As most of you know, I recently got a new car. (Only after the transmission went out in my Jeep.) Anyway, my slightly used, 2007 Mercedes has been nothing but a problem since I drove it off the lot. Please read the letter that I wrote to the owner of the dealership that I purchased it from. I sent it yesterday morning and haven't received a response. I'm wondering if legal council is my next step? Any Suggestions??
Dear Mr. Tom Maher,
I would like to start out by apologizing. I am sorry that the events that have taken place over the last two months have led me to take up your time. However, I feel like at this point, I have no other option. I am sure that you are already familiar with the issues that I have had with the 2006 Mercedes C-Class 230 that I purchased from My Jeep Dodge Chrysler on November 26, 2011.
After a month of research, I walked onto your car lot, looking for a nice, reliable vehicle with better gas mileage than I was currently getting from my 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee, as well as a Bluetooth phone system to comply with the new cell phone laws. I had spoken with Humberto the salesman, prior to my visit, and told him that I was interested in the Mercedes. When I arrived, he took me on a test drive. During this drive I asked him numerous questions, including how the phone system worked, if the vehicle had any major problems, and why the steering felt “stiffer” than any other car that I had driven. He told me that a code from the Mercedes dealership was needed to activate the phone system, the car had never had any problems, and that all Mercedes Benz had “stiff” steering. Because a car salesman should be knowledgeable in the cars that they sale, and because Humberto was very kind, I took his word for it, and purchased the vehicle.
On November 28, 2011 I took the car to Stahl Motor Co. to get the “code” to activate the phone system. After talking to their service manager, Clete Ventura, I found out that the car never contained the equipment that is required for the phone system to function. I called Humberto and told him about this issue. The issue was eventually taken care of, about three weeks later, on December 16, 2011 after multiple phone calls to your company.
On January 3, 2012 the car stopped running and the engine light began flashing. After a call to Chad Royal at My Cars and Clete Ventura at Stahl Motors, I had the car towed, at my expense, to Stahl Motors. When I left the vehicle with Clete, I informed him that the breaks had been squeaking since I had purchased the car and that the steering was still very “stiff”. He informed me at this time that Mercedes are not known to have “stiff” steering, and that he would look into it. I rented a car from Stahl Motors and drove this car for 10 days, until my car was ready to be picked up. The service men at Stahl Motors had discovered that the steering issue was due to a broken power steering pump and rack, but the repair would be covered under the warranty that I had purchased. At this time, an ignition coil had to be replaced, and thankfully, My Jeep paid to have the break rotor issue repaired as well. I paid my warranty deductible of $100.00 to Stahl Motors when I picked up the car.
On January 30, 2012 the engine light came back on in the car again. I called Clete, but he was out so I ended up talking with Ken. He told me to bring the car in the following day. I picked up a rental car and dropped my car off. Ken called me later that day to inform me that it was another engine coil and that the warranty would not pay for it or the rental car. That day I spent all day trying to get in touch with someone at My Cars. When I finally did talk to Larry, he was rude and disrespectful and unhelpful. Two days later he called me back to tell me that My Cars would not put any more money into the car and that I needed to bring the car back, he would take it as a trade-in and let me purchase a new car at “invoice” price. When I picked up the Mercedes from Stahl Motors, I had to give them $300.00 to cover the cost of the rental car as well as the price of having the engine light code read. This was very frustrating, as I would not have had the rental car for that long if Larry would have given me an answer sooner.
I spent all day Saturday, February 4, 2012 and Sunday, February 5, 2012 walking up and down the My Cars dealerships searching for another car. I wasted all of this time and effort, only to find out that I would be taking an $8000.00 loss on a vehicle that I have personally driven for less than 2 months and the monthly payment on the car that I chose was out of my price range. This is upsetting and unfair. I understand that Larry is offering me the new car, a basic Jeep Patriot, at cost and I appreciate that gesture. However, like I have explained to My Car from the beginning, I need a reliable car and I cannot pay more than $400.00 a month.
I don’t understand why it is that I am going on day four without any vehicle, but still making my monthly payments on a car that I purchased after being told I could rely on it. I am disappointed, and extremely unsatisfied with the level of service that I have received from your dealership.
I am not asking for a brand-new Mercedes C-Class in exchange for the 2006 that I purchased. I just want an affordable vehicle that fits my needs and that I can rely upon. I don’t think that this is too much to ask. When a person purchases a vehicle, they are not only buying a car, but they trust that your company will follow through with providing adequate customer service and care as well.
I hope that this issue can be resolved quickly. I am the mother of a young child, I work full time, and I am a nursing student. I cannot continue to carry around the stress of dealing with a rude sales manager, as well as not having transportation, and I cannot afford to miss any more hours of work than I already have.
Thank you for your time, and I hope to hear something from you soon.
Amanda Grier
CC: Stahl Motor Company