Si my Tier 1 MB Warranty is Invalidated eh? Hmmm....

[Pedronis]

Hello to all.

Bought an 03 E320cdi 8 months ago from a MB Main Dealer, and had it "C" serviced 6 months later at an indie specialist rather than at the main dealer.
Indie told me that it would not affect the Mercedes Benz warranty at the time of using his services.

Soooo....here I am two months later with a couple of warranty claim problems on the car - (warranty expires end of March), and after checking with the MB warranty help-line chappie, he politely announced that my warranty has been completely invalidated because it was not serviced by a main dealer.

Contacted the indie and he said the he stands by his statement and will do the warranty work himself and fight for the costs from Mercedes Benz.

What do you guys think of that then ?

 

[truthfindergeneral]

I think Mercedes will look at anything they can to wriggle out of completing warranty work, especially in the current economic climate.

 

[television]

Laws have been passed that allow you to have the car serviced at the garage of your choice.

The only way that MB could back out is if the service was not done to MB standards and recommendations

Welcome to the forum

 

[hawk20]

I think Mercedes will look at anything they can to wriggle out of completing warranty work, especially in the current economic climate.

I think that is completely without foundation. Friend of mine had a £1,000 repair needed, 6 months after 3 year warranty ran out, yet Mercedes paid 80% of the bill as 'goodwill'. I have never had a single warranty claim denied.

The OP is talking about an '03 car which is out of manufacturers warranty but which had an approved used warranty. A warranty on a secondhand car can legally have T's and C's that require dealer servicing can't it? The main manufacturers warranty on a car up to three years old does allow servicing to be done elsewhere provided it is up to standard. We need some facts. Can secondhand warranties specify main dealer servicing?

And has the car been serviced regularly from new etc. And were they done at suitable places that meet the T's and C's?

 

[rf065]

I'm betting used car warranties are a completely different kettle of fish when compared to the original manufacturers warranty.

All the EC laws relating to servicing & warranties, as far as I'm aware, are in relation to brand new cars & the manufacturers original warranty. Most used car warranties are nothing more than insurance policies bought through insurance companies no matter what name they are given. You need to look at the small print in the warranty.

Russ

 

[jberks]

As has been said, your indie is wrong I believe - he's right on new stuff (mine had a partial indie history before it was 3 and claims were honoured ) but not used. The Ts & C's on the paperwork are everything.
What needs doing?
You have 3 avenues as I see it. The first is the T&C rules and do they clearly state that a main dealer must be used?

The second is, what is the fault? I had an alarm play up on an audi with a disputed warranty. Had I not be able to re-instate it, I was going to demand to know what in a service would have lessened their risk. It may not be a legally strong argument (the law IS an ass) but it may have swung the goodwill argument.

Thirdly - treat it as a non warrantied car and ask for a goodwill contribution. Its quite common for MB to pay out at least a portion of a repair on non warrantied cars if you can demonstrate that the fault was unreasonable. My Dad recently had the rear springs replaced by MB on his 52 plate E220cdi. 2 years ago he has all the brake pipes replaced and I recently had 70% of a rear diff seal replacement cost covered on my 54 plate E class.

 

[Alex M Grieve]

The OP is talking about an '03 car which is out of manufacturers warranty but which had an approved used warranty.

But is this not also an MB Tier 1 Warranty as part of the "signature" scheme, as offered by the Main Dealer as part of the perks of buying from a MB Dealership?

Given that we can infer that there may be more than 1 Tier (the name is a giveaway), we could also surmise that different tiers have different cover levels. But should that make it OK to invalidate it because of the servicing arrangements as described? After all, as Malcolm pointed out, if the work was done correctly, then the car had been "serviced".

It always strikes me as whimsical when exclusions of this sort are used to deflect a possible claim for an item which would never be considered as part of a service, ergo it would not have mattered who serviced it, the item would not have been addressed, but that is another story.

 

[Pedronis]

Thanks for your replies.

1. Car was supplied new to the prev owner via the same MB main dealer.
2. All prev services carried out by the same main dealer and service book stamped.
3. Car now has faulty central locking and parking sensors, and also a defective suspension strut. - Ok, not the end of the world discounting the strut!

Went to indie because - just before my "C" service was due, the MB Main dealer charged my wife over £1500 to replace a noisey turbo on her (purchased new) 03 CLK with 40,000 miles on the clock...out of warranty - no goodwill contribution from MB or main dealer..."Sorry Madam but it is not our policy to bear the costs of repairs that are no longer warranted"....Hmmm bearing in mind that we bought two reasonably expensive cars from them....

Indie clearly stated that my service will not affect my warranty, hence he got my business rather than MB main dealer.

Bearing in mind the point made about the T&C's, but why would he say that it he did not believe it to be true?

He seems to be a busy indie outfit with plenty of repeat business in the area, so will keep you posted as to progress.

 

[Rory]

Others are right - different terms can be imposed on the used warranty.

If you make the world's biggest fuss you *might* get Mercedes to back down - especially as the issues raised have nothing to do with servicing. Maybe you could go to court and sue them on the basis that the contract term is unfair? You could pay for the repairs then use the Small Claims Court to sue the dealer for the cost - not sure if you'd win, but the cost is minimal - http://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk

On balance, probably the best thing to is to work with indie to get the issues resolved and remember not to buy a Mercedes (at least from a dealership) ever again.

 

[jberks]

On balance, probably the best thing to is to work with indie to get the issues resolved and remember not to buy a Mercedes (at least from a dealership) ever again.

I'd say from that dealership.

..."Sorry Madam but it is not our policy to bear the costs of repairs that are no longer warranted"....

Funny that. 4 months ago they paid 70% of my rear diff seal repair. 12 months ago paid 100% of my ESP wheel sensor (dealer arranged this without even telling me!) 2 months ago. MB paid 100% for my Dad's rear springs (2002 E class - near 100% indie servicing). None of these contributions were pro-actively offered by MB but had to be fought for by the service manager and in one case, followed up by us directly on the suggestion of the service manager as he wasn't getting results. I suspect that had I owned your CLK and taken it to my dealer, my bill would have been a fraction of yours. FYI MB have a formal budget for goodwill claims per car, so the idea that once the warranty has expired, you're on your own is just plain rubbish.

I'd be ringing the dealer principle and making it clear that the blind lack of flexibility and jobsworth attitude that his staff follow, together with their total unwillingness to go the extra inch, let alone mile to help the customer, means that you will no longer be doing business with them. After all, lots of other dealers (like mine) are actually very helpful. (it may even prompt some remedial action!) A call to MBUK may help too.

I'd persue the whole issue - after all, this is absolutely nothing to do with servicing and the service was carried out to MB standards in any case. Point out that this is not the kind of behaviour that you expect from a reputable manufacturer that is interested in maintaining the goodwill of long standing customers.

 

[Micman]

I'm betting used car warranties are a completely different kettle of fish when compared to the original manufacturers warranty.

All the EC laws relating to servicing & warranties, as far as I'm aware, are in relation to brand new cars & the manufacturers original warranty. Most used car warranties are nothing more than insurance policies bought through insurance companies no matter what name they are given. You need to look at the small print in the warranty.

Russ

Totally agree. The first 3 years is the manufacturers warranty - I had all manner of warranty repairs carried out within that time without so much as a raised eyebrow, despite my car being serviced at independent garages.

The E class you are talking about is almost 6 years old! The warranty you got when you bought it 8 months ago is a totally different kettle of fish from the manufacturers one. It will have it's own clauses - check the small print.

If you want a 6 year old car with the luxury of full manufacturers warranty there's only one thing to do..... buy a Kia C'eed!

 

[rf065]

the MB Main dealer charged my wife over £1500 to replace a noisey turbo on her (purchased new) 03 CLK with 40,000 miles on the clock...out of warranty - no goodwill contribution from MB or main dealer..."Sorry Madam but it is not our policy to bear the costs of repairs that are no longer warranted"....Hmmm bearing in mind that we bought two reasonably expensive cars from them....

If the car was out of warranty, you could have got the turbo replaced anywhere for a lot less, maybe if you had threatened to take the car elsewhere the garage would have pushed MB for a goodwill contribution?

Incidentally, my CLK turbo went at 20,000 miles and took half the engine with it, luckily it was still under warranty. I dread to think what that cost MB.

Russ

 

[Pedronis]

Re E320 CDI Warranty

Without wishing to count my chickens....Indie called me today and is arranging for the work to be carried out. Will let you know if this was under warranty or at his expense when this has been done, and indeed -if it has.

Re the Turbo on wifey's clk, yes, we learned an expensive lesson on that occasion, and perhaps another lesson with this warranty/indie thing...or as not as the case may be !

My E320 is a really nice car, not as good a build as my 15 year old E230TE which still looks fab and sailed through it's MOT at Christmas with nothing more than a stuck throttle cable due to having been standing for 5 months. I must get around to finding it a good home one of these days..

I wonder if this one will look and run as well as my old faithful in another 9 years !!

Thanks for all of your input, and will keep you posted.

 

[Uncle Benz]

Not Merc, but I will give you my Nissan experience, if it might help...

A customer of mine bought a Nissan D22 pick-up, new in late 2002. I have serviced the car, from day one, to manufacturers requirements (which involves an oil change every 4500 miles) to the recent total of 102299 miles, at which point the big end on the number three cylinder let go. There has been a recent spate of these, as detailed on BBC's "Watchdog" programme.

The customer delivered the car to City Nissan in Chichester, who asked for documentary proof of the service history. Proof was duly provided, and he now has his vehicle back with a brand new full engine fitted, and is only lighter to the tune of a £200 "betterment" sum.

I will add that I am a "one man band" with 11 years of sole trading, but have been VAT registered for the last ten years. Block exemption rules are in the favour of the vehicle owner, but you will need to shout it loud, and to the right ears to get what you are entitled to.

 

[television]

Not Merc, but I will give you my Nissan experience, if it might help...

A customer of mine bought a Nissan D22 pick-up, new in late 2002. I have serviced the car, from day one, to manufacturers requirements (which involves an oil change every 4500 miles) to the recent total of 102299 miles, at which point the big end on the number three cylinder let go. There has been a recent spate of these, as detailed on BBC's "Watchdog" programme.

The customer delivered the car to City Nissan in Chichester, who asked for documentary proof of the service history. Proof was duly provided, and he now has his vehicle back with a brand new full engine fitted, and is only lighter to the tune of a £200 "betterment" sum.

I will add that I am a "one man band" with 11 years of sole trading, but have been VAT registered for the last ten years. Block exemption rules are in the favour of the vehicle owner, but you will need to shout it loud, and to the right ears to get what you are entitled to.

Was it not Nissan that were the first manufacture that endorsed the coming of the "Block Exemption" saying that they supported it fully

 

[rf065]

Block exemption rules are in the favour of the vehicle owner, but you will need to shout it loud, and to the right ears to get what you are entitled to.

As said before, do block exemption rules cover anything other than the original manufacturers new vehicle warranty? I doubt it very much.

The difference with the Nissan, is that this was a known design fault with that particular engine, it happened to hundreds of owners and was highlighted on BBC's Watchdog. I don't think any of that applies to the OP's faults.

The answer can only be in the small print of the warranty, does it state that only main dealer servicing is allowed or the warranty is void.

Russ

 

[hawk20]

The answer can only be in the small print of the warranty, does it state that only main dealer servicing is allowed or the warranty is void.

Russ

And if it does say that in the warranty then IMO there is nothing to complain about -except with the indie.

 

[television]

Some words in the small print may not mean a thing if other legislation is in force

 

[Xtractorfan]

Tricky one, if the warranty is provided by the Mb dealer then it would follow that he may have a condition written in that the car must be serviced by themselves for that warranty to remain in force..

 

[Rory]

Tricky one, if the warranty is provided by the Mb dealer then it would follow that he may have a condition written in that the car must be serviced by themselves for that warranty to remain in force..

That's probably true for the warranty itself, but it's important to remember that warranties do not take away your statutory rights.

However on an older car, coming towards the end of the Approved Used Warranty period anyway, the time period your statutory rights would be valid for has probably expired.