quote:

Originally posted by Oscar Zulu:
They still have the car. They claim to have a police report but have not given me a copy. Claiming that was rear ended in traffic in a hit and run is something I would say (If I were a shady car dealer) if an employee backed it into something on the lot.I did ask why a replied H/vac would need a test drive.
I let them know that I want a trade in value the same as a private sale in pre accident condition. And that I am comfortable with them not making any money on any deal made. Pretty livid, still.

OZ

Why would you want trade in or private value for it?
You need full replacement value plus compensation.

quote:

Originally posted by ScreamingCockatoo:
This sounds so fishy.
Sounds like someone was joyriding and wrecked it.

Definitely sounds fishy, but there are likely sportier options to joyride than a C300. I had a AMG sport pkg C300, also a 2015. Fun but nothing crazy.

Hope the OP gets this resolved to a satisfactory conclusion

quote:

Originally posted by scsigs:
You need full replacement value plus compensation.

Yeah, these fuckers need to pay. Get your lawyer up their ass asap. WTF were they doing driving the customer's car, when the initial repair required no driving? Sounds like major damage taking 6 weeks to repair that they didn't even fix right. Unbelievable! Pisses me off reading this shit.

And, it took three weeks for the initial repair of a clogged defroster drain? What kind of mechanics work there? Ones still in middle school?

Full retail value plus $5000. Not a penny less. Write the check.

Years ago I knew a guy that worked at a Chevy dealer.
He was driving a customers Vette and his buddy a local police cruiser.
120+ mph on the interstate. I'm sure it happens all the time.
Drive it like you stole it. Ferris Bueller style.

I just looked up similar/same cars for sale on the web. He is definitely lowballing me on the trade in offer. Sigh.
Time to up the effort. It may get to the point where I don't care about the money and concentrate more on pissing them off.

OZ

The money is already gone, they stole it from you and aren’t giving it back. Why are you worried about pissing them off?

The class bully stole your lunch money; what are you going to do to get it back?

I haven’t seen the question answered yet: was this a Mercedes-Benz dealership?

Yes, Mercedes Benz dealership. It appears the car my wife wanted in the trade in is not listed for sale by them anymore. (Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit), a better fit for her.Maybe they are saving it, maybe they are trying to piss me off. I think it's lawyer time.

OZ

quote:

I think it's lawyer time.

Ya think?

None of their story makes any sense to me.

Did they tell you it would take that long to get around to unclogging the drain?
That's usually a few minute fix unless the HVAC is completely packed with dog hair and you have to pull it all out.
Even at that extreme where you have to strip the car down to the firewall to get it out it would be around 25 hrs of labor.

No need to test drive it to check the operation of the HVAC.

The dealership I work for doesn't take accidents in a customers vehicle lightly.
The P&D/test driver gets in a tussle once in a while, never his fault but someone else drives off from the scene and the Service Manager takes him to get a UA and there is a police report.

The last one had a good video of a "homeless" woman flying down a hill on a bike with no brakes and slamming into the rear duals while he was stopped at a light.
She took off running so it was a hit and run sorta.

Initially I thought it was a heater core issue. Puddle of coolant on passenger side floorboard. The people I dealt with did mention (vaguely) a police report and UA, but I haven't seen either yet, or demanded one yet. Not sure there is one. It's been about a week since they delivered and we refused the car. I have been giving them time to make things right. Something they are apparently incapable of doing.

OZ

What's the business name & location for the dealer?

I wouldn't ask for trade in value. I'd ask for retail value, in cash, plus extra for the nearly two months you've been without your car, and then take that money to a different dealer to spend it.

quote:

Originally posted by Oscar Zulu:
I just looked up similar/same cars for sale on the web. He is definitely lowballing me on the trade in offer. Sigh.

You need to get off this train and get a lawyer AND call your insurance company. Like yesterday. They fucked around with you, and your initial hesitancy of taking immediate action was like music to their ears. Instead of defense, you need to get on the offensive now.

The Mercedes dealership in Reno Nv. Owned by Auto Nation.
I want retail value for the car, not trade in value. What I could have got for it in a private sale before they damaged it. They are aware of that and are resistant to it. They have come up a bit on their original offer but not enough to satisfy me.

OZ

If the fluid on the floor is red, orange, purple or whatever color your antifreeze is then the heater core or such may be leaking.
Just water is most likely a clogged drain, the A/C starts smelling funky and water sloshes out when making stops.
When one of my cars did that I just made sure there wasn't a bug or something in the drain then hit it with a short blast of shop air.
Drained out some sludge and rancid water then made sure it was making water with the A/C on max.
The more humid it is the more water it makes.

I could see getting it apart, finding a bad heater core and it's on backorder like everything else and it's stuck waiting on parts to show up.

^^^
Yes, I know better now. Rancid water smell with a tinge of coolant. My only other experience similar was an 85 Mustang GT which seemed to lose a heater core every other year. I don't drive the car so I wasn't aware of the extent of the issue. I wanted it fixed correctly, hence a trip to the dealership.
It apparently took three weeks to get to it, even after waiting (And not driving the car) awaiting to bring it in on their schedule.

Insurance and their lawyers. The fact that they withheld the fact your car was involved in an accident should tell you all you need to know. They were joyriding your car and you should be hopping mad that they did and are obviously lying about it. No other explanation makes sense. Were it me, as soon as everything was settled to my satisfaction, I would begin telling everyone about what transpired in every venue available. They are clearly a crooked operation and deserve to be run out of business.

Definitely call the Benz customer service person listed above. That woman an put extreme pressure on the dealership, so they will pay the full amount you feel comfortable with. Do not take a penny less from what is fair from your standpoint.

Most likely the damage was 10x worse than what they told you, and they had someone fix it quick and cheap.

Definitely attorney. They fucked up, big time.