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Hello, I brought my car to the dealership yesterday morning for an alignment and a rattling issue with the right rear speaker.
I picked the car up later that afternoon and as any car enthusiast would I did a quick walk-around of the car. I noticed this white residue on the passenger rear wheel and also spotted some curb rash right next to the white residue. My wheels are powder coated black so this is what made the residue stand out. The three other wheels are immaculate and have not a single scratch on them.
The car is back at the dealership again (4th visit for this alignment issue since it's still pulling and now this question about the wheel). I've already spoken with the Service Manager and he said they did perform a road test that day and that he's going to discuss this with the other Service Managers.
Has anyone had a similar experience? And does anyone know what this residue is? I got most of it off with a towel and some water but some of it would not wipe off.
Thanks for any input in advance.
It's kinda hard to see at this angle but I circled the curb rash.
Last edited by flubbernub; Apr 1, 2015 at 01:20 PM.
Reason: more photos
no offence but that isn't curb lol ..what you have is a few scratches..a simple touch up will help it, if you just had new tires put on, well dont be surprised about the scratch..it is a metal machine they use to put the tire on the rim
no offence but that isn't curb lol ..what you have is a few scratches..a simple touch up will help it, if you just had new tires put on, well dont be surprised about the scratch..it is a metal machine they use to put the tire on the rim
I added more photos of the wheel. I understand it's not the end of the world in any way. I'm curious if this situation where the car is damaged in some way (minor or not) and the dealership not come forward about it.
I added more photos of the wheel. I understand it's not the end of the world in any way. I'm curious if this situation where the car is damaged in some way (minor or not) and the dealership not come forward about it.
well whoever put your tires on the rim was a noob thats forsure..IMO i'd take it to mercedes and tell them to fix it, it was probably some young guy and he didn't tell anyone and the other guys didn't notice ..it sucks yeah, should be able to find a rim repair guy if worst comes to worst and he can fix that for im guessing around $100ish
i had a similar situation but it was @ a different shop getting some rear end work and one of the guys some how hit a brick wall with my rim..it was pretty ruined then they took a "polishing tool" too it to try and fix it and basically dug out a crater
Last edited by avery.whss; Apr 1, 2015 at 01:29 PM.
well whoever put your tires on the rim was a noob thats forsure..IMO i'd take it to mercedes and tell them to fix it, it was probably some young guy and he didn't tell anyone and the other guys didn't notice ..it sucks yeah, should be able to find a rim repair guy if worst comes to worst and he can fix that for im guessing around $100ish
i had a similar situation but it was @ a different shop getting some rear end work and one of the guys some how hit a brick wall with my rim..it was pretty ruined then they took a "polishing tool" too it to try and fix it and basically dug out a crater
I'm not sure what you mean by the comment on the tire. I'm fairly new to cars myself so can you please elaborate?
And that sounds much worse than my wheel lol, sorry to hear that.
no offence but that isn't curb lol ..what you have is a few scratches..a simple touch up will help it, if you just had new tires put on, well dont be surprised about the scratch..it is a metal machine they use to put the tire on the rim
I seriously hope you are joking. If I took my car into a dealer to have a tyre changed and it came back like that I would tear somebody a new one.
Plus I'm pretty bloody sure if it was your car you wouldn't just say " aha it's just a few scratches. I'll touch that up myself" !!!
Oh and your quote about the "metal machine" is complete bollocks. Yes it is metal but they fit a plastic sleeve over the end which makes sure there Is no damage to the alloy after fitting the tyre.
Whenever I drop my car at the dealer for service, they do a walk around to note any existing damage. If they were to find any, they would ask me to sign an acknowledgement waiver. When I pick up the car we do another walk around and if there were any damage it would be addressed at that time.
The dealership (or any service center) is responsible for returning the car to you in the same or better condition than they receive it. There is no wiggle room for small scratches or disfigurement. The dealership should fix the wheel to your satisfaction.
Whenever I drop my car at the dealer for service, they do a walk around to note any existing damage. If they were to find any, they would ask me to sign an acknowledgement waiver. When I pick up the car we do another walk around and if there were any damage it would be addressed at that time.
The dealership (or any service center) is responsible for returning the car to you in the same or better condition than they receive it. There is no wiggle room for small scratches or disfigurement. The dealership should fix the wheel to your satisfaction.
I agree. We did do a walk around during drop off and I'm glad I did the walk around myself during pickup because they don't do that at this dealership and it could have been days before I noticed it.
So are those marks on the rim from before you went to the dealership or are you just talking about the white stuff that should wash right off?
If the rim was perfect before it went to the dealership and is now marked up I'd ask them to have a wheel repair guy come out and fix up the wheel. Should cost the dealership <$100 and if they caused the damage should be a non-issue for them to do as well.
I'm sorry that happened to you and it isn't right. They should not return your car beat up like that, no matter how small the issue. That's like taking your nice suit to the cleaners and them returning it to you with some small tears. Not cool.
The residue to most likely paint, as they probably drove over freshly painted street lines or markings.
The curb rash is just that, make them fix it or give you new wheels. It's their fault....
^ I totally agree! this is unacceptable. You drop your car for a specific job without any damaged wheels and you get it back with curb rashes and paint all over the place!!!
Glad you had the walk around done before handing over your keys. Dealership is responsible and should fix it for you.
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