RIP the Black Pearl. My baby, my very first car, my (somewhat ghetto) Benz will be laid to rest soon.
A big FUCK YOU to the Mercedes dealership who charged me $500 to tell me that they didn't think it was worthwhile to fix a car that was only worth about $800. They were such unbelievable douche bags. I dropped my car off after-hours on a Saturday. They never bothered to call me, so I had to call them on Tuesday. The service advisor told me they were still 'just running some tests to see what the problem is,' which I naively took to mean they would contact me before doing anything pricey. The son of a bitch did not bother to mention that I was going to be billed $110 per hour for the diagnostics. And on top of it, they charged me full retail price for new spark plugs, because THEY damaged the BRAND NEW ones I had installed less than a week before. I understand that for Mercedes-Benz, a mere $500 would be considered cheap. But did it not occur to him that if I was driving a 15 year old car with 215,000 miles on it, I PROBABLY wasn't in the best financial situation, and $500 would probably be a lot of money for me?
Everyone gasped in horror when I told them I brought my car to the dealership (on my regular mechanic's advice), telling me Mercedes would rape me for every penny they could. Of course, being so wise in worldly matters, I scoffed at the stereotype of greedy mechanics who do crap like that because they know a lot of chicks just don't know enough about cars to fight back. And what recourse do I have? Diagnostics are a service, not a part--I couldn't demand they undo it. And I put on the envelope when I dropped off my car, 'repairs not to exceed $1,000', so I have no legal recourse. I just assumed that because my regular mechanic calls me with a price estimate before he does anything that expensive, the dealership would extend the same courtesy. So if I'm very very lucky, I may brake even and find someone who'd be willing to pay $500 for a 15 year old car that needs a $3500 valve job to pass smog check (and they can't guarantee it will pass smog even then, it would just improve my chances), with no heating or air conditioning, and no resale value.
My mom had to cash in a money market to loan me money for a 'new' (aka slightly less used) one, which means I'm going to have to take on a second job to pay her back. I now have no hope of moving out in the next two or three years, though my immediate problem is finding an affordable car that won't cause me the same problems as the Benz in a few months. That's at *least* $5,000-$7,000 when I currently make $800 a month ($650 if you take out the money I need for gas to commute to school).
I'm just so damn tired
A big FUCK YOU to the Mercedes dealership who charged me $500 to tell me that they didn't think it was worthwhile to fix a car that was only worth about $800. They were such unbelievable douche bags. I dropped my car off after-hours on a Saturday. They never bothered to call me, so I had to call them on Tuesday. The service advisor told me they were still 'just running some tests to see what the problem is,' which I naively took to mean they would contact me before doing anything pricey. The son of a bitch did not bother to mention that I was going to be billed $110 per hour for the diagnostics. And on top of it, they charged me full retail price for new spark plugs, because THEY damaged the BRAND NEW ones I had installed less than a week before. I understand that for Mercedes-Benz, a mere $500 would be considered cheap. But did it not occur to him that if I was driving a 15 year old car with 215,000 miles on it, I PROBABLY wasn't in the best financial situation, and $500 would probably be a lot of money for me?
Everyone gasped in horror when I told them I brought my car to the dealership (on my regular mechanic's advice), telling me Mercedes would rape me for every penny they could. Of course, being so wise in worldly matters, I scoffed at the stereotype of greedy mechanics who do crap like that because they know a lot of chicks just don't know enough about cars to fight back. And what recourse do I have? Diagnostics are a service, not a part--I couldn't demand they undo it. And I put on the envelope when I dropped off my car, 'repairs not to exceed $1,000', so I have no legal recourse. I just assumed that because my regular mechanic calls me with a price estimate before he does anything that expensive, the dealership would extend the same courtesy. So if I'm very very lucky, I may brake even and find someone who'd be willing to pay $500 for a 15 year old car that needs a $3500 valve job to pass smog check (and they can't guarantee it will pass smog even then, it would just improve my chances), with no heating or air conditioning, and no resale value.
My mom had to cash in a money market to loan me money for a 'new' (aka slightly less used) one, which means I'm going to have to take on a second job to pay her back. I now have no hope of moving out in the next two or three years, though my immediate problem is finding an affordable car that won't cause me the same problems as the Benz in a few months. That's at *least* $5,000-$7,000 when I currently make $800 a month ($650 if you take out the money I need for gas to commute to school).
I'm just so damn tired
philipfry:
Damn that sucks. I used to have a 72 Benz and the engine blew up on me. I just left it on the side of the road. No going back with that one. Dealers suck. I try and fix anythign that dies on my car myself if I can. Good luck with the car hunt.
snottlebocket:
what do you mean no legal recourse, you didn't give them the green light to do any of that and if they break shit, they pay for it don't they?