Red paint blistering

[Darrenpage]

Recently purchased a used Mercedes gla from Arnold Clark , within six weeks of taking ownership found small blisters all over the car . Phoned Arnold Clark who informed the vehicle was in pristine condition when I took it . Since then the paintwork has degenerated to a poor level , any advice would be most welcome

 

[st13phil]

Sadly, you're not alone. Make a search of the forum for threads about red paint blistering.

If you're so close to the purchase of the car, I'd give serious consideration to rejection as the simplest solution.

 

[Darrenpage]

Sadly, you're not alone. Make a search of the forum for threads about red paint blistering.

If you're so close to the purchase of the car, I'd give serious consideration to rejection as the simplest solution.

Tried to reject the car only to be told it was in pristine condition when it left their premises

 

[ALFAitalia]

They have no choice but to accept it FOR ANY REASON....within 30 days.....its the law.

EDIT....just noticed you said 6 weeks......not so easy.

 

[st13phil]

only to be told it was in pristine condition when it left their premises

The obvious question is "What's that got to do with it?".

Even if they could provide evidence to confirm their assertion (they can't) it's reasonable to expect the paint on a car to remain "pristine" for longer than a few weeks.

Unfortunately, it sounds like you may need to take legal advice and proceed from there.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Unfortunately, it sounds like you may need to take legal advice and proceed from there.

Was the Arnold Clark dealership a franchised Mercedes-Benz dealership or another brand? Either way, Arnold Clark hold Mercedes-Benz franchises.

Put it in writing that you wish to reject the car on the grounds of what you now know is a common and widespread problem which Mercedes-Benz recognise and rectify.

Point out that as a Mercedes-Benz dealership then they can validate the legitimacy of the issue and urge them to reconsider their stance on rejection.

If they choose not to oblige then your choice is to keep it and get it repainted by Mercedes, or push to reject it soon. As @st13phil suggests you may need legal advice.

 

[ernie]

Was the Arnold Clark dealership a franchised Mercedes-Benz dealership or another brand? Either way, Arnold Clark hold Mercedes-Benz franchises.

Put it in writing that you wish to reject the car on the grounds of what you now know is a common and widespread problem which Mercedes-Benz recognise and rectify.

Point out that as a Mercedes-Benz dealership then they can validate the legitimacy of the issue and urge them to reconsider their stance on rejection.

If they choose not to oblige then your choice is to keep it and get it repainted by Mercedes, or push to reject it soon. As @st13phil suggests you may need legal advice.

I wonder if it was punted to a non-MB AC dealership after discovering the problem. Thinking about that, though, would they have examined the paintwork in that detail in the first place?
The OP needs to return the car for repair as it is a known problem with MB reds...unless there has been a poor quality repair done at some time.

Ernie

 

[st13phil]

I wonder if it was punted to a non-MB AC dealership after discovering the problem. Thinking about that, though, would they have examined the paintwork in that detail in the first place?

The micro-blistering - unless really pronounced - isn’t immediately obvious unless you’re looking across the panel in light that's favourable to showing it up and you’re actually looking for it. On that basis it’s just as likely that the dealership hadn't noticed the defect as it is that they dishonestly knew it was present but pretended it wasn’t. The only certainty is that we'll never know the truth.

AFAIK, the resolution - which is a bare-metal respray of the affected panels - will be undertaken at MB's cost, but it's likely to be a long haul for the OP to a) get MB to agree to do this, and b) to actually get it done. Hence my suggestion of rejection.

 

[rich1068]

OP hasn't mentioned the age or service history of his GLA. I've never bought a newer Mercedes but surely there's some sort of manufacturers paintwork warranty?

 

[Boyband]

Hi , Although most Mercedes enthusiasts are aware of red paint problems with cars it appears Mercedes are not.

I know a couple of paint technology guys who answer to this well is well it's a red car.

My mother had a red Datsun Cherry and the paint finish from day one until scrapped it was perfect.

I would suggest that the issue could be related to a particular production line , model type because I don't think all Mercedes red cars have paint issues.

A paint system company could alter the paint formulation , pre wash not done correctly of the body shell , dust in the atmosphere and the list goes on.

A friend of mine who is a motor trader is of the opinion that Mercedes quality is on the slide again.

He cited as an example that the current range The Mercedes A class that are made in different factories / countries quality goes from OK to not so good.

 

[Chrishazle]

Search online and/or on here or MBOA for this document :
TSG-Painter-Tips_ENG-INT_ES.pdf
It's by a very reputable German paint manufacturer Spies Hecker and gives chapter and verse on all types of paint defect - cause and cure - including MB's icro blistering and lacquer peel. If you can't find it, PM me your email address and I'll email it to you as I have it on my HDD, it's 2611Kb so too big to attach to a post on here.

 

[Paulel]

I bet your paint colour is fire opal red. As has been said, this is well known to M B and has been for years. My first Mercedes was an SLK in that colour. I loved the car until I got onto a dedicated SLK forum and discovered pages of posts regarding the paint. I got rid of the car soon after, although I have had 2 M Bs since and I’m now on the 3rd, it’s a e 220 cabriolet in guess which colour, yes it’s fire opal red! I love this colour so much that I decided to take a chance. My car has had an M B respray.

 

[Paulel]

I meant to add a photo of my fire opal red cabriolet.

 

[Farmer boy]

Last week I cleaned and machine polished my daughter’s 2015 Smart for two. The tridion ( metal safety cell) has micro blistering on the red paint. paint. The red looks to be the same as Fire Opel Red that I had on a 2015 E Class Coupe. The Smart has white plastic panels so the paint problem
Is limited to the metal framework. To put the Smart right would not be such a big job but on Mercedes cars it involved a bare metal respray. If you get MB to agree to such a repair they will not do any plastic parts unless you cover the cost of these. It looks like Mercedes and Red can be a real pain.

 

[Smiley]

Tried to reject the car only to be told it was in pristine condition when it left their premises

Give your local MB dealer a call and find out who does their bodywork repairs for them - it will be a reputable place that knows what they are doing. Get a report from them on the bodywork of your car - it should be clear from that that the car can not possibly have been "pristine" when it left Arnold Clarke. Then reject the car based on that report. Do it in writing not by phone. You will have to fight - the sales team defo won't want the car back.

 

[Neiltodd]

I meant to add a photo of my fire opal red cabriolet.

looks like mine