Hi

- I would really appreciate some advice please.

I have a Mercedes SLK 59 plate

I did not buy it from Mercedes dealer.

Its had 3 MOTS (last one last week)

Its done 13,140 miles and one other previous owner.

It had a service history on purchase but I decided not to continue as I do not do many miles a

nd have oil, filter and spark plugs changed annually or as required.

It passed MOT last year with a cautionary that the brake pad had rusted into the caliper this was corrected.

A few weeks ago as I was driving there was a loud bang and I thought the tyre had burst

on inspection it hadn't but the flap covering the underneath was loose.

My husband said the bolt had broken and repaired it.

Following week there was still a clattering when going over bumps

my husband investigated and was shocked to find that the suspension spring had broken

- he found this hard to believe as the car has only done 13,140 miles.

We took to the garage as MOT was due and

it was also found that the other brake had also seized.

My husband emailed Mercedes and they don't want to know.

They wanted me to drive 14 miles with a faulty brake and suspension spring

because now they are saying that because the spring is no longer on the car they can do nothing

The Opinion of a senior mechanic was that the spring should never have gone at such low mileage

there is no rust its just snapped and even if service had been carried out would not of detected this fault.

Does anyone please have any advice as what I can do next

- Thank you

When did you buy the car ??

I don't think you will be able to claim the spring from the seller. This sounds like accident/pothole damage so not the fault of the seller.

You say you don't drive it very much and the brake parts being made of mild steel, they will rust with lack of use and become liable to seizing.

Hi thank you for the reply

I bought it 2 years ago

I do drive it every day but I just don't travel many miles as I dont live far from where I work

I don't think I have hit any pot holes?

According to the mechanic he would not have expected the spring to have snapped the way it has on such low mileage.

Mercedes useless all as they want is for you to pay extortionate amounts for a service

when all as they do is change oil and plugs.

I had same with Mazda I had a brand new Mazda MX5 coupe before the Mercedes

again the mileage was very low

I ended up paying £340 for service in first year it had only done less than 2000 miles

- just a rip off

- all cars have the same basic workings so as long as a mechanic is qualified I cant see what difference it makes

and as long as you use genuine parts of which I have.

I accept what you say about brakes though but never happened on my Mazda.

Im looking at getting another Mazda.

Thank you for taking time to reply

I can't see you having any recourse against the seller or Mercedes. Yes it is unusual for a spring to break at that mileage on any make of car, but you are in the unenviable position of having to prove there was a fault with the component.

You could try Mercedes direct and ask them to make a contribution.

As you are thinking of replacing it and going back to a Mazda, to keep the cost as low as possible, ring around the breakers and see if they have a spring, but its not really a d.i.y. job.

and you should replace both sides at the same time

Hi brooksbj

Welcome to CAG

A longshot, they might do something as a 'goodwill gesture'.

Write a Formal Letter of Complaint, mark it as such. Explain what's happened, how they have let you down and what you want them to do.

Send it to:-

Mr Simon Oldfield

Managing Director

Mercedes-Benz UK

[email protected]

Let us know what they say.

Hi thank you for replies

I have already had the work done on the car and both springs replaced.

Im not that bothered about getting any money off them for the repair.

My gripe is Mercedes advertise themselves as a prestige car company and people pay good money for their cars.

The truth is Mercedes do not want to know their customers after they have given them their money

unless you continue with an over priced service which incidentally the fault I have had would not have been picked up

on a service as it wouldn't be expected for this to happen at such low mileage.

A customer service adviser no doubt someone that has an NVQ 4 in customer care

but not a clue about the mechanics of a car as they were advocating that I drive the car over 20 miles to their garage.

This for one is illegal as the car failed MOT and possibly dangerous and could have caused more damage.

I would of liked that their concern would have been

"that probably should not have happened lets get the car in to have a look.

Well lesson learnt don't buy a Mercedes - mine will be going very soon.

Thank you Rebel 11 for address I will definitely be writing to Mr Oldfield

don't go to Mercedes main dealers for a service,theres plenty of small garages will do as good a job for less money,shop around

If you look up a website that lists all of the common problems for makes of cars as per warranty claims you will see that mercs nearly always generate claims for suspension issues so have a look and use the info to go back to Mercedes should you want to press the point