Mercedes Overcharges for Cheap Repair Parts, Class Action Says

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Last week, a class action lawsuit was filed against Mercedes-Benz alleging that the car company misrepresents where it gets replacement parts for its luxury vehicles and uses cheap knock-offs for repairs while charging customers for the real thing.

Leaf plaintiffs Steve Ferrari and Mike Keynejad allege that Mercedes tells customers it uses name-brand parts in repairs and charges them for those parts, but in reality, the company uses cheaper knock-offs. The company charges customers almost double what the knock-off parts costs, according to the Mercedes class action lawsuit.

The plaintiffs allege that Mercedes advertised that it only used genuine parts for repairs, including statements on their website telling consumers, “When your vehicle needs maintenance or repair, accept nothing less than Genuine Mercedes-Benz parts. Painstakingly crafted to the state-of-the-art standards of Mercedes-Benz, our parts are the final, fine-tuned word in protecting your vehicle’s performance, style, comfort, and safety for years to come.”

According to the Mercedes class action lawsuit, Autobahn Motors Inc., a Mercedes-related entity, has advertised that it uses only original equipment manufacturer parts since 2005. “[Mercedes] co-published the fraud and fraudulent advertisement at issue in this case which includes a series of pages as to how OEM/Mercedes Benz genuine parts are superior to nongenuine parts and should be used whenever a customer is making a repair of their car to increase the durability and longevity of the car, and is also a condition of a continuing warranty of the car,” the plaintiffs allege in their class action lawsuit.

The plaintiffs claim the practice has cost consumers at least $6.6 million. Additionally, the practice allegedly amounts to fraud, negligent misrepresentation and violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act committed by Mercedes.

Mercedes is facing a rash of litigation, including accusations in a separate class action lawsuit filed in 2011 alleging the company didn’t properly harden its aluminum alloy rims making them susceptible to premature cracking and failure. Recently, Mercedes agreed to settle another class action lawsuit alleging it was knowingly selling cars with defective engine parts, according to court documents that lay out partial repair reimbursement for cars with up to 10 years or 125,000 miles on the road.

The allegations in this class action lawsuit come on the heels of a report issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finding that Volkswagen AG allegedly rigged the software on diesel cars to disguise the amount of pollutants the vehicles emit. Just recently, Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn issued a statement indicating he would resign as CEO to give the company a “fresh start.”

Earlier, the EPA indicated that Volkswagen’s vehicles’ emissions controls aren’t working as effectively during normal driving situations and the cars is emit nitrous oxide pollutants at up to 40 times the federal standard. The allegations cover roughly 482,000 diesel passenger cars sold in the U.S. since 2008 and Volkswagen may be on the hook for potential civil penalties and injunctive relief.

The plaintiffs are represented by Herman Franck and Elizabeth Betowski of Franck & Associates.

The Mercedes Knock-Off Parts Class Action Lawsuit is Steve Ferrari, et al. v. Mercedes-Benz USA LLC, et al., Case No. 3:15-cv-04379, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: On Aug. 28, 2018, drivers received initial approval for a $1.6 million settlement deal resolving a class action lawsuit that claimed Autobahn lied about the quality of car parts used in repairs.