Mercedes Dealer Won’t Make Lemon Car Right

[Desmond Milligan 0]

An AutoNation Mercedes dealer in Florida allegedly won’t pay a customer for a lemon car it sold, despite an order from an arbitrator. It’s a frustrating situation anyone could find themselves in and certainly feels like a miscarriage of justice.

A woman smiles in her mugshot after she vandalized her ex’s car to the tune of $12,000.

The woman originally purchased what was advertised as a certified pre-owned 2018 Mercedes E 400, and she was understandably excited, reports CBS News Miami. After all, that’s a nice car. But it came with a long list of headaches, leading the woman to question if it really went through the long inspection Mercedes-Benz requires for a vehicle to be sold as certified pre-owned.

About six months after the purchase, the first indication the woman had that something was amiss came when one of the bumper covers fell off. It had been attached using only zip ties. The dealer fixed the problem free of charge.

But not too long after, the E 400 started “running rough.” Suspecting the dealer wasn’t being honest, the woman took the luxury car to an independent Mercedes shop and that’s when she got hit by a truth bomb.

The odometer was showing about 39,000 miles but a diagnostic indicated the true mileage was about 71,000 miles. When the woman went to get a second opinion, that mechanic said the vehicle wasn’t even safe to drive thanks to a damaged suspension.

Odometer fraud is a federal offense, and we wonder if this case has been referred to the authorities. It might not have been the dealership that dialed the odometer back, but we would think that should’ve been discovered in the pre-owned certification process.

Eventually, the woman retained an attorney and the case went to arbitration. The arbitrator found in her favor, saying the AutoNation dealer violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act. Even though the dealer appealed the decision with the American Arbitrator Association, it was denied.

But the dealership hasn’t paid a dime of the $66,000-plus in damages ordered. The woman’s attorney says the dealer is dragging out the resolution, in the meantime waging a legal battle against her that’s costing more money.

It sounds like a war of attrition, a way to wear down the other side even when you’ve already lost. We’d love to say this is shocking, but we’ve seen dealerships behave this way too many times in the past.

Image via Rob Toma/Facebook Marketplace

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