2018 GLA rear door panels

[jamieg74]

Hi

I just purchased yesterday a 2018 GLA 220d. After a 5 hour journey in the middle of the night to a secondhand dealer, part excited and part very tired, took car for test drive and everything seemed to be ok, looked briefly in the back and all seemed ok.
Bought the car and halfway back to home I stopped at services and looked again in the back only to find some quite horrific marks on the interior door panels (maybe possibly done by a child), who knows. Got home and wife went absolutely mental as you can imagine and caused quite an argument leaving me to feel very foolish.
I have sent an email to the dealer to explain that the back of the car had been overlooked and can he basically get these panels replaced as I think this was a dishonest sale. Plus how do you expect someone to do a 5 hour journey and then see something like this and expect to be happy to purchase the car.
The question I am asking is does anyone know how much these panels would cost to replace either by Mercedes or a third party garage.

 

[jamieg74]

Hi

I just purchased yesterday a 2018 GLA 220d. After a 5 hour journey in the middle of the night to a secondhand dealer, part excited and part very tired, took car for test drive and everything seemed to be ok, looked briefly in the back and all seemed ok.
Bought the car and halfway back to home I stopped at services and looked again in the back only to find some quite horrific marks on the interior door panels (maybe possibly done by a child), who knows. Got home and wife went absolutely mental as you can imagine and caused quite an argument leaving me to feel very foolish.
I have sent an email to the dealer to explain that the back of the car had been overlooked and can he basically get these panels replaced as I think this was a dishonest sale. Plus how do you expect someone to do a 5 hour journey and then see something like this and expect to be happy to purchase the car.
The question I am asking is does anyone know how much these panels would cost to replace either by Mercedes or a third party garage.

I also just wanted to add, I noticed that the panoramic sunroof was creaking, making a noise and after doing some research today, learned that you can fix this by some type of lube/silicone or get Mercedes to service this for a price.
Does anyone have much experience with this issue and is it best for Mercedes to work their magic on it?

 

[SamW]

Congratulations on your purchase and sorry to hear of the discovery of this marks - it’s never nice.

I don’t really have any advice as such regarding trading standards etc but I think these cases are ‘buyers beware’.

As much as customers have rights, they also have responsibilities, and it’s not up to the seller to point out any cosmetic blemishes or determine what is/isn’t acceptable to the purchaser.

The main dealer network arguably have higher standard of prep and this kind of trim damage may have made it uneconomical to resell hence why other traders might get hold of them and possibly prepare and price to sell at a lower level.

A good trim repairer could make this 95% good, or simply purchase a new door card but I can only imagine they’re not cheap.

Maybe to take the heat out of the situation, think about if you had seen the damage prior, would you of walked away? Or is the car too good in every other respect? The seller will/won’t sort out irrespective of when you pointed it out - my gut feeling would be a ‘no’ otherwise they would’ve done it pre sale.

Good luck either way

 

[jamieg74]

Congratulations on your purchase and sorry to hear of the discovery of this marks - it’s never nice.

I don’t really have any advice as such regarding trading standards etc but I think these cases are ‘buyers beware’.

As much as customers have rights, they also have responsibilities, and it’s not up to the seller to point out any cosmetic blemishes or determine what is/isn’t acceptable to the purchaser.

The main dealer network arguably have higher standard of prep and this kind of trim damage may have made it uneconomical to resell hence why other traders might get hold of them and possibly prepare and price to sell at a lower level.

A good trim repairer could make this 95% good, or simply purchase a new door card but I can only imagine they’re not cheap.

Maybe to take the heat out of the situation, think about if you had seen the damage prior, would you of walked away? Or is the car too good in every other respect? The seller will/won’t sort out irrespective of when you pointed it out - my gut feeling would be a ‘no’ otherwise they would’ve done it pre sale.

Good luck either way

Thanks for your reply. If I had seen the panels it would of been a good chance I would of walked away unless the dealer could of suggested a solution but the rest of the car was good.

What bugs me is the dealer knew I would be driving a long way to see the car nevertheless letting me know about this damage which in turn would of been a huge wasted journey. Hence why this was quite a dishonest sale (isn’t this the business they’re in)?
I will see what the response is I get but I will not take this lying down. In the long run for the dealer it will lose more money in sales and bad reputation to what it would cost to replace the panels.

 

[ToeKnee]

What will you do if the dealer says the marks weren't there when you drove the car away?

 

[Bortig]

What will you do if the dealer says the marks weren't there when you drove the car away?

If he does would imagine it would be difficult to prove they were there, the marks look like its had furniture or rubbish tip damage

 

[jamieg74]

If he does would imagine it would be difficult to prove they were there, the marks look like its had furniture or rubbish tip damage

I seriously doubt he will try and go down this road. A bit of a lame cop out from a some what reputable dealer.
I am hoping for an honourable resolution from him. I can afford to lose out on two rear back door panels but can he afford to lose business and reputation? He’s got to look at the bigger picture here.

 

[Scooby_Doo]

Have a look on ebay, quite a few for sale,reasonable prices, getting the stitching colour the same might be a problem.

 

[SamW]

I can appreciate the frustration and as you bought in good faith, you expect it to be sold in good faith…

But I would slow down a little on the reputation etc,

No matter the size of the outfit I’m sure they all try their best to prep cars to a safe and satisfactory standard, advertise and price carefully and still get beaten up, have FCA / trading standards and the like looming over them for months after every car they sell, give customers a level of service and opportunity to view/drive and ask questions, yet run the risk of a bad Google review etc, plus going underwater on the cost to make this situation good and that’s before anything else is noticed.

Maybe speak to some local to you trim guys, get some prices and advice and have a friendly convo with the seller about a resolution you’re happy with, you get more bees with honey rather than vinegar as they say…

 

[BigJase88]

For the creaky pan roof you want some Gummi Pledge rubber treatment.

My CLA pan roof was the same. Creaking everywhere. Put that stuff on the seals and has been silent since. The only thing that has lasted

 

[Scooby_Doo]

Hi

I just purchased yesterday a 2018 GLA 220d. After a 5 hour journey in the middle of the night to a secondhand dealer, part excited and part very tired, took car for test drive and everything seemed to be ok, looked briefly in the back and all seemed ok.
Bought the car and halfway back to home I stopped at services and looked again in the back only to find some quite horrific marks on the interior door panels (maybe possibly done by a child), who knows. Got home and wife went absolutely mental as you can imagine and caused quite an argument leaving me to feel very foolish.
I have sent an email to the dealer to explain that the back of the car had been overlooked and can he basically get these panels replaced as I think this was a dishonest sale. Plus how do you expect someone to do a 5 hour journey and then see something like this and expect to be happy to purchase the car.
The question I am asking is does anyone know how much these panels would cost to replace either by Mercedes or a third party garage.

Rear passenger side now on ebay,red stitching , looks in excellent condition , current bid £20 - 1day 22hrs left.

 

[DSM10000]

I seriously doubt he will try and go down this road. A bit of a lame cop out from a some what reputable dealer.
I am hoping for an honourable resolution from him. I can afford to lose out on two rear back door panels but can he afford to lose business and reputation? He’s got to look at the bigger picture here.

Just how are you going to damage his reputation?

Perhaps you should keep calm and await a response before repeatedly threatening some sort of action against their business on a public forum. Whatever you try to do in terms of a poor review etc will probably be of little effect to be realistic.

You had the car available to inspect prior to deciding to purchase but you didn't notice the damage and the decision o travel the distance involved for you to see the car was your choice. The dealer didn't force you.

Have you pictures from the website showing the interior before sale? Did you ask if the vehicle had any damage to the interior or exterior by email?

Was it priced accordingly to take account of any damage?

Remember that It is a 5 year old car, you cannot expect perfection.

At the moment it seems that you were in a rush, didn't throughly inspect the vehicle and have very little comeback unless it was advertised as being in excellent condition etc.

 

[jamieg74]

Have a look on ebay, quite a few for sale,reasonable prices, getting the stitching colour the same might be a problem.

Yes I will see what the dealer has to say hopefully tomorrow if I get a response. I don’t want to make threats, I just want a good result out of this. There was some other dishonest detail, the car was advertised as 35000 miles on the clock but it was actually 37000. I did send a lengthy email to him explaining my day, the long journey, the tiredness/excitement and basically overlooking what the quality of the car was like in the rear.
I was disappointed that the general manager wasn’t there to finalise the deal, the guy I had been speaking to and the guy I’m holding responsible for this.
But yes I have been looking on eBay etc for same door panels. Will see what happens. Thanks for your reply.

 

[DSM10000]

Yes I will see what the dealer has to say hopefully tomorrow if I get a response. I don’t want to make threats, I just want a good result out of this. There was some other dishonest detail, the car was advertised as 35000 miles on the clock but it was actually 37000. I did send a lengthy email to him explaining my day, the long journey, the tiredness/excitement and basically overlooking what the quality of the car was like in the rear.
I was disappointed that the general manager wasn’t there to finalise the deal, the guy I had been speaking to and the guy I’m holding responsible for this.
But yes I have been looking on eBay etc for same door panels. Will see what happens. Thanks for your reply.

I think you are being somewhat disingenuous in your comments and continue to blame others for your lack of attention.

Why do you keep including the long journey and tiredness as reasons for others to take responsibility? It was your choice to travel that distance and despite being so tired you were clearly fit to drive back.

As for the mileage discrepancy, many second hand cars have errors in their description. You could have walked away but chose not to do so.