You dont have peace of mind with a MERCEDES BENZ maintenance and service plan. Dealership can leave you in tears!

I own a 2012 B180CDI manual, the clutch failed on the 6th of APRIL 2018. The car was towed in by MBSA to Mercedes NMI Pinetown. The car has a Merc maintenance and service plan. I've called and emailed MBSA and called daily asking for feedback from the the person handling my query. I've been told this individual can only assist me and is working on my query and will call me back with an update on the progress. To date no confirmation of receipt to my query, No call back. Blow is my complaint

To summaries:

1. Mercedes maintenance plans and quotations dont hold any validity. I gave the dealership the go ahead to strip and repair my car on the quotation they provided me with in writing. The quote was as per plan that MBSA will cover 50% of the cost as per the warranty. Now the dealership wants R7500 to put my car back together again and for me to tow it away

2. Although my car was purchased privately, it had a full merc sevice and maintenance plan. Its been to NMI dealerships for checks and services numerous times in the 31000kms ive owned it for. Question If this car was sold by a merc dealer(NMI) and the exact thing happens, would the claim be processed? No dearlership checks the flywheel and clutch life when they purchase sell a car. They generally confirm they have a motor plan that gives the owner peace of mind that anything fails the owner is covered.

2. The manual gearbox train (clutch flywheel etc) lasted for 114000km before failing. Based on my research this is excellent mileage for a wear and tear item. Based on the scaring on the flywheel im left with a R89000 bill and no plan to cover it.

3. The assessment of Merc NMI is poor. The dealership accessed the car on the 12th of April, They even ordered bolts for the flywheel. Quoted me and advised that the plan will cover 50%. I requested a goodwill (ESKULAB) from MBSA via the DP, The dealer principal (DP) advised that she had app**** for ESKLAB and MBSA reverted saying the maintenance plan applies. The dealer principal gave me in writing the quote and I approved to pay my contribution of R12000. On the morning of the day I planned to pick up my car the DP whats app me to say they discovered damages to the flywheel and the sideshafts and they need to consults with MBSA. The car had been driven with the clutch in! How did the dealership assess the first time. I get the feeling that the car was never stripped on the 12th but only on the day the parts arrived i.e the day i was advised my car would be ready. This is when they discovered the scaring of the flywheel. 4. At the last service on the morning of the check in I highlighted to the service adviser that the clutch seems to be going, The advice from the service adviser to drive the car till the clutch fails was very very poor. He said to me the contribution from the plan will be the same so lets sort it out once it fails. For a 89000 bill Im willing to take a lie detector test to prove i higlighted it!

My note to MBSA is as follows:

Dear MBSA

Trust you are well. I started the morning of the 18th April with a firm expectation to pick my car up from NMI- Pinetown and a bill of R12K. I ended the day in tears and a bill of R89K, I’ve forwarded to Consumer Watch Wendy Knowler from Timeslive newspaper for help and educate the public. I intend to forward to the Motoring Ombudsman for help as I most certainly cannot afford, nor digest the feedback.

Below is my complaint with attachments and reasoning for why there is no negligence and I believe my car should be repaired at the original quote. Subsequent to this email to Wendy I realised that the dealership may not have forwarded my concerns to MBSA (as requested) as it prejudices the dealer on the advice of telling me to drive to fail listed in item 2 of the email below and how they contradict the matter of assessment and quotations.

I have therefore contacted MBSA directly and spoken to David who requested to forward my complaint to MBSA directly.

Please keep in mind my dad (in copy) who depends on this vehicle daily is without a car since the 6th of April.

Please I request you treat my request with the highest priority and make me happy to own a Mercedes Benz again.

I look forward to a swift and favourable response so I can sing the praises of MBSA again

Thank you Kind Regards Qaasim Mansoor

From: Qaasim Mansoor Sent: 18 April 2018 03:49 PM To: ********** Cc: ********** Subject: in tear, please help me!

Dear Wendy, you’ve helped me in the past and I really need your assistance.

I purchased a Mercedes Benz B180CDI ND756906 in march 2016. (approx. 83k km) for my father. The vehicle has a Mercedes Benz maintenance and service plan that works on a sliding scale. As the mileage increases the owner pays a contribution. My current contribution is 50%. Current mileage is 114 444km. The vehicle is in stock standard, excellent condition, well maintained, serviced on time as per the plan.

On the 6th of April 2018 the car clutch pedal went to the floor. I called Merc emergency services and they towed the car in. Wilanda Stubbs the dealer principle contacted me on the 12th of April advising the car is disassembled (attachment 1 and 2) and quoted R26K for replacement of the clutch, releaser bearing and flywheel bolts. She was kind to offer a 20% discount on the labour for my contribution. I gave her approval to proceed on the 12th of April. Parts was ordered and today was the day I was promised my car back. This morning I received message on IM from Wilanda (attachment 3) saying they discovered blue marks on the flywheel which indicates excess heat, clutch being driven whilst driving. This is not manufacturing defect and as such will not be covered by the plan. A bill of R89849 was sent to me to repair the vehicle. I rep**** to Wilanda with following (attachment 4):

Dear Wilanda (and MBSA)

I am most disappointed to now hear about these additional items requiring repair, as well as the delay in getting my vehicle back for the following reasons:

1. I was given a quote post diagnosis and assessment. As per conversations on IM, the car was disassembled sometime back and your diagnosis was completed. Your high standard was to assess the flywheel, and side shafts since bolts for the flywheel was quoted. 2. At the last service I complained about the clutch to Mr Saleem and he advised that nothing could be done until it failed. This "late" remediation could have caused the additional damage you now refer to. 3. This vehicle has been owned by myself for some time, well maintained, serviced on time and driven by my dad who has been driving various manual vehicles for the past 40 years and hundreds of thousands of kilometers - not a learner driver,or and inexperienced one. 4. To date I've called daily requesting feedback on the left rear light fault on the information display. This was raised as a fault to the service adviser upon tow in. This was repaired in Feb 2018 by NMI Pinetown(replacing the wiring, bulbs and carrier lamp). Daily I've called requesting feedback on this item, the feedback is the workshop tech hasn't reported back.

I demand that my vehicle is timeously repaired - at the quoted price with the usual warranty on workmanship and parts thereafter.

Please forward this note to MBSA and keep me on copy.

She then rep**** with following :

“Without Prejudice” Dear Mr. Mansoor, RE: Your Mercedes-Benz B180 CDI BE (W246) ZA Chassis: WDD ********** J107922 Current Mileage: 114 444Km’s Vehicle Purchase date: Unknown – Previous owner changed to current owner at approx. 94612km’s according to service history. You quite rightly set high standards when it comes to quality, reliability and longevity of your Mercedes-Benz. From all the many customers all over the world we know of countless Mercedes-Benz vehicles that have achieved extremely high mileages. All such examples are evidence enough of the proverbial Mercedes-Benz product quality. However, it would be arrogant of us to claim that our high-quality products generally achieve the maximum mileage value possible. There is no completely safe guarantee of continuous and smooth operation. Therefore it is necessary to point out that during the life span of any vehicle certain maintenance and repair work can become necessary from time to time. The life expectancy of a vehicle or its individual parts or components cannot be predicted as there are too many different factors exerting their influence during the operation of the vehicle. The natural risk of repair that goes with operating a motor vehicle cannot be transferred solely to the area of responsibility of the manufacturer and for the entire service life of an automobile and its parts. The vehicle came to Mercedes-Benz Pinetown on 6 April 2018 for a concern relating to the Clutch Pedal being stuck. The vehicle was disassembled, however, the disassembly does not include that of each component such as the clutch and flywheel. Preliminary investigations allowed us to provide you with a quotation, which was subsequently reduced by 20% on all labour charges as a gesture of goodwill to assist with the financial burden of the unexpected repair. Upon authorisation, the parts were duly ordered. Upon commencement of the quoted repair 18/04/2018 and disassembly of the actual clutch and flywheel, it become evident that additional items would be required, this includes, but is not limited to the drive shafts, and flywheel which require replacement. For ease of reference we have included pictures of our findings from this morning. We have subsequently approached Mercedes-Benz South Africa’s technical team, who have concluded that the repairs do not fall within the ambit of the manufacturers responsibility, as the components in question had not been damaged by a manufacturing defect. As such, no claim can be made from Mercedes-Benz South Africa in this regard against the maintenance plan. A revised quote will be submitted to your shortly for approval. Kind Regards Wilanda Stubbs Dealer Principal Mercedes-Benz Pinetown ********** ********** Mercedes-Benz Pinetown is now located at 6-10 Hagart Road, Pinetown. An Authorised Financial Services Provider in terms of the FAIS Act, no.37 of 2002. Licence no. 26390

I have not been negligent with the car and the plan was active. For one, I cannot afford the R89K or even the 50%. The service advisor told me to drive the car till the clutch failed as its not troubling me at this moment and that’s when they could process under the plan.

Please please help me. Or at minimum get my car back without them taking a body part of value from me! I was not expecting a bill of 89K but rather R12K which was high but still to get my car back on the road. The plan is active and I’ve done nothing wrong. As they saying the warranty is with the car ,why did they not pick up the issue on numerous service intervals

Thank you Regards Qaasim