E300 Hybrid Reliability Issues

[panason1c]

Gotta laugh!....OP has a problem with his new £40k+ MB, and we then get responses comparing ones legal rights between purchasing a £40k+ car and a toaster or i-phone!!!......

 

[st4]

Gotta laugh!....OP has a problem with his new £40k+ MB, and we then get responses comparing ones legal rights between purchasing a £40k+ car and a toaster or i-phone!!!......

Its a car getting fixed under warranty and the OP gets a loaner.

There's nothing bad here, but the thread is interesting as its a new model and would be nice to hear what went wrong on it, and what was fixed.

 

[Boxbrownie]

Total BS IMHO. People in Britain get great service in retail, banking. What people IMHO have is a very false sense of entitlement to what they think they should get.

Total B0**0***

I my opinion of course.......

 

[st4]

Total B0**0***

I my opinion of course.......

When they are doing everything to fix his car and gave him a loan car to drive whilst they fix it, what more can they actually do?

 

[Boxbrownie]

When they are doing everything to fix his car and gave him a loan car to drive whilst they fix it, what more can they actually do?

I do not think it's the fact they are fixing it, it's the fact they are "trying" to fix it and still have not a clue as to the real problem and this is on a vehicle just a few days old when the problem arose.
The dealer isn't the issue, it's the fault.

 

[Developer]

I understand that it is frustrating to have a new car off the road so soon, but presumably you have alternative transport, so I don't really understand all the histrionics. Nobody has deliberately broken your car and it sounds like all involved are working hard towards a solution.

As stated, it's the first hybrid Mercedes-Benz built for this market, so teething problems are hardly the world's greatest surprise.

Good luck, hope you get the car back soon.

Nor is it a right.

What more does the customer expect, other than all concerned working towards a solution and keeping the customer mobile?

I never understand people who treat their car as anything other than a (nice/desirable/fast/attractive/comfortable delete as applicable) hunk of metal.

More to do with the economies of repairing an item like a television or a toaster, versus replacing one (often cheaper to replace than to repair - the opposite of a car).

Think you'll find you have to send off your iPhone for warranty work - and if you haven't paid extra for insurance, do you get a loan phone? Do you b****cks!

Blimey

I remember when you first joined, and how you offered your MB dealer knowledge to the forum, which was refreshing and informative.
http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showpost.php?p=1004781&postcount=1

What happened

 

[GottleibDaimler]

Developer, which things which I have said do you disagree with?

 

[Developer]

To me you seem to have lost the friendly nature that defined your early posts, which is a shame.

I enjoyed the "insider" dealer perspective you brought to the forum

 

[GottleibDaimler]

Honestly and truthfully, i still am friendly and willing to help anybody. It's not even the OP here that I'm talking to do much as the detractors who seem more interested in stoking the OP's fire. As far as i can see, he's had fairly decent aftersales service in light of his car's unfortunate malfunction. I just genuinely don't know what some people want or expect.

 

[barry jones]

Surely you would expect his £40k car not to fail after a few days?

Yes I agree that the dealer is doing all they can to fix it, but if they don't know what the fault is after weeks and weeks, they are hardly likely to find it (unless of course they change every battery and module on the car) so maybe the dealer should have offered a new replacement before the OP mentioned it?

All very well driving round in a replacement hire car, but it isn't the same.... and you know it isn't the same. If you pay for a new Merc of a certain standard; you expect to be driving that car.... not lose it after a few days and be driving round in a different car

As for MB dealers in general; I have only ever had good service from my local one with all the S Classes I've had up to now....(never bought a new one - let someone else have the problems before I get it!... I've had 5 new cars in my life and I would never ever buy another)

 

[Boxbrownie]

Honestly and truthfully, i still am friendly and willing to help anybody. It's not even the OP here that I'm talking to do much as the detractors who seem more interested in stoking the OP's fire. As far as i can see, he's had fairly decent aftersales service in light of his car's unfortunate malfunction. I just genuinely don't know what some people want or expect.

I don't think anyone interested in "stoking the fire" more like some are more interested in ignoring the fact it is a brand new car just a few days old which has so far had a major failure of which there has been no cure. Sure a loan car was provided (the VERY least that could have been done), and the dealer appears to be trying their best, well good for them, what else should they be doing?
Fact is the OP is well within his rights to reject the car if he so wishes, a fact some people think is unfair to the dealer.
It's not the dealer people are amazed at it's the attitude of some professionals (and customers) who believe give him a loaner for a few weeks while we try and repair it and all will be well, I would be asking for a replacement car after a few weeks and I am sure most dealers would see his side of the story.

I think we ought to see how this pans out and hopefully there is a solution very soon.

 

[GottleibDaimler]

I don't think anyone interested in "stoking the fire" more like some are more interested in ignoring the fact it is a brand new car just a few days old which has so far had a major failure of which there has been no cure. Sure a loan car was provided (the VERY least that could have been done), and the dealer appears to be trying their best, well good for them, what else should they be doing?
Fact is the OP is well within his rights to reject the car if he so wishes, a fact some people think is unfair to the dealer.
It's not the dealer people are amazed at it's the attitude of some professionals (and customers) who believe give him a loaner for a few weeks while we try and repair it and all will be well, I would be asking for a replacement car after a few weeks and I am sure most dealers would see his side of the story.

I think we ought to see how this pans out and hopefully there is a solution very soon.

The bit that I disagree with is that the guy has had poor SERVICE. He hasn't.

If he wants to reject the car, he needs to do it. Write the letters, supply the evidence, the lot. No good just whinging about it.

 

[Frontstep]

Thats the problem in a nutshell you have an expensive item that doesn't work you complain understandably and its called whinging.

Clearly he should be happy and consider himself lucky that he has an expensive paperweight nobody seems to be able to fix.

He should buy an MB shirt off Ebay and tell everyone he works for MB as a development engineer

 

[GottleibDaimler]

I'm saying that nobody will reject the car for him. Any untargetted complaining is tantamount to whinging.

 

[Boxbrownie]

Yes the dealer is not giving crap service.......I was referring to the general service we get in the UK...mainly because we are prone to accept crap service rather than kick up and demand what we should be getting.

But I didn't say the dealer was giving crap service, I was referring to the fact that in general us Brits do not kick up enough when we do get crap service, this in turn leads to a general lower standard of service than we ought to expect.

 

[Frontstep]

I'm saying that nobody will reject the car for him. Any untargetted complaining is tantamount to whinging.

Perhaps thats part of the problem, maybe someone should have.
His dealer.

 

[GottleibDaimler]

But I didn't say the dealer was giving crap service, I was referring to the fact that in general us Brits do not kick up enough when we do get crap service, this in turn leads to a general lower standard of service than we ought to expect.

And in turn, I never claimed that you had said anything.

I think Brits are EXTREMELY good at complaining, and do so far too much.

http://www.theguardian.com/money/shortcuts/2012/may/30/golden-age-complaining

http://www.debretts.com/british-etiquette/british-behaviour/h/complaining

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...ing-and-queuing-are-what-make-us-British.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/...g-is-our-defining-British-characteristic.html

 

[Boxbrownie]

And in turn, I never claimed that you had said anything.

So who did say he was getting crap service, as this seems to be your main gripe?

 

[grober]

These new hybrid drive systems are immensely complicated with multiple components found throughout the car as this related article shows. for example the lithium ion battery pack is embedded in the A/C system! http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rc...8oGACg&usg=AFQjCNEEqIjke0vo_tdI6pmcw2JRxe-9jg
Under these circumstances it might be argued that in parallel to the introduction of this new technology Mercedes need to implement a different strategy to the repair of these vehicles in the event of them developing a fault early in their life. In the rare event of a major powertrain problem occurring early in a hybrid vehicle's life the only effective solution to maintain adequate customer satisfaction might be to give them another car and return the faulty one to the manufacturing facility?

New technology may dictate new repair/replacement strategies.

 

[Frontstep]

Your right desktop design has a lot to answer for, a spell in aftersales might make some of these designers rethink things.