Hook line and sinker!
Hello Lee,
it’s been a while. That’s how it all started.
A good
Cadillac client from the past had purchased a 2009 E 350 Mercedes. It developed
an engine noise and the dealer told him he needed an engine. The vehicle had stalled
with camshaft sensor circuit codes stored in the computer memory.
Apparently, Mercedes
Benz has an issue with vehicles of that era. The timing chain tensioners or the
balance camshaft wear prematurely, the subsequent metal debris takes out the
rest of the engine. They gave him a quote for the engine and offered him $1,000
to purchase his vehicle. They were hoping to sell him a new one.
Our client
had the vehicle towed from the dealer to us in hopes of a better answer. We
looked at the vehicle and came to the same conclusion.
We gave him
a quote to replace the engine, two options. Option one, a re-manufactured engine
from Mercedes at one cost. Option two, a used engine from a reliable salvage
partner at a much lesser cost but somewhat more of a risk.
We explained
this to the client. When the vehicle was here, and he was pondering what to
do, the dealer gave him a call and offered him the following.
Tear down
the engine to find the actual failure (at the clients cost, of course!)
Then contact
Mercedes corporate and ask them if they are willing to good will the repair, if
that’s the case, then Mercedes picks up the tear down cost as well and thus no
expense to the client for any of the repairs.
The client
towed the vehicle back to Mercedes, agreed to an $1,900.00 quote for tear down
and so they commenced the inspection. Hook
line and sinker!
My client
called me back today and told me, the dealer had contacted him back to let him
know Mercedes had declined to get involved. In addition, they now knew for sure
his E 350 needed a complete engine. There would be no subsidy or co-pay. He was
now on the hook for the entire amount.
I knew this
was going to happen, I’ve had dealers use that ploy before. You may ask, “why
didn’t you tell him?”
When they
almost assured him they could get Mercedes to pay, do you think he would have
believed me?
