When Los Angeles car dealer Mark Johnston forked over $1.7 million to buy one of only five special Mercedes Benz CLK-GTR roadsters produced in the world, he could not have predicted the long struggle he was about to face. Johnston claims he and his brother couldn’t get it to travel more than ten blocks. Accordingly, he has filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court seeking a full refund from the manufacturer and its affiliates. The defendants named in the suit are DaimlerChrysler and its Mercedes-Benz subsidiary.
Mr. Johnston’s suit, brought by law firm Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P., accuses the defendants of breaching their contractual and warranty obligations to provide a defect-free car, in this case a Mercedes AMG CLK-GTR Limited Edition Roadster, which Mr. Johnston intended to sell through his dealership. The complaint also alleges negligent misrepresentation and breach of the implied warranty of good faith and fair dealing. Mr. Johnston seeks full reimbursement of the vehicle’s purchase price, along with the other costs incurred as a result of attempts to repair it.
The silver AMG Roadster is a product of DaimlerChrysler’s long collaboration with H.W.A. and Mercedes-AMG, two German manufacturers of racing and high-end performance vehicles. Only five of the AMG roadsters were reportedly made; Mr. Johnston owns the only one in North America. The AMG CLK-GTR is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most expensive production car ever made. The two-door sports car is made of carbon fiber monocoque with an integrated steel roll cage and front energy absorbing crash box. The 6.9-liter engine has a 12-cylinder, 60 degree V-motor, enabling the car to go from zero to 124 mph in 9.9 seconds and reach a top speed of 198.4 mph.
Mr. Johnston and his brother Ernest own Grand Prix Motors, a car dealership in the Mar Vista section of Los Angeles. The two former auto mechanics have extensive experience working on Ferraris and other top performing vehicles and are very knowledgeable about collectible cars. Grand Prix contracted to purchase the Mercedes AMG in 2002 for the hefty price tag of $1.7 million. Their intention was to sell the vehicle through their dealership, as they had done with other rare and vintage automobiles.
“The car was absolutely gorgeous and we were excited about offering what we thought was a true gem to our customer base,” Mark Johnston explained. “Unfortunately, the car turned out to be ‘exotic’ in the worst possible way. When we took it off the lot in 2004 for its first customer test drive, Ernie drove the car all of ten blocks with a prospective buyer when the oil light came on. We’ve been trying to get it fixed ever since, but the Mercedes folks have refused to stand behind the car as promised in our contract.”
According to the complaint, the roadster’s transmission failed to shift properly. Additionally, the hydraulic jack system failed and the windows became unglued. In 2005, the defendants dispatched a technician from Germany to examine the car in 2005; after dismantling it, the mechanic returned to Germany with a number of parts that were never reinstalled. Mr. Johnston asserts that the defendants later instructed Grand Prix to transport the non-working car to a Mercedes facility in Lake Park, Florida, which Grand Prix did at an additional cost of $10,000.
Although the Mercedes technicians determined that the car suffered an oil-pressure related engine failure and needed a new engine, the defendants were unwilling to make any repairs. The complaint asserts that the defendants were aware that several of the other Mercedes AMG roadsters in circulation had oil pressure-related problems.
“Mr. Johnston has exhausted himself trying to get Mercedes and the other defendants to recognize their warranty obligations,” said John O’Malley, the Fulbright & Jaworski partner in Los Angeles who is representing Grand Prix Motors. “You’d think you’d be able to drive a $1.7 million car more than 10 blocks.”
“We continue to be dumbfounded by the unwillingness DaimlerChrysler, Mercedes and the other defendants have shown in owning up to the problems of their vehicle — the other manufacturers we deal with would never operate this way,” explained Mr. Johnston. “It’s unfortunate the defendants have forced us to bring a lawsuit in order to have our contract honored. We obviously cannot sell the car in its current condition, which right now represents nearly $2 million of scrap metal.”
06/14, 5:08 PM
posted by:
Jon
How can Ferrari and yes, Lamborghini make cars that go faster, and yet don’t have that many problems?
Jon.
06/14, 5:13 PM
posted by:
anonymous
I guess the Enzo and FFX owners are glad that they made the right choice of auto ownership!!!
06/14, 5:16 PM
posted by:
Mike
“How can Ferrari and yes, Lamborghini make cars that go faster, and yet don’t have that many problems?”
ummm, they produce more than 5?
sounds like they have a *decent* case based solely on the *claims* presented in the article. still have to see where the paper trail leads.
even as a $2,000,000.00 paperweight, it is worth every penny.
06/14, 5:20 PM
posted by:
Jon
Mike,
This was the roadster version of the coupe, of which they produced 25 road-going cars, plus the 10 or so racecars, plus the cars are based on parts used by other Mercedes cars (of which 100,000 of cars and millions of parts are made). Thus, this isn’t just some odd occurrence made by some small company. How many cars does Koenigsegg make?
Jon.
06/14, 5:26 PM
posted by:
Mike
there are 100k CLK-GTR engines on the road? Oh, the CLK-GTR must use factory suspensions…. wait… no…
well, the headlights look similar..
06/14, 5:29 PM
posted by:
Jon
The basis for that V12 is the same V12 used in every V12 powered MB / Maybach car: S600, S65, SL600, S65, CL600, CL65, Maybach 57, Maybach 62…
Thus, this isn’t a ground-up mom and pop operation (see my reference above), this is Mercedes-Benz, and its really both unacceptable and ridiculous all at once.
Jon.
06/14, 5:55 PM
posted by:
Trevor
I knew Chrysler owned Mercedes.
06/14, 6:14 PM
posted by:
ă‚ă‚ł
amazing car
06/14, 6:21 PM
posted by:
Anonymous
Owned
06/14, 6:38 PM
posted by:
Trevor
my bad ………. owns !
06/14, 6:45 PM
posted by:
Renton
I would have bought a Bugatti Veyron, and with the extra dough left over built a nice garage for it. That car desrves a special garage.
06/14, 6:51 PM
posted by:
Anonymous
The bugatti’s tyres tend to blow at 200 mph aswell. What the use of a garage if you can’t see it after the crash. Rather have a unrelieble car then a death trap
06/14, 7:14 PM
posted by:
think?
jon…
there is no roadster CLK-GTR… i think you’re confusing the DTM racer. Mercedes had to make 5 in order to meet requirements to race in the Le Mans series. There are no convertibles. This car shares nothing in common with a stock CLK save the headlights. This is a pure race car, mercedes did something more than ferrari, since ferrari wont make the FXX streetlegal… and requires Ferrari technicians on site when operating the vehicle. Mercedes put it out there for everyday use, and being more than a few years old, race technology doubles almost 2 times a year, so this CLK-GTR is almost a dinosaur in respect to technology that might have led it to be super reliable. Comparing the engine in this street legal race car to an S600 is insane and requires no rebutle. Yes the car had problems, but being a ferrari fan you should appreciate that, isnt the 355 the last true ferrari ever made? since it broke down almost monthly, had no parts available in comparison to the 360 and 430 which are basically high strung toyotas.
06/14, 7:54 PM
posted by:
X-Factor
Everyone rags on the FFX & thinks it’s ugly. I do admit the FFX has a face only a mother could love but….CLK-GTR is ugly as ****! It looks like it was put together by parts from the JC Whitney catalog!
06/14, 7:57 PM
posted by:
Andrew
Umm no think? there were the 5 CLK-GTR roadsters, like the article says, made after there was interest from the usual suspects for one-off supercars. All 5 were presold to sheiks in Dubai and the UAE and were very well received and were great streetcars. have seen nothing but good things about all of the CLK-GTR, street or track versions, and if it hadn’t developed the bad habit of flipping in the air when trying to make the pass on the track they would have been a very successful racecar, but then they did lead to safer and some say sexier R8 style of prototype racers. In regards to the FXX vs CLK-GTR, the reason for Ferrari not homologating it for road use is because it is a pure track only test car needing race team support due to the racer-like strains on the engine and to maintain the Ferrari level of exclusivity. The CLK-GTR street version was detuned from the race trim engine to make it road-car usable, VERY different from everyday use, to meet the ACO/FIA rules and allow it to race under the old prototype rules. It’s really the last of a breed started in the 50s of giving the public, albeit EXTREMELY rich public, the chance to have the thrill of a true race car from the top level of sportscar racing. With the introduction of the R8-style(name only used because its the most successful example) prototypes we will never see the best racers on the streets again.
06/14, 8:02 PM
posted by:
Jon
Um, Dude, you completely lost me. First off, if you re-read the article, you’ll see that in the first paragraph it mentions how this car is in fact one of 5 CLK-GTR Roadsters. I am not confusing this with the DTM racer, nor am I confusing the fact that they made road going versions of the CLK-GTR in coupe form. Here is a Wikipedia article that will explain regarding the original 25:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_CLK-GTR
Coupe:
http://www.autopanorama.ru/gallery/MB_SLR-GT_06-03/mercedes-clk-gtr_1024.jpg
Roadster:
http://www.xtreme-tuning.com/imagenes/2004/tuning%20internacional/abril2004/Mercedes%20CLK%20GTR%20Roadster2.jpg
As well, the basis for the engine is the tried and tested MB V12. Regardless if they bored it out for large displacement, and if they changed the lubrication system, or whatever else, the basis for the car is still the same (not to mention the SS version which used the same 7.3 liter used in the Pagani Zonda, which indecently doesn’t have these types of problems…) and its ridiculous that it has supercilious problems like a failing oil system.
The F430 is truly better than the 355, it builds on it superbly. Just because Ferrari now makes a more reliable car, it doesn’t take it any less of a Ferrari; actually it’s great that Ferrari makes more reliable cars…who the hell wants an unreliable car?
Jon.
06/14, 11:46 PM
posted by:
Jon
Sorry, that should read ‘make it any less’…
Jon.
06/15, 3:21 AM
posted by:
Akia
I agree with Jon and Andrew.
Even if they did make a completely new engine, they are most definetly going to test it. They don’t want their racecars breaking down in the middle of a race… Even if there is some special way they need to treat the engine–or maybe they even need to get it fixed. It’s still the company’s responiblilty to figure out/explain the problem. That’s the way it is for NORMAL cars even, if you buy a car for 2 milliion (give or take a few 100k) you better have some kind of warranty or something.
06/15, 7:13 AM
posted by:
aj
What’s new? Every automotive publication I receive who does long-term reports claims that there are too many out of pocket expenses on MB. Their reliability is piss poor, and they think they can do no wrong.
06/15, 10:53 AM
posted by:
Paul
So rich guys have the same problems as everyone else and can’t solve them any better. Interesting.
06/15, 12:26 PM
posted by:
canut4ever
Rich guy buys a rare road going LeMans racer that is not a part of the regular production Mercedes portfolio. These cars have lesser development time in the real world than regular Mercedes cars. The guy should have been prepared for that. Now you know why the Bugatti Veyron delivery was delayed several times.
06/18, 3:08 PM
posted by:
Adriano Faur
A footballer here in Romania bought a new Ferrari Scaglietti and after 300 km since new the car blew-up on the highway. First, some “transmision fail” lights came on, then a trucker warned him about fire coming from under the car. The man bearly had enough time to get out before the car exploded. Me big fan of 355 but Ferraris still suck…
The video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScAkjwvwHhE&search=Popescu
06/18, 6:07 PM
posted by:
vipermatt
I’d rather get the new Maserati MC 12 Corsa. Same exclusivity, cheaper by 1/2 mill, and better performance.
06/19, 2:05 AM
posted by:
Adam Kasner
All I have to say is that this guy’s obviously not wrapped too tight. Stevie Wonder could play PGR3 and race the CLK-GTR on day, and the next drive one in real life…WITH HIS EYES CLOSED…and still know which one was fake, ok? This guy’s got enough money that first he should buy a new brain becuase his is obviously not functioning well. Then, he should go and buy a nice F430 roadster that will atleast get him out of the dealership! And if he’s such a daily driver, maybe he shouldn’t even get the roadster, infact, just the coupe.
06/21, 5:50 PM
posted by:
Dwight Finnie
Trevor makes a valid point “Chrysler owns Mercedes�. One of my co-workers purchased an SL600 and had nothing but problems with it. He loved it more than his Porsche 993 Carrera 2 Coupe at first, but finally conceded to reality and sold it after several attempts to get the self-leveling suspension working correctly (and the car off the ground; literally, off the ground).
08/27, 2:17 PM
posted by:
AJ
are you serious?