Expensive Lemon on 4 Wheels

[Guest hkhamateur]

Bro Chiaster, re yr wheels staggered? If so, it can explain! :whistle:

shldnt b yr appointed SA bt those mechanics!! :shocked:

[Guest lightning]

chiaster wrote:

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...

Bro...I can understand how you feel...damn sian right! :tsk:

next time try the Alexandra side lah...I always do my servicing here :whistle:

[Guest chiaster]

my wheels not staggered leh... even if it was the mechanic's fault, shouldn't the SA check on the job after the mechanic says that all the necessary has been done before signing off? sian lah, i tell you...

hkhamateur wrote:

Bro Chiaster, re yr wheels staggered? If so, it can explain! :whistle:

shldnt b yr appointed SA bt those mechanics!! :shocked:

[Guest chiaster]

yes, bro... super sian... sigh... :sad:

if you don't mind, PM me or whatsapp me your SA/mechanic at alexandra... maybe my 40k servicing i could give C&C 1 last chance...

lightning wrote:

Bro...I can understand how you feel...damn sian right! :tsk:

next time try the Alexandra side lah...I always do my servicing here :whistle:

[Guest lightning]

chiaster wrote:

yes, bro... super sian... sigh... :sad:

if you don't mind, PM me or whatsapp me your SA/mechanic at alexandra... maybe my 40k servicing i could give C&C 1 last chance...

no problem...find one day we la-kopi at MBC and I will introduce my SA to you directly better...OK :becky:

[Guest chiaster]

swee, bro... thanks... drink on me next... :thumb:

lightning wrote:

no problem...find one day we la-kopi at MBC and I will introduce my SA to you directly better...OK :becky:

[Guest lightning]

chiaster wrote:

swee, bro... thanks... drink on me next... :thumb:

Onzz...normal kopi on MBC...latte & cappuccino on you :becky:

[Guest Yap ST]

lightning wrote:

no problem...find one day we la-kopi at MBC and I will introduce my SA to you directly better...OK :becky:

chiaster wrote:

swee, bro... thanks... drink on me next... :thumb:

Brows jio me also ok!!,

[Guest lightning]

Yap ST wrote:

Brows jio me also ok!!,

No problem Yap...we all go together...:becky:

[Guest chiaster]

no problem, fellas!!! :thumb:

lightning wrote:

Onzz...normal kopi on MBC...latte & cappuccino on you :becky:

Yap ST wrote:

Brows jio me also ok!!,

lightning wrote:

No problem Yap...we all go together...:becky:

[Guest manmerlion]

C&C has responded:

'Lemon' Merc was checked thoroughly

THE car Ms Wendy Ng referred to in her letter on Monday ('Stuck with an expensive lemon on four wheels') belongs to her husband with whom we have been engaging regarding his feedback that his car experienced intermittent stalling at low speeds.

The car was never towed in and its onboard system did not have any record of these occurrences which would usually be captured if they happened. We conducted extensive road tests between July last year and April this year, to replicate the stalling symptoms but there was none, in tests by our service staff or jointly with the car owner. All necessary precautionary measures for the vehicle were carried out to the best of our knowledge based on the situation.

We have advised the car owner, if safety permits, to alert our technical manager should the stalling occur and not to restart the vehicle until our technical team arrives on site.

We have not received any feedback since May this year.

As for the owner's feedback about the car's air-conditioning, the unit is in our service centre for rectification and we are constantly updating him.

Gary Chan

Head, Mercedes-Benz Service Centre

Cycle & Carriage Industries

subaru67 wrote:

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

[Guest lightning]

...seems like a minor issue leh...machiam bo simic tai chi like that :confused:

[Guest oinkoink]

Maybe it's her low octane petrol she uses. Or maybe she pump only from one particular petrol station that has a water vapour issue in their underground storage tank. Maybe it's not her car afterall.

Is the Merc's aircon still fitted locally by C&C upon arrival or factory fitted? Anyone knows?

[Guest blackknight]

oinkoink wrote:

Maybe it's her low octane petrol she uses. Or maybe she pump only from one particular petrol station that has a water vapour issue in their underground storage tank. Maybe it's not her car afterall.

Is the Merc's aircon still fitted locally by C&C upon arrival or factory fitted? Anyone knows?

factory fitted

[Guest manmerlion]

To be fair to the lemon car owner, replicating the problem can be difficult. She said her car stalled eight times a year. If we consider 365 days, there's a very slim chance the car will stall during those extensive road tests conducted by C&C. That's the thing about intermittent problems; they are damn hard to replicate and rectify.

[Guest manmerlion]

The saga continues. Another letter to ST Forum against MB.

Day their luxury car stalled on highway

MS WENDY Ng's letter on Monday ("Stuck with an expensive lemon on four wheels") brought back memories of a terrifying experience my family and I experienced recently with the Mercedes-Benz we bought in July last year.

The car stalled within six months of us taking possession of it. We were told that it was a software problem and the car was re-programmed.

In June, my family decided to go on a driving holiday to Malaysia. To ensure the car was in good condition, we serviced it one week prior to the trip. We informed the service staff about the long drive and told them to ensure that the car was in good order. We were assured that it was when we collected the car.

But while we were travelling along the North-South Expressway, the car stalled on the fast lane. We were surrounded by speeding cars and it was also dangerous filtering to the slower left lane because of the lorries.

The steering wheel was stiff but thankfully, my husband was calm enough to force-steer it to the road shoulder safely.

We were stranded for more than four hours before the car was towed to Ipoh in Perak. We stayed three days there waiting for the car to be repaired and had to forfeit our holiday bookings in Cameron Highlands and Penang.

The service workshop, Ipoh Motors, attributed the problem to a faulty fuel pump - the gist of which, we were told, being that the pump failed to deliver petrol to the engine, causing the car to stall.

Our confidence in the car was shattered as we drove back to Singapore, fearing a breakdown at any moment.

We sent the car to Cycle & Carriage here for further checks. Like Ms Ng, Cycle & Carriage refused our request for a replacement, claiming that such problems were repairable and did not warrant a replacement.

We felt hard done by and wondered how we could seek redress when there is no anti-lemon law to protect consumers.

Louisa Lee (Madam)

[Guest io5885]

Lets guess...

Would

Gary Chan

Head, Mercedes-Benz Service Centre

Cycle & Carriage Industries

1) cut n paste the answer from Ms Wendy Ng to Mdm Louisa Lee?

:confused:

[Guest jtang]

I think to ask for a new car replacement after 6 months of use is asking for the sky. CnC is right to refuse a replacement. If the lemon law is place & make such replacement, either the company go bust or the car price will be a lot higher if everyone clamour for replacement for every small matter.

[Guest silverarrow]

manmerlion wrote:

The saga continues. Another letter to ST Forum against MB.

Day their luxury car stalled on highway

MS WENDY Ng's letter on Monday ("Stuck with an expensive lemon on four wheels") brought back memories of a terrifying experience my family and I experienced recently with the Mercedes-Benz we bought in July last year.

The car stalled within six months of us taking possession of it. We were told that it was a software problem and the car was re-programmed.

In June, my family decided to go on a driving holiday to Malaysia. To ensure the car was in good condition, we serviced it one week prior to the trip. We informed the service staff about the long drive and told them to ensure that the car was in good order. We were assured that it was when we collected the car.

But while we were travelling along the North-South Expressway, the car stalled on the fast lane. We were surrounded by speeding cars and it was also dangerous filtering to the slower left lane because of the lorries.

The steering wheel was stiff but thankfully, my husband was calm enough to force-steer it to the road shoulder safely.

We were stranded for more than four hours before the car was towed to Ipoh in Perak. We stayed three days there waiting for the car to be repaired and had to forfeit our holiday bookings in Cameron Highlands and Penang.

The service workshop, Ipoh Motors, attributed the problem to a faulty fuel pump - the gist of which, we were told, being that the pump failed to deliver petrol to the engine, causing the car to stall.

Our confidence in the car was shattered as we drove back to Singapore, fearing a breakdown at any moment.

We sent the car to Cycle & Carriage here for further checks. Like Ms Ng, Cycle & Carriage refused our request for a replacement, claiming that such problems were repairable and did not warrant a replacement.

We felt hard done by and wondered how we could seek redress when there is no anti-lemon law to protect consumers.

Louisa Lee (Madam)

My car will be coming mid Oct and I hope it won't be a lemon. All these stories are waning my confidence on choosing a Merc as my first conti. Having a commanding premium over Asian cars, I would expect contis to have the same, if not higher, levels of reliability. A friend of mine drove a new Golf TSI in the UK recently and it stalled barely into his week with the car. VW claimed that there was a problem in the TSI engine. I keeping my fingers crossed.

[Guest bomby]

silverarrow wrote:

My car will be coming mid Oct and I hope it won't be a lemon. All these stories are waning my confidence on choosing a Merc as my first conti. Having a commanding premium over Asian cars, I would expect contis to have the same, if not higher, levels of reliability. A friend of mine drove a new Golf TSI in the UK recently and it stalled barely into his week with the car. VW claimed that there was a problem in the TSI engine. I keeping my fingers crossed.

IMHO Jap cars reliability beats the conti hands down.. conti cars are never famous for its reliability. But sometimes these things are due to luck also.

I took my 2nd hand e200K in july.. and two weeks in.. when to C&C twice.. all my previous jap cars, drove for three-fours years.. not even need to replace a single light bulb.

[Guest bomby]

jtang wrote:

I think to ask for a new car replacement after 6 months of use is asking for the sky. CnC is right to refuse a replacement. If the lemon law is place & make such replacement, either the company go bust or the car price will be a lot higher if everyone clamour for replacement for every small matter.

Not sure but from what I read, the Lemon law differs from state to state, but the federal lemon law only covers the breach in the manufacturers warranties.

Which in my understanding is if C&C refuse to repair the car then there is a case. Also eight times in a year, assuming they use the car 365 (i.e one start per day) days... a year, that is like 2.1% failure rate and they have to be able to proof it. Maybe best if they install a car camera and focus on the driver side.. and capture the stalling. Maybe that will help? :becky:

[Guest poolfan]

bomby wrote:

IMHO Jap cars reliability beats the conti hands down.. conti cars are never famous for its reliability. But sometimes these things are due to luck also.

I took my 2nd hand e200K in july.. and two weeks in.. when to C&C twice.. all my previous jap cars, drove for three-fours years.. not even need to replace a single light bulb.

Sometimes it is down to luck .... my friend bot a brand new Toyota Picnic which is supposed to be super reliable but he forgot the numbers of issues that he had with the car and the number of times that he has sent the car to the AD's workshop. Not forgetting the extremely poor mileage that he is getting with the car. There are "lemon" for every brands.

I agree that Japs are known to be reliable but they do not have the "driveability" of a Contis. Despite the issue that you have with the 2nd Hand E200K, what would be your likely choice if you change your car ? Contis or Jap or even Koreans ?

[Guest chiaster]

:shocked:

and i was still thinking that my next car would be an E250 cabriolet, followed by an ML...

maybe not?

[Guest silverarrow]

poolfan wrote:

Sometimes it is down to luck .... my friend bot a brand new Toyota Picnic which is supposed to be super reliable but he forgot the numbers of issues that he had with the car and the number of times that he has sent the car to the AD's workshop. Not forgetting the extremely poor mileage that he is getting with the car. There are "lemon" for every brands.

I agree that Japs are known to be reliable but they do not have the "driveability" of a Contis. Despite the issue that you have with the 2nd Hand E200K, what would be your likely choice if you change your car ? Contis or Jap or even Koreans ?

What do you mean by "driveability"? I'm driving a Mazda 3 currently and I dare say that the handling is very close to that of a stock 318i or 320i, which are famously known for their handling abilities. I've test driven both the 318i and 320i and the SE was explaining to me how good they were in terms of handling and honestly, I wasn't blown away at all. On the other hand, I felt the W204 was lacking in road feel when I tested it. However, I felt that the A4 (when in Sports mode) was a fantastic driving machine. Still, I chose the W204 in the end. :becky:

[Guest bomby]

poolfan wrote:

Sometimes it is down to luck .... my friend bot a brand new Toyota Picnic which is supposed to be super reliable but he forgot the numbers of issues that he had with the car and the number of times that he has sent the car to the AD's workshop. Not forgetting the extremely poor mileage that he is getting with the car. There are "lemon" for every brands.

I agree that Japs are known to be reliable but they do not have the "driveability" of a Contis. Despite the issue that you have with the 2nd Hand E200K, what would be your likely choice if you change your car ? Contis or Jap or even Koreans ?

Conti.... :becky: there is no turning back!! And not any conti.. have to be merc!!