Paintwork grrrr!

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JohnnyA

New Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2019
Messages
1
Location
Hampshire
Car
BMW 3
Thought an SLK would be nice for the summer, just lost out on a silver 2015 model, then eventually found a 2013 Opal Fire model that perfectly fitted the bill at MB main dealer.
I noticed a slight paint defect on the filler cap which I was advised would be remedied along with other minor issues.
A few days later during the preparation stage the garage advised that they had found other areas of lifting laquer which would be a warranty claim to MB, which could take up to 6 months to resolve.
I did the research on your site and discovered the horrendous truth about this particular colour, I have since declined the purchase, which the garage has agreed to and await a return of my deposit.
Thank you MB forum.
Back to my search - avoiding red!
 
Shame about this - Fire Opal Red looks great on certain models. Glad you didn't get stuck with the problem.
 
Such a shame about FIRE OPAL RED I had a C Class coupe in that colour which really suits the coupe looked fantastic then the dreaded lacquer problem you did the right thing walking away good luck with your search for a nice one (not red)
 
Considering how many Fire Opal Red cars MB had to completly respray under warranty, isn't there a chance now that you could find one that's had the paintwork sorted out?
 
Considering how many Fire Opal Red cars MB had to completly respray under warranty, isn't there a chance now that you could find one that's had the paintwork sorted out?

How could you tell? MB keep warranty claims data as a well-guarded secret.

If you happen to buy privately, you could ask the previous owner if the car was resprayed under his ownership. But if buying from a trader then it would be impossible to know - or to confirm.

Even MB dealers are often very reluctant to share information regarding warranty work done on a car (even when it's your own car...).
 
My wifes 14 plate Fire opal red SLK, went through this process, I recall me kicking off to the service manager about a 6 month wait to deal with the problem, further talks to same service manager and MB UK, ended up waiting 3 months, car was gone for 5 weeks. During the ongoing discussions with the service manager, he did tell me that MB had over 2.8K cars to repaint, the nominated paint shops simply could not keep up. Further told me, that the first cars to be diagnosed with this problem were allocated a budget of £5.5K each for the paint re spray, however at the time wifes car was with them, this sum had been reduced by MB to £2.8K, maybe why some paint shops did not want the work, and only the metal panels being repainted, not trim, plastic etc. sounds scary for the finished product, and am sure there are some stories to be told by some other suffering parties, i read some of them. The wifes car appears to have been well done, but I am no paint expert, so we live it, it looks good. My only concern, is to how long will it look good, I bet it will not have the endurance of the original paint work, had it not been a faulty paint issue from MB. Time will tell.
 
Does ANYBODY know a good MB dealer ? There isn't one in Northampton ! ! :wallbash:
 
I'm glad mine is Designo Hyacinth Red, I love the colour:cool:
 
Mine is Carneol Red, we love the colour but not the peeling lacquer problem that started this year and that MB are not prepared to even contribute towards the £600 respray roof and bonnet cost!
 

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