Fire opal red colour problem - HELP!

[John Laidlaw]

Good to hear- we were just saying on another thread on this that we don't see 204s very often with fire opal red and that they are stunning in that colour! Perhaps some pics please when it's finished?

 

[A.J.]

Hi Mark, welcome to the forum. I trust that your chariot as you call it is having the full monty rather than just the currently affected areas

 

[TVR Man]

Hi folks. Bought a fire opal red e class cabriolet 2 yrs ago from MB Worcester. It was 18 mnths old with 6k miles on clock. Now just over 3 yrs old with 16k miles and started showing signs of micro blistering at start of Oct. MB Worcester very good and have arranged for some panels to be resprayed. So far so good. But they have said that MB don't totally strip down the car and they will only repaint 7 panels - so not the whole car. Does anyone know a) how long do they warrant the paint job for? b). Will the resprayed panels fade at a different speed than panels that have paint on already 3+ yrs old? and c) will the micro blistering come back? Thanks Dave

 

[Rotorhead500]

First thing I would is ask them about their bodywork warranty from factory.

If the original hasn't lasted as intended, then anything other than a full strip is unlikely to.

From others' experiences on here, MB do need a bit of persuading to do the decent thing!

 

[MikeJenner]

Hi All, has anybody has issues with their Fire Opal Red colour? Apparently paint blisters are very common on them? Mercedes are doing full resprays on affected cars

Mine is covered with them does anybody has some more information?
Thanks

Hello Ralph. I have a 2012 C220 d AMG Sports Coupé in fire opal. I have this morning just picked my car up from the dealership having been away for about two weeks having a repaint under a Mercedes paint warranty claim. I have a panoramic sunroof so all of the other panels were repainted due to the problems described.

I believe that warranty claims are being treated individually on a case-by-case basis and Mercedes only agree to repaint the affected panels Even though Mercedes acknowledge that there is a paint problem with fire opal

 

[MikeJenner]

I have a 2012 C220 d AMG Sports Coupé in fire opal. I have this morning just picked my car up from the dealership having been away for about two weeks having a repaint under a Mercedes paint warranty claim. I have a panoramic sunroof so all of the other panels were repainted due to the problems described.

I believe that warranty claims are being treated individually on a case-by-case basis and Mercedes only agree to repaint the affected panels Even though Mercedes acknowledge that there is a paint problem with fire opal.

 

[Egg1000]

Hi I know this is an old post, but it's still top in the google results for "red Mercedes paint". Is it too late to join the 'flakey red paint massive'? Had my C220 CDI for a year, it's a '63 plate. So far I've spent ~ £1500 on repairs and maintenance, brake cable snapped, turbo hose perished, then the other side popped when it was repaired. I've done several internal repairs myself (vents n stuff). But this is worrying me. I took it into Mercedes North Wales yesterday and the Manageress came out and agreed that it was bad. But was (obviously) reluctant to give anything away. Photos have been sent to bodyshop in Chester, who will offer quote/options. It's only appeared on the boot in the past 3-4 weeks, and quickly. The roof has slowly got worse over the space of the last year. Laquer has started to peel away behind rear wheel arch too.
She said the warranty is 5 years on paint. Happy new year.....

 

[LostKiwi]

I'm pretty sure MB will cover the cost of respraying the metal parts if pushed. It's a well documented and publicised issue.

 

[Egg1000]

I'm pretty sure MB will cover the cost of respraying the metal parts if pushed. It's a well documented and publicised issue.

As a first reply, this gives me hope. Maybe I'll sleep better tonight! The cost of ~£2500 in the new year is giving me the heebie jeebies!

 

[Rotorhead500]

As per LK, well known issue, don't accept first (or second, or third...) fob-off from dealers.

My 2012 MY W204 had great paintwork when I sold it last year (Obsidian Black) - there's no way lacquer should be peeling off at the age of your car.

If manageress lady persists, show her a few of these threads!

 

[LostKiwi]

If push came to shove a small claims action would almost certainly go your way to cover at least a portion of the costs.
The argument would be how long a reasonable person would expect the paint to last and then working out costs as a proportion.
So if a reasonable person expects it to last 20 years then MB would pay the balance of the costs i.e. 14/20ths of the cost.
However I doubt it will get to that.

 

[John Laidlaw]

MB are at least acknowledging and taking action when pushed - the extent seems to depend on dealer interest or sway it seems- most at the least are getting back to metal resprays but there have been a few incidents when that’s not been done with poor results
Some have also refused to respray on plastic parts which is penny punching to say the least !

 

[Egg1000]

Great to hear the optimism, I'll persist if it comes to it, but the 5 year warranty thing is bugging me. It's clearly a defect, but I'd have no come back if that were a condition. Although, on the boot is only just happened.

 

[Egg1000]

Indeed, you are all correct. Call at 9 am this morning, very courteous and efficient.
3 cars in at the moment. One chap has no paint left on his boot at all. Another due in for assessment on the same day as mine. If resprayed, they won't fix, and plastic panels they won't fix, however, the laquer is peeling from a plastic panel behind rear wheel arch, so we'll have a chat about that. Mercedes will honour if the above conditions are met regardless of age. Just need to prove ownership with V5.

 

[HelenC220]

Hi,
I have a quick question about the FOR blistering issue. My 63 plate C220 estate is currently having it's full inspection today. Most metal panels have been affected with microblisters (just started in the last month or so, so not too bad at the moment), so it's likely to be a full respray. When I took it to my local dealership a couple of weeks ago for an initial look-see, the guy said it would be done as good will. However, when it went in today, a different guy said it would be done under warranty and that there would then be no paint warranty on the car (i.e. if the issue happened again, the car would not be covered and I'd have to pay myself). Which is correct? As this is a known issue with this particular shade of red, and has been acknowledged by Mercedes, why would I not get a warranty with the new paint?

 

[Blobcat]

Hi,
I have a quick question about the FOR blistering issue. My 63 plate C220 estate is currently having it's full inspection today. Most metal panels have been affected with microblisters (just started in the last month or so, so not too bad at the moment), so it's likely to be a full respray. When I took it to my local dealership a couple of weeks ago for an initial look-see, the guy said it would be done as good will. However, when it went in today, a different guy said it would be done under warranty and that there would then be no paint warranty on the car (i.e. if the issue happened again, the car would not be covered and I'd have to pay myself). Which is correct? As this is a known issue with this particular shade of red, and has been acknowledged by Mercedes, why would I not get a warranty with the new paint?

Your warranty is for the original paint and the duration of the warranty is whatever was originally specified (assuming all conditions have been met (Servicing and inspections etc)).

The respray doesn’t get additional warranty as you’ve not paid for it.

As an example, if you buy a washing machine with a 12 month warranty and it dies at 11 months old and you get a new replacement machine. You’ll only get 1 month of warranty (the balance of the original 12 months) not an additional 12 months of warranty with the new machine.

 

[Egg1000]

Hi,
I have a quick question about the FOR blistering issue. My 63 plate C220 estate is currently having it's full inspection today. Most metal panels have been affected with microblisters (just started in the last month or so, so not too bad at the moment), so it's likely to be a full respray. When I took it to my local dealership a couple of weeks ago for an initial look-see, the guy said it would be done as good will. However, when it went in today, a different guy said it would be done under warranty and that there would then be no paint warranty on the car (i.e. if the issue happened again, the car would not be covered and I'd have to pay myself). Which is correct? As this is a known issue with this particular shade of red, and has been acknowledged by Mercedes, why would I not get a warranty with the new paint?

Consumer law applies to the respray.
It is a commercial practice, therefore needs to be fair to the consumer.
Grey area though as the warranty on paint resprays is different depending on the bodyshop.
When they refer you to an agent, just ask the question.
Mine is in now. Hopefully collecting later this week. I'll ask the question.

 

[Egg1000]

Your warranty is for the original paint and the duration of the warranty is whatever was originally specified (assuming all conditions have been met (Servicing and inspections etc)).

The respray doesn’t get additional warranty as you’ve not paid for it.

As an example, if you buy a washing machine with a 12 month warranty and it dies at 11 months old and you get a new replacement machine. You’ll only get 1 month of warranty (the balance of the original 12 months) not an additional 12 months of warranty with the new machine.

Authorised repair agents for electronics manufacturers tend to come with 90 day guarantees that do extend the manufacturers warranty if there was less than that on the original.
Not sure with resprays. Will ask.
Pretty sure all this is moot though as the resprays don't appear to suffer the same issues as the original paint.

 

[Egg1000]

Hi,
I have a quick question about the FOR blistering issue. My 63 plate C220 estate is currently having it's full inspection today. Most metal panels have been affected with microblisters (just started in the last month or so, so not too bad at the moment), so it's likely to be a full respray. When I took it to my local dealership a couple of weeks ago for an initial look-see, the guy said it would be done as good will. However, when it went in today, a different guy said it would be done under warranty and that there would then be no paint warranty on the car (i.e. if the issue happened again, the car would not be covered and I'd have to pay myself). Which is correct? As this is a known issue with this particular shade of red, and has been acknowledged by Mercedes, why would I not get a warranty with the new paint?

Just collected.
I asked. He said three years.
Still guess it's workshop dependant. But I'm happy with that.

 

[HelenC220]

Just collected.
I asked. He said three years.
Still guess it's workshop dependant. But I'm happy with that.

Thanks for the update. The way the guy said it to my husband implied there was no warranty at all, which I found confusing. Not least because it would be a new paint job. I do understand the original warranty would no longer stand as essentially there’d be no original paint left. I’ve picked up mine from it’s inspection, just waiting for the official verdict now. The dealer doesn’t seem to know where it’s going to go (3 different answers from 3 different people ranging from going back to Mercedes in Germany to going to a local body shop garage). Once I know where it’s going, I’m sure I’ll be able to find out what guarantee comes with it. Thanks for your help all.