I... can't sleep. CLS55 arriving in 30hrs

[X-Vert]

Dealer is fixing the transmission and providing extended warranty, or I don't take the car. Will hear more tomorrow when they receive the key in the mail.

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[PlatinumEdition]

sorry to hear that =(

[Gondon]

You cant make a claim with warranty within 30 days otherwise they will deem it as pre-existing condition and DENY it

[bigben320e]

X-Vert, damn this sounds like a nightmare. I was wishing congrats, as the CLS is a fun and sexy car.

Where in Atlanta is the car? Is it secure? PM me, I can ride by and check on it if you wish.

Anyway, my experience of buying cars sight unseen, I had them inspected by an MB dealer near the selling dealer and got full inspection reports. It's rather late and in hindsight for you now, it is a practice I always do.

I am sure you will report back on the status of this soap opera, hope this works out for the best.

[Kar don]

dang, thats what scares me about all these ebay cars. If it's too good to be true...

Sorry about all your troubles man.

[JonMBZ]

wow I would have a lot more to say, but since they are taking care of the issues I guess that's the most important. Sorry to hear what happened especially after how excited you were. Once these things are taken care of I am sure you will be happy. Make sure you get new tires too. Goodluck

[CakeDaddy]

Originally Posted by X-Vert

Ok so I'm officially having the worst experience by far...

Dealer told me they replaced a bad tire, tire was never replaced, 300 miles away from the dealership the tire gets shredded. My brother is in the middle of Georgia with a doughnut on the car that he can't drive far with. Now he's stuck till the morning to drive to any tire shop and purchase a tire.

On top of that, the tranny doesn't shift into gears if you give it a lot of gas, you have to baby it and let the gears change super smoothly. Guessing the clutch packs are gone?

This is turning into a clusterfuk

Car is out of warranty, I REALLY hope the dealership comes thru w/ this extended warranty for me by Monday so I can get the car right into service and everything fixed.

tranny doesnt shift! I hate to say it this, but.........not gonna be a good turn out. I wish you the best on this one, but it sounds like the previous owner(s) horse beath this one. Im sure the dealer who sold it was aware of the shifting issues.


OliverK and Griza are correct....take it back and keep looking!

[X-Vert]

Here's what the dealership told me yesterday. They told me that they previously sold this car when it had like 30K miles, to some older guy, back then the car has the same transmission problem just not as bad. The guy who bought it was supposed to bring it to a dealer and have it fixed under warranty. When the car was sold back to them, they assumed the problem was fixed. When they got my call about the messed up tranny, they called up the MB dealer for recods and all they got in the last 37K miles, the owner got the 07+ key and a turn signal bulb fixed. I guess the guy was so old that he drove the car at very low RPM....

Here's what happens to the transmission:

You drive normal its fine, as soon as you hit the gas hard, the RPMs redline and stay there while the car pops into neutral, and the rpm's slowly decrease. You have to pull over, shut the car off, and restart it, goes back to normal. As long as you baby the tranny it drives... but who want's to do that.

The car is sitting in an airport parking lot in Atlanta, being picked up today. I overnighted the keys to the dealer last nigt and they said as soon as they get them, a truck is going to pick up the car and take it to the next MB dealer.

Will keep you guys update.

At this point, I'm not so bumped... I didn't have a car before, and I don't have a car now, doesn't feel any different.

[trboda6]

Originally Posted by X-Vert

Here's what the dealership told me yesterday. They told me that they previously sold this car when it had like 30K miles, to some older guy, back then the car has the same transmission problem just not as bad. The guy who bought it was supposed to bring it to a dealer and have it fixed under warranty. When the car was sold back to them, they assumed the problem was fixed. When they got my call about the messed up tranny, they called up the MB dealer for recods and all they got in the last 37K miles, the owner got the 07+ key and a turn signal bulb fixed. I guess the guy was so old that he drove the car at very low RPM....

Here's what happens to the transmission:

You drive normal its fine, as soon as you hit the gas hard, the RPMs redline and stay there while the car pops into neutral, and the rpm's slowly decrease. You have to pull over, shut the car off, and restart it, goes back to normal. As long as you baby the tranny it drives... but who want's to do that.

The car is sitting in an airport parking lot in Atlanta, being picked up today. I overnighted the keys to the dealer last nigt and they said as soon as they get them, a truck is going to pick up the car and take it to the next MB dealer.

Will keep you guys update.

At this point, I'm not so bumped... I didn't have a car before, and I don't have a car now, doesn't feel any different.

Like many have said, this probably wont have a good ending, we're all optimistic for you but tranny problems arent a good sign.

Some states allow you to get out of a deal or contract within 3 days. check to see what is your recourse and if atlanta law applies to you as the purchase state or your home state law. I wouldnt let this drag to a 1 month old problem and then you have no recourse to back out of the deal. Looking at the worse case scenario the MB dealer may take it in and attempt to fix it but thats only half your battle!!! what if the MB dealer takes 1 or 2 months to fix the problem!! now your stuck making 1 or 2 payments for a car you havent even drove yet!!! lets hopes this is not where this will end up but like i said man try to void the deal at any cost!!! this a a problem i would not want to be dealing with.. especially with your car being at a dealer that you cant just drop in and check on the status most of it will be handled by phone which sucks!!! i said it once i'll say it again man do yourself a favor and void the deal if you can!!! you shouldnt be going thru this BS.. good luck

[mercwhip]

Originally Posted by X-Vert

Blessed myself with one sweet car, none the less it's my first one. CLS55, in Granite Grey with graphite interior. Fully loaded minus distronic. Should be here Sunday morning.

I've driven plenty of AMG's, and a ton of others cars... but this is officially my first ride.



Goal....

Dual Bi-Xenon Headlights w/ other lighting mods + CF housing
CF Grille - emblemless
Brabus Rocket bumper with CF vents
Meisterschaft mufflers
Chromed Calipers
Work T1S's w/ a stepped lip - aggressive offset
Renntech LM
Completely debadged

Eventually start on performance mods once I get used to the power

Then get to the interior (2-tone black/white)

OMFG I can't wait... I'll end up doing a few things myself within the first week.

Question, where can I purchase extended warranty to 100K miles? I checked with Chrysler and they don't seem to offer 100K, only 75K.

Congrats my freind. Nice choice. I was the same way. I compare it to my first time falling in love (having sex).

[trboda6]

Originally Posted by mercwhip

Congrats my freind. Nice choice. I was the same way. I compare it to my first time falling in love (having sex).

perhaps you should read the thread a little more before posting congrats..

[X-Vert]

I have the option to return this car and get my money back, but I insisted.... hope it's not another dumb decision, even though a lot will think so.

I really want this particular one for several reasons.... I won't find another one that's just as well equipped in such a unique color. I have yet to see another CLS55 in that color, even a picture of it !

As long as the car is fixed, AND I have extended warranty, what's there to worry about? I'll have warranty upto 100K and I'll try my hardest to make sure w/e needs to be replaced in the future is replaced before my warranty is up. Worse comes to worst, I'll sell the car here in NYC and make money on it.

Anyway, the car was picked up from the Airport today, going to the dealer tomorrow, will have more updates then.

[klex]

alright man, you live by your choices.. hopefully you've made the right one.
best of luck w/ the whip and congrats!

[trboda6]

Originally Posted by klex

alright man, you live by your choices.. hopefully you've made the right one.
best of luck w/ the whip and congrats!

+1 , I know what I would have done...I dont quite understand the reselling and making money on it. Especially in a very competitive and declining market. Im sure you have it figured out tho.

[Full Throttle]

Originally Posted by X-Vert

As long as the car is fixed, AND I have extended warranty, what's there to worry about? .

The car has clearly been abused, and when you sell,its less than a desirable color. That car sat on ove.com FOREVER!!!

[CakeDaddy]

Good luck, but dont come here posting odd issues with that car. LOL just kidding! I wish you the best, but the majority has spoken here and has given you sound advice on what to do with that car.

Oh........expain how you are going to make money on the re-sale...just curious.

[X-Vert]

Originally Posted by CakeDaddy

Oh........expain how you are going to make money on the re-sale...just curious.

I didn't buy the car to make money on it, but worse comes to worst I can sell it for a few grand more than what I paid for it. The KBB value on this car is $40K+ in excellent condition, and that's what it is. Worst case scenario, I don't lose anything on it and sell it for what I bought it for, but I know plenty of young kids here in NYC that would pay $40K for this car on the spot.

Anyway, the MB dealer in Alabama called me today to let me know that there are no issues with the transmission, what was causing the problem was the LOW tranny fluid. At kick down, the tranny would go into safe mode and put the car into neutral. They filled it up and it's fine, the car still has a doughnut on so they can't really floor the car till the new tire comes in on Monday. Can anyone here confirm the transmission safe mode.

Other than that, the dealer said everything on the car is good.

I got extended warranty till 100K miles, so any other problems I'll take the car to the MB dealer 5 minutes from my house.

[griza]

So the dealer didn't even check fluid levels? I hope there is oil in the engine and air in the tires...how do they not even check fluid levels????

[Kar don]

stay away from this car! Why was the tranny fluid low? Is it leaking? Was it rebuilt and filled incorrectly? Transmissions don't just have low fluid all of a sudden.

[apdesign]

you get what you paid for. keep the car since you think you got a great deal and avoiding other peoples' opinion.

[Lawrence1]

how much did the warranty cost?

[CynCarvin32]

Originally Posted by Kar don

stay away from this car! Why was the tranny fluid low? Is it leaking? Was it rebuilt and filled incorrectly? Transmissions don't just have low fluid all of a sudden.

Kar Don likes brand new cars with a full warranty but for your tranny issue I would go ahead and have the dealership show you the adaptation values for the transmission. This shows you how much pressure is required to make each clutch pack engage. The more worn the pack the higher the pressure is needed to activate the shift. So if the values are all low and equal the transmission is likely ok. If you see values close to the limit it will need a re-building and thats not going to be fun.

With a warranty it will be fine just make sure the warranty covers everything you expect to fail... ie transmission, all suspension parts, intercooler pumps, supercharger, intercooler etc.

[SehrSchnell]

So hang on, what about the fact that the dealer specifically told you already that this particular vehicle once HAD transmission issues in the past with the previous owners?

I also believe that a poster above mentioned this vehicle sat at auction for quite some time and there was evidence of a frontal collision? Did you confirm this was or wasn't the car?

Transmission fluid does NOT mysteriously get low or burn off at such a rate on a newer car like this - I would really be cautious about this and have them confirm WHY the tranny fluid was low. There HAS TO be a leak somewhere in it.

Like the others have said, this is ultimately your decision here. But man, I gotta tell ya when I first started reading this thread I was happy for you, then very sad!

I'm not a religious person myself, but I also am a firm believer in thinking that things happen for reason. I'm sorry to be so frank here, but dude, "WALK AWAY" from this one! Seriously. Gotta bad taste in my mouth.

Either way, good luck man.

[m_berman]

Originally Posted by griza

So the dealer didn't even check fluid levels? I hope there is oil in the engine and air in the tires...how do they not even check fluid levels????

It's a sealed transmission. No dipstick. However, where did the fluid go after it left the factory full?
Sounds like a line to get the car out of the service bay.

[X-Vert]

I just spoke to MB, the technician that serviced the car said he did not find any leaks, the entire car was checked for any/all problems and none were found. He said that once in a while the tranny fluid burns up quicker than usual, also depending how hard the car is driven.

New tires are going on the car today, I told them to take it for a spin and drive it like they stole it, if no issues are reported back the car is going on trailer and right to me. I'll observe the rest of the car when it gets here, any mechanical issues I'll take it right in for service down the block from my house.

Last night, I had some weird a$s dream with this car, that my body was in a coma, inside the MOTOR of the car, but I had a duplicate of me, so I was still normal in my dream, but a copy of my body was inside that engine... jesus I think it's a bad sign, I'm definitely either going to end up dead with this car, in a coma, or learn a BIG and costly lesson from it.

Regardless, I'm sticking with it, I learn from my mistakes. If this one happens to be one of the biggest mistakes in my automotive life, then so be it. I had to spend $5K on a totaled 1999 Oldsmobile back in August due to a mistake, learned from it, moved on.

Oh, and I did realize that the front bumper doesn't match. So what does that tell me? That w/e the damage was, it wasn't anything beyond the front bumper, if the damage was so hard, the fenders and hood would need to be repainted, resulting in the whole front end being painted together, which would blend all the panels and no one would even know that the front was repainted, this tells me that they just replaced the bumper and painted it separately, without blending it into the fenders, it was probably a small fender bender, no biggie.

Edit:
Spoke to the technician again, he called me back after looking at the recods and told me that at 23K miles, some type of electrical connecting bushing for the tranny was replaced (not sure what bushing, he has a heavy southern accent so I couldn't really understand) because it was leaking, so maybe after that job was done, the tranmission wasn't properly filled, and then if there's less fluid than its supposed to be, it'll burn a little quicker. He assured me that they checked EVERYTHING and they did not find any leaks.