My Car is a safety hazard to all drivers on the road and EasyCare declined the repairs to fix it! "Thank you EasyCare!!!"
I bought my car a little less than a year ago in GREAT from a local dealer in California - a 2007 Mercedes-Benz S600, my dream car. I decided to go with EasyCare since they seemed to be a large reputable company that would be able take care of my car whenever it needed attention.
First of all, I must say that the sales process as easy as it can get - give them your information, get the quote and pay. The inspector comes and checks out the car to make sure that its still in good condition before you get the warranty - fast and easy sign up process. Great job!
Now here is the best part. Their customer service team is a complete joke. I have submitted two claims so far - this one being the second claim. My first claim in which they approved for engine misfiring, they only gave my mechanic the cash-equivalent of a used part at the junk yard so I had to pay extra on top of that as well as the labor rate which I believe they set at a maximum of $50/hour - a massage cost more than that doesn't it? Anyway, after about a thousand dollars extra for the better part + the $500 deductible I had to pay on the Warranty Repair the car was done and driving fine for a few months. Later I start to notice that my car gets stuck in gear randomly. This happens on local streets and on the freeway so this means that I can get stuck in 2nd gear sometimes and 5th gear at other times. When this happens, the car SURGES forward and all four tires lock right before it gets stuck in gear. The only way for me to get it back to normal is if it i restart the car a few times. I feel that this problem is VERY UNSAFE, especially when I'm on the freeway, getting stuck in 5th gear means that I cannot accelerate from a dead stop and there is no safe way for me to restart the car wihile driving on the freeway.
I took it to my indy mechanic to check it out and they informed me that it is a dealer only replacement part which requires that the transmission be opened so they can replace the Valve block in the transmission (Speed Sensor 3 to be exact) which seems to be the issue. I took it to the dealer and they were able to find the error code stored in the computer of the car which states the SAME EXACT issue - Error 2767 Component Y3/6n3 (speed sensor 3) is faulty. I thought that information should have been good enough for EasyCare to see that it became an issue and has stored into the computer of the car.
The dealer called EasyCare yesterday to schedule the claim for me and work on a total of four items:
I found out today that EasyCare decided to decline the Intercooler Pump job because it is not listed on my STATED CARE policy - I find this weird because "Intercoolers" and "Pumps" are covered on the list but I guess not both words put together, Odd. They approved the Engine Mount replacement which is great but cheaper than my $500 deductible. They approved the Underdrive Pulley but would not approve the purchase of the upgraded version which includes two extra pieces - they argued with the dealer saying it was not necessary. Even if they dealer wanted to use the previous version they couldnt because this new version replaced the previous version that was faulty. No Mercedes-Benz dealer can get it, am I going to have to go to the junk yard for this one too? And lastly of course, they decided that they will not approve work on the transmission because while the inspector was present, they were unable to replicate the issue. As I said, the issue occurs randomly and is very unsafe when it happens. I would hate to see anything happen to the dealer's service technician, let alone the inspector.
This is unfair treatment. I gave them a chance with the first claim already thinking that it may just be because the part was so expensive, but for this claim - they are going overboard and on the defense when it comes to paying the bills. I could care less about the other items are being replaced. The Intercooler pump (WHICH IS NOT COVERED) will be coming out of my pocket at $1080 because EasyCare said it wasn't on the list. The issue I have with the transmission is VERY DANGEROUS! I can't believe that they cannot comprehend that issue and understand that it may result in a life or death situation- Do I have to come out of my car in a bodybag in order to finally have them repair the transmission fault?
FYI: I paid $9000 for my coverage of STATED CARE for only 3 years / 36,000 Miles. I am less than 1 year into coverage with EasyCare.
Alan
West Covina,#2Author of original report
Wed, May 14, 2014
Thankfully, I was able to get into contact with John Sutherland, a very nice represenative from EasyCare that was able to assist me with my claim. They stated that there was some miscommunication in terms of what was covered compared to what parts I needed. My car has now been repaired successfully and is running like it should be. Thanks again EasyCare!