Do I deserve a refund for my Mercedes-Benz lemon?
QUESTION
Good morning John,
In September 2018, we purchased a demonstrator 2018 Mercedes GLC 63 Coupe from Mercedes at Mona Vale (G Brothers) for $165,000.
Since purchasing the vehicle, I have had a numerous amount of faults and now wish to formally reject the vehicle. I understand that under the Australian Consumer Law, when I buy products and services they come with automatic guarantees that they will work and do what I asked for.
Below is a chronological list of the faults I have had:
Defect in the windscreen glass: fixed with polish repair;
Windows drop down with a loud thud: replaced window stoppers;
Electric seat adjustment motor was louder than the other, right-front lumbar malfunction and support leaking fluid; all replaced.
Fraying seat belt. Upon pick up, we noticed Mercedes Parramatta had burnt the seat belt with a lighter to ‘fix’ the fraying; I advised I was not happy with this quick fix given a seat belt is a major safety issue, so I requested it be fixed properly. Staff member agreed and ordered replacement seat belt. Replaced with a new seat belt.
5. Reported infotainment command-screen flickered on and off: the cause could not be determined.
6. Oil Warning light on dash illuminates, despite the vehicle being nowhere near due for a service, which was diagnosed as excessive oil consumption: Oil was topped up and deemed "normal" by service department.
7. Carried out oil consumption test (phase 1/1) after oil warning light came on again.
8. Reported brake callipers paint was peeling: re-painted due to peeling.
9. Reported another fault, a rear differential malfunction on dash: rear diff actuator was replaced
10. During rear diff actuator replacement, they found an oil leak from said rear diff: replaced left-rear diff side seal.
11. Command screen flickering on and off again, as per 5. After investigation they found an aftermarket part (apparently it was Apple CarPlay) which was claimed as causing the flickering. I was told the car needs to be rectified by Mercedes Mona Vale and that they can't help me.
12. Front passenger seat belt getting stuck in the buckle: buckle was replaced.
13. Rear doors getting stuck when opening: door seals were greased.
14. Vehicle failed to start or lock, with commands on dash illuminating. Called Mercedes Assist, which had to replace the battery.
15. A series of attempts to call both Mercedes Mona Vale and MB head office, to request additional warranty be granted for two years given the long list of failures, was unsuccessful - no calls were returned to me over a two-day period.
16. Driving out of the driveway the vehicle car started to make a knocking noise. Called Mercedes Parramatta to advise this, only to be told to call Mercedes Assist to have the car brought in, which I did. It was picked up within an hour and dropped off to Mercedes Parramatta, and having called later that day for an update…
17. …having been left with no supplement vehicle due to no available loan cars (sold due to stock shortage/high demand) - I was then advised they had found metal in the oil which was removed from the diff.
Spoke to the service department where it was confirmed the diff was broken. I again expressed my concern of having no vehicle to drive with two young children and using an Uber to do school drop-offs. I requested to speak to the dealer principal, but he was not available, and despite asking for a return phone call, got nothing.
Having presented to Parramatta Mercedes in person to see said dealer principal, someone else helped me contact Mercedes head office to follow-up on the hire car - which wasn’t arranged yet. They gave me a loan car in the meantime, but received the details too late in the day to pick the car up due to having young children. I then called the customer assistance line again to follow up on this.
With all the issues I’ve had regarding my Mercedes-Benz, they are painful to deal with and I have just finished tribunal mediation in order to deal with this terrible brand. Unfortunately, tribunal conciliation was useless and I really want to take some further action.
I have requested a replacement vehicle being a 2021 Mercedes GLC 63, which I believe now come with five years’ warranty, rather than the 3 years my current vehicle has.
It is a concern to me that the warranty on this car was due to expire this month, and now such a major issue has occurred. I would not be in a financial position to fix the vehicle should this have occurred outside of the warranty period.
Do you think fair and reasonable action should be taken on this to refund the cost entirely or replace it with a new vehicle? I have paid a lot of money for a vehicle which has spent a considerable amount of time off road.
Regards,
Jemma
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ANSWER
Jemma,
I’m very sorry this has happened to you.
People go into Merc ownership expecting one thing, and they often find themselves having another, quite different, experience. It’s this gap between the expectation (especially with something like a GLC63) and the reality that people find so disappointing.
If it’s any consolation, you are not alone. Mercedes-Benz throws a lot of customers under the bus. (And the dealership attempting to ‘fix’ a frayed seatbelt with a cigarette lighter - I wonder what official service documentation this came out of…)
Look, the reality is: these things look great and go awesomely, but they are badly built, unreliable and poorly supported. (And if I had told you this before your experience of it, you probably would not have believed me.) If you had bought a $40k Kia Cerato GT and it was this bad, you’d be angry - understandably so.
This is fundamentally why Mercedes-Benz is not a brand I recommend. (It’s why I actively do not recommend the brand.)
My sense of it is: This car is not going to change. You have entitlements under Australian Consumer Law - these exist irrespective of the vehicle’s warranty status. Plonk yourself down in front of your solicitor and discuss your options, which may include a refund in full.
Best of luck.
Sincerely,
John Cadogan
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