mileage varies, but should come up at somewhere in the region of 12Kmile intervals.

As well as the basic services, MB uses a complicated matrix of mileage and time to determine other work. For example brake fluid needs changing every 2 yrs, spark plugs (if it's petrol) every xxK miles or xyrs, same with air and fuel filters etc.

 

[OlafMaxwell]

Keys etc

I have two electronic keys plus one mechanical key.

If there is any doubt over keys you need to make sure the car is reporogrammed. A missing key means someone out there may just happen to have a key to your car. The small print in your insurance may kick in if it has a clause only covering theft as a result of forcible entry or towing. Theft by someone with a key does not fit this and I aware of claims refused on these grounds.

Hold out for the keys and documentation.

 

[hawk20]

facts are, before you hand over any money, you want the service book,stamped, and the second key, if not you leave it there!!!

Not really quite that simple. If the service book has been lost, the dealer can get another one from MB by supplying all the car's details. It will be stamped through with the word duplicate.

No problem with that so long as you get a letter from the dealer saying why the original book is not available (lost or whatever) and that they have made the duplicate book up to date on services done from their records.

BUT you may find that MB do not have any service books available at the present time because they are on 'back order' (as they are for the E class at the moment). That means they are waiting for a reasonable number of orders for duplicates before they order a new batch.

It is not just Direct Mercedes who may have this problem. Main dealers sometimes have it too. ( I have it on the E220cdi I bought recently).

 

[edweb]

There are now two other persons from the dealer involved, and they try to convince me to take the car and that the V5C they lost will be issued to me by DVLA directly, the second key will be made once I have received the V5C (apparently they require it for duplicating a key?) and the duplicate service book will follow as well. They're really trying very hard - but then, that's what sales quota do to you

Still, I'm just staying put with my demands - let's see what happens next.

 

[jubhi]

This is not the first time I've heard this about MB Direct and lost service books. They should be reported to some sort of institution for doing this, surely they can't get away with it time and time again.