Hype stories of litigation between automakers and customers are not uncommon. However, the current case is out of the ordinary. Details of the amazing and fundamental confrontation between CJSC Mercedes-Benz RUS and OJSC Master Association became known only now and reached the Russian edition of Motor1 firsthand.
It all started in 2012, when the aforementioned joint stock company took out a lease for a limousine Maybach 62S. However, the joy of owning a luxury car from the very first months, according to the injured party, was clouded by a series of technical troubles: Maybach’s climate control kept hanging in the recirculation mode, the air suspension had its own life, and at speeds over 40 km / h the side mirrors folded in the opposite direction. Of course, the client has questions.
Maybach 57 and 62 limousines were built in Sindelfingen from 2002 to 2012. The S versions were introduced in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Under the hood of such cars is a 6-liter gasoline V12 with a return of 630 forces. The 62S version is over 6 meters long.
Repeated calls to Panavto (Mercedes-Benz RUS trusted the Maybach service exclusively to this dealer) did not bring tangible results: some of the malfunctions were simply not diagnosed, and the mirrors replaced under warranty were taken back to the old one after a while. All this forced the client to send a “pre-trial” to the representative office of the brand with a request to replace the car. However, the Russian office of “Mercedes” did not consider the problems significant enough.
The litigation initiated in the same 2012 lasted six years, during which multiple independent examinations were carried out, confirming the factory origin of the marriage. It was only during this time that the Maybachs of the first reborn wave were removed from production – and the requirement to replace the car with a similar one of proper quality had to be replaced with a requirement for a cash payment.
In 2018, the court ordered Mercedes-Benz Rus CJSC to pay Master Association OJSC an amount of 742,334 euros (about 55 million rubles at the average annual exchange rate), as well as 200 thousand rubles of legal costs and duties. Head of the press service of the Russian representative office Mercedes Benz unfortunately, he refused to comment in a telephone conversation with the editors of Motor1. But the lawyer of the injured party, Timur Marshani, turned out to be much more talkative and eloquent.
Timur Marshani, lawyer of the plaintiff
I am certainly pleased with the result! This unique case made it possible to evaluate their strengths in front of such a company as Mercedes-Benz RUS. The victory was not easy. To achieve success, we had to use huge human and intellectual resources. The extended listening time slots added to the problem.
Why do I find this case special? If only because the importer seemed to deliberately sabotage contacts with Stuttgart. And the manufacturer, who received inaccurate information, insisted on the operational rather than constructive nature of the defects. For the legal department of Mercedes-Benz RUS, which represents a major manufacturer on the Russian market, this is undoubtedly a negative experience.
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