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Mercedes treated me similarly. I had a brand new sprinter van. The power braking fluid lines exploded just after I got off the highway. I got extremely lucky it

Mercedes treated me similarly. I had a brand new sprinter van. The power braking fluid lines exploded just after I got off the highway. I got extremely lucky it didn't happen 5 seconds earlier than it did. Turns out they use plastic rings instead of metal ones and it turns out it happens to lots of people. They refused to buy back the vehicle. I wanted to sue them but I've got too much stuff on my plate, or so I tell myself. Needless to say, I lost a lot of trust in them and (perhaps stupidly) sold the van shortly afterwards.

unfocussed_mike 5y ago
> Needless to say, I lost a lot of trust in them and (perhaps stupidly) sold the van shortly afterwards. I know this is very off-topic but don't beat yourself up about making quick decisions like this that cut that kind of persistent, simmering rage out of your life. We have enough of this stuff with people in our lives, often unavoidably, so letting appliances/devices/products cause it is not something we have to tolerate. If a _thing_ makes you feel unsatisfiable anger, get rid of it.
- jacquesm 5y ago
  Very good advice. Vote with your feet and move on. Life really is too short, if MB wants to burn their brand more power to them. I bought a 25 year old car and had it rebuilt end-to-end, this cost a bit but the result is fine. No electronics other than ECU and some minor bits like ABS and pretty reliable. It will outlast me.
  - gruez 5y ago
    >Vote with your feet and move on Isn't the correct term "vote with your wallet"? "voting with your feet" implies switching jobs or emigrating.
    - jacquesm 5y ago
      Walk out of one store and into another.
  - unfocussed_mike 5y ago
    I bought a (really cheap, hybrid) resonator guitar about 15 years ago. It wasn't very expensive, it _looked_ really cool (great headstock). But I couldn't get a sound out of it I liked, and over time the resonator became difficult to "tune" or maintain. And I felt sort of guilty and stupid for buying it. I couldn't get on with the thing, but I felt bad about selling it to anyone because the resonator was more trouble than it was worth. Some frustrations should not be sold on. So I kept the very nice guitar case, and gave the guitar away to a talented, broke musician, who used its rather scratchy, broken sound for effect on a couple of recordings. I could have sold it for a few quid but I have never regretted this; I turned my frustration at this thing into a gift and a bit of joy for someone else and then moved on. Not something I'd recommend everyone does regularly, because if we all do it, it just prolongs poor product design by failing to reject it, but it helped this one time. (It also taught me an important lesson about musical instruments; the next guitar I bought was better, but more basic in appearance and already scratched from the shop.)
monus21 5y ago
A good number of their engine components these days are made of cheap plastic that just disintegrates after slight use.
- blueprint 5y ago
  suchas?
gunapologist99 5y ago
You probably did the right thing -- life is short. I had a similar experience and called an attorney, who explained that, in the U.S., you can really only sue for any actual loss (whether to the vehicle or to you). If you weren't injured or killed, and didn't suffer extreme anxiety or something like that, then you suffered no real loss and really have nothing to sue over (unfortunately). You can't sue for what might have happened, only for what actually did. (You probably could have sued, at least in small claims, for the loss of use, cost of repairs, decrease in value, etc, if you wanted to take the time.) With that said, you might have been able to get them to take it back under your state's lemon law, if you hadn't already sold it, but the lemon laws generally only cover multiple defects over a period of time anyway. :(
- blueprint 5y ago
  given they know about it already but still sell the vehicles I think a fraud case is in the cards. then a recall will be issued.
philsnow 5y ago
What model year was that sprinter?
- blueprint 5y ago
  couple yrs ago

unfocussed_mike 5y ago

> Needless to say, I lost a lot of trust in them and (perhaps stupidly) sold the van shortly afterwards. I know this is very off-topic but don't beat yourself up about making quick decisions like this that cut that kind of persistent, simmering rage out of your life. We have enough of this stuff with people in our lives, often unavoidably, so letting appliances/devices/products cause it is not something we have to tolerate. If a _thing_ makes you feel unsatisfiable anger, get rid of it.

jacquesm 5y ago
Very good advice. Vote with your feet and move on. Life really is too short, if MB wants to burn their brand more power to them. I bought a 25 year old car and had it rebuilt end-to-end, this cost a bit but the result is fine. No electronics other than ECU and some minor bits like ABS and pretty reliable. It will outlast me.
- gruez 5y ago
  >Vote with your feet and move on Isn't the correct term "vote with your wallet"? "voting with your feet" implies switching jobs or emigrating.
  - jacquesm 5y ago
    Walk out of one store and into another.
- unfocussed_mike 5y ago
  I bought a (really cheap, hybrid) resonator guitar about 15 years ago. It wasn't very expensive, it _looked_ really cool (great headstock). But I couldn't get a sound out of it I liked, and over time the resonator became difficult to "tune" or maintain. And I felt sort of guilty and stupid for buying it. I couldn't get on with the thing, but I felt bad about selling it to anyone because the resonator was more trouble than it was worth. Some frustrations should not be sold on. So I kept the very nice guitar case, and gave the guitar away to a talented, broke musician, who used its rather scratchy, broken sound for effect on a couple of recordings. I could have sold it for a few quid but I have never regretted this; I turned my frustration at this thing into a gift and a bit of joy for someone else and then moved on. Not something I'd recommend everyone does regularly, because if we all do it, it just prolongs poor product design by failing to reject it, but it helped this one time. (It also taught me an important lesson about musical instruments; the next guitar I bought was better, but more basic in appearance and already scratched from the shop.)

monus21 5y ago

A good number of their engine components these days are made of cheap plastic that just disintegrates after slight use.

blueprint 5y ago
suchas?

gunapologist99 5y ago

You probably did the right thing -- life is short. I had a similar experience and called an attorney, who explained that, in the U.S., you can really only sue for any actual loss (whether to the vehicle or to you). If you weren't injured or killed, and didn't suffer extreme anxiety or something like that, then you suffered no real loss and really have nothing to sue over (unfortunately). You can't sue for what might have happened, only for what actually did. (You probably could have sued, at least in small claims, for the loss of use, cost of repairs, decrease in value, etc, if you wanted to take the time.) With that said, you might have been able to get them to take it back under your state's lemon law, if you hadn't already sold it, but the lemon laws generally only cover multiple defects over a period of time anyway. :(

blueprint 5y ago
given they know about it already but still sell the vehicles I think a fraud case is in the cards. then a recall will be issued.

philsnow 5y ago

What model year was that sprinter?

blueprint 5y ago
couple yrs ago