Looking for some opinions. At the beginning of the year I brought my e500 in for aservice at the dealer. When I went to pick it up the driver side mirror was hanging off of the car and there was a dent in the A-Pillar. Needless to say I wasn't very happy. They had the service manager come over and I stressed to them that I would like paintless dent removal seeing as though the car had never had any damage. The next day I recieved a call that the only way to repair the damage was with paint because there is no way to get behind the pillar. When I picked up the car it was obvious that the color did not match (way too much metallic). Went to the MB body shop myself and they agreed. The body shop manager said to get a loaner from the dealer and they can bring it back anytime.
Now in Aug. back for service. The dealer brought the car back to the body shop and it still does not match! This time they painted the entire side of the car. I spent about 2 hrs today with the service director, body shop manager, and the factory paint rep. The outcome is that there is no way to match 5yr old paint (even if it's been very well maintained) and I'm SOL. Don't you think the dealer should do something for me??
With so much trouble they could paint the whole car already? So they tried to match the faded color instead of using OEM paint? The original new paint would look different, but it would fade with the time close to the rest.
This isn't easy situation for anybody. Besides of saying "call your lawyer" I can only ask "what would you do if that was your wife damaging the car?"
Vehicle: 2004 E320, Limo Tinting and more to go soon...
Location: La Jolla, CA
Posts: 402
Needless to say, it is clearly the technician's/ MB employee's fault and MB should stand behind their employee's. They screw up, they need to fix/repair the damage on their own until it is at least how it was... I would also say to make that deal that they should repaint the entire car with the closest color they have and you should agree that you won't sue after they did the job. But get everything in writing as American's most favorite hobby is to sue someone
But sorry to hear that since I have ongoing issues with my Mercedes Benz of San Diego dealer. Everytime you ask them something if they could do that since they promise to do it for free everytime I come in they just don't do it!
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Tobias
[x] Limo Dark Window Tint [x] BT Replacer [x] Euro COMAND w/ Dual-Layer DVD & Video in Motion Enabled [o] Nav drive [o] Vossen VVS082 Wheels [o] Roof Top Spoiler [o] Rear Trunk Lid Spoiler
Selling US COMAND: 600$ obo + shipping. Engineering Mode + Update CD
Selling Euro COMAND: 1200$ + shipping. DVD VIN enabled.
I can only ask "what would you do if that was your wife damaging the car?"
I would have to say, if my wife had damaged the car or anyone else that I would probally paint the whole thing. The dealer has not even offered this. The body shop did a wonderful job painting it. In fact it looks brand new and i would be very happy with a repaint of that quality. If the whole thing was painted you would not know. you can only tell against the old paint.
You can match old and new paint. I had my ten year old 140 in for some rust removal and the shop that I used matched the paint perfectly. Take it to a shop that works on exotics...Bentley, Rolls Royce etc. See what they say...
A good Body Shop could match ANY Paint, don't buy that BS from them. I would make a huge stink about this as THEY damaged your Car, and now it looks awful. They have to make it look presentable, which probably means repainting the whole thing, or matching the colors at the very least (at this point I'd try not to even settle for that.
I just got my Car back from the Dealer today where they repainted the passenger front Door (bought it with a scratch), looks absolutely perfect.
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2006 M-B, E350 AMG Sport:
Pewter/Black, AMG Sport Package, Premium & Entertainment Packages, Driving Dynamic Front Seats w/ Massage, All Rear & Electronic Sun Shades, Smoked Rear Lights, Blacked Out Side Markers, Full Limo Tints....
SOLD: 2002 M-B, S500
Brilliant Silver/Black, Distronic, Parktronic, ABC Suspension, 18" AMG's, Comfort Front Seats w/ Heat/AC/Massage/Vents, Rear Seat Package w/ Heat/AC/Adjust, All Rear Sun Shades, Smoked Headlights, Blacked Out Side Markers, Full Limo Tints
You can match old and new paint. I had my ten year old 140 in for some rust removal and the shop that I used matched the paint perfectly. Take it to a shop that works on exotics...Bentley, Rolls Royce etc. See what they say...
It is not the paint color that you see difference on. Human eye is one of the least perfect organs. I can paint your living room having one wall off white and the other wall 2 grades of off-white different and with colors meeting in the corner, or other sharp divider you will never notice the difference.
With car paint it is the surface shine that is so visible difference. Usually you need to give the new paint several months of sun and elements beating to match the original one.
One thing is that do you plan on trading this car in? Most dealers will knock that car's value because of the repaint work. Do you have anything in writing that they did the damage to your car? You might want to get them to give you a good trade value as compensation.
If you plan on keeping the car, just push as hard to get the paint matched. When my 1992 Lexus got T-boned, they matched the paint perfectly. Get yourself a good body shop, maybe a shop that does a ton of restoration work.
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