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7 out of 8 people found this review helpful
2.0 stars
"Be forwarned about Mercedes"
Pros: Great looks; loaded w/ features
Cons: Warranty support & customer service very substandard
Summary: Mercedes does not stand behind their cars anymore. My recent S500 had a dashboad failure at 51000 miles. No odometer, speedometer, dash lights, etc. Parts & labor was $2500 and while just out of warranty, I would have expected Mercedes to stand behind the car. This was a failure that should never happen, but certainly not right at warranty expiration. Dealer referred me to Mercedes corporate and they would not do anything! While tempted by Mercedes advertising and car styles, my last experience speaks volumes about Mercedes. I suggest anyone thinking about a Benz understand what Mercedes thinks about customer relations.
- 6 replies to this review
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Wondering why a S class review is showing up in an E class ad? Perhaps someone has an axe to grind?
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It is always useful to hear an owner's experience, good or bad. That your warranty may have been expired is a factor but only a that. I have had MB's and agree their quality is substandard and their customer relations is terrible. They deserve the reputation they are getting. I won't get another; too painful.
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Why do some people feel that the manufacturer of a product owes them something outside their warranty period? When you buy anything from a radio right on up to a car, you are given a warranty. If you do not agree with the terms of that warranty, don't buy the product. To then go ahead and buy the product and cry that the manufacturer needs warning against is just childish.
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Why do some people feel that the manufacturer of a product owes them something outside their warranty period? When you buy anything from a radio right on up to a car, you are given a warranty. If you do not agree with the terms of that warranty, don't buy the product. To then go ahead and buy the product and cry that the manufacturer needs warning against is just childish.
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I just posted a similar comment to yours where I was left with a car just outside of the lemon law timeframe in the state of Washington and Mercedes knew it. My two-year-old car was never fixed, and Mercedes corporate was nasty and unreasonable. After eight MB's over 25 years - that was my last one! NEVER AGAIN!!!!
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Your experience is unfortunately not all that uncommon. I had a chilling experience with Nissan years ago with a KNOWN design/engineering defect that the company should've handled via recall. My car's symptoms developed near the end of the drivetrain warranty period, so in my case the engine was still covered. Most others long exceeded the mileage terms before their cars developed the same engine problem, so they were stuck with the expensive bill. I've similar issues with both Honda automotive divisions (a company vaunted for customer service quality, particularly on their Acura side), Audi, Porsche and--most particularly--Volkswagen.
That said, automobile manufacturers DO have to draw the line someplace. And, like it or not, the terms of the warranty was something you did agree to (or at least accepted as a condition of owning an S-class) when you bought your car.
A dashboard failure like you experienced is surely uncommon, but it's probably no more so than the complete electronics failure of the ABS system on my wife's old Passat, which also died right after the warranty period expired (but considering all the thousands VW of America already PAID during that foul car's warranty time, they probably were smiling that they could walk away). In our case, the brakes still worked, but it too seemed grossly offensive that a KEY safety system would have such a short operational life, and that VW would not back it up despite the expiration of the warranty.
