I've Got To Pay..Is £35 Per Hour A Good Deal?

[Mr Teddy Bear]

I took my 1998 230CLK Sport K to the Local Merc' Dealer last week and asked them to look at the rust. The body shop rep' found more that I didn't know about!
The bottom line was that I would have to fund the repairs myself, but I'm being offered a discounted rate.....
£600.00 odd for 4 w/arches and £300.00 to respray the bonnet.
Should I jump at this as the repairs will carry a lifetime (my life time ? ) guarantee?

Contemplative Bear

 

[jberks]

The last bodyshop I used charged roughly £80 per panel to repair and about £60 per additional panel to blend in. So wheel arches @£80 ea plus 2 doors and rear to blend would be around £500. I suspect a bonnet would be more than a normal panel (not sure why though) so perhaps £150 for that?.
So you could probably save a few quid going elsewhere, but asssuming they do a proper MB quality job and the warranty is as they say, perhaps worth saying yes anyway.

 

[JONRW]

What reason did they give to you that you have to bear the cost of the Rust repairs (rather than covered under the warranty) ?

 

[Mr Teddy Bear]

Its 8 years as a goodwill gesture & mine is 9 years old so that's it

 

[JONRW]

Thats odd... mines a 1999 CLK and MB confirmed I have a 30 year warranty - I'd try a different 'stealership' if I were you. I recently had both front wings and the boot lid done free of charge.

 

[jberks]

Thats odd... mines a 1999 CLK and MB confirmed I have a 30 year warranty - I'd try a different 'stealership' if I were you. I recently had both front wings and the boot lid done free of charge.

The change was in 1998 - hence yours is 30 years and his is 8.

 

[JONRW]

Oh bugger..... what a pain in the Arsenal !

 

[Legoman]

change your numberplates with a m8s car and borrow logbook , then blag it

 

[philharve]

£35 per hour

I took my 1998 230CLK Sport K to the Local Merc' Dealer last week and asked them to look at the rust. The body shop rep' found more that I didn't know about!
The bottom line was that I would have to fund the repairs myself, but I'm being offered a discounted rate.....
£600.00 odd for 4 w/arches and £300.00 to respray the bonnet.
Should I jump at this as the repairs will carry a lifetime (my life time ? ) guarantee?

Contemplative Bear

Hi Mr Teddy Bear

The estimates I was quoted are not a million miles from those you've been quoted. I've had the full MB repair treatment (back to bare metal) to the bonnet and all 4 wheel arches. I think my bonnet was about GBP340.00 and each wheel arch around GBP330.00. I had a holed door (rust outside to inside) repaired and a gouge in a rear wing repaired, at my expense, at the same time. These repairs was about GBP400.

I paid for the door, wing and bonnet but the wheel arches were repaired under warranty. I bypassed the dealer and went direct to the MB-approved repairer who supported my corrosion claim wrt the wheel arches. The tiny rust spots on the bonnet were contentious and MB said 'No' to that claim.

MB have costed the repairs to all body panels so if your repairs are undertaken to the same standard as mine then it is likely your charges will be comparable to mine.

Where does the £35.00 per hour come in? The bodyshop? That's not a dealership manhour rate, it would be 3 times higher! That sounds like a reasonable deal.

REGARDS

Phil

 

[Mr Teddy Bear]

Hi,
I've been away for the wkend...................
Yes that is the body shop rate. They collected the car on Friday and I haven't heard from them yet I might have the bonnet done at the same time.
So it's a wait & see situationa t the mo'

TB:?