Mercedes Fire Opal paint issue

[Sam Bennett]

Hi all,

I’m new to this and only recently bought my Mercedes c class 6 months ago. Basically the the clear coat has started peeling off in three different areas of the car and there seems to be microblistering in all the panels aswell. I’ve done some research and it seems to be a common problem with this type of color, there’s even been lawsuits against Mercedes about it.

I took it to the dealership yesterday and the guy basically said that because I’ve bought it from a private seller, Ive basically bought it with the paint defect from that seller (if that makes sense)? But it’s still running the original paint so I don’t understand why that would be an issue. It’s a 2014 model with FMSH and 1 previous owner. Has anyone else had this problem or know how to go about it?

Cheers
Sam

 

[CowleyStJames]

It'd be interesting to find someone with a paint depth gauge and measure the paint thickness across all panels on the vehicle.
If they're all uniformly low, then it's probably factory paint.
If however, there's variances across the panels then it's had paintwork.
Did the previous owner mention accident damage, paint work?
I can understand what Mercedes are saying, but if it's factory paint I would say you have a good case
If you're close to North Wales I have a paint depth gauge and don't mind measuring the paint thickness on the panels

 

[Sam Bennett]

Unfortunately I don’t but I appreciate the offer anyway thanks. It was an ex company car so it’s always been looked after by Mercedes, there’s no reports on any damage to the panels or crashes so I’m guessing not. I’ve put in a case with Mercedes and from what they were saying they’ll have it checked by their body shop for paint depth and other checks. But I don’t know where i read this but apparently even with an official report saying it’s factory paint, they’ll still find a way of not taking blame?

 

[CowleyStJames]

Have a read of this; https://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/index.php?threads/fire-opal-red-colour-problem-help.153981/
Makes interesting reading

 

[Sam Bennett]

Yeah it is, I suppose it depends who is dealing with the case then, hopefully when it gets checked by the body shop that report alone will be enough to warrant a respray, fingers crossed.

 

[Blobcat]

If you’d owned the car for a greater length of time Mercedes would most likely repair it for you. As you’ve recently bought it they’re taking the view that you could have bought it cheap because of paint issues and then getting them to repair it for you so you get a better vehicle than you bought.

Mercedes did exactly the same with the rust issues on ~yr2000 cars. If you’d had the car for a number of years warranty work was generally covered. If you’d just bought it then they wouldn’t cover the cost of the repairs.

 

[Sam Bennett]

When you put it like that i fully understand why that would be an issue...If say I had pictures of the vehicle when I bought it showing no paint damage and a quality inspection report also showing no paint issue then would this help?
Cheers for replying.

 

[Blobcat]

When you put it like that i fully understand why that would be an issue...If say I had pictures of the vehicle when I bought it showing no paint damage and a quality inspection report also showing no paint issue then would this help?
Cheers for replying.

Doubtful unfortunately, but there’s no harm in trying

 

[A.J.]

Hi all,

I’m new to this and only recently bought my Mercedes c class 6 months ago. Basically the clear coat has started peeling off in three different areas of the car and there seems to be microblistering in all the panels as well. I’ve done some research and it seems to be a common problem with this type of colour, there’s even been lawsuits against Mercedes about it.

I took it to the dealership yesterday and the guy basically said that because I’ve bought it from a private seller, I've basically bought it with the paint defect from that seller (if that makes sense)? But it’s still running the original paint so I don’t understand why that would be an issue. It’s a 2014 model with FMSH and 1 previous owner. Has anyone else had this problem or know how to go about it?

Cheers
Sam

Oh Sam, what a shame you weren't aware of the problems with Fire Opal Red when you bought the car, It's a great looking colour but one to be wary of. As has been said MB will be very suspicious that you had bought it cheap knowing that there was an issue with the paint and were just looking for a free betterment. I don't know what the deterioration speed is of the paint problem but is it something you could live with for a while and re-try a claim at a later date when you have had the car for a while ?

 

[Sam Bennett]

Yeah to be honest I didn’t expect the paint to be an issue lol, possibly I would have to ask them but I mean it’s only paint at the end of the day so nothing urgent

 

[vtaylor78]

When you put it like that i fully understand why that would be an issue...If say I had pictures of the vehicle when I bought it showing no paint damage and a quality inspection report also showing no paint issue then would this help?
Cheers for replying.

Hi Sam ,
Haven’t you got any pictures from when you purchased it ?
Say from advertising or alike?

 

[Sam Bennett]

Yeah I have, just got off the phone with MB and what they said was because I haven’t bought the car from them they aren’t interested in warranty work. It hasn’t even been assessed to see if it’s the original paint or not. If I want to take it further I need to ring the Ombudsman?

 

[Chrishazle]

The car is about 5 years old and has FMSH - which I assume means full MB service history rather than having been serviced by an indie. There's supposed to be a 30 year warranty on the paintwork providing the car is properly serviced by MB - so the fact that you have only recently bought it means nothing, what's important is that it has full dealer service history so any MB dealer should examine the paintwork, report to MBCS and get an offer to fix the problem - which in the case if Fire Opal Red and microblistering is respray time. I did this with my 7 1/2 year old S203 - although the outcome was not good, MB only offered a 10% contribution in my case so instead of accepting, a year or so later I PX'd it with the same dealership for my S204!

Go after the dealer principle, face to face or by recorded delivery letter, and insist they honour the 30 year paintwork warranty!

BTW, keep an accurate record of all dates/times/correspondance/conversations as evidence if you need to persue via Ombudsman or small claims court!!

 

[vtaylor78]

Yeah I have, just got off the phone with MB and what they said was because I haven’t bought the car from them they aren’t interested in warranty work. It hasn’t even been assessed to see if it’s the original paint or not. If I want to take it further I need to ring the Ombudsman?

This is not right they have just Fobbed you off.

 

[A.J.]

I am in the process of persuading my wife that we need a new car. Unfortunately Fire Opal Red really takes my fancy. I am thinking in terms of a CLA at the moment possibly 2 to 3 years old.

Would that colour be safe at that age ? I would assume MB have taken steps to do something about the problems they have had with it?

 

[Blobcat]

I am in the process of persuading my wife that we need a new car. Unfortunately Fire Opal Red really takes my fancy. I am thinking in terms of a CLA at the moment possibly 2 to 3 years old.

Would that colour be safe at that age ? I would assume MB have taken steps to do something about the problems they have had with it?

They did... they stopped using it...

 

[A.J.]

They did... they stopped using it...

When did they do that, there seems to be a fair few of them on Autotrader ? So what we are saying is that there is no safe (ish) production year for it ? I just didn't want Black again, I have had three Black in a row now

 

[Blobcat]

When did they do that, there seems to be a fair few of them on Autotrader ? So what we are saying is that there is no safe (ish) production year for it ? I just didn't want Black again, I have had three Black in a row now

I see they've still red CLA's now, had a friend with a 2014 C Class that had a full respray, looked great as it is a nice colour. I'd want to check the car carefully before purchase to ensure there's no issues and that either the paint has already been redone or it's from a Mercedes dealer and they're prepared to honour the warranty on the paint if you buy it.

 

[A.J.]

I see they've still red CLA's now, had a friend with a 2014 C Class that had a full respray, looked great as it is a nice colour. I'd want to check the car carefully before purchase to ensure there's no issues and that either the paint has already been redone or it's from a Mercedes dealer and they're prepared to honour the warranty on the paint if you buy it.

A friend of mine's brother had his C Class repainted too and it too looks beautiful. So from what you are saying they have just soldiered on with the same mix/preparations with the CLA ?. If that is the case what is good to-day maybe won't be good to-morrow. MMmmm......probably not worth the risk then, shame. I just want to try and get away from Black for a change.

 

[Blobcat]

A friend of mine's brother had his C Class repainted too and it too looks beautiful. So from what you are saying they have just soldiered on with the same mix/preparations with the CLA ?. If that is the case what is good to-day maybe won't be good to-morrow. MMmmm......probably not worth the risk then, shame. I just want to try and get away from Black for a change.

Just had a look at the Mercedes Used search and the age you're looking at is "Jupiter Red"
Not seen any threads on here with issues with that colour so you may well be able to get away from "constantly needing a wash" Black