Rust Warrenty Claim - Advice Please

[PeterE320Cdi]

Hello Everyone.

I have just heard back today (1st June) from my local dealer about my rust warranty claim. I first took my car in for photos on the 7th April.

When I took my car in I was told that they would not check the suspension mounts as this was not covered by the warranty and if I wanted them checked I would have to pay a labour charge which I declined, do you know if this is standard practice?

The car was then checked over with claims submitted for following:

n/s front door
n/s front wing
n/s rear door
n/s rear wing
o/s front door
o/s front wing
o/s rear door
Tailgate

It turns out that the o/s rear wing had previously been resprayed so was not covered.

The claims have now been approved but I have been asked to pay a 35% contribution towards the wings and the tailgate, the reason given for this is that they have been neglected as I "should" have submitted a claim as soon as the rust was visible instead of waiting till it was bad. The tailgate has a rust bubble about 3cm long. Do you think this seems reasonable, I would think the work involved was the same regardless of when the claim was submitted.

The level of contribution seems very high to me too. I got a quote from a local body shop to repair the rusted areas and the total quote was £700, this included the o/s rear wing.

The level of contribution asked for by Mercedes ranges from £435 to £999 depending on the condition of the panels when they start the work, if they need to replace panels the cost will increase.

Given that the contribution is supposed to be 35% on half the repairs this calculated to a total job cost of about £6000 based on a contribution of £999. Surely this would pay for a whole new body shell??

 

[Flash]

They (DaimlerChrysler) are trying it on and are looking to get away with much as possible!!! Fair enough, if a panel has been resprayed before then that I can understand a contribution being made towards by yourself or the claim being turned down!!! However, you should not be expected to make any contribution towards any of the other panels to begin with as even if you had submitted a claim when the rust was minor the entire panel would still need repaying...

DC pay their approved bodyshops’ a "fixed" amount at trade price per panel anyway regardless to the amount of rust!!! Any contribution that you would be making towards the panels would more or less be covering DC's costs for the warranty work to be carried out by the bodyshop and would not be at the “trade” price!!!

 

[glojo]

If you have fully complied with all the terms and conditions of the mobilio warranty I would not pay one penny towards the cost. The neglect statement is contraversial, I personally would complain at the very first sign of rust, but that's me.

Having had bodywork repairs carried out by an unauthorised agent was a decision that was made in the full knowledge that it was in breach of the warranty. (Nothing wrong with having the car repaired by whoever you want, but there are consequences))

It is strange that one member had their claim turned down because of previous repair work carried out by an unauthorised agent, yet with you they are asking for a 35% contribution??

I think it an absolute disgrace though that such a new car should have these problems and hopefully the louder owners complain, the more embarrassed the manufacturer will become?

These are just my personal thoughts, but I do hope you get a better offer.

John

 

[Shude]

Having had bodywork repairs carried out by an unauthorised agent was a decision that was made in the full knowledge that it was in breach of the warranty. (Nothing wrong with having the car repaired by whoever you want, but there are consequences))

Of course it is entirely possible that the previous repairs were made by MB the last time it was showing some corrosion, or perhaps accident repair! Check your paperwork!

 

[glojo]

Of course it is entirely possible that the previous repairs were made by MB the last time it was showing some corrosion, or perhaps accident repair! Check your paperwork!

Hi Shude,
Fair point and I have read somewhere that service information is only held by the servicing dealer, but I do know that on my old 210, the information was available nationwide?

I wonder if times have changed? It should be a requirement that ALL service\repair information on any mobilio qualifying vehicle is held by Mercedes-Benz. It would make the verification process so much easier, plus quicker?

John

 

[Flash]

From what I understand and I could be wrong so please correct me BUT if make a corrosion claim then DC only warrant the job for 3 years. So does that mean the 30 years corrosion warranty is then invalidated after 3 years on the resprayed panels?

Bodyshops that carryout the corrosion repairs warrant the work for 12 months but does DC’s 3 year warranty kick in after the Bodyshop’s 12 months warranty or run concurrently???

 

[Shude]

Bodyshops that carryout the corrosion repairs warrant the work for 12 months but does DC’s 3 year warranty kick in after the Bodyshop’s 12 months warranty or run concurrently???

Concurrently, like all warranties!

 

[glojo]

From what I understand and I could be wrong so please correct me BUT if make a corrosion claim then DC only warrant the job for 3 years. So does that mean the 30 years corrosion warranty is then invalidated after 3 years on the resprayed panels?

Bodyshops that carryout the corrosion repairs warrant the work for 12 months but does DC’s 3 year warranty kick in after the Bodyshop’s 12 months warranty or run concurrently???

When I had my 210 repaired I was catergorically assured it would NOT effect the mobilio warranty, nor the trade in price of the vehicle. That is why Mercedes-Benz insist on using an approved workshop. (I'm not talking about their expertise)

I obviously cannot comment on the former, but when I traded the vehicle in, I was certainly happy with the trade in price? After telephoning around it was the best deal I could get, with both the purchase price and trade in price.

I believe Grav is about to submit a second claim on his vehicle?

John

 

[Flash]

When I had my 210 repaired I was catergorically assured it would NOT effect the mobilio warranty, nor the trade in price of the vehicle. That is why Mercedes-Benz insist on using an approved workshop. (I'm not talking about their expertise)

Bodyshop that did my Sprinter are very nice people BUT annoyed me because they “lied” to me that the entire panels had been fully resprayed when they were not but the paint match is very good so I cannot complain but they have been paid by DC to do a full respray per panel!!!

 

[meddgm]

The Trusty-Rusty (E300 rust)

I have never been on a forum, any forum, but am exasperated by the way Mercedes Benz are treating me. They wont even acknowledge at the local garage that rust is a problem on the E300s.

Basically the T reg E300 estate is a dream to drive. But being silver and covered in rust makes her look really ugly. This has developed over the past 18-24 months. Every panel is rusting including those never exposed directly to road damage (check under bonnett and around door seals).

I have at least 30 regions of rust and counting. Every panel is involved.

I have had the car independently serviced since I got it second hand age 2 years when it was perfect. I was told to contact Mercedes last year when rust developed which I did.

However, things are dragging on an on and I cant get them to commit to repairing the damage all of which is under warrenty.

I get excuses like- "Oh, we could have repaired it if you came earlier" Or, "because you dont regularly attend our dealership...."

Things are so bad that my son, the eloquent poet who christened her "trusty-rusty" wants to create an intenet site.

Has anyone got advice on how to get them to commit to their warrenty responsibilites.

 

[glojo]

Has anyone got advice on how to get them to commit to their warrenty responsibilites.

Hi meddgm,
Could you possibly explain the warranty you are referring to, and its terms and conditions please?

That way we can all have a dig at who is in the wrong.

Regards,
John

 

[Flash]

DC Customer Services are a$$holes... simple as that and I'm talking from very recent experience with them!!! I have a on going issue outstanding with them still and will fight them all the way and at first tried the "Mr Nice Guy" approach and got no where with them!!!

Write to someone senior i.e. Managing Director!!!

 

[Mr E]

Hi meddgm,
Could you possibly explain the warranty you are referring to, and its terms and conditions please?

That way we can all have a dig at who is in the wrong.

As John has said, the salient info will be the age of the car (if I remember rightly, date vehicle registered) and it's service history.

IF covered by the corrosion warranty, then MAYBE you'll get some kind of coverage as the car has been outside of the dealer network since 2-years old.

Quite happy to stand up and be slated, but if the conditions of the warranty are not maintained (assuming it's in place) what right is there to expect it to be honoured?

Not meant as a pop at yourself - DC have covered a number of vehicles both not included in the warrenty scope and without valid service histories. However, best to know exactly where you stand, then you know what to expect and (hopefully) we can offer relevent advice/experience.

 

[Flash]

BUT even if the owners did have every maintenance service carried out by MB Stealerships then this still would not prevent the rust from occurring as mechanical servicing has nothing to do with the bodywork!!! I can understand the 3 year manufacturer warranty being voided for not using the Stealerships and good will being excluded on mechanical failure (s) BUT to void valid bodywork claims on "genuine" panels that are suffering from corrosion/rust is out of line and unacceptable and DaimlerChrysler just trying to "wriggle" their way out as per usual...

 

[Wezzel]

There seems to be some inconsistancy with corrosion warranty claims. My vehicle was bought by me from a lease company 18 months ago with no service book and little service history (just a computer print of of service items and mileages). The car was first registered December 1999.

I took it into my local dealer who submitted a claim for me for a rusty tailgate.

The claim was approved within a couple of weeks and was repaired recently. Even though a previous repair was discovered, which should have invalidated the claim, the work was carried out and I even got a whole new tailgate as the rust was so deeply seated.

It seems to be the luck of the draw.

 

[Mr E]

BUT even if the owners did have every maintenance service carried out by MB Stealerships then this still would not prevent the rust from occurring as mechanical servicing has nothing to do with the bodywork!!! I can understand the 3 year manufacturer warranty being voided for not using the Stealerships and good will being excluded on mechanical failure (s) BUT to void valid bodywork claims on "genuine" panels that are suffering from corrosion/rust is out of line and unacceptable and DaimlerChrysler just trying to "wriggle" their way out as per usual...

I'm not going to debate this one out again...DC are quite within their rights to put whatever restrictions and requirements on their warrenty, especially an extended one (i.e. outside of anything connected to what was referred to as "block exemption" or traditional 1 - 3 year warranty).

The requirement to have regular main dealer service is to ensure that inspection takes place...whether that happens is another story. However, that goes a long way to explaining why they "wriggle" when thy havn't seen the car for X years....see previous threads re laptop fault.

I'm not defending DC's approach to the subject, or the quality of product that is out there, but at least have a go at the right thing. Read the small print on any warranty for the "wriggle" room....and try not to complain so bitterly when you've contributed to giving them (whoever that is) the room to "wriggle".

 

[Flash]

and try not to complain so bitterly when you've contributed to giving them (whoever that is) the room to "wriggle".

I only ever keep MBs for a maximum of 3 years from the date of first registration and sell them as soon as warranty is about to expire and use the Stealerships for servicing...

MB are "wriggling" their way out of this one as it does NOT state in any of the Mobilo Terms and Conditions that if rust is found then it has to "immediately" be reported etc!!! Also, the contribution they have asked for is "extortionate/excessive"!!! They have said to this poor chap with the rust issue that he has to make a 35% contribution of £400 plus where the bodyshop have quoted £700 to do the whole job privately!!! - DC also pay trade price to their approved bodyshops (which is approximately about 5 hours of fixed labour per panel!!!)

Also, there is the issue with inconsistency with warranty claims as already pointed out. Why is it that only some bodyshops measure the paint thickness where others don’t and some ask for the service book again where others do not…???

 

[Denise]

Hi All

My 2000 E220 CDi had numerous rust problems as well, i took it to the dealer for the first inspection. The dealer did the usual photographs, checked service logs etc. My service history was not up to date and in addition to this i had oil changes done with ATS £24.99 for Shell Semi synthetic (same stuff as a MB dealer but a LOT cheaper). anyway the dealer pointed this out saying the service was not fully and up to date with them and that "sometimes" they ask people to pay about 35% for the repair. Anyway 4 weeks after MB dealer got back to me saying it will cost me £435 to get it done. I told the dealer that as i was driving at the time i will get back to him and hung up, i never did! instead i call MB HQ in Milton Keynes and ended up talking to some Yank by the name of Kelly. I knew this was a good start as Yanks iv noticed (with my trips to the US) are less tolerent of shoddy services and a whole lot more determined to see a matter through to the end. Anyway this yank was lovely empathised/sympathised etc. took my details, vin number, and the local dealer details and said she will call them and take the matter with them. two weeks later a call from MB Preston - who offered to take my car in sort out the rust repairs and provide a courtesy car whilst it was being done! my advice dont give in thase bast*rds dont let em get away with it! FIGHT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Craigc689]

As a recent newcomer to the MB fraternity and a garage owner it worries me that MB are taking advantage of our nit-picking about warranty claims etc, as it seems to cover up the fact that any car in these times should not show the slightest signs of corrosion within the first 10 years, let alone the first three!
If only we had the balls to let our cars rust naturally without intervention, to then place a few hundred five year old E class's (holes , broken suspension mounts and all) on a selection of MB forecourts for all to see. I reckon MB would quickly forget any get-out clauses in their warranties then!!!

By the way I'm such a sucker that my car is currently being entirely resprayed at my own expense, as I don't think that there would be enough of my car left for warranty work by the time I have fought with MB.

Cheers Craig

 

[ddentrec]

Bodyshops that carryout the corrosion repairs warrant the work for 12 months but does DC’s 3 year warranty kick in after the Bodyshop’s 12 months warranty or run concurrently???

I have been banging on about the MobiloLife scam for ages.

1. You will invalidate MobiloLife corrosion protection if you car is repaired by a non-MB approved bodyshop. Your insurer will tell you that they will use their own non-MB repairer, which you can decline. But then you will need to to get two (or even three) body repair quotes form an MB bodyshop. Insurance company will use the cheapest MB repairer, and it may not be on your doorstep (mine was 70 miles away). You may not get a courtesy car, and the insurer may decline to have it transported there if cost is too high.

2. Any MobiloLife repair is effectively limited to 3-years: you cannot claim repeat repairs for the same panel/area.

Buy a (and not necessarily a galvanised one) car from a manufacturer who knows about paint technology and how to apply it properly in the first place(i.e. VAG, Lexus, pre-1996 Mercs and even Ford).