Let's start with the facts: I'm no newbie. I've owned 10 cars in my life and 4 of them have been Mercedes. I had a new 2004 E500, a new 2007 CLS550, a new 2008 GL320 CDI, and finally, a CPO 2009 E320 Bluetec.

I purchased said Bluetec from Mercedes of Buckhead in Atlanta on May 7th of 2011. Alpine White with Premium 1 and Full Leather Packages, a Florida car with 26,199 miles. I flew to Atlanta from Raleigh to pick up the car, inspect it, and drive it home. Visually, it was great. On the test drive I suspected the tires were overinflated (which they were) and the car was out of alignment. I was told the car had been aligned when the new tires were put on and it was probably just flat spots. I purchased the extended CPO warranty to 135K miles and went on my way. On the ride home, the car shook violently over 70mph and the satellite radio and Tele-Aid/mbrace, were both non-functional.

Upon my return home, I emailed my salesperson to say that the car was still shaking and the Tele-Aid and Sirius weren't working and that I would be taking it to have the alignment and balance checked. The response I received was: "Thanks for the update and I know you will enjoy the car. Wow...36 MPG...that's great. Keep me posted and have fun with your car! Thank you again for your business! John"

Definitely not concerned.

A month later when my tags hadn't shown up and I called the dealership, no one knew what was going on. The paperwork hadn't been sent to NC, the taxes hadn't been paid. Nothing had happened. At the end of it all, I paid a 600 DOLLAR doc fee all so I could go down to the DMV myself, do the paperwork and get my own tags. This was after they REPEATEDLY assured me, "We do this ALL THE TIME."

Over the next 11 months, I had the tires replaced, dash rattle fixed, the satellite radio module replaced (twice), front wheel bearing repacked and swapped, 4 alignments, 4 visits to have the transmission repaired (3 times it was re-adapted and on the 4th, solenoids, valve body and control modules were worked on and the K1 clutch pack and B1 snap rings were replaced), COMAND system replaced, the antenna replaced, rear differential replaced, camber bolt kits installed on the front end to rectify pulling to right on a car that was supposedly perfectly aligned, the sunroof refused to close and was repaired.....

And much of this only happened AFTER I involved MBUSA in the process. Previously I was repeatedly told, "there are no codes" or "we can't duplicate the problem". After the last transmission repair, I told myself if it wasn't right, I was getting rid of the car. Well, after having my car for over 2 weeks in the months of March and April, I drove off the lot and the transmission banged around just as it always had.

There are 48,000 miles on the car and as a side note, I meticulously maintain my vehicles. In less than a year I spent over 1,900 dollars on oil changes, flushes, filter changes and every manner of "preventative maintenance".

I drove straight to the Lexus dealer to find a less worrisome means of transportation. Upon their inspection of my car, they noted something interesting. The paint meter indicated the paint on the fender and hood to be "thinner" than the rest of the car. Upon further inspection, they noticed the VIN numbers on those panels didn't match the rest of the car.

Bottom line: The car had been in an accident, it was never reported to Carfax, Auto Check or noted by Mercedes of Buckhead in their CPO inspection. Next thing I know, I'm dealing with diminished value of my car b/c it's been wrecked.

I emailed Mercedes of Buckhead requesting a conference call with my salesperson (whom I HAD NOT heard from ONE time in a year of owning the car) and the general manager. He replied the manager was out of town, but I could contact him (the salesperson), or he'd have the manager call me when he got back to town. I emailed back, outlining ALL of my concerns, from day 1 to today, continued to insist on a conference call, and lo and behold..... NO RESPONSE.

2 Weeks later, NO RESPONSE.

I write this as a former Mercedes loyalist, and someone who doesn't want to see anyone end up in the same position I did. Certification is NOT the holy grail of pre-owned cars. They are lazy, and things probably make it through that shouldn't. In the bigger picture, the dealers don't care. They made the sale.

Caveat Emptor! (Buyer Beware)