MB parts warranty

[poseidon]

Colleagues,

I would like to like solicit your opinion regarding the details on parts warranty.
In particular if it covers the installation costs.

All MB parts come with 2 year warranty. As an example I buy a new MB part (say a water pump or a clutch) and install it in another garage or by myself. The part fails after 6 months. Will MB refund just the part or part plus the fitting costs. Surely I do not need to pay fitting twice if it was not for the failed component. Some installation costs can be considerable and to be fair they should consider also the additional costs directly incurred as the consequence of poor quality components.

Does anyone have related experience?

Thanks and regards,

Pose.

 

[Blobcat]

This is something that I come across in business quite regularly. Simple answer is that it is the part that is warranted by Mercedes so if it has failed you need to take it back to them and if they accept it as a warranty claim they will repair/replace it.
As for the costs associated with removing it and replacing it that is the difficult part and if Mercedes had fitted it I would expect them to refit it FOC. However if you have either done it yourself or had another garage undertake the work then it becomes more complex and I doubt that Mercedes would pay for the fitting costs. However their is no harm in asking and as you say the longer that something may take to fit and how long had the part been in service before it failed would be points I would be making with Mercedes.

 

[jberks]

It is a very grey area.
I suspect it depends on who buys what from whom. You buy a part over the counter from the dealer, you are actually buying that part from the dealer, not MB. The 2 year warranty may well be honoured by the dealer but that's their decision. They only have to cover you for the statutory period (1 year?). I suspect from their point of view, if the manufacturer covers it, it's no skin of their noses to pass it on, so they do.

Fitted parts however are another matter. Here there is a cost to them to pass the warranty on so things get trickier. I imagine there is a deal between the dealer and MB to indemnify against refitting costs for defective parts. but if not, they have to factor in that risk in their installation prices. They know that they will have to replace say 1 in 10 so would add 10% to the fitting charge to cover.
If they increase the period, then the risk goes up and they would have to charge more accordingly. If they take a decision that they can afford say 12 months then whatever MB provides becomes irrelevant.

At the end of the day, its whatever warranty the supplier and fitter provide.