turbo

[jonbon]

i have a 05 plate 220cdi i took it to my local mercedes dealer to diagnose the exact fault on for the management light coming on, the car had no power and would not go over 3k revs, they came back and said it was low pressure boost, and needed more time to investigate, but could not do it on the day as the girl only booked it in for half an hour, i asked if it was ok to take away and bring it back the following day, they said it was ok to drive.
the light was now off and i drove away with the turbo whooshing its head off but no power, within ten nimutes the light was on again, an hour later the car was bellowing out white smoke all over the carriageway, and had to be towed in, they now say the turbo has collapsed and taken out the front manifold and catalytic with oil contamination and will cost 4k to repair
my argument is why did they ket me drive it away for that to happen, the ems had obviously switched of the turbo they cleared that fault code and put the turbo back in operation, niether the dealer or mercedes are offering any goodwill on this car which has only done 80k

 

[jberks]

i have a 05 plate 220cdi i took it to my local mercedes dealer to diagnose the exact fault on for the management light coming on, the car had no power and would not go over 3k revs, they came back and said it was low pressure boost, and needed more time to investigate, but could not do it on the day as the girl only booked it in for half an hour, i asked if it was ok to take away and bring it back the following day, they said it was ok to drive.
the light was now off and i drove away with the turbo whooshing its head off but no power, within ten nimutes the light was on again, an hour later the car was bellowing out white smoke all over the carriageway, and had to be towed in, they now say the turbo has collapsed and taken out the front manifold and catalytic with oil contamination and will cost 4k to repair
my argument is why did they ket me drive it away for that to happen, the ems had obviously switched of the turbo they cleared that fault code and put the turbo back in operation, niether the dealer or mercedes are offering any goodwill on this car which has only done 80k

Push back hard. Say their response is utterly unnaceptable. Firstly they said the car was safe to drive. It wasn't. They have some liability on the back of that alone.
Secondly, from MBs perspective. assuming the car has been properly maintained, a turbo should not have failed at this age and mileage (There are plenty of 02 150k+ 220s running around on original turbos). In short I'd be expecting / demanding some serious goodwill contribution from MB. That turbo has failed prematurely.
There are loads of stories around from people, including myself, where the initial reaction from MB was no. From there it depends entirely on what you and the dealer do. My dealer fortunatley is on the ball and chases up. He tells me more often than not the initial reaction, from the computer is "no". He also tells me that there are channels available for them to appeal and argue the case on behalf of a loyal customer. These are very often succesful. Sounds like your dealer is both crap and lazy to me.
In my case, I had a diff seal go. Warranty co said no as it was wear and tear. Dealer went to MB with my argument (4 year old merc, 70k - nothing should have worn out yet) and MB paid.
Tell him to start earning his ridiculous fees and get onto MB on your behalf and start fighting your case. Also, raise a case with MB customer services directly yourself.

On no account accept the job as it is. Even if your claim was eventually unsuccesful (unliklely IMHO) then the dealer should not get the job. He doesn't deserve it. An indie should be able to sort it for a fraction of that quote. Recon turbo, new cat and clean up the manifold should halve that bill for starters.

If you want to see what's possible, have a look at the following battle.
http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=52098
http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=52831

Stick in there and let us know how you go on.

 

[Alex Crow]

all the above with bells on.

 

[jonbon]

thanks guys, just sent a letter to mb customer care, any of you with success stories please let me know, knowledge is power and all that

 

[jberks]

The best success story I've seen is Alfibeard's as per the links.
However, MB replaced my steering angle sensor FOC (Dealer didn't even tell me - I thought the warranty co had paid).
The old man had the brake pipes replaced on his E class FOC (5 years old - no dealer history) because they were corroded and an MOT failure. Shouldn't have gone.
The list goes on.
Your 2 key arguments are
a) You're a loyal customer intending to buy another MB in the future - you're now reconsidering.
b) The failure is unreasonable given the age and mileage. You'd not expect such failures on a Ford. (Don't mention VW - they're known for blown turbos!)
Factor in your loyalty to the dealership network (FMBSH) and you want some loyalty back in return.
I suspect you'll get an offer pretty much straight away - they often offer 50%, which amounts to nothing from their side given that they make 50% on the parts and they'll be telling the dealer to do the work FOC (Yes they actually do this! May explain the dealers reticence), so keep pushing and you should get substantially more. Alfie got 100%, so did I.