A Washington, D.C. attorney warns other Mercedes owners about her experience in a GLC 300 dealership loaner. Here’s what happened and why she says it could’ve caused her passing.
TikTok creator Paulette Pagan (@paulettempaganesq) is an attorney and Mercedes owner who posted a nearly nine-minute video about the experience.
“If you are looking to purchase a car, do not purchase a 2026 GLC Mercedes. Do not go to Mercedes[-Benz] of Alexandria and hope you’re going to get some customer service from Malik,” she says near the end of the video.
How Did a 2026 Mercedes GLC 300 Endanger This Woman?
Pagan explains that she took a loaner GLC 300 from Mercedes of Alexandra while her vehicle was being serviced there. She says she drove two hours away for a court appearance the next day. Pagan adds that while in the middle of a five-lane highway on the way back, the vehicle randomly stopped.
“The car was going quite slow just based off of the traffic,” she says. “And then it starts to get slower. And I’m trying to speed up, and the car is going slower and slower—until it stops. Completely stops in the highway. It won’t speed up. Every light is blinking on the inside panel. I am in panic.”
Pagan describes a scary situation in which traffic was speeding past her on either side, and vehicles behind her struggled to navigate around her disabled vehicle. She says she was trying to use the SOS on the Mercedes, and it told her to contact emergency services.
How Did Mercedes of Alexandria Respond?
She says that as she was stalled in the roadway, she called the dealership for help, and they told her they couldn’t help remotely. Luckily, she says a state trooper stopped to help and ultimately recommended a tow truck, which eventually did come.
Pagan says she then arrived at the dealership and questioned the staff about how something like this could happen. She says she spoke to the manager, whom she refers to as Malik, and that she was not satisfied with his response. So, she demanded to talk to the corporate office.
“There was no empathy whatsoever for what I just experienced and the fact that they gave me a car that could’ve [harmed] me,” she says.
What Happened to the Mercedes GLC 300?
According to Repair Pal, a vacuum leak happens when the vacuum hose on a vehicle gets cracked or somehow disconnected. That will lead to a chain of events that sounds very similar to what Pagan reported happened with the GLC 300 loaner.
A 2020 GLC 300 owner reported to a Facebook group earlier this summer about a “bad coolant leak” that was causing the vehicle to stop and the engine to shut off after approximately a mile of driving.
However, there doesn’t seem to be any evidence online indicating that the GLC 300 is any more prone to a coolant leak than any other vehicle on the road.
Motor1 contacted Pagan via email for comment. We called Mercedes-Benz of Alexandria and left a voicemail for management. We also emailed Mercedes-Benz USA. This story will be updated if any party responds.
@paulettempaganesq Today was terrifying. I’m so thankful I’m ok and no others were injured in a potential crash. Thank you, Chris from Henry’s Towing for keeping us safe. I want to make sure everyone is aware of the seriousness of what happened and what could have happened. I am incredibly disappointed in Mercedes Benz of Alexandria, VA. #mercedes #glc #safety ♬ original sound – Attorney Paulette M. Pagán
