1999 C240 Under Bonnet Corrosion

[tosborne]

Hi everyone,
I thought I would start a new thread regarding my recent corrosion warranty claim, here is what has happened to date:

1) About a month ago I was looking under the bonnet and noticed a small amount of rust forming between the upper and lower bonnet skins, at the back of the bonnet close to the hinge

2) After reading some of the posts here I thought I would chance going to the dealer and seeing if it would be covered by the "30-year Warranty"

3) The car was examined by a Greenoaks in Bracknell and the guy said it was definitely a warranty claim - as rust was coming from the inside out, and that to do it properly - a whole new bonnet would be required! Amazing for such a tiny amount of rust!

4) Mercedes have since been in touch - saying that the claim has been "passed", although since the vehicle has been serviced by my friendly independent garage and not an MB dealer for the last 2 years (and 1 month), they will only pay for 75% of the £984.60 it will cost to fix!

I am still amazed to be honest that they will pay this much. I was wondering if anyone had advice on how to recoup the remaining 25%! I am quite sure that if MB had serviced the car they wouldn't have noticed the rust, nor been able to prevent it - and I can't seem to find anything definitive about the T&Cs of Mobil Life, or even the legality of demanding a full Mercedes history? Can anyone help!

Promise to post pictures soon!

 

[GrahamC230K]

I would be grateful and pay the 25%.

I had a claim rejected on my 1999 car.

 

[lotusmark2]

Have to say I was very lucky with my claim, 75% seems a fair deal I would go for it.

 

[Flash]

Tosborne,

75% seems reasonable...

Who at the Dealership examained ur car ? Do they have their own body shop ?

Did they use any equipemnt to check for signs of possible resprays i.e. measure the paint thickness and did the person give the entire car the full once over i.e. check all panels? What colour is ur car in ?

Regards

Flash

 

[tosborne]

The car was checked by R&C Coachworks from Slough who do bodywork for Greenoaks. They checked the thickness of the paint before processing the claim!

The car is Brilliant Silver

 

[simonl]

Brilliant Silver: an oxymoron surely

Seriously though, £246 for a brand new bonnet sound good to me. Just think, no stone chips either

 

[sym]

an oxymoron surely

Thats a big word for a Saturday afternoon !!!

nah. . . I think its just a mere understatement . . . . German humour for you . .

S.

 

[C240Sport97]

MB should pay 100% of the costs. Neither an 'A' or a 'B' service includes looking for rust around the car or the bonnet, so it would have made NO difference whether or not a MB dealer serviced the car. Tell them the EU would not be impressed by MB trying to wriggle out of its warranty obligations by insisting servicing takes place at its franchised outlets only.

 

[Dieselman]

MB should pay 100% of the costs. Neither an 'A' or a 'B' service includes looking for rust around the car or the bonnet, so it would have made NO difference whether or not a MB dealer serviced the car. Tell them the EU would not be impressed by MB trying to wriggle out of its warranty obligations by insisting servicing takes place at its franchised outlets only.

I agree here. My local dealer said to me that servicing and mileage has no bearing on a corrosion claim.
if your car is a '98 car it is probably covered by the standard six year warranty and there is no stipulation for servicing attached to theis warranty.

Go back to MB Customer Services and ask for a 100% claim. The warranty Dept refused my first claim ( car 2 years old) until I involved Cust. Services, then aha 100% claim.

Tel: 0800 800644 or 01908 245000.

Ps. Bonnet frame to skin joints are a known rust area.

 

[kenwaic]

rust

hows this for a claim.....got a puncture the other day so jacked it up,while looking around i saw a bit of rust on the bottom of the wheelarch not even 1 cm long so had a look on other arches and found the same.so i took it to a dealership to have them take a look and they confirmed the rust on the wheelarch also on the drivers door under the seal and also around the bootlid lock which i cant even see .the dealer said he'll make a claim for me ......although i had to wait 6 weeks it all came through and passed ..now i am getting both rear qaurter panels a new boot two front wings and a new drivers door ..i was utterly gobsmacked.i've only had the car six months and now i'm getting half a new car for free . and all this for not a penny and i even get a courtesy car for two weeks...i'm a convert for life
i havent a clue how to post pics but if any one can post for me i'll be gratefull
1999 E 240 avantgarde 18" amg wheels black tints oh and it's silver

 

[rizal2510]

Did you go to Reg Vardy?

hows this for a claim.....got a puncture the other day so jacked it up,while looking around i saw a bit of rust on the bottom of the wheelarch not even 1 cm long so had a look on other arches and found the same.so i took it to a dealership to have them take a look and they confirmed the rust on the wheelarch also on the drivers door under the seal and also around the bootlid lock which i cant even see .the dealer said he'll make a claim for me ......although i had to wait 6 weeks it all came through and passed ..now i am getting both rear qaurter panels a new boot two front wings and a new drivers door ..i was utterly gobsmacked.i've only had the car six months and now i'm getting half a new car for free . and all this for not a penny and i even get a courtesy car for two weeks...i'm a convert for life
i havent a clue how to post pics but if any one can post for me i'll be gratefull
1999 E 240 avantgarde 18" amg wheels black tints oh and it's silver

Hi there,

I'm from Glasgow as well and I've gone to Vardy for the rust claim about a months back for my W210 but still have not heard from them yet. Wonder if you knew who to take the matter up with...

Thanks,
rizal.

 

[Big_Stick]

I have two responses:

1. DaimlerChrysler removed the dealer-must-service-your-car-to-validate-warranty early this year. Search for 'Office of Fair Trading' and 'new car warranties' in google. But I guess DaimlerChrysler UK do not want you to know that...

2. Some of you are missing the point: The fact that a 6 year old car is rusting is wholly unacceptable. Even if they replace the panels for free the fact is they should not have to replace the panels in the first place! We have several 7 years old 'cheap' cars in my company and NONE of them show rust. This is another example of the reality of M-B 'quality'. It is a myth: another example of product marketing over common sense. M-B should talk to Toyota about what quality is.

 

[kenwaic]

true mercedes should not rust but the point is they admit to the mistakes and rectify it ....well at least for me...and it must cost them a absolute fortune..
rizal i found vardy to be absolutley choco bloc ,they are so so busy.i went back to the supplying dealer john.r.weir in grangemouth speak to kenny whom deals with the claims .if and when your claim is processed your car gets transported to a merc body shop in perth so good luck with your claim

 

[Big_Stick]

Fact is that most are only partly galvanised; you know what that means.

I own an E55 and a C-Class estate; each comes with a 30 year warranty against corrosion but the small print does not give you a right to claim for rust ad infinitum.

Replacing the panels and repainting the car will be noticeable to the next owner, unless they do a really 1st class job.

 

[Flash]

Fact is that most are only partly galvanised; you know what that means.

I own an E55 and a C-Class estate; each comes with a 30 year warranty against corrosion but the small print does not give you a right to claim for rust ad infinitum.

Replacing the panels and repainting the car will be noticeable to the next owner, unless they do a really 1st class job.

True say – Our CL600 was being test driven by a Technician and got smacked by another car (why exactly the car was being test driven when only a Electric Window Motor/Regulator was replaced we don’t know/or even received an explanation from the Dealership…).

Due to imperfection finishing of the repaired bodywork (replacement panels/respray) we got a full refund of the purchase price from the Dealer/who bought the car back of us as it was their negligence.…).

Unless the repairs are first class workmanship/finish then the next owner will notice the replaced/resprayed panels… which will then affect the resale value of the vehicle. This is why the Dealer bought the car back of us in order to avoid legal action by ourselves...

Flash

 

[tosborne]

OK - Back to the story!

I have just phoned DaimlerChrysler in Milton Keynes and was patched through to Maastrict, who supposedly handle this sort of thing. This is what I was told:

1) My car is/was apparently covered by the 30-year warranty. I need to correct the title of the thread - my car was actually registered in July 1999

2) I was told that for the warranty to be valid, the car must be serviced by a franchised dealer or other "garage approved by Mercedes Benz" during the first four years, and then every two years after that.

3) As my car was serviced by Mercedes for the first three years, but not the fourth year, the 30-year cover was no longer valid, and any future claims would be "good will" only.

4) Even though the corrosion has nothing to do with servicing, for the warranty to be valid AT ALL, servicing still needs to take place by Mercedes-Benz.

After reading through all your interesting replies above, I quizzed the lady I spoke to about the OFT report above saying that it isn't legal to bind the warranty to in-dealer servicing, but she wasn't having any of it.

Rather than just close the call, I asked her to escalate it, and she said she would raise the issue to the "Complaints Department". It doesn't make any sense to me that a rusty bonnet shouldn't be covered by a 30-year warranty because the oil was changed somewhere else in last year!!

Any body know the best way to approach my local trading standards office so I can fight this corner as well?

 

[sym]

Amended thread title !

What they are telling you sounds totally ridiculous, but if it was part of the contract / warranty signed when you bought the car, then this may carry some weight. Don't see how they could argue it otherwise.

Would be very interested to know what their complaints department have to say about it. My car was registered in May '99, and has no rust to speak of. 5 year old cars should not rust ! Most manufacturers offer at least a 6 or 10 year rust warranty anyway.

The fact that they have already agreed to pay for most of the claim indicates that they agree with the above - so don't see why you should have to fork out for anything really - Keep fighting !! Worst case scenario, you have to pay for 25% of the repair, I guess.

There are some good contacts posted elsewhere on this forum for DCUK senior management.

S.

 

[GrahamC230K]

My car is 1999 and my claim refused because of non-dealer servicing.

My small rust spot is on the rear wheel arch on the inside where you open the rear door. They also said it looked as if caused by the rear seat belt buckle had at somepoint clonked into the paint when someone got out.

I questioned this as nobody ever uses the rear and it is spotless otherwise, but no win.

If you find out I should be covered regardless of servicing, I will try my claim again.

 

[Big_Stick]

...and this proves my point that the 30 year rust warranty is really a scam.

If DaimlerChrysler really wanted to provide quality then they would have galvanised the whole car: only doing a partial job probably saved them £50 per bodyshell.

My E-Class is a company car; but my wife's C-Class is privately owned. And it is our first and last M-B.

 

[tosborne]

OK - just had phone call from Greenoaks Service Manager, sounds like he had been called by Mercedes Benz to investigate my complaint. He promised to call back in the next 24 hours to let me know the score. I wonder if they are asking the dealership to pay up the 25%?

More news when I have it....