I purchased my 2001 E320 from West Chester MB back in late November. It had a couple of small issues when I test drove it but I really liked the car. My sales guy agreed to have the issues repaired before I took delivery of the car. The issues were as follows: a slightly rough idle, blown right rear speaker, and squeaky steering. The steering issue actually started less than 24 hours after delivery. Well one would think these wouldn't be tough issues for an excellent dealership like West Chester MB to fix. Well this is where the fun began. It took them 3 times to fix the speaker. First time they told me they couldn't find the blown speaker, 2nd time they replaced the wrong speaker, and finally they replaced the correct speaker but didn't re-assemble my rear deck correctly. So it was popping and cracking at every bump. I fixed that myself.
Now on to the rough idle, where I was told by the used cars manager that MB cars don't have rough idles, the computer doesn't allow it.....OK.....but amazingly that problem went away after the 3nd visit to the shop. Bad gas??? Who knows! I get that sometimes myself!
Now for the final issue, the squeaky steering. After 3 visits and multiple parts replaced they still have not fixed that issue. I finally realized, thanks to the members of this forum, that this problem could have many causes. My next move is to try some lube in between the column and the plastic below the steering wheel. I'll let you know how that works out.
Also, I've had to dish out a few hundred dollars on a MAF module, which was probably the cause of the rough idle, AND directly after they had my steering column out trying to fix the squeak, I had a mysterious electrical issue that caused my brake lights not to work as well as multiple indicator lights to come on. Well that was another $300+ fix. I was told they gave me a good deal on the labor because of my multiple issues with this car. OK. I was also assured that there was no connection between the removal of the steering column a day earlier and a faulty wire that just happened to be located just above the steering column. Things that make you go Hummm!
Now for some good stuff, the people are very nice and always treated me with respect . And I really enjoyed the loaner car policy. I got to drive about every worn out C class they own.
My sales guy was VERY nice but it took me almost 4 hours to get through the purchase process. Not that I didn't enjoy the free coffee they offered me as they figured out new "options" to try and sell me.
My bottom line is this; if I do buy another MB it probably will not be from West Chester MB. They just miss too many small details. And I believe the service department is just so busy they try to push cars out without making sure their problems are really corrected. For example, I made it clear that my issue with the steering only happened after the car was warmed up. Do you think they thought to take the car for a 10 minute test drive to see if they corrected the problem? Of course not! That would have been the responsible thing to do. And taking responsibility for the products that they sell isn't one of they're strong points!! I would rate my experience a 6 out of 10 and that's just not good enough to get me back as a return customer. But at least they have good coffee.
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