W213 bonnet paint crack

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jjlucas76

New Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2017
Messages
5
Location
London
Car
Audi A1 (2012-2014), Audi A5 (2014-2017), Mercedes E-Class 220d Estate (2017-Current)
hi I am the owner of a 2017 E-Class estate w213 bought new from Mercedes Croydon. Recently a family member made me notice the paint on the bonnet has cracks. I have contacted the dealership and got put through Fastlane Paint & Body (FPB) - Apparently Mercedes in Croydon uses them for any bodywork related issues. I was expecting the car to be collected, but none of it happened. FPB told me over the phone that Mercedes doesn’t want to collect the car and I would need to drop it to the dealer on a day where a FPB is also on-site (they don’t work at the weekend). I would say very poor service from Mercedes as i would need to take a day off to bring the car in. FPB agreed to have some pictures sent to understand the issue and they got back to me with the following: I have looked at the images closely with my Mercedes colleague and, based on what we can see, it does not look like a Warranty issue but rather an outside influence such a burning ember/firework/or chemical which may have splashed on to it.We are happy to give you an rough estimate to repaint the bonnet of the car which will be approximately £1,700 plus VAT. This includes blends to the adjacent panels for colour matching. If you wish to go through you insurance to pay for this repair, please supply me with a claim reference number and we can get it authorised and booked in asap.

To say the least i am really shocked and disappointed as the car did not get vandalised or accidentally touched by fireworks , fire or chemicals. to me this is the result of a bad paint job instead, as the paint bubbled up and cracked because of the heat of the engine.

i have checked everywhere and the car is mint , with only the bonnet showing the cracks.

i really do not know what to do right now as the lease of the car finishes in march 2020 and i’m very inclined to ring the finance department and do a VT.

i feel like i should not pay or claim on my insurance for a poor quality job by Mercedes’s assembly line. i might be wrong but that’s my feeling.

please let me know your thoughts on this as you might have more experience than me, or perhaps came across a similar issue before.

below the same pictures i sent to FPB.

cheers
 

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From left to right picture 4 does look a bit gluey, did you pick it off, or over time has it just progressed?
That said red Mercedes have suffered from orange peel effect paint damage, lots of posts on this forum,
Most times dealers have taken them back and resprayed areas for free under warranty, someone who knows, and has experienced this is bound to appear soon, and say more about it, welcome to the forum and good luck.
 
From left to right picture 4 does look a bit gluey, did you pick it off, or over time has it just progressed?
That said red Mercedes have suffered from orange peel effect paint damage, lots of posts on this forum,
Most times dealers have taken them back and resprayed areas for free under warranty, someone who knows, and has experienced this is bound to appear soon, and say more about it, welcome to the forum and good luck.

thank you for getting back to me on this. i have not touch anything, it is just progressing. i am not even washing the car for now until i have an understanding of the issue.
 
Doesn't look like manufacturer defect. More like a chemical burn, tree sap or bird pooh damage.
 
PHOTO-2019-08-20-12-46-24 2.jpg
 
Doesn't look like manufacturer defect. More like a chemical burn, tree sap or bird pooh damage.

just posted another picture showing another area beginning to crack.
 

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