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Repair which should been under warrenty
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Hi,
I have recently had problem starting my diesel Smart ForTwo in the morning when it is cold. I took my car to Mercedes in Derby. They first said the starter battery needed replacing. This cost £178. The following morning I had exactly the same problem. I took it back to Mercedes and after a couple of days they said I needed a new starter motor and wiring work which they were quoting over £1600. Naturally I said I wanted a second opinion, so I took it to Smarts-R-Us in Nottingham. They diagnosed the problem to be the CDI Control Unit, which was replaced (at a cost of £331) and now the problem has gone away.
However I had this same problem in May of last year and the same CDI Control Unit was replaced by Mercedes to fix the problem. This is less than a year ago so therefore the CDI Control Unit which was replaced by Smarts-R-Us was still under warrenty.
Can I claim back the bill from Smarts-R-Us from Mercedes Derby? Also I now believe that the work done in replacing the starter battery may have been unnecessary, so can I also claim a refund for that work?
Thanks,
mssloan
I have recently had problem starting my diesel Smart ForTwo in the morning when it is cold. I took my car to Mercedes in Derby. They first said the starter battery needed replacing. This cost £178. The following morning I had exactly the same problem. I took it back to Mercedes and after a couple of days they said I needed a new starter motor and wiring work which they were quoting over £1600. Naturally I said I wanted a second opinion, so I took it to Smarts-R-Us in Nottingham. They diagnosed the problem to be the CDI Control Unit, which was replaced (at a cost of £331) and now the problem has gone away.
However I had this same problem in May of last year and the same CDI Control Unit was replaced by Mercedes to fix the problem. This is less than a year ago so therefore the CDI Control Unit which was replaced by Smarts-R-Us was still under warrenty.
Can I claim back the bill from Smarts-R-Us from Mercedes Derby? Also I now believe that the work done in replacing the starter battery may have been unnecessary, so can I also claim a refund for that work?
Thanks,
mssloan
Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, I'm DEBT-FREE at last! (with apologies to Martin Luther King
)
Debt Free Roll of Honor #488

Debt Free Roll of Honor #488
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Comments
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First, was the first CDI controller done under a warranty, or did you pay for it?
If the first unit was a warranty repair, it is only guaranteed for the remainder of the original warranty period.
(same as a tv, if it has a 1 year guarantee, and you get a new one after 11 months, you won't get another after 22 months, or even 12 months and a day)
Second, if you knew it had had the same part replaced for the same symptoms 8 months ago, why didn't you tell Smarts-R-Us, and they could have advised you on getting Merc to sort it.
As to the battery, I'm afraid if you didn't keep the old one for testing, Merc will swear blind it was faulty, and you needed it anyway, and you can't prove otherwise.
If there is still warranty on the failed CDI, you should be able to send it back to Merc, and get the cost of the unit refunded, I doubt if you will get the labour, as you didn't let Merc do it. (You do have it don't you? You might also need a report from Smarts-R-Us)
I'd ring Smarts-R-Us and ask them for adviceI want to go back to The Olden Days, when every single thing that I can think of was better.....
(except air quality and Medical Science)
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I paid for the first CDI Control Unit. Mercedes are claiming that they had already tried a new Control Unit, so I don't believe they would have replaced it even if I had taken the car back to them. Unfortunately Mercedes didn't give me the old battery, so I'm probably stuffed on that issue. I do have the Control Unit though.Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, I'm DEBT-FREE at last! (with apologies to Martin Luther King
)
Debt Free Roll of Honor #4880 -
I'd speak to Smarts-R-Us. If you send the old CDI to Merc, they will test it and if it hasn't failed bill you for the testing (at hundreds of pounds an hour)
Seems strange that Merc claim to have swapped the CDI and it didn't fix it, but Smarts-R-Us swap it again and it does.
However, a lot of garages just swap parts until it is fixed, then either bill you for all of them, or if you are lucky, just the one that actually did fix it and swap the rest back.
You might find there is nothing wrong with the CDI, and it was a connection problem, or worse, the problem comes back again.I want to go back to The Olden Days, when every single thing that I can think of was better.....
(except air quality and Medical Science)
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