Just picked up new car and now home it is has clearly had a dink what would you do?

[nictry]

Short story picked up 1 yr old e220cdi and tbh hadnt been cleaned too well and not entirely happy with handover but wasnt too bothered and planned to come home and give it a quick clean up, anyway after getting to the rear passenger side I noticed that the gap between the bumper and the light cluster is big enough to slip my fingers in between also the bumper/body join is overlapping so clearly it has had a dink at the rear (which I guess I should have spotted before buying but hindsight and all that!!)

Anyway question is what now, I have the 30 day exchange so no issues in taking it back but my issue is more how should I play this, if I keep it as is then it will obviously bug me but more importantly will have an impact on reasale value etc. also how do I know how bad the dink was? I also have to wonder whether it was an MB repair as I can't believe they would have done a job this bad with the repair TBH?

Any thoughts/advice on what to do whilst I wait for the salesman to ring me back would be most appreciated

 

[LimitedSlip]

Well I wouldn't even get into the 'phone game at all. Take it back to the dealer, ask for all the information you need about the accident/damage (report, whether insurance/HPI recorded etc.), tell them you want it repairing perfectly and invisibly.

Any wavering, tell them you want a refund.

 

[timskemp]

What he said. Mine had signs of front end respray, and a badly repaired headlamp unit, I got the headlamp replaced after writing to the dealer principal with threat of going to MB.

 

[bennesspipers]

I agree, on a car that new,take it straight back.

 

[Smiley]

Is this from a main dealer? If it is then you have paid top retail money and you ought to get a top notch car not an ex fleet thing going through a car auction with bumps and scrapes. I would take it back and get a different car that has got a better history. Either that or fully repaired and £2k price reduction.

 

[timskemp]

Steady on smiley - any used car is likely to have the odd bump and scrape, and any dealer will try it on with a cheap fix. They're almost all ex fleet / ex rental that you see at your dealer under 4 yrs old, if the car is otherwise ok and is what he wants I'd just push for a proper repair.

 

[nictry]

Cheers guys, gave up on the phone idea and drove back there, they agreed that it was unacceptable and they would take it back in on Wednesday and repair/rectify the issues in full.

To be honest they could have been trying it on but they didnt quibble at all, agreed that it was an unacceptable situation and assured me there was nothing more than a minor move of the bumper (which I have to say is probably all it could be as there is no door alignment issue and nothing underneath out of wack (from what I could see anyway) (and everything on the HPI extra was clean so it probably was a minor rear end or possibly a reverse into something issue)

So will give them the chance to make everything good again and see what happens next week.

I think pushing for a replacement etc could just end up with something similar/worse and the rest of the car is perfect so will see if it comes back as good as new and go from there.

Cheers for the advice guys

 

[lynall]

Dont forget car will only be on v car or similiar if repaired through an insurance company.



Lynall

 

[w124coupe]

Ask them to take a pic of the car once the bumper is off so you can reassure yourself nothing "metal" was also shunted (that they might decide to cover back up).

Sounds very much like they DID try it on (missing damage like this violates the Merc inspection process for the approved scheme).

Ask yourself - would they miss it on a p/ex you took in?

 

[nictry]

Ask them to take a pic of the car once the bumper is off so you can reassure yourself nothing "metal" was also shunted (that they might decide to cover back up).

Sounds very much like they DID try it on (missing damage like this violates the Merc inspection process for the approved scheme).

Ask yourself - would they miss it on a p/ex you took in?

Good point, actually I might even ask to have a look at it before they resintall the bumper just to see what has happened underneath

 

[bennesspipers]

Good idea, youre own eyes are the best judge.

 

[Matt32AMG]

Well I wouldn't even get into the 'phone game at all. Take it back to the dealer, ask for all the information you need about the accident/damage (report, whether insurance/HPI recorded etc.), tell them you want it repairing perfectly and invisibly.

Any wavering, tell them you want a refund.

Agreed thats the only way to go

 

[EDZ649]

Steady on smiley - any used car is likely to have the odd bump and scrape, and any dealer will try it on with a cheap fix. They're almost all ex fleet / ex rental that you see at your dealer under 4 yrs old, if the car is otherwise ok and is what he wants I'd just push for a proper repair.

A lot of suposedly new cars have had bumps and scrapes too, even before they are registered!

I agree with the others, take it back!

 

[nictry]

A lot of suposedly new cars have had bumps and scrapes too, even before they are registered!

I agree with the others, take it back!

I know exactly what you mean as my wifes brand new unregistered Mini last year got bumped by the garage on the day we were due to pick it up (nice chunk from the rear bumper!!) I sense a pattern here

 

[nictry]

Took a couple of pics of the issue before the car goes back in, as you can see not terrible but certainly not an MB approved bodyshop quality I would have thought?:

 

[LimitedSlip]

as you can see not terrible

No, it's terrible

 

[Swozza]

The scuff isn't that bad. Dare I say it may even look better with a good buffing. The gap in my book is unacceptable, have a nice word with the dealer. It shouldn't leave the showroom like that.

 

[EDZ649]

No, it's terrible

Agreed! You could park a bus in there!

 

[nictry]

The scuff isn't that bad. Dare I say it may even look better with a good buffing. The gap in my book is unacceptable, have a nice word with the dealer. It shouldn't leave the showroom like that.

Dealer has confirmed will sort on Wednesday including removing bumper, photographing underneath and correcting any alignment issues etc. I will also expect the scratch to be made more tidy than currently

 

[Sp!ke]

This looks like a bodge job.

Pic 1
Looks like the paint doesnt match between the 2 panels.

Pic 2 God knows whats going on there, you've got the huge gap and then the other too panels are too tight so the contact between the two panels has damaged the new paint.

Personally, I would return the car and negotiate for something else. I never buy any car that has any evidence of being in an accident.