I recently purchased a new 2020 Mercedes C63 convertible. The first thing I did with the car is have paint protection film applied to the front half of the vehicle (and have the car ceramic coated).

While reviewing the work with my detailer I noticed an edge that didn't look right where the front bumper meets the headlight. After closer inspection he said that it was a fitment issues from Mercedes. It looks like the bumper was not on the vehicle straight and this caused the headlight housing to press into the bumper causing some damage.

Here is a photo of where the headlight meets the bumper: https://imgur.com/a/P80bc2l

I then noticed that the bumper was clearly not straight in the photos I took of the car when it was delivered. Here's an example, I drew a blue circle around the good side and red around the bad: https://imgur.com/a/NDHjVBX

The easiest way to tell is the line made by the hood meeting the headlight does not smoothly continue to the bumper on the driver's side of the car (where it looks right on the passenger side).

I brought the car back to the dealership and they adjusted the headlight so it no longer touches the bumper. My service advisor stated any further work would require getting the bodyshop involved. The bumper is still not on straight and the damage done by the headlight is more visible now: https://imgur.com/a/M3Z8f33

The service advisor stated that they would be happy to replace the bumper but they would not pay for the film/coating to be reapplied (which is not cheap) and he expressed concerns about paint matching (the paint on the car is not special, it's the "free" white available on all mercedes vehicles so I'm not sure how valid this concern is).

When picking up the car I spoke with a rep from the dealership's bodyshop. After expressing my concerns about the film, he said the bodyshop should be able to realign it and touch up the damaged area. I will bring the car back to them next week.

Am I making the right call? Should I be pushing for a full bumper and film/coating replacement? In your experience do you think a touch up job will look ok?

I appreciate any guidance that you guys can provide!

 

If they do go ahead and try to touch it up and it does not look good, at least then you would be on pretty firm footing to demand AA full bumper replacement.

 

If they do go ahead and try to touch it up and it does not look good, at least then you would be on pretty firm footing to demand a full bumper replacement.
I would just be you very clear with The Body Shop that you expect the car back with the fix being un noticeable, and the bumper alignment as good as any other vehicle on the showroom floor.
I don't think you have Room to demand they pay for the film again Because you got it done knowing that the headlight and bumper were not aligned correctly.

 

Thanks for the reply @LessIsMore .

Just a point of clarification, I did NOT notice the alignment issue before the film was applied. I noticed it after (while inspecting the edges of the film). I was then able to look at a picture of the car from before I had the film applied to confirm that the issue already existed. But the issue was not known until AFTER the film was applied.

 

Touch up is kind of hit and miss.
Just have them try it out and if it doesn't look good, go for full bumper replacement.
You will have to pay again to get PPF and coating (maybe skip ceramic coating), but if you are OCD about this kind of things, it will be better to get everything fixed correctly rather than you looking at the defective spot every day for next few years.

 

OK understood however the dealership is not going to see it that way. Whether you happen to have noticed it or not, it was there for you to notice and they will point to that is why they don't reimburse the cost of film.
Hey, I hope I am wrong and they generously covered for you, but if they do it's because they are feeling nice not because they have a responsibility to do so.

 

Honestly, this being a brand new car I would want it properly fixed and the bumper correctly aligned. It's unfortunate that you didn't catch it before the PPF installation, and it's perfectly understandable that they are not going to pay for the film. I would only expect them to pay for the film if they damaged the bumper themselves. I had that experience with my last car, when a technician caused damage to the fender and the dealership payed to get it repaired including reapplying PPF. I would actually be a bit pissed that your PPF installer didn't point this out to you beforehand. I would expect a good installer to stop and suggest to get this issue fixed before installing the film. They are supposed to prep and inspect the car before installing PPF. If anything you might be able to reason with your PPF installer and have them redo the film afterwards for failing to properly inspect the car before installing the film. I would not necessarily trust them to have done a good job of prepping and detailing the car before installing PPF, though.

 

Did you ever get the bumper realigned to your satisfaction, I have the same issue after bumper was removed/refitted at dealers


Before

After