I have a 52 Mercedes C180 Kompressor, bought second hand, privately in May 2009. Six months later I was told (by Motoraid) all four wheel arches were rusted - the upshot of which was two new back arch sections and extensive repair to the front, costing £2,400 of which Mercedes Benz agreed to pay half under a "gesture of goodwill".

After my car was fixed it came back to me with the central locking not working (the repairers say it wasn't their fault). I took my car to Motoraid who told me it would cost £400 plus VAT to fix.

I decided to take the car to Mercedes Southend to get a second quote and they told me after diagnostic testing, that it would cost £396 to fix. So I went with Mercedes. After putting in a new SAM unit, they gave my car back to me still not working (total cost with diagnostics, almost £500).

Mercedes then agreed as a "gesture of goodwill" to reinstall my old SAM unit and refund that cost only, which I took. They then returned my car to me (having reinstalled my old unit), with not only the central locking not working, but the boot won't open and no light over my registration plate, plus third brake lamp does not work. This has been all ongoing since March. The end result of all this is that Mercedes Southend disagrees with my version of events.