VIC Refund or Replacement for Lemon Car with Continuous Problems?

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Fair Lady

Member
15 February 2017
1
0
1
We bought a Mercedes Benz CLA250 Shooting Brake from a dealer in MB dealer in Brighton on April 2016.

We are requesting a replacement or refund for this car which has been damaged by the dealer from installing the towbar without sealing it and as a result, water damaged the computer and rendered the car inoperable.

There are still ongoing issues with the car which included electronic park brake intermittently not working causing the car to roll forward and hitting the tow truck. The car was also not supplied with run flat tyeares as we were led to believe which cause the wheel and tyeare to be destroyed when warning sign came on. Radar cruise control failed to work, causing near miss crash despite it being calibrated by the dealer and we were told there was nothing wrong with it, until warning signs came on and rendered the cruise control and the radar cruise and emergency braking system to stop functioning.

The car was bought as a promotional vehicle and we could not use it when it was in workshops 2 months out of the 10 months that we had it. Lost business and could not focus on it and stress we had to endure, when we should be enjoying the vehicle. It has been very unreliable with bad history which started from day one.

In summary, these are the chain of events to date:

1. Requested tow bar that has removable ball. Confirmed by technicians with salesman. Car to be supplied with Runflats. Confirmed by Salesperson several times including last week.

2. Received wrong tow bar on delivery that would not fit our bike rack. Dealer supplied bike rack to compensate as well as invisible film protection to the front nose cone.

3. Tow Bar installation not done properly. Not sealed.

4. Water seeped in due to unsealed tow bar damaging computer system in car.

5. Car started malfunctioning until it became unsafe to drive, with every electronic function no longer operational including unable to select gears including brakes etc.

6. Car towed away

7. Parts would take 2 to 3 months to arrive from Germany

8. After a couple of weeks of waiting, requested part to be taken from a new car.

9. Many issues started occuring including suspension system, sound system subwoofer not on, mode selection, not taking off smoothly, car not starting fist time, sticking brake not releasing immediately, rattles. These issues were at times intermittent.

10. Many trips to car yard to resolve issues several still exist to date. Rattle in the rear of car still exist but they claim it is not there.

11. Car had bad puncture rendering it undrivable. Warning sign on car "Check Tyeare Pressure" came on.

12. Upon parking the car after being unloaded from tow truck, car rolled forward and tapped tow truck. Broke dictronic disc and damaged front panel slightly. Incidence witnessed by MB Road Side Assist tow truck driver.

13. Discovered car not supplied with run flat tyeares. Wheel damaged as well. Service advisor informed us the tyeares are Run Flats but later admitted they were not. Salesman was very surprised that we had not been supplied with run flats since no spare tyeare was supplied.

14. Wheel, tyeare and front grille replaced out of goodwill. Panel damage and invisible film protection NOT repaired or replaced. Car calibrated and informed to have it picked up. MBB reported brake has NO Malfunction. However, service technician admitted that brake will roll if only put in P for park and engine turned off.

However, we were taught by technicians and salesman and drivers on drive day that when you put it in P and turn engine off, that will engage the electronic park brake and this was also stated in owners manual. Brake did not appear to work intermittently.

15. Radar cruise control (Distronic) malfunctioned. Car did not slow down and started accelerating behind a another car that was stopped at lights. Near miss crash.

16. Returned to dealer workshop. Checked by technician who said there was nothing wrong with it. Technician took us on a test drive. Observed that the car did not slow down behind stationary car. Technician said there is nothing wrong with it.

17. Drove off again and this time warning sign came on " Collision Prevention Assist Plus Inoperative" less than 2 km after leaving dealership. This time, Distronic and Cruise control also not responsive.

18. Returned to dealer workshop. Error message now noted and agreed that it was not operational. Car to be left at dealership as instructed by service manager.

19. Dealer reported that "Collision Prevention Assist Plus Inoperative" occurred due to the previous impact to the front grill in which the sensor sits behind. The impact caused the sensor buffer to dislodge and therefore causing the sensor to vibrate and bring on the warning light whilst driving.

20. Repeated requests to speak to or meet the dealer principle has been ignored. Contacted MB Australia who passed on message to have the matter resolved.

We have a lemon car now thanks to the incompetence of the poor workmanship of the dealer, bad history on record that would devalued car as a result on top of time lost and unable to use the car for promotion purposes which was what it was bought for during its time spent in workshop plus many trips to the dealer to get the matter resolved.

Dealer Principal not responding to messages or emails. We have contacted Mercedes Benz Australia customer service who are as unable to force the dealer to do anything. The latest one, we had to go to dealership and had to return twice to the them in same day despite their reporting that the car was ready for pick up. Now, we have received email from service manager that the car has been repaired according to manufacturer's specifications. And do the saga continues.

If we had known about the trouble that we have to endure, we would never have bought the car from that dealership.

Do you know what the best thing we can do under Australian Consumer Law? Are there any lemon laws that can help us?
 

Lance

Well-Known Member
31 October 2015
852
123
2,394
Hi,

Wow what an ordeal. So what laws can help you, you are covered by Australian Consumer laws for the purchase of a vehicle by a dealer. They provide that your vehicle is, fit for purpose, free from defects, acceptable quality and it needs to last a reasonable timeframe.

Have a read of this blog it might help Lemon Car? What You Can Do Under Australian Consumer Law - Legal Blog - LawAnswers.com.au

I would suggest you contact consumer affairs Victoria.