Windscreen damaged by dealer

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Farmer boy

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Sep 7, 2015
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426
Location
North East England
Car
S205 250 AMG Line
Collected my car today after 9.5 week wait for parts. Driving home I washed the windscreen to try and remove several white lines in my field of view. Wipers had no effect. As car has been parked for a long time I thought it was hardens on dirt so continued home. At home I washed the screen with a clean microfibre cloth. Muck removed but many deep scratches on the drivers side and acros the screen bottom. Many so deep that you could feel them with a finger nail. My Mercedes Me geotracker alerted me to the car being moved into the dealers workshop just after 06:00 today. We had frost and snow. I suspect someone has used a scraper to remove the frozen on ice.
Phoned dealer and explained the situation to get the reply that they will get back to me which they did sometime later. Their options are: they get a third party in to polish the screen or I claim on insurance and they pay my excess
There over 10 long deep scratches across drivers field of view so not happy with polishing even if it did work as it would change the optical qualities. The second option would entail me making a claim. It is only 11 months since I had the current screen replaced and I am concerned about it influencing my renewal quote as I will be renewing my police next month. My additional concern is that is it legal for me to make the claim when I am certain about who caused the damage and who should take liability for the damage.
help and guidance please.
 
Looks like they knew about it or would not have accepted liability. Put it back to them saying they have to replace the screen as its their problem not yours.
 
Well the good think is that it seems they are accepting liability - do you also have it by email?

I think that if the vehicle was in their care, then they should claim on their insurance....?
 
They would have checked on their own camera system, so would be fully conversant of actual vehicle movement/problems. Request a visual if they refuse to replace the screen.
 
Looks like they knew about it or would not have accepted liability. Put it back to them saying they have to replace the screen as its their problem not yours.
That’s what I am thinking. If I did go insurance route I do all the running about. Autoglass, my insurance companies agent is in an industrial estate and even in non COVID times they have no waiting area. Screen takes about 1.5 hours for mastic to go off and has to have cameras and sensors in the screen realigned so has to be done at their depot. Had the pleasure of a screen refit and calibration last February must say at this point that Autoglass where spot on and used genuine MB screen which, until today has had no problems.
 
Well the good think is that it seems they are accepting liability - do you also have it by email?

I think that if the vehicle was in their care, then they should claim on their insurance....?
The person who got back to me was one of the service juniors. Will ring him back tomorrow and ask for an email of their proposals he is more likely to supply the confirmation of liability than the more experience staff.
I agree that it should be off their liability insurance as the damage was done by an employee on their premises. It was an accident but it was not mine so why should my insurance company foot the bill.
 
Found this:


'Car damaged at the garage

If your car has been damaged while at the garage, take it back straight away or, if you are still at the garage, do not accept the car. Instead, point out the damage to your vehicle and insist that it be fixed. If the garage agrees to repair the vehicle, they only have to put it back in the condition it was in when you brought it into the garage.

If the garage won't do the repairs, get in touch either with the garage’s insurance company, the trade association or through the car manufacturer to help you resolve the issue. If the garage does not accept liability and you have to claim against your insurance, this could affect your no-claims bonus, so check with your insurer.'

You could try and ask the garage for details of their insurer....?
 
Thanks mark jay some very helpful information.
I wish I had stopped and inspected the screen when the wash wipe had not cleared the marks but I was in a long section of roadworks and only had opportunity to stop when I was nearly home.
A solution will be found just feeling cross as the dealers first response is to put the onus onto me to get the car fixed.
 
Thanks mark jay some very helpful information.
I wish I had stopped and inspected the screen when the wash wipe had not cleared the marks but I was in a long section of roadworks and only had opportunity to stop when I was nearly home.
A solution will be found just feeling cross as the dealers first response is to put the onus onto me to get the car fixed.
I think that should be taken as a sign of exactly how that dealer expects to treat its customers. You're almost an inconvenience to them, and wriggling and bluffing is part of their ingrained thinking.

Not how I would want to run a business, but it seems to work for many.
 
When my previous SLC was in for service I had the pleasure of being told by the service manager upon collecting the car that "someone in the workshop" had reversed it into a pole damaging the rear bumper! I was initially unable to respond as anyone who has read my thread about the roof repair on the car will understand!

The car was offered to me to take home (!) that evening (it was already 5pm) and to bring back later that week for a repair.

I was somewhat insensed by this and refused to take the car. My view was that they should keep it there and repair it as soon as possible. Evetually the manager (who was quite good actually) agreed but said there were no courtesy cars available for me to take home. By this time I was getting rattled and he could sense that. He disappeared for a while and came back with the offer of using his car until mine was fixed. Many promises of a "perfect repair" and I accepted and drove home in his E Class.

Three days later I get the call the car is done and go to collect it. To be fair the repair was very good, although the service advisor wasn't aware of any of the reasons it had been for repair or why I had the manager's car!!!! Crazy eh!

The moral to the story, stand your ground and don't be fobbed off.
 
Definitely not your worries. Take it back to them and they will sort it out for you for sure.
 

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