Signature warranty problem?

[DariusB]

I have found out during a service what I already suspected, that the air recirculation button on my C220CDi doesn't work (and probably never has). I've had the car 6 months (it's 3 yrs old) so it's still under its warranty. The dealer who serviced it (not the one I bought it from) said that this relatively minor problem would cost a whole day's labour to investigate (the whole dashboard needs to come off), and if it turned out not to be covered by the warranty I would be liable for the £700ish this would cost. Apparently the warranty only works if a part needs replacing, not if a wire has come adrift. Can this really be true? They suggested going back to the dealer where I bought the car and taking it up with them. Before I do this I thought I'd see if anyone here had any wise words, which would be gratefully received!

Darius

 

[johngreen11]

I bought a car under this scheme almost 3 years ago now and whatever problem I reported was always fully investigated and I was never charged a penny.

I bought the car in Coventry and Falcon of Loughborough serviced it. Even though it wasn't purchased from Falcon they never showed any relunctance to investigate any problems.

I would have thought your problem was a functional spec part of the car not an added feature so it should be included. There was very little that wasn't covered as I remember.

Make sure they record every problem you report and if they don't find or cure the problem keep reporting it and make sure its recorded. I had a problem they never found under warranty and they hadn't fully recorded my complaints so when something very serious happened to the steering 3 weeks out of warranty I got stung for very large repair costs.

Keep pushing them to fix it.

 

[Arnie]

If a wire has come off then it would be due to either faulty manufacturing of the connector or bad fitting during assembly. Either way, I would have thought it's a warranty issue. Obviously, they do not want the hassle. Hard to understand, though as it would be good money for them. However, an experienced technician should be able to trace the fault by removing the switch and checking a few connections and only remove the dashboard if it turns out to be the air control-flap mechanism in the vents.

 

[Badger]

Hi,

I have been having a few problems with my V class and that is just over 4 years old.

It only has 26,000 miles on the clock and because of that I have been pushing my dealer and MB customer service for contributions to repairs. So far I have been successful in paying for parts and for MB paying the labour, keep up the pressure.

8)

Regards

 

[jodipiazza]

I had the same kind of problem with the Signature warranty, I brought my E430 about 10 months ago, my first mercedes and I think about to become of many that I will own, as they are the proverbial mutts nuts. However I digress, I had problem with the starter motor where it seemed to stick very infrequently, but being anal about having my car perfect I reported the issue, MB took the car in and said they were aware of what the problem was and it was a servicable issue and not covered under the warranty, as the product had not malfunctioned but required removing and re-greasing, which they charged me £300 for the pleasure thereof. I was stunned that this was chargable but had no choice and paid in full. I would appreciate other peoples thoughts on this. It has left a bad taste in my mouth and I am reluctant to extended the Signature warranty next year.

By the way the car had only done 18,000 miles at the time although was just over three years old..

 

[Arnie]

I wonder if the signature warranties are paid for by the dealers, which might be why they are reluctant to put too many claims through. I would have thought that your starter motor would have been a clear case of a warranty repair for soemthing not working properly, as it should.

 

[jodipiazza]

Arnie,

That's what I had thought, however the dealers said if there had been a mechanical failure of the part, then they would have replaced it under warranty. But as the "fix" this problem is to remove, grease and replace some key ring part then this was not classed as a mechanical failure and purely part and parcel of maintaining the vechicle, and £300 please.

What do you think? I am not reluctant to extend the warranty at the end of the 12 months.

I would appreciate some suggestions on this.

Many Thanks
Jo

 

[Arnie]

Hello,

I am sure that if you read the list of service items in the service booklet, re-greasing the starter motor is not one of them. Anyway, there's always the small-print, but even so they should have done it based on goodwill.