Expensive Lemon on 4 Wheels

[Guest poolfan]

There is a letter in the forum in The Straits Times today ..... Apparently, this Ms Wendy Ng got a "lemon" from See and See. I am just wondering which model did Ms bought ? She should help the rest of us here .... at least should indicate the model.

It would be interesting to see if there is a "follow up" or reply from See and See ....

[Guest manmerlion]

Here's the article:

Stuck with an expensive lemon on four wheels

MY FAMILY bought a Mercedes-Benz last year and within two weeks of the collection of the vehicle from Cycle & Carriage, the engine stalled.

Assuming that it was our unfamiliar handling of the car, we dismissed the problem until the Merc stalled repeatedly.

The new car was sent to the service centre many times. It was even checked by experts from Germany, but the stalling continued - it stalled eight times in a year.

When we asked for a replacement, we were told repeatedly to monitor the vehicle after each servicing.

We were promised that if the fault was not rectified, the matter would be brought to the attention of higher management.

When we finally met the senior manager, we were denied a replacement. He justified his company's stand by stating that the car should be repaired within the warranty period.

We were disappointed with the way the case was handled and it raised an important public issue: There is no law in Singapore to protect consumers like the lemon law in the United States.

I am now saddled with yet another problem, which has to do with the air-conditioning of the car.

Having paid so much money to own what we thought was a reliable marque, we have had more than our fair share of inconveniences, frustrations and time lost.

Where can we seek help?

Wendy Ng (Ms)

poolfan wrote:

There is a letter in the forum in The Straits Times today ..... Apparently, this Ms Wendy Ng got a "lemon" from See and See. I am just wondering which model did Ms bought ? She should help the rest of us here .... at least should indicate the model.

It would be interesting to see if there is a "follow up" or reply from See and See ....

[Guest jtang]

Alamak...I can imagine CnC going siow liao! This is very bad publicity in a bad car market...better pull up their socks & do damage control.

[Guest Fat Boy]

Daimler should just commission a survey on customer satisfaction on See and Sea.

Would be interesting to know the results.

[Guest manmerlion]

I understand why C&C refuses to replace the car. Doing so will open the floodgate for existing owners demanding a replacement each time their cars fail to perform. But the least C&C can do to people like the writer is to provide them with loan cars if their problematic vehicles have to stay in the workshop for an extended period of time. Repeated visits to the workshop can be very frustrating.

[Guest blackmercs]

Previously a lady also sue bimmer for a lemon 5 series for water seepage etc. Took her two years & finally won the case. Our system is tough for brandnew car replacement probably bcoz of COE thingy which tag to the owner name & vehicle etc.

This is one of the reason why people stays away from PI. Can you imagine if this is a PI car? Hope this Wendy can resolve her issue fast & don't hv to drag for years to get a replacement!!

[Guest manmerlion]

Unless we have deep pockets, consumers like me can only rely on statutes for protection. I hope our Parliament can pass the Lemon Law when it sits on the 10th of this month. Public consultation on the proposed law has already ended early this year. I wonder what the government is waiting for.

http://app.mti.gov.sg/default.asp?id=148&articleID=23763

blackmercs wrote:

Previously a lady also sue bimmer for a lemon 5 series for water seepage etc. Took her two years & finally won the case. Our system is tough for brandnew car replacement probably bcoz of COE thingy which tag to the owner name & vehicle etc.

This is one of the reason why people stays away from PI. Can you imagine if this is a PI car? Hope this Wendy can resolve her issue fast & don't hv to drag for years to get a replacement!!

[Guest poolfan]

blackmercs wrote:

Previously a lady also sue bimmer for a lemon 5 series for water seepage etc. Took her two years & finally won the case. Our system is tough for brandnew car replacement probably bcoz of COE thingy which tag to the owner name & vehicle etc.

This is one of the reason why people stays away from PI. Can you imagine if this is a PI car? Hope this Wendy can resolve her issue fast & don't hv to drag for years to get a replacement!!

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21594

This is another case involving a woman and a BMW 7 series but I am not sure if this is the same case that you have mentioned ....

[Guest silverarrow]

manmerlion wrote:

Unless we have deep pockets, consumers like me can only rely on statutes for protection. I hope our Parliament can pass the Lemon Law when it sits on the 10th of this month. Public consultation on the proposed law has already ended early this year. I wonder what the government is waiting for.

http://app.mti.gov.sg/default.asp?id=148&articleID=23763

Well, when there's no direct benefits for them then we will all have to wait. When they want to increase bus fare, train fare, taxi fare, power bill, water bill, ,ERP, etc., we will not need to wait and will be effective the following month.:tsk:

[Guest silverarrow]

poolfan wrote:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21594

This is another case involving a woman and a BMW 7 series but I am not sure if this is the same case that you have mentioned ....

I noticed a trend in all these cases. They all involved women owners. Not sure what can we conclude from this observation. :suspicious:

[Guest skid]

every brand has its fair share of lemons.. conti cars get more publicity as there is a perceived notion that it is superior to jap/korean cars. so the moment theres a prob w conti cars, it'll get blown up quickly!

[Guest blackmercs]

poolfan wrote:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21594

This is another case involving a woman and a BMW 7 series but I am not sure if this is the same case that you have mentioned ....

Yap this is the one is 7 series, thanks

[Guest Pumper]

silverarrow wrote:

I noticed a trend in all these cases. They all involved women owners. Not sure what can we conclude from this observation. :suspicious:

Wondering is it because they did not take care of the car properly. I hv a female colleague who just on engine, blast aircon then rev and drive off. Never warm up car, just whack. Plus other than routine servicing she practically never take care. Maybe that's why their cars more problems..

[Guest manmerlion]

Correction: In the case involving the 7-series, the BMW was actually owned by the husband. He died, and the wife took over the fight with Performance Motor.

silverarrow wrote:

I noticed a trend in all these cases. They all involved women owners. Not sure what can we conclude from this observation. :suspicious:

[Guest poolfan]

Looks like this topic is also discussed in many other car forums .... See and See better handle the situation well ... else they would have to deal with the negatives in the future.

[Guest Criss Angel]

One in a million and it lands in a 'Complaint Country'

[Guest Audifreak]

Happened to my friend recently as well with See and See. On the day of collection of her car, there was a burning smell and they had to postpone the hand over to see whats wrong with the car...

[Guest Jarebbsg]

Audifreak wrote:

Happened to my friend recently as well with See and See. On the day of collection of her car, there was a burning smell and they had to postpone the hand over to see whats wrong with the car...

Ur friend should demand Cnc to hand over the car....let the engine run and hopefully catches fire and burn down the collection bay.....like this, sure get new replacement car plus complimentary portable fire extinguisher....

[Guest Audifreak]

Jarebbsg wrote:

Ur friend should demand Cnc to hand over the car....let the engine run and hopefully catches fire and burn down the collection bay.....like this, sure get new replacement car plus complimentary portable fire extinguisher....

haha... the only thing they offered was to extend her warranty by another 6 mths. They have refused to give her another car cause it is already registered to her name. So any change would make the car 2 owners..

[Guest chiaster]

i have given up on C&C... did my 30k servicing a few weeks back... had simple requests... use mobil 1 engine oil, do tyre rotation and balancing, don't top up the windshield wiper fluid... only 1 out of the 3 was done - they didn't top up the windshield wiper fluid... how difficult is it to use my requested engine oil and did they conveniently forget to rotate my tyres? i even wrote down these requests on the job sheet in the morning when i went in... oh well... even though the car is still under warranty, i will not be utilising their servicing packages anymore...

[Guest iceballx]

Sounds like the Bee Class. I know a person who had the stalling issue. See N See knows abt it

[Guest subaru67]

lets see how see n see provides a gd explanation since blow up to media liao

[Guest kepiting1sg]

chiaster wrote:

i have given up on C&C... did my 30k servicing a few weeks back... had simple requests... use mobil 1 engine oil, do tyre rotation and balancing, don't top up the windshield wiper fluid... only 1 out of the 3 was done - they didn't top up the windshield wiper fluid... how difficult is it to use my requested engine oil and did they conveniently forget to rotate my tyres? i even wrote down these requests on the job sheet in the morning when i went in... oh well... even though the car is still under warranty, i will not be utilising their servicing packages anymore...

How cum Chaister?

The last service with my E, I asked for Mobil 1 & I got it!

imhccbo, tyre rotation & balancing best go to your usual haunts.

Maybe dun go back to that SA again!

[Guest lightning]

chiaster wrote:

i have given up on C&C... did my 30k servicing a few weeks back... had simple requests... use mobil 1 engine oil, do tyre rotation and balancing, don't top up the windshield wiper fluid... only 1 out of the 3 was done - they didn't top up the windshield wiper fluid... how difficult is it to use my requested engine oil and did they conveniently forget to rotate my tyres? i even wrote down these requests on the job sheet in the morning when i went in... oh well... even though the car is still under warranty, i will not be utilising their servicing packages anymore...

kepiting1sg wrote:

How cum Chaister?

The last service with my E, I asked for Mobil 1 & I got it!

imhccbo, tyre rotation & balancing best go to your usual haunts.

Maybe dun go back to that SA again!

In my last servicing...I requested for Mobil 1 and they did it for me w/o any problem leh...and returned me 1/2 litre somemore coz W212 needed 5.5 Litres and they Mobil 1 comes in 5 Litres and 1 Litre bottle...:whistle:

Btw, did they charge you for rotation and balancing? if not then it could be communication breakdown...coz very few ppl ask them to do it...usually done outside tyre shops :becky:

[Guest chiaster]

i went back to that SA because he was the 1 that changed both of my absorbers for me in the early days of my ownership of the car... 1st servicing done with him too... everything was ok... i even got him chocolates and gave him and the mechanic 1 angbao each when they replaced my absorbers...

this time, he even called me about an hour after i left the car at pandan to confirm the stuff i wrote down on the job sheet... so, i thought everything was a-ok until i collected the car around 7-ish in the evening... looked at the invoice... got charged for shell helix ultra engine oil, some composite filter (i suspect this is the aircon filter), oil filter, a few other ambiguous stuff like labour charges and what not... no mention of tyre rotation and balancing being done... i checked the wheels and knew that it wasn't done because i have 1 slight scuff mark on my left-rear rim and it was in the same position...

left feeling extremely irked...

kepiting1sg wrote:

How cum Chaister?

The last service with my E, I asked for Mobil 1 & I got it!

imhccbo, tyre rotation & balancing best go to your usual haunts.

Maybe dun go back to that SA again!

lightning wrote:

In my last servicing...I requested for Mobil 1 and they did it for me w/o any problem leh...and returned me 1/2 litre somemore coz W212 needed 5.5 Litres and they Mobil 1 comes in 5 Litres and 1 Litre bottle...:whistle:

Btw, did they charge you for rotation and balancing? if not then it could be communication breakdown...coz very few ppl ask them to do it...usually done outside tyre shops :becky: