A238 E Class Convertible Roof strings worn and snapped

[Jimmcb]

I checked my strings - ooer matron - and one is frayed. Dealer in Grangemouth suggests speaking to MBUK re ombudsman papers. They’ve had at least 4 in with same matter which they fixed NOT FOC!

 

[Jimmcb]

I’m just back from a trip to Coventry, Tony replaced 4 of my worn cords and was very knowledgeable and helpful. He gave me a tour of the tools he uses and talked me through the various cars that are in the process of being fixed.

Glad it’s all sorted now, but will continue to keep an eye on them. Just for my peace of mind.

Coventry transport museum is much bigger than I first thought.

Would you mind sharing maybe by pm what the costs were please.

 

[wolf8370]

Tony paterson, i owe you a VERY large beer!!! A few roof straps had broken and frayed on my E Class, but the roof was still operational. Mercedes Aylesbury (part of Vertu) sold me the car originally, and quoted me £4.3k to replace the straps as it is outside of warranty. I emailed a complaint to the CEO's of Mercedes UK and Vertu (you can easily find their details online), including a copy of Tonys two documents on this thread, and explaining why i thought Vertu were at fault and should repair for free. i pretty much just quoted what Vertu's obligations were per the ombudsman ruling in Tony's case. Mercedes rejected the complaint, and i assumed Vertu would do the same and i'd have to go to the ombudsman.

I've just had a call from the dealership - they are going to cover 100% of the cost of the repair! Not sure what i would have done without Tony's documents, i doubt i'd have complained to this extent or gone to the ombudsman, probably just paid a couple of thousand for an independent garage to repair it.

So thanks Tony, you have save me a small fortune!

Hi Daniel,

I'd be very interested to hear more on the details you sent to the CEO of Merc. I raised a query with the Motor Ombudsman this time LAST YEAR, and after much pain they have in the last 2 weeks not upheld my complaint. So I'm left with snapped chords on both side of my 2017 A238 and a potential £3.5k bill to replace.

 

[wolf8370]

Tony paterson, i owe you a VERY large beer!!! A few roof straps had broken and frayed on my E Class, but the roof was still operational. Mercedes Aylesbury (part of Vertu) sold me the car originally, and quoted me £4.3k to replace the straps as it is outside of warranty. I emailed a complaint to the CEO's of Mercedes UK and Vertu (you can easily find their details online), including a copy of Tonys two documents on this thread, and explaining why i thought Vertu were at fault and should repair for free. i pretty much just quoted what Vertu's obligations were per the ombudsman ruling in Tony's case. Mercedes rejected the complaint, and i assumed Vertu would do the same and i'd have to go to the ombudsman.

I've just had a call from the dealership - they are going to cover 100% of the cost of the repair! Not sure what i would have done without Tony's documents, i doubt i'd have complained to this extent or gone to the ombudsman, probably just paid a couple of thousand for an independent garage to repair it.

So thanks Tony, you have save me a small fortune!

 

[Capricorn1]

Hi my 2018 E Class convertible roof would not open fully, when I have investigated it the strings (for a better word) have frayed and one side has snapped. I eventually got the roof to close properly and contacted my Mercedes branch to get them to take a look at it.

In the meantime i did some digging and found a technical bulletin issued by Daimler in 2019 stating cars produced between 2016 & 2019 may get this fault due to possible high tensile stress on the cords during the soft top sequence.

I passed all this info onto the Mercedes branch and they said they would pass this onto Mercedes as its out of warranty for a good will gesture. Got a reply yesterday from Mercedes who basically refused to do anything and the cost is £2000 to repair the dealer has been great but I'm not happy with Mercedes.

Anybody else had this issue? either way i would advise you check the strings regularly and if you see any signs to fraying get it booked in if its still under warranty.

Technical bulletin attached

Cheers Tony, my roof strings on my C250d convertible failed today. Just read the thread and it seems you took this to the ombudsman and won. My first call will be to the dealership on Tuesday. Keeping my fingers crossed. S

 

[Fastcar155]

Hi , when I had an issue with my car Mercedes UK suggested I go to the Motor Ombudsmen so survey it makes sense they and the dealer would honour any judgement

 

[wolf8370]

So, a final update on my issues with the frayed and snapped roof chords on my A238. Despite it being out of warranty by less than 4 weeks with Sytner Sheffield, the Ombudsman did not hold up complaint despite producing evidence of the recall and past positive judgements made by them. Overall, it took over 12 months for them to get to this decision.

They issued the judgment on the day I flew out on holiday and despite advising them so, they let the 10-day appeal period lapse with no flexibility. I have not heard from them since despite appealing on my return.

Emails to the CEO of Sytner bounced back as undeliverable despite me having them checked and an although I received reply to an email to the CEO of Mercedes Benz UK, it was fairly dismissive.

So, I’m left with a £3.5k bill for a new headlining. Suffice to say, after owning approximately 12 Mercs, new and used over the years, this will be our last one. My wife has cancelled her order for a new A-Class as a result and is now going down the BMW 1 series route.

I never had any plans to, but will be signing up for an emissions claim on the 2 new Mercs I owned during the period.

Disappointing end to years of MB ownership but not surprised given the amount of time this dragged on.

 

[Oleks1992]

So, a final update on my issues with the frayed and snapped roof chords on my A238. Despite it being out of warranty by less than 4 weeks with Sytner Sheffield, the Ombudsman did not hold up complaint despite producing evidence of the recall and past positive judgements made by them. Overall, it took over 12 months for them to get to this decision.

They issued the judgment on the day I flew out on holiday and despite advising them so, they let the 10-day appeal period lapse with no flexibility. I have not heard from them since despite appealing on my return.

Emails to the CEO of Sytner bounced back as undeliverable despite me having them checked and an although I received reply to an email to the CEO of Mercedes Benz UK, it was fairly dismissive.

So, I’m left with a £3.5k bill for a new headlining. Suffice to say, after owning approximately 12 Mercs, new and used over the years, this will be our last one. My wife has cancelled her order for a new A-Class as a result and is now going down the BMW 1 series route.

I never had any plans to, but will be signing up for an emissions claim on the 2 new Mercs I owned during the period.

Disappointing end to years of MB ownership but not surprised given the amount of time this dragged on.

Having worked for bmw and mercedes as technician, you honestly won't be getting a more reliable car or get any better treatment unfortunately. If anything it'll more than likely be on par

 

[Dogdeb]

I have just suffered the same problem on my C220 2017 convertible. MB specialist I use says it looks like one string broken.
I did not buy direct from MB but from Motorpoint only a year old ,low mileage. Who do you think I should go to first?
I filled in an online form to MB to see what they say.

 

[Capricorn1]

So I finally got my C250d convertible roof fixed (the headliner string problem). Mercedes Benz of Derby were useless and did not help in any way despite repeated phone calls and suppling all of the relevant paperwork several times. I used Tony at Soft Top Convertible Specialists Coventry 07721 589006. Top bloke, very knowledgeable and has fixed lots of Mercs with the same issue. I would not go to a Merc garage to get this fixed unless they will do it under warranty as they will charge you a fortune. I certainly won’t go back to Mercedes Benz of Derby for any reason and they have lost out on me buying a nearly new E220 convertible. Still love my Merc, just a shame about the parts quality and after sales service from Mercedes Benz of Derby.

 

[Connoisseur]

So I finally got my C250d convertible roof fixed (the headliner string problem). Mercedes Benz of Derby were useless and did not help in any way despite repeated phone calls and suppling all of the relevant paperwork several times. I used Tony at Soft Top Convertible Specialists Coventry 07721 589006. Top bloke, very knowledgeable and has fixed lots of Mercs with the same issue. I would not go to a Merc garage to get this fixed unless they will do it under warranty as they will charge you a fortune. I certainly won’t go back to Mercedes Benz of Derby for any reason and they have lost out on me buying a nearly new E220 convertible. Still love my Merc, just a shame about the parts quality and after sales service from Mercedes Benz of Derby.

Like I said at the top of. of this thread, Tony is the go to guy for MB cabriolet roofs. Glad you got it sorted

 

[Jimmcb]

Thanks for sharing these notes everyone.

In the absence of a cab roof specialist up here in Scotland, I’ll probably drive to Coventry and get my roof done there.

Can anyone give an idea of how long the repair takes - I only have one string exposed at the mo.

Thank you

Jim

 

[Connoisseur]

Thanks for sharing these notes everyone.

In the absence of a cab roof specialist up here in Scotland, I’ll probably drive to Coventry and get my roof done there.

Can anyone give an idea of how long the repair takes - I only have one string exposed at the mo.

Thank you

Jim

length of job really depends on what he finds as apart from number of strings the state of the clamps/grips matters, and what the perished string is allowing to happen.

Best to call him, and pack an overnight tent?

 

[Jimmcb]

length of job really depends on what he finds as apart from number of strings the state of the clamps/grips matters, and what the perished string is allowing to happen.

Best to call him, and pack an overnight tent?

Thank you. That’s the plan. Call them to arrange a date and travel down the day before then back up once repair done.

 

[Capricorn1]

Thanks for sharing these notes everyone.

In the absence of a cab roof specialist up here in Scotland, I’ll probably drive to Coventry and get my roof done there.

Can anyone give an idea of how long the repair takes - I only have one string exposed at the mo.

Thank you

Jim

Hi Jim, I’d say a minimum of 3-4 hours, again depending upon the level of repair required. Tony gave me a free ticket for the transport museum so I spent a few hours in there looking at all the classic cars and motor bikes. As I said top bloke, good luck with your fix. Simon

 

[Capricorn1]

length of job really depends on what he finds as apart from number of strings the state of the clamps/grips matters, and what the perished string is allowing to happen.

Best to call him, and pack an overnight tent?

Jim, I forgot to say, I only had one string exposed and it was actually the clamp that had pulled away. Tony fixed that and upgraded the one on the other side of the roof too. Good luck. Simon

 

[Teego]

Bloody great thread. I'm going hunting for an E350 cab so I'll add it to my list of questions.

 

[Jimmcb]

Jim, I forgot to say, I only had one string exposed and it was actually the clamp that had pulled away. Tony fixed that and upgraded the one on the other side of the roof too. Good luck. Simon

You’re a star Simon. Thank you. I’ll wait till turn of the year before I get it done. Nothing like a crisp winter day up here with roof down!
All the very best and thanks again
Jim

Bloody great thread. I'm going hunting for an E350 cab so I'll add it to my list of questions.

good luck. They are lovely cars and I’m well pleased with mine and wife’s.

Pity some of the dealers aren’t very supportive or indeed MBUK

Please let us know what you eventually get!

Jim

 

[TisAndyT]

Thanks to all for sharing, I have found the same problem and found a specialist in Shaftsbury Dorset. Although I am going to try the dealer I bought my merc from and who are serving it. Sadly my warranty finished last March so not expecting they will fix the roof.

 

[BfgSLKMan]

Please, please go back to the start of this thread. DO NOT just pay. MB knows there is an issue with Pre June 2019 built cars. My wifes has just failed (build date 09 Jun 18) and the dealer has been requested to see what the current MB policy to fixing. I am not expecting anything positive, however, if I get the tablet I shall (in accordance with the start of this thread) I shall foramlly write to MB UK quoting the Motor Ombusdman judgement made in 2022. In essence this has said that MB know there is a fault and expect customers to pay, which is the wrong answer. The nmore who write to the MO, the better chance there is that MB start paying.