Mobilo Life

[Pietre]

My car is a 1999 on a T W210 E280. I have had my share of tin worm repairs to the car, all paid for on the Mobilo paint warranty.
The car has done 165000 miles now and has a full MB service history. My query is, at the last gtg at Ollie's brilliant workshop, it was mentioned that MB will only honour the paint warranty now for 8 years. I was under the impression it was a 30 year warranty. If it will not be warranted after 8 years then I am wasting a large amount of money by going to MB and not someone like Ollie for all of my servicing needs. Can someone please clarify what the real position is on Mobilo.

 

[Dieselman]

Your claims will all have been covered by the 'Goodwill' scheme, not Mobilo-life warranty. This is due to Mobilo-life covering corrosion right through the panel from the inside to the outside, not external corrosion or at the edges of panels.

MB will not cover bodywork past eight years under the goodwill scheme, but you can always try.

 

[hawk20]

My car is a 1999 on a T W210 E280. I have had my share of tin worm repairs to the car, all paid for on the Mobilo paint warranty.
The car has done 165000 miles now and has a full MB service history. My query is, at the last gtg at Ollie's brilliant workshop, it was mentioned that MB will only honour the paint warranty now for 8 years. I was under the impression it was a 30 year warranty. If it will not be warranted after 8 years then I am wasting a large amount of money by going to MB and not someone like Ollie for all of my servicing needs. Can someone please clarify what the real position is on Mobilo.

From other threads it seems the rust guarantee was eight years until MobiloLife came in and that the 30 year guarantee began with Mobilo on 24th October 1998.

 

[Dieselman]

From other threads it seems the rust guarantee was eight years until MobiloLife came in and that the 30 year guarantee began with Mobilo on 24th October 1998.

No.!
The bodywork guarentee prior to Mobilo-life was only one year.

All surface rust issues will be dealt with as goodwill, which appears to have a limit of eight years with no distinction between Mobilo and Mobilo-Life covered vehicles, probably because the corrosion doesn't fall under the scope of the warranty.

 

[hawk20]

No.!
The bodywork guarentee prior to Mobilo-life was only one year.

All surface rust issues will be dealt with as goodwill, which appears to have a limit of eight years with no distinction between Mobilo and Mobilo-Life covered vehicles, probably because the corrosion doesn't fall under the scope of the warranty.

I think you may be confusing what is covered and not. The eight year guarantee gave, and Mobilo Life still gives, cover for rust from the inside out. i.e not stone chips and scratches which cause rusting from the outside. It is not clear whether the original poster had rust of the kind that is covered.

Strictly you need fullMBSH to keep Mobilo intact but Mercedes have been very good -as many threads testify- at fixing rust of the kind that is covered - under 'goodwill' in cases where the service record is not complete.

 

[hawk20]

For fuller details on MobiloLife see this thread of mine which was a sticky for a while:-
http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=33410

 

[Dieselman]

I think you may be confusing what is covered and not. The eight year guarantee gave, and Mobilo Life still gives, cover for rust from the inside out. i.e not stone chips and scratches which cause rusting from the outside. It is not clear whether the original poster had rust of the kind that is covered.

Strictly you need fullMBSH to keep Mobilo intact but Mercedes have been very good -as many threads testify- at fixing rust of the kind that is covered - under 'goodwill' in cases where the service record is not complete.

Nobody is having rust from the inside-out, it's all edge rust and we all know exterior damage corrosion is not covered under the scheme.

Can you please point me in the direction of the eight year corrosion warranty/guarentee. You may find that awkward as there isn't one.

Just to be clear I will spell out what I know.

Mobilo covered cars only had the standard one year manufacturers warranty on both mechanical and paint/corrosion. The Mobilo scheme gave four years breakdown coverage.

Under Mobilo-life the same four year coverage applies and is topped up for two years after then assuming servicing is carried out at an approved dealer within two years thereafter.
This warranty also covers the body for inside-out corrosion for the maximum duration of 30 years and the paintwork and mechanical warranties were extended to three years.

This is corrosion that comes right through the panel from the inside, with no damage to the paint or edge rust.

There have been NO Mobilo-life warranty claims, they have ALL been covered under the goodwill scheme as they are edge rust, not inside out panel rust.

 

[hawk20]

There have been NO Mobilo-life warranty claims, they have ALL been covered under the goodwill scheme as they are edge rust, not inside out panel rust.

Let's just agree to differ. Numerous threads on this forum, on the other main UK forum and on the US forums show loads of cases where rust has been dealt with under MobiloLife. Loads and loads and loads. New wings, new doors, you name it.

 

[Dieselman]

Let's just agree to differ. Numerous threads on this forum, on the other main UK forum and on the US forums show loads of cases where rust has been dealt with under MobiloLife. Loads and loads and loads. New wings, new doors, you name it.

The posters may believe their claim has been dealt with under the Mobilo-Life warranty. I can assure you they have not.

They have been dealt with under the Esculab claim scheme which is a goodwill scheme.

My info is from MB warranty dept who have no intention of any claims being met as a part of the 30 year warranty.

They are on pretty safe ground as the inside of the panels have been 'organically galvanised' for many years, so the rust NEVER starts on the inside of the panel, always at the edge.

The test will be when someone submits an edge rust claim on a car older than eight years old, that's a 1999 car.

 

[hawk20]

Rust has been a big issue especially on 210 series 1995 to 2002.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w210-e-class/1207786-rust-warning.html Main ref to start of Rust warning. Includes E300POS links to photos and links to Canada recall.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w210-e-class/1268493-wtf-my-spring-fell-off-new-post.html

Search spring perches etc

And for surface rust on a 2.5 year old E 320 only 8000miles see
http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=19281

Some are pleased as Merc correct free. See
http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=18495

Another website with plenty of spring perch failures; -
http://www.mercedesshop.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=95120

And some more: -
http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=17612

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/w210-e-class/1268493-wtf-my-spring-fell-off.html
On this one a 1997 E they agreed to replace free. Boston USA.

Other threads on rust include: -
http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?p=109033#post109033



http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=19348&goto=newpost

 

[hawk20]

Full galvanising of steel panels on Mercedes is fairly recent -mainly on cars produced from 2003 onwards. See my thread based on firm information from MB UK
http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=34227

 

[Dieselman]

I haven't read the links fully yet as I can't see any that are the property of Mercedes-Benz, they are all forum posters.
The ones I have read clearly say 'goodwill' claim.

Do the American and Canadian forums bear any relevence anyway as they don't operate the same warranty as the UK.?

As with everything in life I cannot expect you to be either influenced or necessarily believe me but I have told you what I know.!

And I also know about the galvanised bodies, but the insides of the panels have been 'organically galvanised' (whatever that means, probably zinc primer) prior to that.

We all know that post August 1995 cars can be a bit prone to rust, but no-one has had rust straight through an undamaged panel from the inside.

We shall see.

 

[hawk20]

Try these UK links: -
Useful thread on rust and Mercedes fixing the problem for some but not all: -

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=30656&highlight=rust

A case where Mercedes did lots under ‘goodwill’
http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=30644&highlight=rust

Another useful thread with lots of information and many cases of Mercedes paying for rust to be treated: -
http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=27552&highlight=rust

Another interesting thread giving info on the eight years cover prior to MobiloLife coming in.
http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=29655&highlight=rust

 

[hawk20]

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/showthread.php?t=27552&page=5

I think Philharve's posting number 41 makes interesting points.

 

[glojo]

Let's just agree to differ. Numerous threads on this forum, on the other main UK forum and on the US forums show loads of cases where rust has been dealt with under MobiloLife. Loads and loads and loads. New wings, new doors, you name it.

I'm fully with Dieselman on this issue and unless you know different the Mercedes-Benz USA does not offer Mobilo to its customers?

Like you I have heard all sorts of rumours about eight year warranties but they are just that and I feel it might be a directive from Mercedes-Benz regarding goodwill repairs, but I must emphasis that is my guesstimate. Mobilo or MobiloLife is a Thirty Year warranty with conditions.

John

 

[hawk20]

I'm fully with Dieselman on this issue and unless you know different the Mercedes-Benz USA does not offer Mobilo to its customers?

Like you I have heard all sorts of rumours about eight year warranties but they are just that and I feel it might be a directive from Mercedes-Benz regarding goodwill repairs, but I must emphasis that is my guesstimate. Mobilo or MobiloLife is a Thirty Year warranty with conditions.

John

You are correct that MobiloLife is Europe only. BTW, the UK scheme is different and better than they get in the rest of Europe. (see my thread on Mobilo referred to earlier).

The US threads are interesting in that they show plenty of rust issues especially in the late nineties and show Mercedes doing much to put matters right even after guarantees had run out.

The UK links show Mercedes telling customers there was an 8 year limit prior to MobiloLife coming in on October 24th 1998.

The UK links also show numerous cases of Mercedes dealing with rust claims under MobiloLife often on cars with FullMBSH but sometimes on cars with partial history.

 

[Dieselman]

The UK links show Mercedes telling customers there was an 8 year limit prior to MobiloLife coming in on October 24th 1998.

Is it Mercedes telling these posters this or is it the dealer, and are they categorically saying there is a warranty of eight years or that Mercedes UK will consider claims under the goodwill scheme for a period of eight years, which the poster is then taking to be a warranty?

The figure of eight years is an arbitrary figure Mercedes UK have decided to use. The original body warranty was one year only. This is straight from Mercedes UK.

If it was a warranty it wouldn't have to be considered and approved by Mercedes UK, it would be automatically covered and there would be at least some written t&c available.

You will find the eight year limit on 'goodwill' applies to all cars other than safety items such as spring perch and sub frames which may be repaired for ten years.

 

[Dieselman]

Full galvanising of steel panels on Mercedes is fairly recent -mainly on cars produced from 2003 onwards. See my thread based on firm information from MB UK
http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=34227

Hawk
I am aware you posted this definitive post relating to full panel galvanising, it was very informative. Thank you.

Sometime previously someone had posted that ALL Mercedes cars were guaranteed to be galvanised by 2005, and some previously but not sure which and when from.

Now who could that have been..??

 

[Pietre]

My tinworm has been from inside to outside, and not on edges, so it has been on Mobilo and not goodwill. I have had two front wings, a boot lid, and resprays on rear wings and drivers door.

 

[Dieselman]

My tinworm has been from inside to outside, and not on edges, so it has been on Mobilo and not goodwill. I have had two front wings, a boot lid, and resprays on rear wings and drivers door.

Can you be specific about he rust and whether the claims were paid for under the Mobilo scheme.

Are you saying you suddenly had blistering in the middle of the panel with no rust at the edge?

I doubt very much the rust was genuinely from the inside, especially the boot and wings.
The boots corrode around the boot lock and the wings at the edges of the arches. These are all edge rust due to poor paint as opposed to genuine inside-out rust.

I am sure that if a warranty work check was performed on your car the corrosion repairs would not show up.