[arlmed]

I took my SLK350 to a local dealership for service, LOF, minor repairs, etc., and tomorrow will be a week since they have had my car. Oh, the regular service and minor repairs did not take but 2 days; however, to re-repair an area on the rear left wheel, where THEY damage it the time before taking it for a 51 miles drive "to check the volume control making sure that it is working properly", took until yesterday. Today, Tuesday, I received a phone call from the service advisor that my car has a broken tail light and about 15 or so dings from the hail storm last Friday night. He assured me that "it does not in anyway cause a loss of value on the car, and that because it was the act of God; therefore, they are not held responsible in anyway shape or manner." What upset me is the fact that a) he did not call to let me know what happened on Saturday, b) I did not damage my wheel in the first place, they did it, and in the process of getting it re-repair, they had to keep my car for a couple extra days and then the storm hit. If they did not have to re-repair my wheel then I could have had the car back safely inside my garage before the storm and it would not have had the hail damage. What should I do next? Get a lawyer? By the way the dealer is Park Place in Bedford, Texas. Park Place pretty much dominates this area so they are pretty it. I should have follow my gut feeling and should have driven to another dealership in Dallas which is much farther, but probably would have been better. What is the best way to repair hail damage dings? I haven't seen the car yet, but supposedly no paint was broken.

 

[Shinigami]

Tell them you're going to write to MB HQ to complain about their retarded and poor service. They most definitely are at fault for the hail damage because your car was not stored and protected adequately.

A friend had a similar incident and forced Peugeot to buy the car back due to the hail damage.

They're saying this to intimidate you. You're going to have to stand your ground that it is unacceptable of them to say this, especially as they did a 51! mile trip. You don't need to drive that much to test if the audio works. Tell them you're contacting a lawyer because you believe the damage was done due to joyriding from a technician, also tell them that you'll contact all the newspapers in the region with this very same story.

They'll buckle over and let you win eventually.

 

[alroumi]

I second shinigami's suggestions, dont accept what they have done to your car.
Instantley complain to MB HQ regarding this matter.

 

[NewMB]

I second shinigami's suggestions, dont accept what they have done to your car. Instantley complain to MB HQ regarding this matter.

What a "hail" of a mess. I "third" that suggestion. The "squeaky wheel" should get the grease on this one.

 

[arlmed]

The dealership told me that a complaint to MB Headquarter does not get to them b/c they are independent dealership. This is what the service manager told me, I don't know if this is true or not?! He said if I want to file a complaint then send the dealership the complaint not to MB Headquarter. Is he telling me a load of bull or what?

 

[NewMB]

The dealership told me that a complaint to MB Headquarter does not get to them b/c they are independent dealership. This is what the service manager told me, I don't know if this is true or not?! He said if I want to file a complaint then send the dealership the complaint not to MB Headquarter. Is he telling me a load of bull or what?

I would send the complaint to everyone you can think of. Don't forget your state attorney general's office and local Better Business Bureau. If it goes to court, you want to make sure that you can prove you did your due diligence. Not notifying MB would be a huge mistake. You can use the same letter in contacting each party, so the most you would be out would be a 39 cent stamp. Good luck.

 

[bmwnomore]

I would send the complaint to everyone you can think of. Don't forget your state attorney general's office and local Better Business Bureau. If it goes to court, you want to make sure that you can prove you did your due diligence. Not notifying MB would be a huge mistake. You can use the same letter in contacting each party, so the most you would be out would be a 39 cent stamp. Good luck.

In addition to this sage advice, I wouldn't wait too long to have an attorney write a letter of your intention to pursue the matter legally if it is not resolved to your satisfaction. Hail damage will definitely adversely affect the value of the car and I would assume more than you might think depending on the severity. Given the circumstances around why your car was there in the first place, I think you have a reasonable expectation for them to fix the car.

I had a customer/friend who had a brand new BMW 7-series in for service and a couple of minor things fixed. When it was there, a major rainstorm blew through and a small river behind the dealership overflowed it's banks and ended up submerging his car and totalled it. The dealership did the same crap as yours and claimed an act of GOD and denied taking care of it. I'm pretty sure in the end the poor guy got screwed by the dealership and ended up leasing a 6-series from a leasing company. Don't let it happen to you. Take it seriously, thoroughly and quickly.

 

[arlmed]

Thanks all for your suggestions on how to proceed with this matter. I will ask my neighbor, who is a real estate lawyer, to see if he knows a good lawyer who could help me b/c I really want them to take responsibility for what happened. Will keep you all posted. Thanks again.

 

[ghostdunks]

"act of god" my ass...this sounds like they're taking you for a ride...like everyone else here, I'm with you on this, don't let the dealer get away with this...wth was the car doing sitting outside unprotected when the storm hit anyway?

 

[Duo-Art]

Make sure you go to dealerrater.com and rate them. This goes for everyone else. Rate your dealer.

 

[NewMB]

"act of god" my ass...this sounds like they're taking you for a ride...like everyone else here, I'm with you on this, don't let the dealer get away with this...wth was the car doing sitting outside unprotected when the storm hit anyway?

I'm almost certain that your car was not the only one that was damaged by the hail. Odds are the dealer also had some of his inventory damaged as well. Do you think he's going to take a financial hit on his own cars? NO WAY! He's going to file a claim with his insurance company. Your car should be included in that claim.

 

[in2dwww]

Dealers will say anything...

You have the contol here, not the dealer.

First off, DO NOT send the dealer a complaint letter. You are sending them something in writing when they should be sending you an apology in writing. All you will do by sending them a letter is give them ammunition in this fight.

It was nice of them to call you. What you should have said - and I say this to ANYONE when I hear something I don't like (mainly because it is ridiculous BS) -

"I hear what you're saying, but you're going to have to put it in writing."

Until you get something from the dealer, on their letterhead, signed, and in writing, they never called. Also, do you have the estimate or write-up from the dealer when you took the car in? Do you have anything to show that the car is in their posession?

You can claim damages all you want (physical to the car, intentional infliction of emotional distress, etc), but what you are looking for here is a resolution to the problem.

Call your insurance company and see what their take is on the situation. The insurance company would be a good source for seeking restitution on the damage repairs. Your concern with your insurance company is that the damage is comprehensive, being that the dealer failed to protect the vehicle and they had control of it at the time. Inform your insurance company that the dealer is not cooperating. A good insurance company on your side would treat this similar to a hit-and-run.

What you want to do is mitigate your damages, which the dealer clearly did not. Your insurance company has the money to send attoney letters to the dealer all day long. Your dealer, in turn, won't want to file a claim or won't have the money to hire an attorney. Chances are, if the dealer called you, they called several other owners.

If the dealer's insurance doesn't pay up, and there are more than one insuance companies knocking on their door for restitution, you could just walk away and let the insurance company deal with it.

Cars come off the assembly line every two minutes, so while there may be sentimental value with your SLK, there's plenty more new ones to go around.

I am just curious as to how their new car inventory fared through the storm.

LEAVE YOUR CAR ON THEIR LOT until you get either a letter from them explaining the situtaion and keep it on their lot until your insurance adjuster sees it him/herself. If you have one of their loaner cars, keep it! The one thing you need here is patience and you need to stay calm. It will be hard to not think about this problem, but your insurance company is there for a reason... don't be afraid to use it. Something like this could wipe out a dodgy dealer.

Do not pick up your car from their lot. As far as you are concerned, you cannot accept the vehicle because of the damage they inflicted on it. Tell them to deal with your insurance adjuster...

What you want to do is completely remove yourself from this process and let the dealer deal with a company armed with money and lawyers.

 

[GregoryGR]

Very Well said, in2dwww. I fully agree with your opinion on this!