DEAR SUZANNE
By Suzanne Henderson
LETTER 141 – October 2023 | Frustrated but Hopeful
Dear Suzanne,
I am frustrated and annoyed and a few other words I can’t write here. Having a defective vehicle is stressful enough, but throwing an incompetent dealership into the mix? That’s just pure chaos, which is exactly what I’ve been dealing with.
Having heard so much about the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, I decided to try it out and I purchased a 2020 model. This turned out to be one of the worst decisions I’ve made. The thing is I didn’t buy the car brand new, it was used, but certified pre-owned. It only had 10,000 miles on it at the time, and by now it’s up to around 30,000 miles.
Since I purchased it I’ve had to take it to the Mercedes-Benz dealership more than three times, all for different issues. It’s more like the issues keep popping up one by one. Each time I find myself complaining about the previous issue as well as new ones.
The first visit happened around 12,000 to 13,000 miles. When I took the car to the dealership, they inspected the car only to say the issue wouldn’t have come up if we were driving more carefully. In essence they blamed it on our carelessness, as if we were the ones who built the car. What was the issue you ask? Rattling windows!
You see how ridiculous that sounds now. How are we to blame when the windows are so noisy we can barely stand it? Sometimes when we try to roll the windows up or down, it gets stuck and rattles even louder. We don’t bother to roll them down anymore. Instead, we’re forced to use the air conditioning more often than usual.
It felt like the dealership was just looking for reasons to blame us. Maybe if the windows shattered or broke, they could have it on record that it was our fault. This was only one of many issues.
The second issue we experienced was with the engine and transmission. Oftentimes, the car engine would stall and even lose power. A few times we’ve been stranded because the car would just shut off. When we reported this to the dealer and took it in, they said they were unable to duplicate the issue. So that’s another unsolved mystery.
There have been other issues where the car would jerk and shake. This usually happened when changing gears or when accelerating. As such, it’s almost impossible to reach high speeds when driving on a freeway. I started to take backroads to avoid this, which just increased my commute to work.
I guess I now understand why the previous owner forfeited this vehicle. This is simply too many problems for a car owner to handle. The dealership being as frustrating and incompetent as they are was just icing on this awful cake.
I would love to find a way of getting rid of my car. I think it’s high time I moved on to a better vehicle. So tell me, what is this lemon law that I’ve been hearing about?
Frustrated but Hopeful
Your 2020 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sounds More Like An F-Class
Frustrated but Hopeful,
I’m sorry you’ve been through so much just because of a defective vehicle. Being criticized by the dealership when they should be helping you out is just not right. It seems they may have an ulterior motive – maybe they are looking for a way to avoid providing a fix for your issues. Or it may be as you said, that they just want to blame it on you and see if they can get away with it. This is why it’s important to be informed of things like the lemon law when you run into issues like this.
So first things first, let me explain what the California lemon law is and how it can help you. If you have taken your vehicle to the dealership twice or more for the same issue, then your car may be deemed a lemon. Having different issues can also qualify if you’ve had at least three repair attempts. If you have had your car at the dealership for more than a month your car automatically qualifies as a lemon no matter how many issues you’ve had.
Note that each of these visits must have happened while still under the original warranty for you to qualify. For you this is not an issue since you’re still under warranty. So long as you have all of these visits documented, you can proceed to file a claim.
The good thing about your case is that you still have your warranty active. The manufacturer’s warranty for your vehicle is 4 years or 50,000 miles. So with you not even at 30,000, you are clearly still under the warranty and can proceed with filing your case.
Now, with the lemon law, there are three different options available for you to choose from. It all depends on what you want and what you would like to do with your car.
The Buyback/Repurchase Option
This option seems like the one you’re most interested in. It involves the manufacturers buying back the car from you and they reimburse you everything you’ve ever paid on the car. This would include your monthly payments, down payment, taxes, and any interest accrued. Moreover, if you took out a loan on your vehicle, Mercedes would have to pay back the finance company in full. Your credit will not be affected in any negative way.
The only thing that may affect your settlement is the mileage offset. This is the right of the manufacturers to charge you for the period you drove the car without any issues. It is usually based on the number of miles the car had when you first took it in for repairs.
With you taking your car in for its first repair at 13,000 miles, this deduction will barely matter. This is because the manufacturers don’t have much to deduct. Even if they do, your attorney will argue to have it waived either in half or in full.
The Cash And Keep
The cash and keep offer is another option available to you. Here, Mercedes gives you some money as compensation for the issues you’ve been having with your car. The amount they give you as compensation is dependent on a few factors. These include the number of times you took the car for repairs, the severity of the issues, and how long the car stayed at the repair shop.
With this option you get to keep the car and retain the manufacturer’s warranty on it. If you later decide to sell the car, you can do so without having to deem it a lemon to whoever buys it next.
The Replacement Offer
The replacement offer is generally the least desirable option out of the three. It has to do with the manufacturers giving you another car as a replacement for yours. The automakers look for another car with the same miles and a similar market value as yours, and they trade you for your defective car. The major problem with this offer is that you run the risk of getting another lemon as a replacement.
With your vehicle purchased in California, your lawyer will take your case on full contingency. This means that you do not have to pay a dime to the attorney. Rather, the manufacturers are responsible for paying their fees. You don’t have to worry about paying for anything or about splitting your original settlement with anyone, it’s all yours!
I hope you’ve found some of this information useful. If you still have a couple of questions, you can always reach out to your attorney for help. Best of luck!
Suzanne
PS. If you think your vehicle sucks and want to actually do something about it, you definitely can! Find out quickly if you have a case by visiting www.yourvehiclesucks.com right now. This website is owned by our partner law firm Quill & Arrow LLP, California’s #1 “settled” Lemon Law attorneys.
Free Legal Advice About Your 2020 Mercedes-Benz E-Class Lemon Law Claim
Dear reader, are your vehicle problems ruining your life? Confused about what legal route to take? We’re here to help! Find information about California’s lemon law protections here, fill out the form on this page, or give us a call at (323) 553-7525 to discuss your situation with someone who understands how frustrating it can be to have a lemon car, and what to do about it.
DEAR SUZANNE is a weekly column written by Suzanne Henderson and published in LemonLawyers.ORG. If you have a defective lemon vehicle and have questions about CA Lemon Lawyer or how to file a claim in California, please write to help@lemonlawyers.org. While not guaranteed, we will try to feature your letter in this column to provide you the answers you need, as well as enlighten other consumers who may have lemon problems similar to yours.
Disclaimer: Suzanne Henderson is not a lawyer and the points discussed here are intended for general information and reference purposes only and not to be construed as legal advice. Please consult a California Lemon Law Attorney to get proper legal advice about your lemon law claim.
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Featured Image:
- 2020 Mercedes-Benz E-Class ©Jengtingchen (CC BY-SA 4.0 License)
