Hi all MB owners. Looking for advice on paint work issue

[ARH68]

I bought my 2013 E350 convertible in Fire Opal just 2 months ago from a private seller. The car was well inspected and no signs of paint damage apart from a few stone chips. This morning I came out to my car and noticed blistering on the bonnet. Having now looked on here it appears to be an ongoing problem. How have others got on with getting Mercedes to sort the problem?

 

[V6Matty]

Contact Mercedes and they will likely send you to somewhere to take pictures and paint depth (to ensure it’s not already been resprayed), they will likely offer a contribution to respray as you only bought the car two months ago and therefore could have known about the issue.

 

[ARH68]

Hi V6Matty. Thanks for your comment. I fully inspected the car when I bought and this large area of blistering sure wasn't there. I noticed some stone chips which would be expected for a car of this age. In fact the first I noticed the blistering was this morning. It appeared so suddenly! I paid the book value for this car as well. The car has Mercedes FSH which is a plus. Anyway I've booked in for a warranty inspection on Wednesday so fingers crossed.

 

[V6Matty]

Yep, it’s a known issue and you’ll likely be fine, but they may also not play ball because of the time of ownership, it’s your word against theirs that you didn’t know about it during the purchase and got a lower value, then again it may not come up in conversation and they just do it, just be aware that it’s a possibility they refuse on those grounds

 

[ARH68]

Thankfully I’ve got a receipt to prove what I paid.

 

[Craiglxviii]

Thankfully I’ve got a receipt to prove what I paid.

Fingers crossed for you. We have seen multiple owners with this exact issue get full-body resprays gratis, and one or two others get nothing, and a few get contributions. Hope this turns out for you.

 

[Blobcat]

Hi V6Matty. Thanks for your comment. I fully inspected the car when I bought and this large area of blistering sure wasn't there. I noticed some stone chips which would be expected for a car of this age. In fact the first I noticed the blistering was this morning. It appeared so suddenly! I paid the book value for this car as well. The car has Mercedes FSH which is a plus. Anyway I've booked in for a warranty inspection on Wednesday so fingers crossed.

I wouldn't be surprised if the supplying garage had applied some colour match polish which has now washed off...

As you're a relatively new owner MB could take the view that it was bought with the issue and you're trying for betterment. With luck they'll just fix it for you - they don't generally repaint the plastics (bumpers etc) so you can sometimes see a difference. Pity really as Fire Opal Red is really nice (when it's nice)

 

[Craiglxviii]

I wouldn't be surprised if the supplying garage had applied some colour match polish which has now washed off...

As you're a relatively new owner MB could take the view that it was bought with the issue and you're trying for betterment. With luck they'll just fix it for you - they don't generally repaint the plastics (bumpers etc) so you can sometimes see a difference. Pity really as Fire Opal Red is really nice (when it's nice)

It is a shame. It’s one of the nicest deep-gloss reds out there.

 

[ARH68]

I wouldn't be surprised if the supplying garage had applied some colour match polish which has now washed off...

As you're a relatively new owner MB could take the view that it was bought with the issue and you're trying for betterment. With luck they'll just fix it for you - they don't generally repaint the plastics (bumpers etc) so you can sometimes see a difference. Pity really as Fire Opal Red is really nice (when it's nice)

I bought it private and it definitely hadn’t had any previous paint work done. I never noticed anything until this morning. Fingers crossed they take responsibility and fix the problem.

 

[ARH68]

Update...So, I went to my local Mercedes bodyshop this morning for a warranty inspection. They refuse to even look at processing a claim for respray because I’ve only had the car for 9 weeks. All they can do is refer me to customer service to see if they will over ride it. Absolutely gutted!!

 

[V6Matty]

Update...So, I went to my local Mercedes bodyshop this morning for a warranty inspection. They refuse to even look at processing a claim for respray because I’ve only had the car for 9 weeks. All they can do is refer me to customer service to see if they will over ride it. Absolutely gutted!!

I think we knew that was likely to be the case unfortunately,

 

[Frontstep]

It was always an optimistic punt but no harm in trying, the car in Mercedes eyes is vintage.

The previous owner might have had more luck with FSH.

I would be surprised indeed very surprised if it is only just losing its lacquer and the previous owner didn't know.

 

[ARH68]

The car was kept in a garage and used very little were as I keep it outside and use every day. Not sure if that’s why it’s only showing up.

 

[mioba]

A full bonnet respray would cost max 400. It might be worth getting it done by the MB approved garage to keep a degree of goodwill if thing go further S in a few years.

 

[ARH68]

A full bonnet respray would cost max 400. It might be worth getting it done by the MB approved garage to keep a degree of goodwill if thing go further S in a few years.

Mercedes are quoting me a reduced price for bonnet respray at £750! They say it would normally be £1000