2 year old C Class Coupe paint problem!

[niknakmb]

I suspected this would be the case. I knew it didn't take that long.

 

[supermonkeyman]

Well I had some good news today, though not what I expected!

I spoke to MBUK in Milton Keynes today and they had been told by my local dealership that they apologise, but they hadn't sent the case to Germany yet, despite them repeatedly telling me that they had and that they were taking a long time to hear back from Germany!

So they lied to me repeatedly and after every lie they still didn't submit the case!

Well atleast you now know why it was taking so long. Personally I wouldn't be happy to take my car there if they lied to me. Can you share which dealership this was?

 

[SomebodyCalledJ]

Well atleast you now know why it was taking so long. Personally I wouldn't be happy to take my car there if they lied to me. Can you share which dealership this was?

I know what you mean, but I suppose I see a leverage opportunity from this...

The dealership was Robinsons of Norwich. Though this is not my local dealership, it is the only one in the Robinsons Group that have a body shop, otherwise my usual dealership is Robinsons of Cambridge.

 

[supermonkeyman]

I know what you mean, but I suppose I see a leverage opportunity from this...

The dealership was Robinsons of Norwich. Though this is not my local dealership, it is the only one in the Robinsons Group that have a body shop, otherwise my usual dealership is Robinsons of Cambridge.

That's true, hopefully it should be fine. I told the dealership that I'm really fussy and it needs to be perfect and I don't want any drips, or anything bent/not put back properly and I also cannot stand rattles - they were fine with this. Thought it was best to mention it so we're all on the same page to begin with.

Also when you get your car back, I would spend some time checking it over and make sure that its fine when you're taking it away as it may be difficult to prove that it wasn't them that caused the issue. The dealership I went to were keen for me to take the car away so I can have a proper look at home and they may be honest or it may be my word against theirs.

 

[SomebodyCalledJ]

That's true, hopefully it should be fine. I told the dealership that I'm really fussy and it needs to be perfect and I don't want any drips, or anything bent/not put back properly and I also cannot stand rattles - they were fine with this. Thought it was best to mention it so we're all on the same page to begin with.

Also when you get your car back, I would spend some time checking it over and make sure that its fine when you're taking it away as it may be difficult to prove that it wasn't them that caused the issue. The dealership I went to were keen for me to take the car away so I can have a proper look at home and they may be honest or it may be my word against theirs.

Yeah I think I would want to put my cards on the table from the off and set them up with my expectations! T be honest though, my expectations probably would have been a lot lower if I hadn't of read this post!

I am going to take my DSLR camera and a multitude of lenses to take photos of the car when I pick it up so that if I spot anything there and then I will have some evidence, as I am always guilty of being ignorant and just accepting what they have done...

 

[supermonkeyman]

Yeah I think I would want to put my cards on the table from the off and set them up with my expectations! T be honest though, my expectations probably would have been a lot lower if I hadn't of read this post!

I am going to take my DSLR camera and a multitude of lenses to take photos of the car when I pick it up so that if I spot anything there and then I will have some evidence, as I am always guilty of being ignorant and just accepting what they have done...

Haha bet they won't be expecting that!

When I dropped it off, I got one of the guys from the bodyshop to explain what they would be removing and what could be put back on and what would be replaced e.g. the chrome/rubber window seals would be put back assuming they didn't bend/warp when they were being removed, the chrome strips halfway down the doors would be replaced as they always break when they're removed etc.

They didn't need to remove the windscreen because theres no roof to paint due to the sunroof but they weren't keen to remove the rear glass which they were meant to, so had to be persuaded to do that, your estate may have a different procedure, I'm not sure. It look's fine now though and I'm happy with it!

 

[grober]

Removing glass that's bonded in is always fraught with difficulty. After all its actually designed to be a "structural member" of the car's construction [ see any Euro-Ncap videos of side/pole crash tests for evidence] In the same way repair shops often prefer to straighten existing chassis members rather than disturb factory welds. The glass itself may get damaged as can the painted surface it's bonded to so I can understand their reluctance.

 

[SomebodyCalledJ]

Spoke to the manager at the dealership yesterday and he explained the situation quite well, and that he wished his body shop department had explained the situation correctly to me in the first place!

The reason why my claim hadn't been sent to Germany, was when they do send it over and they get a response, often quite quickly, apparently they have a time frame shortly after Germany agree to any work to conduct this work. At the time I had my inspection, there were many other cases and therefore if my claim had been put through, the body shop would not have had enough time and resources to complete my work under the timescales given by Mercedes-Benz. So essentially had to schedule the claims to match their ability to do the work.

If only I had been told this from the start, because I completely appreciated the circumstances, but oddly instead got told false information about it not being in their hands anymore. The manager explained that he is now asking the department to explain this to their customers a bit better, so this scenario doesn't happen again.

Best part is they have escalated my claim and should know by Wednesday/Thursday what the result is. Long time coming though...

 

[supermonkeyman]

Removing glass that's bonded in is always fraught with difficulty. After all its actually designed to be a "structural member" of the car's construction [ see any Euro-Ncap videos of side/pole crash tests for evidence] In the same way repair shops often prefer to straighten existing chassis members rather than disturb factory welds. The glass itself may get damaged as can the painted surface it's bonded to so I can understand their reluctance.

Yeh I'm aware of that, I was also concerned about moisture ingress if it wasn't fitted/sealed properly and spoke to a couple of MB bodyshops, one of them was Manchester (can't remember who the other one was) and they both said that the rear glass needs to be taken out, no way around it but the front can stay in. I think it was probably the right thing to do as they didn't put up much of an argument.

 

[Mercamd]

Compensation

I see one or two people have managed to claim compensation for the issue on resprays. One or two have managed to have their original car purchase price deducted from another new car several years on. Who did you communicate with?
My inlaws have a 5 year old "red" SLK that has been sprayed all over twice due to complete blistering and MB and the local dealer say sorry we will do no more. They bought the car new and it's only done 14k miles.

Any hints or tips are most welcome as this treatment is clearly unfair.

Thanks in advance

 

[supermonkeyman]

I see one or two people have managed to claim compensation for the issue on resprays. One or two have managed to have their original car purchase price deducted from another new car several years on. Who did you communicate with?
My inlaws have a 5 year old "red" SLK that has been sprayed all over twice due to complete blistering and MB and the local dealer say sorry we will do no more. They bought the car new and it's only done 14k miles.

Any hints or tips are most welcome as this treatment is clearly unfair.

Thanks in advance

This seems very unlikely as it would cost them too much money, esp a few years on. Does the car need to repainted for a 3rd time?

 

[niknakmb]

If it blistered more than once then it sounds like the original problem was never cured.

 

[SomebodyCalledJ]

I have at last got some truth from my local dealership, as now they are saying they haven't even had a response from UK warranty, let alone had the chance to send it to Germany! I give up, it'll be 4 months since I made initial contact regarding this paint issue with this dealership!

I feel too far down the line to go to another dealership now! They say they experienced issues emailing the photos across so had to put them on a PDF file and now UK warranty are struggling to view the images properly, well why couldn't you have told me this in the first place, instead of telling me every time "nothing back from Germany" grrrr!

Vent over!

 

[Tejib]

I have at last got some truth from my local dealership, as now they are saying they haven't even had a response from UK warranty, let alone had the chance to send it to Germany! I give up, it'll be 4 months since I made initial contact regarding this paint issue with this dealership!

I feel too far down the line to go to another dealership now! They say they experienced issues emailing the photos across so had to put them on a PDF file and now UK warranty are struggling to view the images properly, well why couldn't you have told me this in the first place, instead of telling me every time "nothing back from Germany" grrrr!

Vent over!

Wow that's really bad mate, I cant believe how long they are taking. People appreciate honesty. I would rather have them tell me the truth from the start then feed me lies. I can only compliment my experience with Mercedes Manchester. Just over two weeks from initial submission to a yes from Germany. Then booked car in two days later, however that's without a courtesy car if I want a car would have had to wait a month. They said will take 2/3 weeks for it to be ready.

 

[Tejib]

Thank you, I have found there email address as I don't have time to sit on the phone and explain the situation, plus I always forget to add important info when I'm on the phone...

Hopefully they can help escalate the issue or find out when my claim was actually placed on the system as I suspect my dealership took their time. I have noticed what looks like water marks on the base paint, where my lacquer has peeled off, but not sure if that disappears or not.

Hi pal,

What email address did you end up using to make the complaint? And did they get back to you?

 

[SomebodyCalledJ]

Hi pal,

What email address did you end up using to make the complaint? And did they get back to you?

[email protected] They apparently have 5 working days to respond.

 

[Mercamd]

Jensen541

Jensen541.

I am unable to send you a private message.

Who did you deal with who sorted out the refund offset against your new car due to your Fire Opal red paint problems?
Merc are not budging helping us even though our car has had 2 resprays.

Thanks

 

[dean321]

Not been on here for a while due to family illness.......My ECab was taken from me on 6th Jan to an approved MB Bodyshop. I asked for pictures of the progress on a regular basis. I got my car back after 5 1/2 weeks and apart from a few minor issues that the dealer sorted for me I was a good paint job. I was going to reject the car when this first came to light however I gave MB a chance to put it right. It was a nail biting experience as if I had rejected the car it was going to be an unknown journey with solicitors etc...The dealer was mainly very good and got it all sorted for me. The loan car was an E class saloon and I never paid for fuel once.!! The dealer actually went to MB and got me some compensation as a gesture of goodwill so I couldn't complain there either. So overall experience from first finding the problem to getting my car back was made a lot smoother by the dealer at Portsmouth.

 

[Mercamd]

Ht appears some Body shops repainted cars with the same psint that had the problem within. Hence the problem will reappear due to adhesion failure.

 

[Mercamd]

Also make sure they are not removing or have removed the I'd psint with paint stripper, that's another non approved technique.