I purchased a 2003 Certified Pre Owned Mercedes in Nov. It had a 'Perfect' Car-Fax report. A few days later, my wife bought one, too. It also had a perfect Car Fax report, and was also a Certified auto.
Within the first month, my car had so many electrical problems that I complained to the Gen. Manager. He told me that Mercedes require a lot of ongoing repair work.
The electrical problems caused the dashboard lights to go off at night, caused the brake system to malfunction 4 times and caused the car to run out of gas because the gas guage malfunctioned. All of these problems happened while driving.
I requested a refund a month after purchasing it. Prior to doing that, I researched online and learned that the Mercedes company worldwide was aware of these electrical problems due to 'not checking the quality of the components which were supplied by outside vendors'.
Mercedes also states they have spend over half a billion in repairs to fix these problems. They have also repurchased hundreds of vehicles in States which have tough lemon laws. Arizona lemon laws are more lax than others.
These are known issues which Mercedes does not deny.
This is a list of problems that both cars had (these problems are in a written print-out from Mercedes of Tucson's service department:
1. Passenger Air Bag problem
2. Ignition Starter problem
3. Side Air Bag problem
4. Driver's side window motorpassenger's side window motor
5. Radio electrical problems on two occasions
6. Blower regulator electrical problems
7.instrument Cluster electrical problems
8. Fuel tank transmitter electrical problems
9. Stop light switch electrical problems
1. Automatic transmission electric cable problems
2. Selector lever module electrical problems
3. Control module. Traction control problems
4. Air spring electrical problems
5. Hydraulic pump (brake servo) problems
6. Shift valve body problems
7. ABS/BAS problems
There are over a dozen service calls, many of which were for 2 or more problems at a time.
I decided these vehicles were putting us in harms way. Then, I looked in the owners manual and read the following regarding the brake problems we encountered:
According to Mercedes Benz, LLC, (this problem is a known issue' and may put the driver and passengers in grave danger..)
The ABS has detected a malfunction. (which means) other systems such as the automatic transmission can also malfunction. (thereby) increasing the risk of an accident. (Which could cause death or serious bodily injury) (Page 291 owners manual 2003 S430) Note: the words in parentheses are mine.
I also met with the Service Manager (Scott) of MB of Tucson. He acknowledged the following: "the electric components are co-mingled' meaning if one system fails, other systems could be on the same circuit and fail, too."
They have not been able to repair the problem with the dash board lights, the ABS braking system or the fuel guage.
They refused to take the cars back.
I did not want to drive mine nor do I want my wife to drive hers.
Last week, after 4 months of ownership, we traded both of them in on different brands.
Mercedes of Tucson offered $37,000 for mine, which I had just paid $51,000. Then, they realized the vehicle had an accident history BEFORE I purchased it, and they lowered the price to $35,000. I complained to them again, and they agreed to offer $37,000 for it.
My wife's car cost $33,000. They didn't offer anything for it, and the best the other dealer could offer was $24,000.
We are driving safe cars again. We spent $84,000 for them, and had to get rid of them for $61,000 four months later suffering a $23,000 loss. It was either that or continue to put ourselves in harms way each time we drove them.
I contacted MB Corporate in New Jersey, and they replied that they were 'sending my concerns back to Tucson for local 'attention', and that I would be contacted. That was 3 weeks ago, I was never contacted.
There is a lot more to this, but here's just ONE example of other problems with this dealer: when my wife bought her car, it had some scratches on the door. They told her to come back and they would have it touched up and buffed to perfection.
She went to her scheduled service appointment, and they gave her a 'paint stick' telling her to apply one coat, wait until dry, then apply another!!!
I have complete documentation on all of the above. Please see photos of 1. Paint stick from Mercedes of Tucson. 2. My vehicle being towed after it ran out of gas in heavy traffic.
Larry
TUCSON, Arizona
U.S.A.
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