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MARS RED paint bubbles and whiteness on C300 sports edition

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Old 01-08-2016, 08:17 PM
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Originally Posted by JP5757
We have experienced very poor customer service. They sold us a Mars red car knowing there were problems with it. We would have taken same year same body style car exchange but they said we would have to do it as trade and it would depend on our trade in value haha. One place told us additional 18k. At this point we are waiting for its paint date and without a car. MB won't even give us a loaner or rental until it goes in shop in 3 weeks and that is unclear as well. 45 dollars a day is what they said towards a rental and to keep our receipts. This has been a disgrace. And so much time wasted. The pressure on MB case managers is coming from top down-upper management. They are just receptionist that do MB dirty work. They have promised certain things and then not delivered. The said re paint would have some kind of warranty and then reneged on statement. The shop told us MB said to only paint panels affected. You know what that means??? Wow. Good luck to all. I feel bad for all of you and those to come with their paint falling off their new cars. I went into another MBdealership yesterday and he said with repaint he wouldn't give even close to the trade in value from up north and really pushed us to buy new car. Again disgraceful.
Change your dealership. They should give you a loaner. It is partly their fault not yours. You can file a lawsuit if they tell you to pay for rent for a warranty fix they are liable for. You did not cause the paint to bubble and scratch up. Visit an optional dealer maybe a few miles away but with better reviews. It may be beneficial to you. File a complaint of the dealership with customer care and tell them they are not painting the defect on the entire car and you can refer them to this forum as you will find various complaints in this forum on the paint. Do not let them bully you. Open a bbb complaint as well for dealership bullying you into not giving you a loaner and telling you to pay rent.
Old 01-09-2016, 03:52 PM
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As much as this whole situation sucks I can't see how you could possibly prevail in a lawsuit over not getting a loaner car or rental unless it is specifically stated in the warranty. Would be nice if they did and seems like a fair thing to do, but if they don't legally not sure how far you would get with a lawsuit.
Old 01-09-2016, 04:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Alfadude
As much as this whole situation sucks I can't see how you could possibly prevail in a lawsuit over not getting a loaner car or rental unless it is specifically stated in the warranty. Would be nice if they did and seems like a fair thing to do, but if they don't legally not sure how far you would get with a lawsuit.
You have a point. If he is financing or leasing, he has to be given a loaner for warranty recalls from what I know and I have seen almost all the dealerships being good at providing one. It is only the appointment time that may be an issue. I would still go for a bbb complaint against the dealership and file a complaint with Benz customer care if the dealer is refusing.
Old 01-09-2016, 04:48 PM
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Personally, unless the dealership promised a loaner or it was part of the warranty I don't know that I would file a complaint against the dealership. What did they do wrong? They performed the work per the warranty. Your complaint would be with the manufacturer. But that's just me. Now if they did a terrible job................
Old 01-09-2016, 07:38 PM
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Is jupiter red and mars red the same? Noticed that the new canadian c-class and glk instead have designo hyacith red metallic and some of the other cars have the jupiter red instead.
Old 01-09-2016, 10:05 PM
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Jupiter and Mars red are different. Designo hyacinth red is designo Cardinal red in the US
Old 01-10-2016, 07:35 PM
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Originally Posted by dieseldoc
Jupiter and Mars red are different. Designo hyacinth red is designo Cardinal red in the US
Thanks! but which one is more red?
Old 01-14-2016, 08:39 PM
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Jupiter is more red, the designo has an orange tint to it.
Old 01-16-2016, 01:01 PM
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I have some things to add here. People who say Mercedes never contacted them, it is strange. The way Mercedes is handling my case, I have fallen in love with this brand now. I sent an email using Mercedes Me saying that my case was not being handled right and within one day I got a call from the executive (one of them) at the Mercedes headquarters.
Old 01-16-2016, 01:11 PM
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My car is now going to be repainted because i was not satisfied as the car had spots everywhere almost and the executives agreed to resolve the dispute. How better can their customer relationship be now i think some people might not have followed the right path to reach out to the benz HQ
Old 01-16-2016, 01:14 PM
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Because of their commitment to resolve the customer issue, I tested out the new 450 AMG C class. I have fallen in love and might be considering this as my next move. the power is awesome!!!!






Old 01-16-2016, 02:22 PM
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that's sweet....do it!
Old 01-16-2016, 03:25 PM
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They also showed me that C300 new was not being offered in Mars Red. Instead Cardinal red was being sold now. So i hope they decided to fix the red paint finally.
Old 01-16-2016, 06:39 PM
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I noticed the car you were looking at was at Park Place. I have been a customer of this dealership for many years. They have been nothing but awesome. I would not buy a car anywhere else. I have a new GLC on order thru them. It should be here in February.
Old 01-16-2016, 09:37 PM
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Originally Posted by dieseldoc
I noticed the car you were looking at was at Park Place. I have been a customer of this dealership for many years. They have been nothing but awesome. I would not buy a car anywhere else. I have a new GLC on order thru them. It should be here in February.
Indeed they are awesome. I did not buy my car with issues from here though it was from wappingerfalls ny.
Old 11-09-2019, 02:04 PM
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Long dead thread... but same issue with a 2014 glk350

I know this thread has been dead for a while, but I have a 2014 GLK 350 in red that has the exact same issue. The blisters started a few years back and have been getting progressively worse. This started under warranty and MB flat out refused to fix it. I learned to live with the blisters, but about a week ago I parked near a tree during a rainy day and overnight I got white oak leaf shaped blemishes all over my car.

last Mercedes I ever buy and now I’m just trying to dump this pos and get a better quality brand





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Old 12-21-2019, 05:37 PM
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Folks - the white/grey splotches can be remedied with a heat gun - trust me, I will also post a video. This happens when moisture penetrates the clear-coat but can be dissipated using heat gun. I used the High setting, it did not burn the paint, just keep an eye on it.

BTW - I also took it a couple of places before I tried this - heard same from all - the clearcoat is failing, blah blah blah. I promise this works before the clearcoat is actually peeling.
Old 12-21-2019, 05:52 PM
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before heat gun treatment. car sat under a live oak tree, then rain came and leaves held the moisture on the finish, and it penetrated the clearcoat. but no fear, heatgun took it all away
Old 12-21-2019, 10:58 PM
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Does the heat gun also help with the blistering? Every metal panel of my car is covered in blisters as well, so if this helps remedy that then I’ll give it a shot over the whole car.

MB USA did re-open my warranty claim and will take another look. Don’t expect much, but they did just get a minor wrist slap from the US for their handling of recalls, so maybe that lit a fire under them...
Old 12-22-2019, 08:15 AM
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If by blistering you mean the clear coat has started to peel or come off, I have not tried but I would not be hopeful. Fortunately, the clear coat on my 2011 GLK is still completely intact which led to my skepticism about the need to repaint the affected panels. My conclusion, right or wrong, is that the clear coat is gas permeable, as such prolonged presence of moisture on the finish allows water vapor to penetrate as the water begins to evaporate. I would further postulate that if indeed a gas permeable clear coat is present, it MAY be intentional since red is so reactive with sun and UV rays, a gas permeable clear coat may allow reactive paints to 'breathe' thus somehow deemed helpful. However, that may be giving MB way too much credit but either way I believe the clear code on at least the Mars red is gas permeable which means it can be saved before it begins to come away from the finish.



Last edited by coffeeactionman; 12-22-2019 at 08:17 AM.
Old 12-22-2019, 08:25 AM
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Finally got the video uploaded to Youtube:
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Old 12-22-2019, 09:28 AM
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Thank you for the info. I had someone look at it who said that their way of fixing the issue is to remove just the clear coat and refinish the car. My original assumption was that the issue went down to the paint layers, but now it does make more sense that it is all in the clear coat.

i have lost a few places of clear coat, where it chipped away completely. These are small, quarter size areas. This was before the white blotches ever appeared.

As far as the blisters go, they are tiny bumps that have formed. They are not discolored, but can easily be spotted when they catch light. The best way to describe it is to think of it as if my car is completely covered in brail writing. You can run your fingers on the car and feel the little bumps everywhere.
Old 12-30-2019, 08:55 PM
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Mercedes GLK350 2015 (Mars Red)
2015 GLK350 Mars Red Paint Problem

Originally Posted by Yidney
And it would not develop in a day. You must have done something that just made it noticeable, like washing, or else you just didn't notice it before. Some cars do that - I'm sure you've seen old beaters with peeling clear coat - it looks like your skin 4 days after a sunburn. But I've never seen it on a newer MB. I'd raise a real stink about that with MB.
I bought this car two weeks ago. The paint was flawless. Not one dent or scratch. This car was pristine. This morning I noticed that literally overnight large areas of splotches everywhere. Mercedes dealer (not whom I purchased from) said clear coat is bubbling and entire car needs repainted. $11,000! The car only had 32,500 miles but warranty expired in September. I am devastated! My dream car has turned into a nightmare.
Old 12-30-2019, 10:16 PM
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Originally Posted by Robin Craig
I bought this car two weeks ago. The paint was flawless. Not one dent or scratch. This car was pristine. This morning I noticed that literally overnight large areas of splotches everywhere. Mercedes dealer (not whom I purchased from) said clear coat is bubbling and entire car needs repainted. $11,000! The car only had 32,500 miles but warranty expired in September. I am devastated! My dream car has turned into a nightmare.
Take the car back to wherever you bought it and tell them you no longer want it. Most places have a 10-30 day “buyers remorse” period where you can bring the car back if there’s a large issue.

Or purchase a bumper to bumper warranty from the place you purchased the vehicle from then bring it back a couple weeks later and show them the paint.

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