W203 Alloy Wheel Corrosion

[ddentrec]

Hello,

Just noticed that the silver paint on my 2003 C-Class are bubbling quite badly. All 4 wheels are affected. This is not caused by paint damage, etc: the corrosion is from 'under' the paint.

Car is one owner, has 45K miles and full MB history, and it is still under athe MBUK service plus agreement.

Has anyone had any joy getting wheels repaired under Service Plus, since it covers 'fair wear and tear'?

 

[mercmanuk]

yes i had 3 alloys replaced but under 3 year warranty,the 4th wheel had a small kerb mark on the lip about 1/2" long but they wouldnt replace it as it had this damage.the whole wheel is primed then only the face is sprayed silver and laqured.the moisteur gets under the paint from the rear of the wheel and causes the bubling.i was told by mb manchester that its cheaper for mb to manufacture the wheels in this way and save money and just replace any alloys when customers complain under warranty.nearly all wheels on cars over 3 yrs old are affected in this way....

 

[television]

This problem is made worse by some of the wheel cleaners on the market, read the labels on them

 

[ddentrec]

Hello Mercman,

I read your response about the W203 and so took a look at my W123's alloys: it was painted and lacquered on both sides of the wheel and, after 23 years, it has not yet bubbled.

Says it all really.

 

[glojo]

I note your car is 2003 and if it were me then I would go hot foot down to my local friendly main dealer and point out this corrosion and then tell them it has not manifested overnight. It has built up over the year and I never realised it might have been covered by the main three year warranty. I would act all innocent and rely on their help, but if the wheels have been kerbed in anyway, then it will be a harder and maybe impossible task. Countless members have exchanged their wheels (me included) and perhaps that speaks quite loudly about their finish. Wheels were once refurbished but it is now policy to exchange new for old, BUT my experience has been within the three year umbrella.

Good luck with the claim and remember,
Softly, softly catchee monkee.

REgards
John

Edit
Just like many others we only ever used car polish on our wheels

 

[television]

I note your car is 2003 and if it were me then I would go hot foot down to my local friendly main dealer and point out this corrosion and then tell them it has not manifested overnight. It has built up over the year and I never realised it might have been covered by the main three year warranty. I would act all innocent and rely on their help, but if the wheels have been kerbed in anyway, then it will be a harder and maybe impossible task. Countless members have exchanged their wheels (me included) and perhaps that speaks quite loudly about their finish. Wheels were once refurbished but it is now policy to exchange new for old, BUT my experience has been within the three year umbrella.

Good luck with the claim and remember,
Softly, softly catchee monkee.

REgards
John

Edit
Just like many others we only ever used car polish on our wheels

Actually Pristine wheels claim to be the official refurbishers to MB and BMW for the UK, my friend who knows the boss said that they had hundreds of MB wheels going through when he was there last year

 

[glojo]

Actually Pristine wheels claim to be the official refurbishers to MB and BMW for the UK, my friend who knows the boss said that they had hundreds of MB wheels going through when he was there last year

Hi Malcolm,
I'm not sure of the exact date when Pristine lost the franchise and it was indeed standard practice to replace the corroded wheels with Pristine refurbished ones. Ours were replaced earlier this year and the dealership confirmed with me that this arrangement had ended and wheels are now replaced on an old for new basis.

Regards
John

 

[television]

Hi Malcolm,
I'm not sure of the exact date when Pristine lost the franchise and it was indeed standard practice to replace the corroded wheels with Pristine refurbished ones. Ours were replaced earlier this year and the dealership confirmed with me that this arrangement had ended and wheels are now replaced on an old for new basis.

Regards
John

Thank you John very much, thats news to me, I will find out what happened from my friend and let you know

 

[davidjpowell]

Now its my turn. I am beginning to feel a little disatisfied with MB at the moment. Have had a hard 3 day journey to Germany and back this week. Gearbox made an odd sound while over their, two rattles from the interior, a slow speed and a high speed one. Just before I went I noticed that the front alloys were corroding.

One of the alloys has been kerbed. MB has come back to say they will replace one, but not the other. I feel unhappy about this as the fact that the alloy has been kerbed does not detract the fact that the manufacture has been poor. I could see the merit for a contribution, but feel that the overall decision is poor. Has anyone else had this argument with them?

I'm tempted to get the rim refurbed and try again at this stage.

David

 

[whitenemesis]

Just had 2 alloys replaced under warranty, no problems

 

[davidjpowell]

Whitememisis - were the wheels damaged at all?

Kind regards

David

 

[whitenemesis]

No kerbing, if that's what you mean?

The leading edges of two of the "spokes" had blisters about 2mm in diameter