Mercedes Red Paint Issue!

[Nathan93]

Hi Everyone!

I am new to forums & this is my first every post so apologises in advance if this is posted in the incorrect section or is a repeat thread.

You may already know exactly where this is going from the title but I have a 2017 plate Mercedes. To cut a long story short, a few weeks ago I noticed the topcoat pealing away from my doors handles & rear spoiler which since has progressed onto the roof. I have spoke with Mercedes who have pretty much fobbed me off due to the vehicle age/being out of warranty. Although they checked my VIN number & confirmed a know fault with my vehicles paint colour (Jupiter Red). I was completely unaware of this but can see from searching online & visiting body shops this seems to be a well known issue but I cant find anyone who has advised of their outcome.

I am trying to reach out to anyone who has experienced this or similar & if they were able to achieve a positive outcome from it? Or if anyone has any advise in general. So far I am hitting a brick wall with Mercedes, I have been to independent body shops who have inspected the vehicle & confirmed that my entire vehicle is blistering, therefore a repair will require a full body respray which will probably cost half the value of the vehicle. They've also told me of older vehicles than mine which Mercedes completed repairs/resprays on which at the time would have been further out of warranty than mine is currently. On top of this, the head of the body shop department/paint expert of a well know dealership within the NW (Luckily I have family who work there) advised the same regarding older vehicles & suggested should Mercedes be reluctant to fixed it, I should go down the legal route.

Might be important to add I bought the car whilst it was still in warranty but from a third party dealership. If anyone has any experience or advice with this issue please comment! I feel really let down by Mercedes as in my mind given they knew of the faulty paintwork whilst my vehicle was within warranty they should have notified owners + fixed it, rather than staying silent & letting other such has myself deal with the consequences later down the line.

 

[Waltham]

I also joined the forum because of the same problem. There is a longer thread which you may want to look at. When I have been here longer and can send PMs I will share my email address.

 

[tony gee]

I have read that Mercedes did do some warranty claims on some red cars but i doubt they will do it when out of warranty !!!!!!

 

[optimusprime]

The very same problem is going on over in the USA where the weather is hot ,, join this fotum for more information https://www.benzworld.org/threads/a...issue.3111863/?post_id=18526166#post-18526166

 

[Bigdrew]

Its a common problem I had it on my previous car on the bonnet eventually had to get it sorted myself

 

[Chrishazle]

I have had - and continue to have - lacquer peel problems on my Carneol Red S204. First was the bonnet and roof, MB were not interested at all, so I ended up having them stripped and painted by a well respected local paint shop at a cost of about £800. Within about 18 months the roof started to peel again, and said paint shop re-did the roof FOC. Another 12 months or less and the bonnet started, about 1/2 way back from the nose, but paint shop insisted it was caused by a stone chip (unlikely due to location, but they would not budge). Another £600 at a different paint shop (who also did the tailgate spoiler at the same time) and so far it's OK. However, the NS rear door and both panels either side - on the side that faces the sun where she's parked on our driveway - all could do with respray, plus there's loads of lacquer peel on windscreen trims etc. It's all cosmetic, mechanically and interior everything is fine, and as car is now worth less than perhaps £4k I'm not inclined to spend best part of £1k getting the paintwork sorted (despite occasional earache from SWMBO, who normally enters car from passenger side so sees the problem every time!) and hope to keep using the car until it's ready for the scrappie.

 

[Lou66]

Hi, I've joined for same reason. My 69 plate GLA is bubbling everywhere. I bought it from 3rd party dealer last June and paint started to deteriorate around Xmas. Mercedes Liverpool are saying they'll meet half the cost of total respray as goodwill gesture.
Obvs I'm fuming and shocked to learn the problem is over 15 years old and yet they continued to use the paint.
Does anyone know if legally we have any power to make them pay to fix it as its clearly their error not mine?

 

[markandvic]

I have the same issue 2019 (GLA in Jupiter Red) and it seems well known to Mercedes. My car has been seen by independent paint shops and they all had previous knowledge of the same issue with MB red paintwork. They all confirmed it’s a known issue in the UK.

When I phoned Mercedes they suggested that the costs would be a 50/50 split between myself and Mercedes to respray the car without even seeing it. The car is still under warranty, I shouldn't have to pay a penny. It's a manufacturing defect.

Mercedes should be dealing with this issue positively and fixing the issues free without asking customers to pay any contribution. Shame on MB,

 

[Spider10]

If I remember correctly there is a few on here who have had the car's fully resprayed FOC apart from the plastics ie bumpers and trims etc but they had to be genuine paint from factory I have a Amber red SLK32 AMG 2002 which has the same problem but there never going to do that

 

[Bigdrew]

You never know until you get in touch with them they can only say no i had the same problem with one of my other cars but I just got it sorted myself less hassle

 

[ALFAitalia]

The car is still under warranty, I shouldn't have to pay a penny. It's a manufacturing defect.

I thought the paint warranty was just three years???....so any Merc funded repair would be on their goodwill scheme.... which means they can offer what they want....Inc nothing at all.

 

[markjay]

I have the same issue 2019 (GLA in Jupiter Red) and it seems well known to Mercedes....

When I phoned Mercedes they suggested that the costs would be a 50/50 split between myself and Mercedes to respray the car without even seeing it. The car is still under warranty, I shouldn't have to pay a penny. It's a manufacturing defect.

Just to say that your 2019 car is no longer covered by New Car Warranty. Instead, it will be covered by some form of aftermarket warranty, e.g. Approved Used, and the T&C are very different. I suggest that you check to see if your warranty actually has cover for defective paintwork and take it from there.

 

[markjay]

Hi, I've joined for same reason. My 69 plate GLA is bubbling everywhere. I bought it from 3rd party dealer last June and paint started to deteriorate around Xmas....

You may have a case against the 3rd party dealer under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Bubbling paint 6 months after purchase certainly falls under 'faults that existed when the car was sold' and arguably is more than normal wear and tear.

 

[markjay]

I thought the paint warranty was just three years???....so any Merc funded repair would be on their goodwill scheme.... which means they can offer what they want....Inc nothing at all.

The issue here for MB is that customers may bring in a claim under the Consumer Rights Act 2015:

Consumer Rights Act 2015 - Which?

The Consumer Rights Act protects you in almost all purchases you make. Here we explain what it means when buying goods or services

www.which.co.uk

"...under the Consumer Rights Act all products must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described"

A car with bubbling paint after 6 years can certainly be seen as a product that was originally sold while not meeting these legal requirements.

My guess is that MB are trying to pre-empt the issue by offering 50% as goodwill gesture.

 

[ALFAitalia]

Unfortunately that's based on someone's opinion.....and until a legal president has been set there is no defined time. There are some guidelines but no much more. For example its now generally understood that electric goods of significant value (so like a TV....but not like your £15 Tesco value kettle) are expected to last at least five years....anything less could be considered unfit for purpose. But a TV stops working with a proper fault.....The paint is still there....does not affect the function of the car or its safety. So how long after the warranty runs out should Mercs pay.......Id say that since this is a known fault that it should be quite a while....perhaps ten years.....but the law might see that as too long for a cosmetic issue. Its not as easy as it appears with , at the moment, no definite answer as far as I can tell.

 

[markjay]

Unfortunately that's based on someone's opinion.....and until a legal president has been set there is no defined time. There are some guidelines but no much more. For example its now generally understood that electric goods of significant value (so like a TV....but not like your £15 Tesco value kettle) are expected to last at least five years....anything less could be considered unfit for purpose. But a TV stops working with a proper fault.....The paint is still there....does not affect the function of the car or its safety. So how long after the warranty runs out should Mercs pay.......Id say that since this is a known fault that it should be quite a while....perhaps ten years.....but the law might see that as too long for a cosmetic issue. Its not as easy as it appears with , at the moment, no definite answer as far as I can tell.

True, and this is probably why MB are trying to avoid a court case by offering 50% contribution.

It could be argued in court that MB puts an emphasis in its sales blurb on the appearance of their cars, the design, and the finish, to the extent that these features became a material element of the final product, affecting the customer's buying decision.

If you bought decorative cladding for an external wall in your house and the paint started flaking, would a court agree that it is a cosmetic defect that does not affect the function of the product? It could be argued that in this case the decorative element is a key function, and a significant factor in deciding to buy this particular product.

 

[jdrrco]

Another potential remedy route is The Motor Ombudsman.

 

[bobo14]

Hi, not sure if this would help anyone, but I had a similar issue last year. Overnight (a very cold one at that), my car broke out with micro blisters all over! Every single panel was affected with the exception of the front and rear bumper. Fortunately, Mercedes-Benz were very helpful in my instance and the whole car was given a respray (back to bare metal I was told). From my first email to receiving a full respray it took around 4 months to resolve. From what they told me, they will only honour a respray if the car is less than 7 years old (I was within 6 months of this lapsing!). I also have an extended warranty in place which probably helped my case.

I know how stressful the situation is, I hope it works out for you.

RP