Missing Paint...

[Noodle-Pulp]

Hi everyone
bit of a weird question..about my w203 (coupe)
I only bought it at the beginning of the month (Aug 2009)..
refilling for the first time a couple of days after I bought it I noticed that the inside lug of the petrol cap flap - the part that the locking pin goes through was missing some paint.. I'm not overly fussed about it so I thought I'd let it slip - worst case scenario.. a few years from now it rusts and needs a new petrol cap flap, I mean thats hardly going to break the bank..
Anyway ..today.. I noticed a length (a couple of inches long) of the boot door which has no paint it's bare metal.. and the boot lid sounds like something is sliding down inside it when I open.. and when I close it.

Should I tackle it with the dealer and how?

 

[reflexboy]

yes

 

[A-AvantGarde]

Yes, definitely go back to the dealer. Was it a Mercedes Approved Used car or was it from another dealer?

I'm afraid that it sounds llike it may have been involved in some kind of rear end shunt - although I could be wrong.

Any chance you can take any pictures of it?

In the meantime definiteley take it back to the dealer and ask them to have a look, you should act quickly though.

 

[EDZ649]

Have the original numberplate fixings/captive threads been drilled out and the new numberplate stuck on with tape? It may be the remnants of the captive threads that have fallen inside the boot panel and are rattling around when you open and close it.
There should be four of them if they are still there. This happened to mine when I removed the fixings.

 

[Noodle-Pulp]

additional info

I bought it from MB, Redhill.. and yes I fear that it may have had a rear shunt.. even if it has.. what recourse do I have?

I'll take some pics tomorrow, and call the dealer.
As for the pinnings I'll check that tomorrow too.

 

[Noodle-Pulp]

Here we are.. I didn't even realise it was both sides...left and right "corner" of the boot door - another issue now is that the right hand side has removed paint from the body where the boot closes...
left edge:
Left Edge

right edge:
Right Edge

 

[Noodle-Pulp]

Small update - took it to dealer today, seemed sympathetic and they told me to book it in when convenient (after the bank holiday).

They mentioned "it could be that the boot locking mechanism is adjustable and it may be slightly out.." but if thats the case I'd expect to see the scuffs on the boot lid (which I do) AND on the bottom where they close onto the main body - on both sides.. but it's only the right of the main body which shows wear.

Since there's more paint missing on the top than where it meets the body of the car at the bottom it's a bit of a mystery how it could have happened.

As for the rattle they said they'd sort this out too - it's definitely not the numberplate fixings/captive threads - I have all 4 and no sign of sticky tape!

 

[travelininstyle]

Snap - I have the same problem !!!!

Small update - took it to dealer today, seemed sympathetic and they told me to book it in when convenient (after the bank holiday).

They mentioned "it could be that the boot locking mechanism is adjustable and it may be slightly out.." but if thats the case I'd expect to see the scuffs on the boot lid (which I do) AND on the bottom where they close onto the main body - on both sides.. but it's only the right of the main body which shows wear.

Since there's more paint missing on the top than where it meets the body of the car at the bottom it's a bit of a mystery how it could have happened.

As for the rattle they said they'd sort this out too - it's definitely not the numberplate fixings/captive threads - I have all 4 and no sign of sticky tape!

Jon,

I have the same edge feathering of paint on the inner edge of my 55 plate W203 coupe and for some strange reason,some dis-colouration/fading of paint on the outside edge of the filler cap - I will upload my pictures tomorrow.
I purchased my car through MB Whitefield,Manchester,through approved used over a year ago now - question is,assuming that a similar fate befell this car - are they not under any obligation to disclose this at the point of sale ????

 

[corned]

It would be interesting to know if any more coupe owners on here have similar issues. If there are more than one of the same model exhibiting the same symptoms, then could it be due to the tailgate chattering against the frame? Or, dare I say it, a small amount of body flex causing the tailgate to rub? This might also explain the rattle?

It is not definitely (as yet) accident damage or misaligned repair, IHMO.

 

[travelininstyle]

Have taken my pictures this morning and I will upload later,but there are obvious signs of wear,rubbing,or abrasion whatever you want call it,the lines are vertical to the edge of the boot lid edge - without doubt,you can see its some sort of wear,or abrasion,even though its not obvious where it is making contact to do this - that said,its an extremely heavy boot that slams shut with quite a force - especially when Mrs Travelininstyle closes it !!!!!

 

[travelininstyle]

Here are my pics - 2x edge of boot lid 1x edge of filler cap

Jon,

I have the same edge feathering of paint on the inner edge of my 55 plate W203 coupe and for some strange reason,some dis-colouration/fading of paint on the outside edge of the filler cap - I will upload my pictures tomorrow.
I purchased my car through MB Whitefield,Manchester,through approved used over a year ago now - question is,assuming that a similar fate befell this car - are they not under any obligation to disclose this at the point of sale ????

As promised,here are my pics - first two are of inner edge of boot lid - third is of outer edge rim of filler cap.

 

[Noodle-Pulp]

I think I probably need to clarify the rattle.. sounds like something sliding up or down as I open or close the boot (respectively).
Anyway I found this, but the sound is still there. (anyone know what it is ?)

Also in addition to this I need to clarify what I was talking about when I described the filler flap...

It's a strange coincidence they're both Jasper Blue cars eh Mr TravelInStyle?
Trouble is with this sort of lack of paint is that before you know it you have rust appearing and you start kicking yourself that you didn't get it sorted sooner.

 

[corned]

Hi. I can't really offer anything else on the paint issue, but I can tell you that the plastic lug is a trim card peg, which is usually used to fasten say the main door card to the door. The two wide flanges locate on the card - one each side, and the peg locates into a suitable hole in the door. Or the tailgate of course...

 

[Noodle-Pulp]

Hi. I can't really offer anything else on the paint issue, but I can tell you that the plastic lug is a trim card peg, which is usually used to fasten say the main door card to the door. The two wide flanges locate on the card - one each side, and the peg locates into a suitable hole in the door. Or the tailgate of course...

The trim card pegs that fasten the main card door to the door are all black, (as per the bottom right hand of the second picture of Mr. Travelininstyle's above) so I'm still a bit baffled, there are no other pegs of this (whiteish) colour in this area that I've found.

My main concern really is that there's something more serious rattling around or something that indicates a more serious history of the car.

 

[springer]

missing paint

Hi all,

I have 2004 post face lift coupe 30,000miles,After reading the above post have been to inspect mine tailgate and it show slight evidence of paint wear has you have shown. It appears the tailgate is very slightly rubbing against the plastic trim beneath the seals ,may even be grit in there from the spray off the road which is closing the gap and causing the abrasion?

May be a flaw with all coupes

regards

springer

 

[unitfreebie]

That cracked paint on the lug is from a bad repaint job.... they did not clean the surface, bad prep job, before respraying.

Was the car in an accident and therefore was repainted?

Good luck...

 

[travelininstyle]

Springer,I guess from the evidence,that we can conclude that it appears to be some sort of wear action common on these models - phew - relief - rather than something more sinister.

 

[Noodle-Pulp]

May be a flaw with all coupes

I had a 2003 pre facelift c200 coupe a few years back and that had nothing like this...
Maybe.. it is a problem with all post-facelift models?

So here's the new question.. if I ask the dealership for a complete history of the car as far as MB is concerned (from their records) they should provide it right?

 

[Noodle-Pulp]

So.. it's booked in for Tuesday no quibbles.. I sincerely hope they can pin down that rattle - I had a brief look myself and couldn't find it.
Nice that they offered me an SLK courtesy while they've got mine in...
ah... back to the good old days!

 

[Noodle-Pulp]

All done..

The rattle was coming from "some fixings had come loose inside the window frame part of the boot" - dealer had to order some bits and I'll need to go back (for a 10 minute fixing). If you're unclear what bit of the frame I'm talking about, look at my right hand side link and my left hand side link and the bit I'm talking about is the grey bit in the lower third of both pictures.. if this isn't clear I could take a picture.
The dealer mentioned that this piece "had been off before" - although could not elaborate why or when.

The paint's touched up so out go my rust worries (at least in those areas I photo'd)...

All in all a good day out, and me and the lady spent the day in Brighton to boot (on the last hot day of the year).