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Hello everyone!
I was cleaning my car today & found out some odd things that made me speculate the car was damage during delivery and had to be repainted. On the air vent on top of the dash in the passenger side there's a lot of white paint spot. As I close the door, the gap on the passenger side is much bigger than the driver side. As I walk to the front of the car, I noticed that both headlight and the hood are noticeably misaligned (with a gap where you can stick a screw driver in). I also saw some pain splattered on the passenger side of the engine bay when I first took the car home but clean most of it off. I decided to drive to a dealer near me as they have a c63s in the exact same specs & behold the exterior fit finish is perfect compared to mine. I was wondering if this has happened to anyone here & what did you do about it?
Is your vehicle a coupe or the sedan? I recall reading a few threads with sedan owners complaining about some panel fit issues and gaps without any damage.
Tough to tell from the pictures, but the vent spots look more like cleaning/detailing product overspray than paint. I would guess that someone probably sprayed window cleaner on the interior of the windshield and it fell on that plastic. A lot of these chemicals have hydrocarbons and other compounds that discolor rubbers and plastics.
I used the below product for something similar on one of my other vehicles and it got rid of it.
For those of us in North America, our cars are assembled in Alabama, is that correct? One downside to that is the lack of a VPC facility with near factory quality paint booths, etc.
I found a glob of overspray on one of my wheel arches that would not have gotten past inspection at a VPC. I’m kind of old school in that I don’t really mind it, I see it as a distinguishing mark rather than a defect. But in the OP’s case with the panel and headlight misalignment I think I would contact the dealership to see what they can do and maybe also write a polite letter of complaint to both MB USA and Daimler AG.
Last edited by Fame Douglas; Dec 31, 2017 at 09:03 PM.
For those of us in North America, our cars are assembled in Alabama, is that correct? One downside to that is the lack of a VPC facility with near factory quality paint booths, etc.
I found a glob of overspray on one of my wheel arches that would not have gotten past inspection at a VPC. I’m kind of old school in that I don’t really mind it, I see it as a distinguishing mark rather than a defect. But in the OP’s case with the panel and headlight misalignment I think I would contact the dealership to see what they can do and maybe also write a polite letter of complaint to both MB USA and Daimler AG.
Is your vehicle a coupe or the sedan? I recall reading a few threads with sedan owners complaining about some panel fit issues and gaps without any damage.
Tough to tell from the pictures, but the vent spots look more like cleaning/detailing product overspray than paint. I would guess that someone probably sprayed window cleaner on the interior of the windshield and it fell on that plastic. A lot of these chemicals have hydrocarbons and other compounds that discolor rubbers and plastics.
I used the below product for something similar on one of my other vehicles and it got rid of it.
In my experience, the W205 just isn't that well put together...
Mine also had some slightly misaligned panels, including the rear doors, and hood, and even a headlight.
I checked it thoroughly with a paint depth gauge - and it's a uniform thickness all over. Definitely no repair or accident work. Just badly assembled.
A little bit of gentle adjustment, and I was able to sort it out.
On yours, the marks on the air vent just look like someone used alcohol or something on the interior glass - probably to remove factory sticker. Doesn't look like overspray.
If you're worried, then it's worth investing in a paint depth gauge.
My coupe had damage upon delivery. The roof rails and black window trim was scratched and the rubber stripping around the carbon rear valence was ripped off and hanging. I leased the car so I had the dealer make the repairs and repaint. If I would have purchased the car I would have refused delivery.
Based on my experience, the hood misalignment is kind of normal as long as the discrepancy is "in spec". If the dealer cannot help you verify any repair history (sometime when manufacturers transport the cars, they may fix any cosmetic damages before delivering it to the dealership. In this case, the dealers may not have any repair documents), I would suggest to bring it to a certified MB collision center or bodyshop to get it inspected to make sure there is no chassis damage or anything serious.
Thanks everyone for chiming In. Anyone here think my car qualify as a lemon? I’ve heard of Mercedes buyback/trade assist program. I’ve had a lot of problems with the car since day 1. Wind noise at 40mph and above on driver side, dash creaking, passenger seat rattling, black window trim pieces falling off, performance spoiler starting to come off, bumper and hood not properly align, steering wheel keep going off center (this is the third time I got my car align in 2 month period), and when I turn left or right going out of my driveway or a parking the car make a clunk/thumb noise. I feel like these things shouldn’t happen on a $92k MSRP car.
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Delivery issues
