The Extraordinary Adventures at Vin Devers Mercedes in Toledo, Ohio
When my wife turned 50, I wanted to give her a special present that would help her forget that she is 50 years old, and, more importantly, that she has been married to me for half of those years.
I have a 1986 Mercedes 560 SEC that I drive every day. My son’s first car was a 1985 500 SEL with 245,000 miles on it. He recently traded up to a 1992 400E. These cars are lovely, solid, well-designed machines that we have grown to love.
I figured that I could never really justify buying a new Mercedes, but what the heck, my wife would love it and she deserves it.
We visited our local Mercedes dealership, Vin Devers (also the Dodge dealership) and started looking around. Keep in mind that my son and I are enthusiasts and are probably a little more knowledgeable about Mercedes heritage and reputation than the casual Mercedes tire-kicker.
We knew that the M Class W164 series had early quality problems, but we had read that the new MLs were better, and that the “quality plague� was much improved. We talked to a Salesman, a nice guy, who confirmed that those days are in the past, and that the new Mercedes are back to the old excellent quality standards. He’s a nice guy.
When buying a new Mercedes, I figured I should be able to get what I want – be able to outfit the vehicle with the options that I want. I want black, tan leather, matte birch veneer, Bose sound system, DVD Nav, bi-xenons, rear spoiler, and some other stuff.
There was the Special Lease Sale on at this time, featuring the 2005 ML350 Special Edition. Not a bad deal.
The Salesman at the dealership was nice, as I may have mentioned earlier, and he found a 2005 Special Edition in Black, Tan leather, the new matte birch wood, Bose radio, and some other stuff. I wanted bi-xenons, and the rear wing, and the Nav system. The Salesman said no problem, they could add all those things. What a nice guy.
So, we sign some stuff and they go about getting the car up from Cincinnati. They note that the ML will have about 100 miles on it, because it was used in a golf promotion thing, and was used for a weekend by one of the pro golfers. Oh, well, I guess that’s ok.
Our ML350 would arrive in about 4 days.
Three weeks later, our ML350 arrives. We race over to the dealership to look at it. It is beautiful.
The odometer reads 1,050 miles. A bit more than 100. The Salesman says that the paperwork has to say 500 miles, because any more miles than that and it is considered a used car. Please sign this paperwork. Oh, we will throw in free paint protection, a $400 value!
Remember the added options? Well, the rear wing is $650. The Bi-Xenon lights are $1,000. The Nav system is $2,500. I say go ahead with the lights and the wing.
I figured I will get a Nav module on Ebay for $600. Good idea, says the Salesman – because you can get the DVD map right here at the dealership – it’s only $150.
The Salesman says the lights and wing can be installed right away. Two weeks later, I drop off the ML for the work to be done. I show up at 4PM to pick it up. They are re-surfacing the blacktop, so there is kind of a lot of confusion, and a lot of customers waiting for their cars. I pay the tab, and put my name on a list of people waiting to have their car brought around, and go outside to look at the Silver E55 AMG in the lot. Three hours later, I notice the lights going off at the dealership. That can’t be good. One of the Dodge salesmen tells me that they are closing. Everyone else has left. He helps me find the ML in the back lot, and goes and finds the key. There is somebody’s jacket in the car, and the hood isn’t closed all the way. Hmmm…
Me and the Dodge guy juggle about 4-5 other cars and finally get the ML out of the lot.
I drive home. The new rear spoiler looks great. The bi-xenon lights are kind of odd. I have to wait till I get home to figure out what is up with the lights.
When I get home, I discover that the $1,000 bi-xenon lights are not bi-xenon. They installed a xenon conversion kit into the halogen lights – but here is the best part: the installer put the xenon bulbs in the high beam side of the lights. So I have REALLY bright high beams, and regular old halogen low beams. As a bonus, the installer cut a jagged hole in each light housing to run the xenon wiring, and left the ballast just flopping around free in the engine compartment, not tied down to anything. Deluxe!
I rewired the xenon lights to work in the low beam housing. I secured the ballasts to the wheel well. The salesman says “oh, I didn’t know you wanted BI-xenon lights…�. He’s a nice guy, though. The xenon lights have the “flickering light� problem – I take it in to have the computer re-programmed to recognize the xenon lights. I have to explain this to the dealership several times before they agree to do it.
I buy a DVD NAV module on E-Bay for $600. Install it myself, works great. Go buy the DVD map from the dealership. $365, not $150. Salesman says: “oh, I thought it was $150…�. He’s a nice guy, though.
The rear tail light is not working, for some reason. Wife takes car in for service. I ask her to get the oil changed. I don’t want to wait 14,000 miles to change the oil. They can check the tail light at the same time. Oh, and ask for the free paint protection that the Salesman promised us. Oh, and ask them why the inside of the headlights fogs up whenever it rains; it looks kind of bad on a new car. $110.00 to change the oil. They didn’t record it in the maintenance log, though. Tail light was a blown relay caused by husband who messed with the xenon lights. $110, not a warrantee item. The condensation is caused by the holes that were cut in the housing to install the xenon lights – not a warrantee item. Salesman: “oh, the paint protection is already on the car…�. Hmmm… He’s a nice guy.
When we get the ML home, the tail light still doesn’t work, of course. I take the tail light assembly apart and jiggle it. The light goes on and off. I tighten all the wiring harness connections. All fixed. I use RTV to seal the headlight assemblies after drying them out with a hair dryer. They haven’t fogged up since.
I don’t mention this to the Salesman. I am getting tired.
The brakes on the new ML have a tendency to squeal in a most annoying and hair-raising manner. My wife (this is her vehicle, remember) can’t stand it. She takes it in to the Dealership to ask them about it. While she waits for two hours, they inspect the brakes and tell her that the noise is because it has been so wet lately. The noise will go away when the brakes dry out.
Couple of weeks later, my wife goes back to the dealership because a traction control light is on. She complains about the brake squealing again. The Dealership replaces the steering position sensor. Warrantee item. The squealing brakes are caused by brake dust and rust. They clean the brake rotors. Should be no more problem.
Couple weeks later, my wife takes the Mercedes back to the dealership just to have the brakes fixed. She can’t stand it. She waits 4 hours while they inspect the brakes. They don’t give her a loaner car. The manager says that some squealing is normal, that all Mercedes brakes squeal, and that it is working as intended. In a loud voice, my shy little wife says: “But the brakes on my Pontiac Aztek never squealed!� The Dealership forgets to give her a free car wash, which as we all know, is one of the great benefits of owning a Mercedes.
Meanwhile, my son goes to the local Ford dealership to look at a new Mustang. He talks to a Salesman who is really nice, and tells my son that he can order one with any options, and he can get it in 4 days. I’m thinking, you know, all things being equal, you can buy two Mustangs for what a new Mercedes cost.
Best Regards,
Eolon
When my wife turned 50, I wanted to give her a special present that would help her forget that she is 50 years old, and, more importantly, that she has been married to me for half of those years.
I have a 1986 Mercedes 560 SEC that I drive every day. My son’s first car was a 1985 500 SEL with 245,000 miles on it. He recently traded up to a 1992 400E. These cars are lovely, solid, well-designed machines that we have grown to love.
I figured that I could never really justify buying a new Mercedes, but what the heck, my wife would love it and she deserves it.
We visited our local Mercedes dealership, Vin Devers (also the Dodge dealership) and started looking around. Keep in mind that my son and I are enthusiasts and are probably a little more knowledgeable about Mercedes heritage and reputation than the casual Mercedes tire-kicker.
We knew that the M Class W164 series had early quality problems, but we had read that the new MLs were better, and that the “quality plague� was much improved. We talked to a Salesman, a nice guy, who confirmed that those days are in the past, and that the new Mercedes are back to the old excellent quality standards. He’s a nice guy.
When buying a new Mercedes, I figured I should be able to get what I want – be able to outfit the vehicle with the options that I want. I want black, tan leather, matte birch veneer, Bose sound system, DVD Nav, bi-xenons, rear spoiler, and some other stuff.
There was the Special Lease Sale on at this time, featuring the 2005 ML350 Special Edition. Not a bad deal.
The Salesman at the dealership was nice, as I may have mentioned earlier, and he found a 2005 Special Edition in Black, Tan leather, the new matte birch wood, Bose radio, and some other stuff. I wanted bi-xenons, and the rear wing, and the Nav system. The Salesman said no problem, they could add all those things. What a nice guy.
So, we sign some stuff and they go about getting the car up from Cincinnati. They note that the ML will have about 100 miles on it, because it was used in a golf promotion thing, and was used for a weekend by one of the pro golfers. Oh, well, I guess that’s ok.
Our ML350 would arrive in about 4 days.
Three weeks later, our ML350 arrives. We race over to the dealership to look at it. It is beautiful.
The odometer reads 1,050 miles. A bit more than 100. The Salesman says that the paperwork has to say 500 miles, because any more miles than that and it is considered a used car. Please sign this paperwork. Oh, we will throw in free paint protection, a $400 value!
Remember the added options? Well, the rear wing is $650. The Bi-Xenon lights are $1,000. The Nav system is $2,500. I say go ahead with the lights and the wing.
I figured I will get a Nav module on Ebay for $600. Good idea, says the Salesman – because you can get the DVD map right here at the dealership – it’s only $150.
The Salesman says the lights and wing can be installed right away. Two weeks later, I drop off the ML for the work to be done. I show up at 4PM to pick it up. They are re-surfacing the blacktop, so there is kind of a lot of confusion, and a lot of customers waiting for their cars. I pay the tab, and put my name on a list of people waiting to have their car brought around, and go outside to look at the Silver E55 AMG in the lot. Three hours later, I notice the lights going off at the dealership. That can’t be good. One of the Dodge salesmen tells me that they are closing. Everyone else has left. He helps me find the ML in the back lot, and goes and finds the key. There is somebody’s jacket in the car, and the hood isn’t closed all the way. Hmmm…
Me and the Dodge guy juggle about 4-5 other cars and finally get the ML out of the lot.
I drive home. The new rear spoiler looks great. The bi-xenon lights are kind of odd. I have to wait till I get home to figure out what is up with the lights.
When I get home, I discover that the $1,000 bi-xenon lights are not bi-xenon. They installed a xenon conversion kit into the halogen lights – but here is the best part: the installer put the xenon bulbs in the high beam side of the lights. So I have REALLY bright high beams, and regular old halogen low beams. As a bonus, the installer cut a jagged hole in each light housing to run the xenon wiring, and left the ballast just flopping around free in the engine compartment, not tied down to anything. Deluxe!
I rewired the xenon lights to work in the low beam housing. I secured the ballasts to the wheel well. The salesman says “oh, I didn’t know you wanted BI-xenon lights…�. He’s a nice guy, though. The xenon lights have the “flickering light� problem – I take it in to have the computer re-programmed to recognize the xenon lights. I have to explain this to the dealership several times before they agree to do it.
I buy a DVD NAV module on E-Bay for $600. Install it myself, works great. Go buy the DVD map from the dealership. $365, not $150. Salesman says: “oh, I thought it was $150…�. He’s a nice guy, though.
The rear tail light is not working, for some reason. Wife takes car in for service. I ask her to get the oil changed. I don’t want to wait 14,000 miles to change the oil. They can check the tail light at the same time. Oh, and ask for the free paint protection that the Salesman promised us. Oh, and ask them why the inside of the headlights fogs up whenever it rains; it looks kind of bad on a new car. $110.00 to change the oil. They didn’t record it in the maintenance log, though. Tail light was a blown relay caused by husband who messed with the xenon lights. $110, not a warrantee item. The condensation is caused by the holes that were cut in the housing to install the xenon lights – not a warrantee item. Salesman: “oh, the paint protection is already on the car…�. Hmmm… He’s a nice guy.
When we get the ML home, the tail light still doesn’t work, of course. I take the tail light assembly apart and jiggle it. The light goes on and off. I tighten all the wiring harness connections. All fixed. I use RTV to seal the headlight assemblies after drying them out with a hair dryer. They haven’t fogged up since.
I don’t mention this to the Salesman. I am getting tired.
The brakes on the new ML have a tendency to squeal in a most annoying and hair-raising manner. My wife (this is her vehicle, remember) can’t stand it. She takes it in to the Dealership to ask them about it. While she waits for two hours, they inspect the brakes and tell her that the noise is because it has been so wet lately. The noise will go away when the brakes dry out.
Couple of weeks later, my wife goes back to the dealership because a traction control light is on. She complains about the brake squealing again. The Dealership replaces the steering position sensor. Warrantee item. The squealing brakes are caused by brake dust and rust. They clean the brake rotors. Should be no more problem.
Couple weeks later, my wife takes the Mercedes back to the dealership just to have the brakes fixed. She can’t stand it. She waits 4 hours while they inspect the brakes. They don’t give her a loaner car. The manager says that some squealing is normal, that all Mercedes brakes squeal, and that it is working as intended. In a loud voice, my shy little wife says: “But the brakes on my Pontiac Aztek never squealed!� The Dealership forgets to give her a free car wash, which as we all know, is one of the great benefits of owning a Mercedes.
Meanwhile, my son goes to the local Ford dealership to look at a new Mustang. He talks to a Salesman who is really nice, and tells my son that he can order one with any options, and he can get it in 4 days. I’m thinking, you know, all things being equal, you can buy two Mustangs for what a new Mercedes cost.
Best Regards,
Eolon