Rust and goodwill repairs - good news !

[Cool Mart]

Shortly after purchasing my S-class back in October I went to my local dealership to purchase a locking wheel nut remover. While the guy was trying out the various combinations he noticed a small bubble of rust on my front wheel arch and said I should speak to the body shop guy regarding a warranty claim. Two days later the body shop guy took various photos around the car, and identified several small areas of concern, however when I told him I’d only had the car a few weeks he explained that Mercedes wouldn’t entertain the claim until I’d owned the car six months, and that I should give him a call in April.

I went home and spent a few hours in the forum reading about other people's experiences of warranty claims and came to the conclusion that I probably wouldn’t be covered as the car was seven years old (I thought the warranty period was five years) and I didn’t have a full MBSH (last service carried out by an independent) April came and went and I didn’t bother contacting MB despite the fact the rust patch caught my eye every time I walked up to the car.

This Wednesday I took a call from Mercedes Stevenage (new dealership combining the old Harpenden one and AN other) and as long as I could get the car to them by the 1st of September (the car’s eighth b-day) they would do all the required work under the warranty. I asked about service history and the guy said it wasn’t a problem.

It’s going to take them around three weeks to replace both front wings, treat and spray the rear arches, boot lid, bonnet and door bottoms at a cost to MB of around £4500. During which time I have to drive around in a Smart Forfour 1.1 (75BHP, 103MPH and 13.4 0-60 ……. there had to be a downside to the story … LOL)

The message I’m trying to get across is that the warranty terms do appear to be a little flexible, and there may still be hope for getting those unsightly rust patches rectified for free.

If you don’t ask you don’t get …. unless you’re very lucky !

Martin

 

[Yadagi]

Thanks for this thread CoolMart. I'm not to far from them so if anything comes up on my body work , I'll know where to go.

 

[gurpz]

Great stuff, Any chance of pictures of the current rust spots ? Would be great to compare after the work is complete !

 

[glojo]

As the saying goes, 'Don't ask, don't get'.

From your post it looks like the goodwill aspect is being treated favourably for cars less than eight years of age?

I am a great believer in replacing the easily removable bits as opposed to trying to make labour intensive repairs.

Good luck,
John

 

[Cool Mart]

It all happened so quick (phone call 1.30pm Thursday, car with them by 7.20 the next morning) that I didn't even think about photos ! There were small rust bubbles in two places on one front wing, about the size of a one penny piece in total, and the bottom of the drivers door had the corner nearest the middle of the car with a 1cm triangle of rust. The bonnet, rear arches and boot corrosion were all under the lip and not visible on the outside.

I'm not sure if either the dealship, or MB themselves, have a financial period during which they must spend thier budgeted amount on goodwill repairs ? This may be why they were so accomodating.

Now I just need to get the wheels spruced up a bit, and a couple of bumper scratches repaired, and it'll look brand new !

Martin

 

[NAG]

Not so good so far

That sounds like a dream scenario.
I am currently on my thrid attempt with MB to get the rust sorted on my car.
First time I was knocked back saying same reason ' car needs to be owned for 6 months...', second time (almost 1 year after 1st KB) the reason was that the car is older than 7 years, now am on my third attempt with them after contacting MBUK direct and having a prolonged phonecall, they agreed to arrange an inspection.

I had that done a week or so ago, so am waiting now for feedback,
I don't hold out much hope and in the meantime the car is slowly crumbling away, all arches are affected the bootlid and more recently the passenger and driver side doors have started to develop small spots of rust.

The infuriatiing thing is, that aside the car is perfect (touch wood), no problems whatsoever

 

[glojo]

That sounds like a dream scenario.
I am currently on my thrid attempt with MB to get the rust sorted on my car.

Does your car have a complete and full, unbroken Mercedes-Benz main dealer service history and is it covered by Mobilo?

Regards
John

 

[salesac1]

NAG, my 7Y 5M old C200 has just had all 4 wings repainted under the rust warranty. It has MBSH only for first 3 years, since then serviced by Mercedes specialist, so not covered by mobilo life. Like Coolmart, some of the rust was not immediately visible. The way it worked for me was that someone from the authorised bodyshop visits the dealership every week at a set time and you just turn up there and see them about it. They take photos and info and get back to in a day or so with the news. That is at Greenoaks in Reading, but I believe at MB Newbury it is different - you arrange to see the MB Service Manager - so it varies from region to region.
The key thing, as Coolmart was notified of, is that the rust warranty is apparently up to 8 years. That might rule you out, although I hope not.