Repair twist

Repair twist

20 Dec 2007

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Mark finds £36 fix for £4,000 repair problem

A BOSS at mail order company Car Parts Direct has become embroiled in a row with a Mercedes-Benz dealership after staff told him it would cost £4,376 to repair his car.

Reluctant to pay so much for a repair on his Y-registration Mercedes-Benz C220, Mark Cornwall called in an independent mobile technician who got his car up and running again for £36.

Trudi Vessey from the Mercedes-Benz of Mansfield dealership told Mark the car needed a replacement ECU, replacement engine ECU looms and a replacement SAM unit after it broke down and was towed to the Mansfield workshop. Rob Halloway, PR manager for Mercedes Benz, said the car had failed because water had got into the fuse and module box.

Keen to get a second opinion, Mark called mobile technician Steve Ward from SW Auto Services. Steve managed to get the car up and running again thanks to a touch of electrical contact cleaner. Now Mark and the dealership are caught up in an argument about how the fault should have been dealt with.

The picture shows Mark (right) with Steve, holding the can of electrical contact spray used to get Mark's car back on the road. After the dealership's initial diagnosis, Mark had security seals fitted to his car to prevent dealership staff conducting further examinations - something Mercedes-Benz says stopped it dealing with the repair process as it would have liked.

After Mark contacted Mercedes-Benz head office in Europe, technical expert Ken Lally was sent to examine the vehicle. Mercedes-Benz said Mark's quick fix was not necessarily a long-term solution, hence its more comprehensive repair proposal.

In a letter to Mark, he said the quote was so expensive because using electrical contact spray in such a situation was a “trial and error exercise and would carry no guarantee of success”.

“The vehicle had failed due to water ingress into the fuse and module box,” read Mr Lally’s letter.

“We obviously expect our retailers to carry out repairs to Mercedes-Benz specifications and standards, hence returning the vehicle as close as possible to its original condition.

“In this instance this would not be possible without replacing at the minimum, the engine control unit and the corroded wiring harnesses.”

Rob said Mark's haste in putting security seals on his car had prevented staff from tackling the problem as they would have liked.

"When we got the car we found the fuse box cover had been taken off," he said. "There was not just condensation inside but water splashing about. The ECU returned a dead signal. Mark asked for a worse-case scenario repair quote," added Rob.

"Using electrical contact spray might get the car running again but as Mercedes-Benz we need to make sure the work we do is guaranteed. That [using electrical contact spray] wouldn't have been the recommended way of doing it."

Rob said that because of the security seals fitted by Mark, staff at the dealership were unable to carry out a full electronic examination of the car once the fuse box and SAM unit had dried out.

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