RUST- THE RULES Aug 2009

[television]

That interesting,,Watford of all places, and they do not have a very high ranking. 4 of my personal friends will not go in there, and a few on here as well. Maybe the are trying to build a new image, and congratulations on getting it done, I can see hundreds of rusty MB's making their way there in the next few days

 

[Theo Cupier]

I have to confess that after my experience with Hughes of Beaconsfield I was starting to wonder what I'd let myself in for, buying a Merc.

But the people in Watford were hugely helpful. The young lady on service reception kept in contact with me, every step of the way. Every time she promised to call me with an update, she kept her word - even if she had nothing to tell me other than that she hadn't heard back from somebody and she was chasing them up...

The only downside was when they accidentally sold the A-class which they'd given me as a courtesy car and had to hastily arrange to collect it from me so they could prep it for the customer (although even then they brought me a replacement vehicle!)

If they are building a new reputation then they seem to have some very good people there doing it. As I say, it was my first - and so far only - time contacting them and so I have no experience of their past performance.

Family members now avoid Hughes of Beaconsfield having had similar issues with their customer service, either over warranty issues or paid repairs.

 

[hawk20]

The earlier link I posted to BMW's rust problems appears to have corrupted in some way. Hope this link works:-
http://www.bavarian-board.co.uk/forum_posts.asp?TID=39921&PN=1

 

[television]

The earlier link I posted to BMW's rust problems appears to have corrupted in some way. Hope this link works:-
http://www.bavarian-board.co.uk/forum_posts.asp?TID=39921&PN=1

The cars in that link are all 9 years old,,we have rusty cars at 4 years old

 

[hawk20]

The cars in that link are all 9 years old,,we have rusty cars at 4 years old

Always something to cheer us up.

So do they.

And they only partially galvanise even today not fully like MB.

Is there anything about MB you like?

 

[television]

Always something to cheer us up.

So do they.

And they only partially galvanise even today not fully like MB.

Is there anything about MB you like?

It is not my fault that the cars go rusty, maybe you think that it is

 

[Roderick]

Hi Hawk20 and Chas

Back in August, I raised the question about my rusty MB and got some very useful advice, I have a CLK and E240 Estate, both very low milage, one 10 years and one 8 years 7 months old resp. CLK got rust around wheel arches, bonnet hood front edge, front wings just above the mid body plastic strips and E240 got rust around wheel arches, bonnet hood front edge and around hatchback lock area. I had them repaired by MB approved garage, Mercedes UK would only pay 20% and 30% of the repair cost and I had to pay over £3000.

I rang many times to protest, pointed out to them that the cars came with a 30 years rust proof guarantee and they just flog me off with some technical terms like the rust have to be from inside out and the fact that my cars were only serviced by approved garages for the first 4 years etc. effectively void their guarantee. I wasn't going to let it go, after studying all the relevant threads on this blog, I wrote to the Head of Mercedes UK 3 times, he never even acknowlege me, so I took MB of UK to court. I got 2 letters arriving same day from 2 different customer service representatives answering my claim as soon as my court papers arrived MB.

The small claims court cost me £135 but I got ALL MY MONEY BACK. My arguments are:
whether serviced by an approved garage or not do not contribute towards rust prevention, the rust forming underneath the undamaged paint work would still have persisted due to an inherent problem, the issue is that the quality of these cars were lacking from the start
Mobilo-Life 30 years guarantee condition that the vehicles need to be serviced by an approved garage should only apply to mechanical condition of the car but not the body work.

I have to add in this bit, MB did pay up very quickly and because of the postal strike, they actually asked my local MB garage to write out the cheque for me to pick it up to avoid the possible delay. I have to take my hat off to them

So those of you with rust problem but you know you have been taking good care of the car from new, you should stand firm - cars of premium price should be of premium quality. Rust forming underneath unblemish surface within 12 years should be able to have it fixed by MB

 

[television]

Best post of the year

What a post Roderick and thank you so much for the above post.

This thing with rust and servicing is against all EU rules as we have been able to have our cars serviced at a service station of our choice for some time now.

As you say it has nothing to do with where or how the car was serviced and an inherent manufacturing fault.

This subject has caused much friction between Hawk and myself, as I have never been able to get him to understand this subject.

The are two ways to go about this,,one being "of merchantable quality" and " fit for the purpose it was intended" both good laws to protect the consumer.

Thank you for your excellent post

 

[AndrewIles]

Well done Roderick!

I am so pleased that your perseverence paid off and congratulations for putting MB in their place.

 

[Xtractorfan]

What a result excellent and well done

 

[Angri]

Great post Roderick - - I can see a few other members emulating your process!

 

[EB66]

Rust Lottery

Hi all. Just thought I'd chip in my two-penneth worth. Just over a month ago I replaced my very rusty 1998 CLK320 (resprayed in 2005 under MB 'Goodwill' scheme) with what I thought was a pristine 2003 SL350, bought from an indy. Obviously my powers of inspection are not what they should be as, when washing the car for the first time, I discovered - horror! - rust starting to break through on the inner flange of the rear wheel arches. I decided to try my luck with my local MB dealership (Stockton-on-Tees); much to my relief, they submitted a claim to MB and my car was resprayed last week, at no cost to myself. I will be keeping a very close eye on both the repair and the rest of the car, having been told by MB that I still have another two years to make further claims. I think this illustrates the fact that the reaction from dealerships can be variable, and it pays to 'shop around'.

 

[derekbe55]

Best way forward

I have just started stripping my W210, E55 its is showing signs of rust to both front wings, these are simple replacement panels but also the rear arches, I assume there are repair panels of some kind for this area. The boot lid has signs of rust at the lock position, the wings from MB are fairly reasonable but the boot lid thats another thing, with vat its almost £400.
I originally intended to replace the front wings, do both rear arches and the boot lid before a full re spray, but the boot lid price just blows that out of the water.
As we are stripping this ourselves are there workshop manuals available and if so where would you suggest.
Are there any other parts which I should be looking at, I have noticed rust along the top edge of the doors under the weather strip.
Also If i remove the rear boot lock is there a way to open the boot in the event of a power failure as I have been told the mechanism is in the lid and not the slam panel area.
Many thanks for any help anyone can provide.

 

[Roderick]

Hi Hawk20 and Chas

Back in August, I raised the question about my rusty MB and got some very useful advice, I have a CLK and E240 Estate, both very low milage, one 10 years and one 8 years 7 months old resp. CLK got rust around wheel arches, bonnet hood front edge, front wings just above the mid body plastic strips and E240 got rust around wheel arches, bonnet hood front edge and around hatchback lock area. I had them repaired by MB approved garage, Mercedes UK would only pay 20% and 30% of the repair cost and I had to pay over £3000.

I rang many times to protest, pointed out to them that the cars came with a 30 years rust proof guarantee and they just flog me off with some technical terms like the rust have to be from inside out and the fact that my cars were only serviced by approved garages for the first 4 years etc. effectively void their guarantee. I wasn't going to let it go, after studying all the relevant threads on this blog, I wrote to the Head of Mercedes UK 3 times, he never even acknowlege me, so I took MB of UK to court. I got 2 letters arriving same day from 2 different customer service representatives answering my claim as soon as my court papers arrived MB.

The small claims court cost me £135 but I got ALL MY MONEY BACK. My arguments are:
whether serviced by an approved garage or not do not contribute towards rust prevention, the rust forming underneath the undamaged paint work would still have persisted due to an inherent problem, the issue is that the quality of these cars were lacking from the start
Mobilo-Life 30 years guarantee condition that the vehicles need to be serviced by an approved garage should only apply to mechanical condition of the car but not the body work.

I have to add in this bit, MB did pay up very quickly and because of the postal strike, they actually asked my local MB garage to write out the cheque for me to pick it up to avoid the possible delay. I have to take my hat off to them

So those of you with rust problem but you know you have been taking good care of the car from new, you should stand firm - cars of premium price should be of premium quality. Rust forming underneath unblemish surface within 12 years should be able to have it fixed by MB

A very happy New Year to Everyone

 

[television]

Same to you Roderick and thank you

 

[ama singh]

Hi, I have E500 W211 that had rear arch rust repair just over 18 months ago - the red stuff's come back and my local main dealer did inspection and MB have offered to repair FOC, I guess I'm one of the lucky ones?

This is my fourth generation E class and i was shocked when o first saw the rust, however i glad i no longer have the W210 - that turned out to be a rust bucket, front wings, rear arches, boo lid..........

Best E class experience i've had without question was W123 - Mercedes can build them, that's for sure, they just seem to forget between models?

 

[niceone5]

both the lower part of both my 2004 e class rear arches are showing signs of paint comeing off and now rust is starting to appear the dealers in wolverhampton have been aware of this from when the car was just 3 years old and was told about it every time the car was serviced ,i was VERY DISSAPOINTED when i was told the door or the rear panels were out of line at the point where the problems are and the will do NOTHING ABOUT IT as it may be something i may have done what a cop out its a BMW next for me

 

[ama singh]

Hi, considering mine is a 2002 - I am very, very surprised your rust is not getting the same treatment as mine.

I use Wolverhampton dealership for servicing, but went to the dealership in Shrewsbury for the rust concern - have done this on four occasions and have been fully supported every time - you should take your car for an inspection in Shrewbury - Tuesdays and Thursday are the days when the "rust" man does his round.

Have had BMW's, nice cars but I'm sticking with Merc

Good luck!!

 

[hawk20]

both the lower part of both my 2004 e class rear arches are showing signs of paint comeing off and now rust is starting to appear the dealers in wolverhampton have been aware of this from when the car was just 3 years old and was told about it every time the car was serviced ,i was VERY DISSAPOINTED when i was told the door or the rear panels were out of line at the point where the problems are and the will do NOTHING ABOUT IT as it may be something i may have done what a cop out its a BMW next for me

Questions are did you buy new or secondhand? If the latter it may have been in a shunt and been repaired at a non approved paintshop -in which case fair enough. Or have you had it repaired at a paint shop that is not approved by MB? Do you have full MB service history BTW?

 

[television]

He says he pointed it out when it was just 3 years old, and every time that it has been in for service,, it has not been in a shunt as the rust was there from when he first got it