Not A Happy Camper

A week ago I took my car into the Mercedes dealer; I had a brake light on and the transmission was beginning to "clunk" into gear from time to time and being that I was starting a new job the next week I wanted everything fixed before I did. Well, they replaced the front brake pads and ran some tests on the transmission and said they did note the problem, but that they had fixed it. They charged me for the brakes and $120 for the "minor" transmission work and sent me on my way.

On Thursday I lost my transmission during rush hour on what is known as "The Orange Crush," one of the most over-crowded sections of freeway in California. Amazingly enough I was not hit by anyone, though I had to sit in my car in the number three lane for ten minutes or so with my foot on the brake to keep from rolling back into other cars. An emergency tow-truck came and pulled me off the freeway and I called Triple-A and they came and towed me back to the dealer.

On Friday they called to say I needed a new transmission and it would be $8,977. I just about shit myself. They obviously did not correct the problem when I brought it in to them and told them there were issues with the tranny and now that they let it completely fall apart they want me to fork over nine grand? I called their customer complaint line and we started talking.

On Saturday they called to say that they were going to actually open the transmission up to see what was wrong with it, that they might be able to repair it. I asked if maybe they should have done that before telling me I needed a new transmission, but they ignored my question.

More on this as it progresses.