The best or NOTHING at all at Mercedes

The best or nothing.

NOTHING!

So, I bought a 2nd hand Mercedes-Benz C220D Cabriolet for my wife from a non-affiliated dealership - the trade - in Decemeber 2022. The Merc was/is a 2018 Model, and is still under Mercedes maintenance plan / warranty, there was/is about 2 years left. So, piece of mind, right? Riiiiiiiiiight.........

There was a button stack in the middle of the vehicle - that the "foil / metal" covering was peeling off of... and the rubber seal on the passenger side door window that was ripped ... but the trade dealership was open and honest about it, and said that they had been in touch with the Merc dealership in Sandton, and that these replacement parts were already on order and would be covered under the Merc maintenance plan/warranty.

So I took delivery of the Merc, and in January we started following up with the Merc Sandton Dealership's service department on when we could expect to have the parts replaced. Answer: It was still on order. Eventually I booked the car in to speak to the service advisor face-to-face about those two niggling things, as well as, another button on the drivers door that we had discovered wasn't working and an annoying tyre pressure monitor warning message that kept on popping up. So, I go into the service department, we chat, he says the parts are still on order, he adds the new niggly things to the list, that when we finally bring the car in for "the fix" that all can be done at the same time. Cool.

Weeks go by, I ask my wife, to please take up the "chase" on the outcome of this matter... she struggles to get a hold of the service advisor for a day or two... eventually... she speaks to him... the parts are still on order... ok?

We'll wait some more, I guess?

Meantime we discover the actual passenger side button to lower and raise the window is actually broken as well, as in broken, of off, out of it's fitting... But, why do we only discover this now? Well, we hadn't used it before... bare in mind... in the meantime we're also not using the convertable top, because the passenger side window seal is still torn... meaning when you open and close the window, or put the convertible top down, the rubber shifts and the seal is not proper anymore ... so wind rushes in ... or water gets in ... so, we're not using the passenger side window ... and we're not able to enjoy the convertible top in sunny SA ... because of this rubber seal that is on order from Germany ... because they don't have it in stock in SA... AWESOME!

Then... The "Add Blue" warning starts coming on - liquid for the Diesel stuff... A battery warning light keeps on coming on as well... AND The rubber seal is still torn... The buttons are broken... Tyre pressure warning is still blaring... I book the car in thinking... let's do the "Add Blue" thing, the battery warn9ing light, the tyre pressure monitor issue, and MAYBE the other things can start being tended to... logic, right?

15 March 2023 - Car goes in - Me and the service advisor face-to-face again... It's cool, they'll do the "Add Blue", the other parts are in (YAY! bare in mind, he didn't contact us to tell us, oh, the things you were waiting for are finally here... no, this all was confirmed in real time yesterday morning)... They'll start looking at it all and give me feedback... FEEDBACK??? FEEDBACK???????? This should've been a clue... stupid me.

Ok... Ok... So, I've owned BMWs and AUDIs under maintenace plan in the past, and when you take it in to them, they see the thing is broken, or you tell them the thing is broken, and a day later you pick up your car... miraculously... the thing is NOT broken anymore... no mess... no fuss... no "feedback". Just, fixed.

Back to yesterday - the 15th of March 2023 - which also is my birthday - so, the day of my nirthday, yesterday... the entire day goes by... eventually, around 16:30 I manage to get a hold of said service advisor... And, this is the story... they opened the buttons, they found some kind of liquid in there, they don't know what the previous owner did, but they don't cover it... so, no... they will not just replace these broken items... because of a liquid in a button... Now, suddenly also not covering the torn seal on the window of the passenger door... I must pay for it, if I want it replaced... bare in mind, I've not seen pictures of this liquid in the buttons, or anything... I'm talking on the phone with the service advisor... PLUS I'm not the person who broke these things... nor was it my wife... we bought it this way BUT it was/is still under maintenance / warranty plan with the OEM - Mercedes-Benz - thinking, this stuff'll get sorted out easy peeze lemon squeesy ... it's Merc... it's the best or nothing... it's under maintance plan that a human being who purchased this vehicle paid for, and when i bought it, I paid for by extension... Because otherwise I wouldn't have bought the car in the first place........... seems my naive optimistic childlike stupidity was misguided. I'm so DUMB.

I don't know... maybe things don't break on Mercs. Maybe I'm wrong in my expectations of a maintenance plan/warranty from an OEM? Maybe maintenance plans/warranties that haven't expired shouldn't be allowed to be transferred to anohter owner if the car gets sold and bought before said maintenance plan / warranty has run out... because how is the new owner responsible for what the previous owner did... yet bought the car, thinking that it's covered - piece of mind - but, then gets told ... well, whatever the previous owner did... we actually don't cover... Maybe I'm dumb?

2nd hand BMW still under motorplan - no problem 2nd hand Audi still under maintenance plan - no problem

2nd hand Merc still under maintenance plan - PROBLEM

Maybe I should buy Japanese.