mez456

Well if you guys remember I posted last week about a 2003 C32:

Good price for a C32 with 1400mi?

Well I got the car today and needless to say I am very bummed out. I took it to my friends shop to get it looked over. It turns out it has been in an accident. There is obvious paint work done to the car.

Can you guys tell where the paint work is?

I asked the dealer who will remain nameless if the vehicle had ever been in an accident and they said no. Carfax was clean on it. It was Certified by Mercedes etc. etc. They have offered to take the car back, pay for painting the car etc... I just not a very happy camper at this point.

I would love to know what happened to the vehicle. Was it a major accident? Was it someone just keyed the car?

mez456

here is another angle

noka

I can not tell for sure where the car was repainted from these two pics. Did you get the statement from the dealer in writing?


Rgds,
Norm

mez456

Ok. I think that it is pretty obvious.

As for the car the dealership has a 3 day return policy. This was not bought from Joe's used cars. It was purchased from a Mercedes dealership. They are not out to screw anyone. I already notified the dealership in writing my intentions to return the vehicle and I have spoken to the sales manager and I can return the car if I want to.

nukblazi

Maybe I am superhuman but ahhh... the front passenger door and front fender look darker than the rear pass. door, hood, roof....

mez456

You are correct sir. My buddy at the body shop showed me the tape lines from the paint job. Also showed me the bolts to the front fender under the hood. When it comes from the factory they are paited with the car. it was very obvious that these had been removed and replaced again due to the disturbance of the factory paint on the bolts.

Very very sad....I guess if its too good to be true than it probably is. Im just glad I am dealing with Mercedes and not Joe's used cars. otherwise I would be out 40k on a banged up benz.

BlackC230Coupe

Its actually quote obvious from the pics. Must be even worse in person. Sorry to hear about that. If the dealer would take it back, do it.

King320

Yeh, i singled out the passenger door and front right quarter too (before seeing nukblazi's post). When i was 16 i had a silver Volvo and got sideswiped and the bodyshop fixed the car so that it looked similar to that, they wanted to do some wierd thing to fix it where they would blend in the darker paint to the lighter paint, but leave it dark just minus the sharp contrast. I told them no way, sand it down and paint it again. I'd go for perfection, you paid for it. But dont be so bummed, my car wasnt in good condition when i bought it either, and its turned out alright.

BuckeyeBenz

Yea i could tell that the passenger door and front right fender are a lil darker but as long as the car drives like it should then i would just have them paint it over. Then again its not my car and i didnt pay all that money...i can def feel your pain, more or less its a personal choice if you dont mind it then congrats but i wouldnt call you crazy if you returned the car, Good luck with your dilemna.

Vader13

tell those idiots to re-spray it.
you paid 39K..thats cheap as hell.
It was probably ****ed up by a Valet or something and they repainted it.

milllx

yeah, i could tell it was pretty obvious too. sorry to see that. don't beat yourself up about it though. you did a lot of checking and somehow that got hidden. at least the dealership is willing to make it right ...even if it is you returning it. is there any way you could have them repaint it and then let you decide if you want to keep it or not? i guess they may not do that. might be worth a shot though. other than the color difference, the car looks great. no dings or anything. it seems like an MB dealership should be able to match the color exactly. give us an update on what you decide and how it works out

cayo71

Tell your friend to check the overall chassis geometry, front end symmetry and frame damage. Also have him check for paint thickness, that will tell you if any body work was done in those panels and will reveal any bondo. If that is Ok then it is just a paint issue that can be resolved. The dealer should be willing to pay for repainting those panels and keep you happy instead of getting the car back.
Again, if everything that I mentioned above is Ok and the dealer pays for repainting those panels it is still a good deal.
Anyway, I feel your pain..

mez456

Thanks for all the posts and suggestions. At this point I told the dealer I need to know exactly what happened to the vehicle, amount of damage, what work was done etc. They do not seemed to be too interested in providing me this information. They are more of the attitude...You can return the car or you can get quotes to have it repainted.

Vomit

Then give the a-holes their stupid car back. If all (or most) of us can see the diff in the paint from your pics, then the scumbag dealer probably saw it too before selling the car, and was just playing stoopid to get the car sold. In fact, they probably know exactly what happened to the car, and it aint pretty (probably a major accident), which is why they are "not interested" in providing you with the info now. If I were you, I would use the fact that you caught them "with their hands in the cookie jar" to see if you can leverage a sweet deal on another car (and have the next car inspected by an independent before you close the deal).

Remember, Carfax (and similar services) are imperfect. Typically, only major accidents processed through insurance companies get registered. This means that, when bodyshop owner "Joe-Bob" sucks downs some beers and wraps his C32 around a telephone pole, and proceeds to repair it himself, the Carfax will look perfect, even though the car was bent like a pretzel at one point.

Sorry to hear about the disappointment. At least you will not end up chingado financially.

milllx

yeah, i agree. the stealership should be working hard to make you happy, not making it so you have to pull teeth.

Justinius7

A good repair shop will always fade the new paint into the old faded paint of the car to make it match (even a car only a few months old will have a diff hue then the day it left the factory)

So chances are.... If there was no carfax report, and you can actually see a visible tape line and there was no "fading" of the new paint... it was either done very cheaply in a back yard shop, or done is the previous owners back yard.

Also if the fender has been removed, it was probably not just keyed, as you are hoping for.

My opinion, Take it back to the dealer and return it.... Have them call you when another C32 comes up or have them locate you one. They will, if they want the sale.

noka

Not to me, at first glance, with the shadows, etc. OK, I suppose I could have guessed.

If it is so obvious, wouldn't the dealer have seen it? And if they weren't out to screw anyone, why did they represent it as never having been in an accident and deliver it to you that way? Were they thinking perhaps you would not notice?

In any case, I do hope you get it straightened out to your satisfaction.

Rgds,
Norm

DbleNckel

yep! very noticable, and like some said, it may look worst in person....I wouldn't be able to deal w/ it daily ......basically, the body shop weren't experience enough to blend the paint, and carfax didn't show cuz the accident was never reported for an insurance claim....

C43AMG

Yep , I saw it.Look at the 1st pic - follow the line from the rear doorsill to the front - it doesn't match.I would take the car only if they repair it to my satisfaction and extend the bumper-to-bumper warranty to 100k - you don't know what else happened to the car in the accident - if they tried hiding the body work from you what else are they hiding ?

skahung

bring your reciept and get a full refund.....

Few years ago when I went to a MB dealer in Boston to look at a car, there was a brand new $100000+ benz that was trashed. Funny thing was that the car was ordered by a customer. Hope they didn't just fixed it up and send it to the new owner.

ziptie racing

if you decide to return it, care to share with us where it is?

Its not a deal for $39k IMO, but with a little more research, it might be worth buying...

Matt
(who is looking for a lower mileage 02 or 03)

CLK500man

GET RID OF IT!
That is just my opinion. Dealer lied, they do not deserve your money!

bhamvett

I totally agree!

05C55

Take it back, it will bug you as long as you own the car.

odysseycpm

2002 13K Miles. No paint, no chips, no stories. Still smells new

http://208.49.56.45