So the other night I pull into a gas station and I see smoke coming out of the hood! I open it up and there is fire! Luckily there was an extinguisher near by and I was able to put out the fire pretty quickly. From the looks of it, the battery was leaking, ran down the side and corroded 2 wires running to a part next to the engine. The car was towed at a cost of $300 to the local San Fran Mercedes dealer.

I spoke to them today and they told me it would be $1000 to repair the car.

New auxiliary water pump
New wires
New battery
And general clean up.


Clearly the battery leaking caused the wires to corrode, touch and cause the fire, but naturally Mercedes is saying it could have been a number of things which caused the issue (Mice, heat, bla bla).

The battery was less then 2 years old and installed by Mercedes. Clearly the battery is defective. Shouldn't Mercedes cover the cost of the battery and the consequential damage caused by it?

Let me know what you think.

-matt

 

Wow, that sucks! However.....

You'll probably be lucky to get pro-rated battery reimbursement, if anything. And even though the 'other possible causes' are really nonsense, they are still 'legitimate' excuses, for lack of a better term.

You might have an insurance claim though. Then again, they just raise your rates at the next renewal, and all the other insurance companies know you made a claim, so, uh, nevermind that!

I would suggest some type of AAA-style motor club membership for the towing part if you need it in the future. I have the BP/Amoco one, it's about $90 a year. Was totally worth it for the POS I had before I got my Mercedes. Haven't had to use it with that, and hope not to.

Sorry about your misadventure. Good luck.

 

my advice complain till there is no end tell them unless you can prove the battery didnt blow up your paying for this(the dealer that is)
i see a battery blow up at least once a month. here is what they are tring to do. first they are trying to get you to pay so they dont have to. if you pay then they dont have to submit it to warrenty. besides customer pay labor is better than warrenty labor.

 

I suggest asking for the general manager & have a polite, rational discussion with him.

Don't get hostile, angry, or make wild threats.
If you sound intelligent with well formed thoughts based on logic & facts, you will get better results.
Keep asking them to explain/ prove that it is not the battery's fault.

If no sucess, ask to speak with the owner.
If still no sucess, ask who in Mercedes the owner answers to & keep going up the chain.

You may need to write a letter to regional Mercedes.

Persistance will pay off.