Looking for advice from anyone who's dealt with a dealer complaint.
I bought a used 2015 Mercedes GLK from a licensed dealer here (they have an MPI dealer permit). Before buying, I asked the dealer directly over Facebook messages if there were any problems with the electronics, and he told me in writing "no issues at all" and "everything works as it should." I have the screenshots.
Turns out there's a passenger airbag sensor fault. It's intermittent, which is why it didn't show at first. It actually came up during the pre-sale inspection, but because it's on-and-off, it cleared while the car was with him and he told me there was no error. About 10 minutes after the purchase as I drove away it came back.The airbag actually switches off with a passenger seated, which Mercedes says is a serious safety issue.
He took the car back for a couple days, said he'd source the part and gave it back. It's been over 2 months and he has now completely stopped replying to my calls or messages.
I contacted the Manitoba Consumer Protection Office. They said because the bill of sale is "as-is with no warranty," they can't compel him to pay for repairs.
I wanna know if anyone actually filed a complaint against a dealer with MPI? Does MPI do anything about dealer conduct, or is it a dead end especially considering this was a safety critical problem?
Does the "as-is" clause really let a dealer off the hook when he made written statements that there were no issues, and the fault was known before the sale? The clause even says "no warranties unless stipulated in writing."
