On the 6th July this year I decided to take my W202 to the new MB Bodyshop in West Lothian to make a claim under warranty for paintwork related problems.
All four arches were showing signs of bubbling and a small area of laquer had peeled from the F/O/S wing. I had only bought the car the week earlier and was aware of the paint problems before parting with my cash. I admit I took a gamble with the purchase but it was based on information provided by a family Mercedes owner who assured me the problems would be rectified under the Mobilolife 30 year warranty.
I reckon I got the car for about £1 - £1.5k cheaper than book due to the paintwork problems and figured if the claim with MB was unsuccessful it would still be a saving for me if I went to a local independent bodyshop and payed for the repairs.
The car was a Dec 99 and had dealer service stamps on 05/04/00, 03/04/01, 11/03/02 & 08.04.03. The most recent service was done on 09/04/04 by the non MB selling garage.
When I took the car for inspection (without an appointment) the areas were photographed, the paint depth measured on all panels and the logbook photocopied. There was no magnifying glass used and I got the impression the examiner wasn’t looking to blame stonechips or anything else for the problems. He also revealed rust below the rubber of 2 doors which I was unaware of and said there should be no problem with the claim being approved and if I hadn’t heard anything in 2 weeks to ‘chase things up’.
4 weeks later, after no contact, I phoned the bodyshop to enquire on how things were progressing and was told there was a back log and that it could take up to 6 weeks until I heard anything.
A further 2 weeks on I popped into the bodyshop to enquire personally. They stated they were aware of the claim and were still dealing with the back log which was now running at up to 8 weeks. I was starting to feel a bit miffed with everything and thought I was getting the brush off.
The 8 week period expired yesterday and I made a further phonecall to MB resulting in some good news… the chap on the phone advised me that my claim had been approved and that he would phone me over the next couple of days to arrange a date for work to commence. I thanked him and said farewell. 20 mins later the phone rings again and it was MB offering the 4th Oct as a date for my car stating the job would take approx 2 weeks to complete (4 wings and the tops of 2 doors).
When I enquired about a courtesy car I was told that as it was a ’99 car they would happily give me a VW Polo for the fortnight.
From what the chap on the phone said it would appear that the rust issues associated with all cars of my age are being taken quite seriously and are being rectified under warranty without too much hassle. Despite the time delay in the claim being processed I have to say it’s been a painless experience for me and I can’t wait to see the results from this brand spanking new bodyshop.
I would urge anyone else in a similar position to myself to get down to your local bodyshop and get a claim in… you have nothing to lose!!!
All four arches were showing signs of bubbling and a small area of laquer had peeled from the F/O/S wing. I had only bought the car the week earlier and was aware of the paint problems before parting with my cash. I admit I took a gamble with the purchase but it was based on information provided by a family Mercedes owner who assured me the problems would be rectified under the Mobilolife 30 year warranty.
I reckon I got the car for about £1 - £1.5k cheaper than book due to the paintwork problems and figured if the claim with MB was unsuccessful it would still be a saving for me if I went to a local independent bodyshop and payed for the repairs.
The car was a Dec 99 and had dealer service stamps on 05/04/00, 03/04/01, 11/03/02 & 08.04.03. The most recent service was done on 09/04/04 by the non MB selling garage.
When I took the car for inspection (without an appointment) the areas were photographed, the paint depth measured on all panels and the logbook photocopied. There was no magnifying glass used and I got the impression the examiner wasn’t looking to blame stonechips or anything else for the problems. He also revealed rust below the rubber of 2 doors which I was unaware of and said there should be no problem with the claim being approved and if I hadn’t heard anything in 2 weeks to ‘chase things up’.
4 weeks later, after no contact, I phoned the bodyshop to enquire on how things were progressing and was told there was a back log and that it could take up to 6 weeks until I heard anything.
A further 2 weeks on I popped into the bodyshop to enquire personally. They stated they were aware of the claim and were still dealing with the back log which was now running at up to 8 weeks. I was starting to feel a bit miffed with everything and thought I was getting the brush off.
The 8 week period expired yesterday and I made a further phonecall to MB resulting in some good news… the chap on the phone advised me that my claim had been approved and that he would phone me over the next couple of days to arrange a date for work to commence. I thanked him and said farewell. 20 mins later the phone rings again and it was MB offering the 4th Oct as a date for my car stating the job would take approx 2 weeks to complete (4 wings and the tops of 2 doors).
When I enquired about a courtesy car I was told that as it was a ’99 car they would happily give me a VW Polo for the fortnight.
From what the chap on the phone said it would appear that the rust issues associated with all cars of my age are being taken quite seriously and are being rectified under warranty without too much hassle. Despite the time delay in the claim being processed I have to say it’s been a painless experience for me and I can’t wait to see the results from this brand spanking new bodyshop.
I would urge anyone else in a similar position to myself to get down to your local bodyshop and get a claim in… you have nothing to lose!!!
