[Vid6639]

Today's Bangalore mirror has an article about an owner in Mumbai who bought a new S class from Auto Hangar in Mumbai.

From the beginning he noticed that his headrests were rattling when the car was in motion. He sent the car over to Auto Hangar to get it fixed. The car was returned but the problem was not really fixed. The car went a few times after and still the issue was not fixed. Finally the guys from Auto Hangar called him up saying apart from the headrests the body panels are also rattling and the car will have to be sent to Andheri workshop. The car was returned 3 days later and the owner was shocked to see that the bonnet had paint blotches and the roof was scratched completely. The workshop guys later told him that the car never went to Anderi. They agreed to repaint the panels. The car was given back after 7 days but the job was not upto the mark and the headrests still rattled.

Fed up after all this he filed a case in the consumer court against Mercedes. Mercedes claim that the car has been checked up by an expert and there is no rattling from the headrest. Nevertheless they say they will repaint the panel if the fault is from their side but a new car is ruled out.

The owner has demanded a new car worth 84Lakhs along with 10lakhs mental trauma.

Mercedes declines to give any information to the media and say they will take it up with the owner in court.

Man this is really sad that a customer pays 84L and has to suffer all this. The german marque's image is really getting tarnished in India withh all these horror stories.

[abhinav.gupta88]

Sad. Its considered one of the best cars in the world.
However if such a thing happens, it is not wrong on the part of the owner on going to the court and demanding compensation

One doesnt buy a 84 lakh car to have it repaired day after another.

[benbsb29]

Even the S? What next?!

Cant blame the owner though. Its not like he never gave them a chance to redeem themselves.

[GTO - Touring]

A couple of rattles & scratches make him go to court. Oh boy, wait till he owns the S a wee bit longer .

Jokes apart, I don't think he has a strong case at all.

[abhi1309]

Originally Posted by GTO - Touring

A couple of rattles & scratches make him go to court. Oh boy, wait till he owns the S a wee bit longer .

What does that mean?

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by GTO - Touring

A couple of rattles & scratches make him go to court. Oh boy, wait till he owns the S a wee bit longer .

Jokes apart, I don't think he has a strong case at all.

Even when they damaged the car during service? Maybe not for a new car but the least they can do is change the entire seat in the car. That should be cool 2L including leather, and all electronics in the seat.

The article also says that Mercedes got the examined by a technical expert and found no abnormal sound. They offered a joint trial with the customer and if a problem was identifed they would do a free paintjob on the body.

I am guessing that the owner did not take up that option and went to court.

What does that mean?

It means more problems will crop up once he owns the car for a longer period.

[androdev]

i can totally understand his frustration. you pay a fortune and some idiot takes a dirty rag and scrubs the living daylights out of the car. i don't know if i am just plain unlucky but every time i get the car back from servicing i always notice few new scratches/chips on the paint. driver's door edge has nearly become white. they are supposed to use plastic cover on driver's seat, steering and also use protective covers on hood and side panels while working under the hood.

just think about it: factory takes so much care while shipping the car to the dealer. they put a white adhesive covering on panels, they seal all screw holes (such as the ones used for fixing license plate), they fix some plastic lining for wiper blades, and cover everything like seats, steering and many more that i probably don't know.

then what do the dealers do after receiving the car? they remove everything and park in the dusty open yard for ever. in bangalore, sundaram mercedes parks the cars on their open terrace. and they "wash" it before delivery. if you have ever seen cars being washed in a.s.s places you will know that this 1st wash would be brutal. and they drive it like a stolen truck from storage-yard to downtown showroom.

[abhi1309]

Originally Posted by vid6639

It means more problems will crop up once he owns the car for a longer period.

Of course I know that I was just thinking if there were specific issues even with an S, surprising that's all.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by abhinav.gupta88

Sad. Its considered one of the best cars in the world.

Then why the Topgear(British) always make fun of the Mercedes Build quality? I know they are a bit sarcastic about everything but still...

Ps:
I am just asking, not commenting about the Merc.

[Sahil]

Well,wether his case is strong or not doesn't matter as atleast now MBIL and other high end car makers will take customer complaints more seriously.
Rattles might be minor issues but they are bloody annoying!!

[team suzuki]

Originally Posted by Sahil

Rattles might be minor issues but they are bloody annoying!!

Specially when its a mercedes and not just any car.

[monty9991]

if this would had been an Alto then is digestable but with merc this is horrible. when you pay 84lac and u get your car painted over and over again for no reason just because you dint do anything is really a pain.
i bet this guy wont ever buy Merc cars anymore.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by vid6639

Even when they damaged the car during service?

A petrolpump broke my door while Linkway Honda crashed Dippys Honda. Surely that's more severe than a rattle and some paint marks? Do you think a brand new car replacement is in order here? Nope. As long as the workshop pays for damage (or repairs it themself if authorised) and throws in some candy (extra cash, free accessories etc.), that's good enough. The way that the court sees it, a replacement car is in order ONLY if:

- The car is severely damaged to the point of being unsafe or undriveable.
- The car is a lemon and major problems keep recurring despite the workshop's multiple attempts to rectify. If a new car spends like 2 - 3 months off the road and has substantial recurring problems, that's good enough for a replacement.
- A damaged (accident, repainted etc.) car is sold off as new.
- The car isn't as advertised. I remember a court ruling in favour of an Opel Astra owner. A 100% of the on-road price was reimbursed to the owner because Opel marketed the car as "German Engineering" whereas it actually wasn't! According to the court, he was clearly misled.

What problems has this gentleman had yet?
- A rattling headrest!
- Paint marks on the bonnet & a scratched roof. The same was repainted by Auto Hangar.

And no, I am not speaking in favour of Benz or Auto Hangar, as a customer of either. Boy o boy, do the new Mercedes have problems (several of my posts on the same topic)!!! In fact, I also posted that this gentleman is certainly in for larger reliability issues in the long-term (electronics, gizmos, air-suspension, air-con). However, as things stand today, this is a weak case if I ever saw one. Rattles & scratches don't result in a new car. If he still wins, well I am happy since that shows the consumer-centric nature of the consumer court (which only makes me happy). But realistically........

[vkochar]

That's sad for the owner who pays a fortune but still gets troubled. A rattling headrest is not a very big issue.

I'd love to hear what the result is.

[drmohitg]

The S class is again in the news for the wrong reasons. Only thing is that the person involved on the other side is a law maker himself this time. Would be really interesting to see the outcome of this duel.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/no...ome-topstories