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Is it possible that a bad dealer put bad/old parts on cars under warrenty?

2K views 19 replies 12 participants last post by  Kajtek1 
#1 ·
Some threads here are about dealers do not do their jobs listed on the service list for cars under warrenty, like "road test the car" or "replace part# xxxxx", "change the oil" etc. Is there a case that the dealer even put some bad/old parts on cars under warrenty to let you come back more often so that they can charge more? I have a doubt about my services from one dealer, because every time I got one thing fixed there (unfortunatly, it has been too many things wrong for my new car), almost immediatly another one shows up. Most of these problems is not serious enough to stop the car, but you can rearlize it and have to make it fixed. Usually in these cases, you can not tell for sure whether it happens or not, but I hope it won't.

Thanks.
 
#2 ·
I have no idea where you are or what car you have (you might want to complete you profile), but I doubt that many, if any, authorized US MB dealers would do what you suspect. If it is a new car, still under warranty, they would have little reason to do that. No respectable dealer would even want to generate business in that manner. Just be thankful you are getting those little things fixed under warranty and that your dealer techs are sharp enough to catch them.
 
#3 ·
well said Jayhawk:eek:
 
#6 ·
I thought that might have occurred to you too JH. To be perfectly honest, I earned my BA so long ago that I am not comfortable 'diagnosing' anyone, hence the ;) after my comment. I think some of the Freudian principles are still clinically relevant (especially his psychoanalysis-related ones), but I am not prepared to defend any of them in an intelligent and/or educated fashion.
 
#7 ·
I thought that might have occurred to you too JH. To be perfectly honest, I earned my BA so long ago that I am not comfortable 'diagnosing' anyone, hence the ;) after my comment. I think some of the Freudian principles are still clinically relevant (especially his psychoanalysis-related ones), but I am not prepared to defend any of them in an intelligent and/or educated fashion.
I'm not either. I am--or at least used to be--a colleague of B.F. Skinner, the penultimate behavioral psychologist.
 
#9 ·
Some Dealerships are actually owned by the respective car manufacturer and some are under 'franchise'. Those owned are generally very 'tight' on unnecessary replacement under Warranty but the 'Franchise' ones are more flexible and will tend to replace 'over and above' under the Warranty period. This is quite prevailent in the UK but may differ in the US.
 
#10 ·
Actually, they do that here too. I had several thousand $$ worth of work done on my car the week before the warranty expired. My SA was very helpful in making sure that all the big stuff would be taken care of before I actually had to start paying for it.
 
#12 ·
Is there a case that the dealer even put some bad/old parts on cars under warrenty to let you come back more often so that they can charge more? (unfortunatly, it has been too many things wrong for my new car Thanks.
:bs:

How old could those parts be?:confused:
Serious now, this is a New car not a used one.:rolleyes:

Now if I go for parts for my 1984 300tdt I'm sure
that not all parts are "brand new" but they work
perfectly fine.;):D

You probably have a lemon and you should take
the proper steps to deal with those problems.:(

Just my 0.02.:thumbsup:

Louis.
 
#15 ·
I find it interesting that people are so quick to question your mental state or label you as paranoid when you question someone else's interigty. Is it easier to believe zhuorongdeng is crazy than it is to believe the dealer is unscrupulous? I happen to agree with Z. If you suspect something untoward is going on, it probably is. Unfortunately there isn't always a way to prove what you suspect. I think nanny cams have proved that too often people behave badly when they think they are not being watched.
 
#16 · (Edited)
Believe or not, I just found that the hummidity dew point sensor (the one behide cabin air filter) is missing in my 2006 C230. I confirmed it with the parts department of the current dealer, and has to order it in my own cost. I reported it to MB USA, hope they can improve on this.

I don't know how and when it is missing. The SA in the dealer said the star dignosis does not report any problem (with a sensor missing, should I believe them?). As I said earlier, I have some many visits to differnet dealers (only dealers working on the car out of my eyesight), I cannot say who is the bad guy or if it is done with intension or not. Anyway, just the fact.
 
#17 · (Edited)
The conspiracy theory goes pretty far, but I read hundreds of times, when mechanic working on one part under the hood breaks electrical connector on other, that mask it with electrical tape, what brings problem some time later. Leaving bolts without proper torquing is just too common. Than on several used cars I bought the oil filters were extra crispy. I wonder how many oil changes the same filter survived?
That said, our original 12 years old ML320 is the most perfect car I have heard about.
12 years took only about $300 in needed parts on the model that was called a lemon by lot of owners relying on dealers.
Shall I mention that besides couple warranty glitches and recalls no mechanic put his finger on the car?
 
#19 ·
"Is it possible that a bad dealer put bad/old parts on cars under warrenty?"
To sleep well while my beloved car is at the dealer for service, I would buy a silver ink permanent marker, mark my name, "mbvis", on every replaceable part in the engine compartment except the engine mounts before I hand my beloved car to them.
 
#20 ·
That is exactly what couple investigative reporters did with computers given for repairs.
Almost, since they used markers visible only under ultraviolet light.
So after taking the computer to the repair shop and paying for new hard drive, they took it home and under the uv light did found their marker on HD. You can find the clip on youtube. Another one is about transmission flush.
I bet the trick would work on several computer chips on Mercedes as well.
 
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