Market watchdog investigates after viral Mercedes oil leak
The market watchdog in northwest China’s Xi’an has launched an investigation into a customer complaint that her newly bought Mercedes-Benz sedan has engine oil leaks.
The incident has attracted wide attention after a video of a woman sitting on top of a Mercedes-Benz while weeping and arguing with salesmen went viral online.
In the video posted on Weibo by a netizen identified as “huashenfangcunshan” on April 11, the woman claimed she found an oil leak when she was driving the car home from the dealer. After she drove the car back, she was told she couldn’t get a refund nor switch to a new car. All the dealer offered was to change the engine.
The CLS300 sedan cost around 660,000 yuan (US$98,445).
The customer met with officials from the market watchdog of Gaoxin District Saturday, demanding a full maintenance history of the car and an independent test by a third-party, Shaanxi TV Station reported Saturday.
Mercedes-Benz issued a statement on its Weibo account on Saturday, saying it was sorry for the customer's "unpleasant experience," and has dispatched a team to Xi'an to help solve the issue.
The dealer claimed the car had passed all tests before it was sold, according to a report by Xi’an’s news portal cnwest.com on April 12.
Li Yong, an official with the market watchdog of Gaoxin District in Xi’an, told cnwest.com that they learned about the incident online. They are still investigating and will punish those responsible if any violations are discovered, the report said.