Hi,

I just bought (7/13/05) a 2003 C230K Sport w/ 31,000 miles on it. The thing is beautiful, but the drawback was that it was a "mfg buyback" car. I guess because it was in the shop more than an allotted amount of time. That concerned me, but my parents have had about 5 Merceds and swear by them, so I thought it would be okay. It still has the remainder of the mfg 50k warranty on it.

Now, I'm seeing a TON of people complaining about these cars, and I'm starting to think I really screwed up. DId I? I really don't want a POS car. Any advise would be appreciated, I could probably get the dealer to take it back. Any quick advise would be GREATLY appreciated!!

Feeling a bit queasy here!!

 

You bought someone else's lemon. It must be a documented lemon for a buy back to occur.

Will it be lemon for you? I'd say, "Of course it will."

 

This is one you will have to go with your gut feeling on.

Do you have any idea of what the problem(s) were ?

Example:
My friend's New Mazda Pickup -- Engine starts knocking at less than 10k miles.
Took it to the dealer -- dealer installed a new short block
Friend picks up the truck from dealer, goes home and parks on his driveway, comes out to find oil running down the driveway.
Takes it back to the Dealer -- Bad (or improperly installed) rear main seal.
Another engine disassembly -- repair etc..
Picks up the truck -- goes home, notices excessive valve train noise.
Takes it back to the dealer -- They find something amiss with the engine's top-end. So they decide to install a long block this time (due to my friend giving them hell in a big way)
Picks up the truck.... everything's cool now.

He tried to do the lemon law thing but to no avail.

But now the problem is fixed, so ..... it kind of depends upon what's been happening with that car of yours.

If it's multiple problems, I'd try to take it back and get something else, specially if you still can.

Unless you got it for a smoking deal, I'd dump it .... the main reason is.... that it is marked ! You will never be able to get what it's worth no matter how reliable it is for you.

I ALWAYS end up selling my cars, so that's important to me. some people keep their cars until the wheel fall off then bury them. so it's up to you.

Just my .02 cents worth

 

If three things dont go wrong on that car in the first year....I WILL CUT MY FINGER OFF as a wager!!

 

once again...

if anything goes wrong, it will.

murphy's law

 

Car's are built on an assembly line by different people, machines and inspectors. The odds of multiple systems having manufacturing flaws on the same day and car are very rare. Most factories prescribe to the 'Six Sigma" level of production quality which is very high.

My guess that is MB is more eager than most co's to protect their rep or that the original owner was difficult to please. Have the dealer provide all of the previous mtc records and that will help you out.

 

I'm not familiar with "buy back" cars. However, if you knew that it was bought back by MB due to multiple problems, I assume MB made adjustments to price and warranty to put you, or any potential buyer at ease. They really don't want one of their cars on the road giving them a bad rep.

Now, to what I do know. I recently purchased a 6 year old MB. Reading multiple forums, I seem to find lots of complaints about cars in general: some about my car model inparticular. I've come to the conclusion that when one's car is running well, people don't write much about it; when it's disappointing them, they need to vent and write about it.
Also, I've had certain friends compliment me on my purchase, but a few, remembering their diapointment with a luxury car, have scolded me saying, "just wait till it starts to break down, you'll wish you had a Honda." They are bitter from a bad experience.

It is somewhat normal to wonder about a large purchase; second guessing oneself. And, while you are in that phase, your mind will be drawn to all the nightmare issues "some" have had in a similar situation. That said, I personally feel more comfortable with my purchase because I did some research on the model. I found that my model year was one of the most troble-free models MB built from 1995-2005.
I did a carfax, looked at service records and took the plunge.
I don't know what the future holds but if you have a solid warranty, then that should put your mind at ease-at least untill you read another report by an unhappy owner who swares up and down they will never buy an MB again.

 

Here in Mass a "mfg buyback" comes under the Lemon Cars Laws. I forget how they exactly, but if you buy a car and bring it back X amount of times and the problem or problems aren't fixed, by the the mfg has to buy it back. Here in Mass the law allows some depreciation on the buyback. However, as you had knowledge that it was a mfg buyback, your recourses are less, except if the car starts having problems and they can't get them fixed correctly. So lets hope the dealer did fix it before he put it up for sale. You can also check if you financed the car, if the title has mfg buyback written on it. Here in Mass that is also part of the law, so the car is always in a grey area. The bank might not hold the actual title, but MV will have the info. If the title states that it is a mfg buyback. All I can say is good luck. Did you asked the dealer what mfg meant or did you check out what it meant? If the dealer didn't accurately describe what the cars was, in Mass you can file a complaint with the State Attorney General. BUT these lemon laws vary from state to state. Mass happens to be a very strong comsumer oriented state, some states I've read have lacks lemon laws. Always remember "Let the buyer beware." and this applies on everything you buy, especially high ticket items.

 

You can bet your butt that MB does not care about their customers. But, they're no different than any other large corporation. They pay employees to pretend as though they care, but the manufacturer wouldn't care if you tipped over and died right now with your MB on top of you.

What they do care about is the bottom line. They must make a profit or they lose their job. They can't make a profit by buying back the cars they sell. They were forced by a lemon law to buy the car back. They didn't do anything out of the kindness of any part of their anatomy. It would have cost them more in fines and trade sanctions to refuse the buy back. It was merely a better business decision to do the buy back.

Now, they sell the car to another customer hoping they won't complain like the previous owner. What does that tell you about how much they care about you or their reputation? Corporate bigwigs are in it for the short term. They make millions for themselves in a hurry and then leave everyone else, including customers, in the lurch.

 

gheyland, don't know what country you're located in so it's hard to comment on recourse, etc.

Do you have a comprehensive warranty on this car? Do you detect problems with the car?

In the USA, the selling dealer is supposed to provide documentation showing the reason for buyback and that the issue has been corrected and signed off.

Are you detecting problems with the car? I would not assume the worst, it's entirely possible you will have no issues with this car.