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After a 13 week wait I finally got to pick up my new car on Monday, I’d ordered a Mercedes CLA180 shooting brake premium.After going for a drive and getting home, 30 miles travelling, I went to the boot of the car to see the badge said CLA200! I called the dealer as all my paperwork said CLA180 and they went into panic mode, saying they had ordered the wrong car from the factory and as this model wasn’t available on motability, I had been driving uninsured!! I was so upset and stressed over this. They said they had added the car onto their insurance and I must return the car straight away. They can’t get me the correct car till February 2021 now and have asked motability to let me have the car and they will take the hit on costs and even pay any payment for it to be added to motability fleet insurance. So far motability have refused this. Has anyone else experienced something the same or similar?
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2 weeks a go I test drove a CLA 180, and they said they had a grey stock shooting break I could have. But i cannot remember what spec it was sorry.
Is Swansea too far for you? If not give Swansea a ring and see if it’s still availible, it was in Grey.
If its something you’re intrested in maybe the dealers can move it between eachother?
Just a suggestion! (It might not be still there, or might not be trim/colour)
Hi Chris, thanks for trying to help. It’s the premium model I want, I’ve tried a few dealers and all say there’s non at all in the country.
I re call seeing it, it didnt have the Pan roof so i guess it was below the plus spec.
Come to think of it, it had grey handles, so didnt have the keyless entry. So I think its not even Premium.
(Think the rep said keyless entry has silver handles)
<p style=”text-align: left;”>I hope the sort this mess out for you Keith. Good luck ?</p>Thank you, to get your new car then have it taken away the same day is abit hard to take.
Hi Keith,
So very sorry to hear ur terrible experience! As its absolutely the dealers fault, it may be worth asking/demanding they provide you with a lease car at their expense until they can make good on the lease contract they have entered into. If this means a free courtesy lease vehicle for up to 6 months, so be it.
Hi Matt. Yes the dealer haven’t tried to hide anything, they fully accept the salesmans error. I have been put back into my old motability car until things can be resolved. Doesn’t stop the huge disappointment though or the stress of being told I had been driving around in a brand new car, uninsured. I just feel under these exceptional circumstances, Motability could make an exception and let me keep the car. I’m told this has been allowed in the past.
If it had been a lesser spec model but still not on the scheme they would have let you keep it but because it’s a higher model/spec they don’t want people seeing you in it and assuming you can get top cars on the scheme, we’re only lower tier customers.
Yeah, I’d be tempted to try and persuade the dealer to order the wrong car for me and pay the difference if I knew motability would let me keep it
Gary, in all honesty that’s not going to happen though, this is a genuine mistake from the dealer and it should be rectified. If we were a retail customer it would be straight away. Motability should be treating us like one.
Big of a odd mistake to order you a model not on the scheme and then not notice until you tell them.
Did they not check the vehicle over with you before collection.
Did you not go round the car before driving it away ? was the registration plate correct ? Did you check the paperwork ?
Ive never heard of a case like yours before and ive been around a long time.
All the paperwork had the correct car on it, CLA180 premium, the car was parked close to a wall so when I checked it over a couldn’t see the badge on the boot, only saw it when I got home. The salesmans put the correct car through on the Motability site but ordered a CLA200 from the factory.
Should have just kept it and said nothing, it would have been the garage at fault if anything happened down the line.
Should have kept quiet it would not have been your fault however this action by motabilty has to work both ways so if you have ordered something and the detail is not correct then back it goes and a new car will need to ordered because what is good for the goose is good for the gander
Yes I do regret telling them now, silly mistake.
Just an update for you. Motability have today turned down my appeal to keep the car, stating the cars cost as the reason, even though the dealer have said they will do it as the same price as the CLA180!! They say I can’t appeal their decision to a higher level. Not interested in helping me out at all and denie it has been done in the past, When a motability area manager has told the dealer that it has been done before.
Wow thats some bad luck Keith.
I hope you can find a car that has been Cancelled and have it within days. Phone every dealer perhaps.
Good luck
If you make enough fuss they will let you have it. Phone your MP tell Him or Her your story. You may be waiting months now for a replacement . Good Luck
Keith
Tbats absolutely disgraceful from Motabity.
Did you say they have already given you your old car back, so you have a vehicle.
It may have been a different story if your old car had been sold on.Lesson learned I guess, If it’s parked in a tight spot get the dealer to move the car and have a real thorough check the car is what you ordered before signing and driving off.
It’s good to check your new car over but not all cars have the specific model designation stuck on the back and if the dealer is trying to pass it off as the car you ordered or as in this case thought it was the right car then the only way would be to give the paperwork a thorough going over to check model/spec etc, even then some discrepancies can easily be overlooked.
Personally I would not of accepted my last car back, as the seat was causing me alot of discomfort. How long extra ha you to wait for it to be put right and another 4 months, which i’d say is unacceptable, also when did you actaully order this car. I ordered mein back in jan for april but because of covid had to wait another 2 months on top and then if this had happen another 4 months than would be 9 months. with a car that was now unsuitable. I had issues getting my latest car and top brass at MB had to sort it out and did.. Because of the hack on honda, they did not have any direct aceess to dvla and could not register new cars in the normal way and as we have different tax class was an issue, but got resolved. I feel for you not a great situation and imo Mbo and mercedes should put it right asap. Or they hire you a car for the period. But maybe by accepting your old car back you have accepted there solution and problaly have no legal grounds to then complain and this is probally why your appeal has been turned down. you accepted the resolution they offered.
One could pled that you did not think at the time and was dupped as you was led to believe you was driving around illegally. When in fact you was not. It’s the lease company mbo to make sure you are covered and rsa provide that cover.
The more I read about Motability the more I’m starting to regret going with them. If they had some like for like competition they would go out of business very quickly. You can tell from their attitude that they are owned by the banks as their customer service seems on par with the banking sector.
Hi Keith,
When an honest man gets shat on for being honest you know the system is flawed. Other than a jobsworth mentality there can be no reason as to why you couldn’t keep the incorrect car. To be honest, and assuming that Motability has expert level senior managers working in the organisation, it sounds like this issue hasn’t yet got the ear of somebody senior enough to be able to make a judgement call instead of quoting policy. I would question whether their decision isn’t in fact discriminatory. If your dealer has accepted responsibility and offered to take the financial hit one can assume that they would have done the same if you’d paid via merc finance or cash. So, the only reason you’re not sitting in your new car right now is because you’ve chosen to purchase through a scheme specifically designed to aid disabled people. That negatively differentiates you from other customers in a pretty severe way. If it were me I would be firing a letter off to the CEO asking for his explanation of why he considers this appropriate. It’ll probably never reach him but it might reach a manager senior enough to be able to make a sensible decision.
Good luck with getting a positive resolution and at least rest easy that your integrity can’t be questioned. If that were me I’d have been getting hairdryers and scrapers on that badge ASAP!
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