rejecting an approved used Mercedes AMG
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Looking some adivce...
A few months ago i purchased a Mercedes from the approved used scheme. About a month into ownership after collecting the car from some warranty work i noticed that the passenger side door, wing and bonnet were resprayed a different shade of paint to the rest of the car. In fact in direct sunlight you can see blend lines.
The supplying dealer requested i get a quote from another Mercedes garage closer to home which totalled just over £1600 worth of work. To make matters worse whomever done the original paintwork remove a seal between the passenger dooy and wing so its currently missing and for god knows how long.
They have denied re-spraying these parts as part of their preparation and Mercedes have no record of the work having being done by themselves. So a call to Mercedes today revealed that since the car has had third party paint work done outside their network the anticorrosion and paint warranty would now be invalid.
I suspected this to be the case having read about rusty mercedes before so i enquired about rejecting the car on 5 separate occasions to be promised replies, calls or people on holidays.
Has anyone been put in this position before?
A few months ago i purchased a Mercedes from the approved used scheme. About a month into ownership after collecting the car from some warranty work i noticed that the passenger side door, wing and bonnet were resprayed a different shade of paint to the rest of the car. In fact in direct sunlight you can see blend lines.
The supplying dealer requested i get a quote from another Mercedes garage closer to home which totalled just over £1600 worth of work. To make matters worse whomever done the original paintwork remove a seal between the passenger dooy and wing so its currently missing and for god knows how long.
They have denied re-spraying these parts as part of their preparation and Mercedes have no record of the work having being done by themselves. So a call to Mercedes today revealed that since the car has had third party paint work done outside their network the anticorrosion and paint warranty would now be invalid.
I suspected this to be the case having read about rusty mercedes before so i enquired about rejecting the car on 5 separate occasions to be promised replies, calls or people on holidays.
Has anyone been put in this position before?
Rameez-v57b3 said:
Known a few people to have went down this route, your best bet is to contact the finance company directly.
The supplying dealership will take no interest, just be sure to keep all conversations/calls with the dealers otherwise you won't get a full refund and possibly part only.
thankfully everything has been conducted via email thus far apart from the calls to Mercedes customer services but they have the complaint against the dealership logged.The supplying dealership will take no interest, just be sure to keep all conversations/calls with the dealers otherwise you won't get a full refund and possibly part only.
shake n bake said:
You can’t reject a car a few months in on a paint issue.
Sounds like the dealer is willing to cover repair costs.
Depends under the Sounds like the dealer is willing to cover repair costs.
Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 you have 90 days to reject, if the trader failed to disclose information that would most likely influence a buyer to purchase the car.
Now how you apply this is tricky, as they will say they didn't know but I would argue as a trader and expert in this area, then they would have checked the car before sale and should have spotted it, and if they didn't then it is most likely they omitted the information or they are just not doing correct checks on the vehicle. Either way there are areas of attack.
This legislation is criminal as well. If it was me I would ask for the PDI check list and notes if not already supplied.
Edited by Thesprucegoose on Thursday 5th September 21:08
Approved used means a mini valet and a spot on the forecourt!
I bought a less than year old bmw, noticed a few months later that there was a corrosion bubble brewing on one of the alloys. Took car to dealer, told me it had been painted. I hadn’t painted anything, which proved the point that they aren’t checking thoroughly before they put them on the forecourt. Very easy to dodge warranty obligations. I need to take it back up with them but having been through this sort of thing before I really can’t be arsed. Unless something is clearly and undoubtedly broken, OEM warranty can be painful. It’s far from no quibble.
I bought a less than year old bmw, noticed a few months later that there was a corrosion bubble brewing on one of the alloys. Took car to dealer, told me it had been painted. I hadn’t painted anything, which proved the point that they aren’t checking thoroughly before they put them on the forecourt. Very easy to dodge warranty obligations. I need to take it back up with them but having been through this sort of thing before I really can’t be arsed. Unless something is clearly and undoubtedly broken, OEM warranty can be painful. It’s far from no quibble.
Padso said:
So a call to Mercedes today revealed that since the car has had third party paint work done outside their network the anticorrosion and paint warranty would now be invalid.
You've bought a used, approved car from a Merc dealer.To now find out that the paint warranty is no longer valid due to no fault of your own?
What did the nice people from Mercedes on the phone suggest you should do?
Thesprucegoose said:
Depends under the
Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 you have 90 days to reject, if the trader failed to disclose information that would most likely influence a buyer to purchase the car.
Now how you apply this is tricky, as they will say they didn't know but I would argue as a trader and expert in this area, then they would have checked the car before sale and should have spotted it, and if they didn't then it is most likely they omitted the information or they are just not doing correct checks on the vehicle. Either way there are areas of attack.
This legislation is criminal as well. If it was me I would ask for the PDI check list and notes if not already supplied.
Try that legislation in the real world though. Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 you have 90 days to reject, if the trader failed to disclose information that would most likely influence a buyer to purchase the car.
Now how you apply this is tricky, as they will say they didn't know but I would argue as a trader and expert in this area, then they would have checked the car before sale and should have spotted it, and if they didn't then it is most likely they omitted the information or they are just not doing correct checks on the vehicle. Either way there are areas of attack.
This legislation is criminal as well. If it was me I would ask for the PDI check list and notes if not already supplied.
Edited by Thesprucegoose on Thursday 5th September 21:08
It sounds like the dealer is willing to put this right with a repair at an approved merc dealer.
People try to get out of cars using the ‘right to rejection’ crap daily here.
What it means is they’ve bought a car, can’t afford it and are trying to get out of it with any possible angle.
shake n bake said:
What it means is they’ve bought a car, can’t afford it and are trying to get out of it with any possible angle.
Padso said:
thankfully everything has been conducted via email thus far apart from the calls to Mercedes customer services but they have the complaint against the dealership logged.
Just re-read this, as you purchased the car a few months ago depending on when you identified and raised the issue you might not be entitled to a full refund maybe partial.Skip the dealership, they won't want to take this car back. Instead just contact the finance company and make your case, they'll provide you with all the information on the process.
Mercedes customer services are applying pressure to the dealer on my behalf to reach a resolution but the problem i have is with the issue regarding the mercedes paint and corrosion warranty. It now has none on the affected areas on the car where it was painted which are the bonnet, passenger door and wing. Never mind the missing door seal!
Would i have purchased the car knowing it wouldn't have these warranties in place to fall back on should rust appear in a few years? Not a chance. The whole reason of going approved used mercedes was to avoid issues like this.
I suspect they have done the work and wont come clean about it as i specificaly asked before purchase what work was carried out to the car prior to completing the sale. From placing the deposit and their 'prep' work it took them nearly 3 weeks before it was ready for collection. There have been a couple of other niggles with the car which makes me wonder what they actually prepped or checked.
Would i have purchased the car knowing it wouldn't have these warranties in place to fall back on should rust appear in a few years? Not a chance. The whole reason of going approved used mercedes was to avoid issues like this.
I suspect they have done the work and wont come clean about it as i specificaly asked before purchase what work was carried out to the car prior to completing the sale. From placing the deposit and their 'prep' work it took them nearly 3 weeks before it was ready for collection. There have been a couple of other niggles with the car which makes me wonder what they actually prepped or checked.
Trevor555 said:
What did they suggest as a resolution?
I guess either a full refund, or they repaint the affected area to standard, therefore Merc paint warranty will apply?
The supplying dealer has offered to repair it at the mercedes garage after offering a derisory 1/3 of the repair costs as a gesture of goodwill! Cheeky f**kers. That initial offer annoyed me.I guess either a full refund, or they repaint the affected area to standard, therefore Merc paint warranty will apply?
In the mean time another couple of small issues have arisen over the past month of emails back and forward trying to get this sorted such as the aircon giving up along with the oil low waning (after 1500 miles since it was serviced). It just makes me wonder whether they bothered their arse servicing the car like they claimed and what they actually done or checked before i bought it.
I suspect most people would be surprised at the number of cars on the road that have had paint at some point. Plenty of cars get damaged in transit so there is a possibility that even a new car could have been painted before the first owner collects it.
If my experience is anything to go by (admittedly non Mercedes) there is literally zero chance they allow you to reject the car and give you a refund. They will say all the right things but do nothing until you are so worn down by the whole ordeal you will just give in. Best you can hope for is they will attempt to improve the paint if it is that bad, but often this is a case of someone in the workshop running the polisher over it which may well make it look worse in sunlight.
If my experience is anything to go by (admittedly non Mercedes) there is literally zero chance they allow you to reject the car and give you a refund. They will say all the right things but do nothing until you are so worn down by the whole ordeal you will just give in. Best you can hope for is they will attempt to improve the paint if it is that bad, but often this is a case of someone in the workshop running the polisher over it which may well make it look worse in sunlight.
Joey Deacon said:
I suspect most people would be surprised at the number of cars on the road that have had paint at some point. Plenty of cars get damaged in transit so there is a possibility that even a new car could have been painted before the first owner collects it.
If my experience is anything to go by (admittedly non Mercedes) there is literally zero chance they allow you to reject the car and give you a refund. They will say all the right things but do nothing until you are so worn down by the whole ordeal you will just give in. Best you can hope for is they will attempt to improve the paint if it is that bad, but often this is a case of someone in the workshop running the polisher over it which may well make it look worse in sunlight.
I dont expect to buy a second hand car and it not to have seen some paint work at some point in its life but A) i expect the car to be painted the correct colour and B) it blended in with the surrounding panels properly and C) buying an aproved used mercedes id expect to not have these issuesIf my experience is anything to go by (admittedly non Mercedes) there is literally zero chance they allow you to reject the car and give you a refund. They will say all the right things but do nothing until you are so worn down by the whole ordeal you will just give in. Best you can hope for is they will attempt to improve the paint if it is that bad, but often this is a case of someone in the workshop running the polisher over it which may well make it look worse in sunlight.
In direct sunlight you can even see the perfectly straight blend / mask line on the wing where the butchers painted it lol
Heres a pic:
https://imgur.com/AH7IAIW
At the moment mercedes have stated that their anticorrosion and paint warranty is now void since it has had works carried out by a third part outside of their affiliated network. To be honest you pay a premium buying an approved used mercedes to avoid such issues like these.
ts when trying to paint it.talksthetorque said:
That bad you didn't notice it for a month.
You're going to have to push the dealer or finance company hard for rejection - pragmatically - is it worth it? is the question I would be asking. Repairs seem to be the way forward.
Sorry you've had such a bad experience though.
Unfortunately i didnt notice You're going to have to push the dealer or finance company hard for rejection - pragmatically - is it worth it? is the question I would be asking. Repairs seem to be the way forward.
Sorry you've had such a bad experience though.
It looks like whatever fillers or waxes they used done a good job of masking things. Honestly the first time i noticed was when i walked up to it at the Mercedes Garage who carried out the ABS sensor which had failed. Proper WTF moment when i see half of one side of the car painted the wrong colour.
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