Furia

Hello everyone. I have an AMG GTC its just over a year old, with 3,000 miles on the clock. I cherish my sports car and have it in a garage under a cover 90% of the time, so when i left my AMG GTC outside for a couple days ( over which time it rained ). I was horrified to see it had FILLED with water!!!!! All the electrics are fried and Mercedes garage initially said they spent 55 hrs stripping it down to find out where all the water had got in from!!!! I contacted Mercedes UK the day my car got taken into main dealer to just inform them of the situation so as they would keep up to speed on the situation.The garage initially said they had done a video and report and sent to Mercedes UK to get signed off for work to be carried out under warranty as this clearly should never have happened. Mercedes UK didn't get back to me for over a week so i chased them. They eventually said it was a maintenance issue and not covered under warranty, my case was now closed!!!! They then told main dealer not to talk to me. Via a friend who knows someone in garage all i know is that they say a drainage channel was blocked that takes run of rain from roof! If this IS the case ( and i don't know that for sure ) there should be an overflow system that DEFINITELY shouldn't be able to get into the main cockpit of the car and render it useless ( NOT FIT FOR PURPOS ). I have been advised by a mechanic that the extent of water damage means that even if Mercedes decide to put it back together that they won't warranty the work as it is HIGHLY likely to have ongoing glitches!!!! I have also been advised not to go legal astray will just string it out until i can't afford it any more! General practice i believe when dealers don't want to admit liability! OMG! What am i to do??? PLEASE HELP. Miss Furia x

chassis

Sorry to hear about the water ingress in your GTC.

You are saying that a drain channel was blocked, causing water to enter the vehicle, is this correct?

Furia

I only have this information third hand as Mercedes will not send me any information as to what has gone wrong. Apparently they have had to strip the car down to find it and say it was blocked with debris!

MBpippo

This is not a good story. I feel for you. The first thing I’d be doing is making sure you have a log of all the events - emails, letters, phone calls, person-to-person conversations, etc. Everyone expects a car to be waterproof - end of story. If you don’t/won’t take the legal course, have you considered your government run consumer affairs office to advise you?
https://www.gov.uk/consumer-protection-rights

MJ50

sorry to hear that...
moved to AMG GT forum...

Furia

Thank you for taking the time to read my post. It is a very distressing situation. I never imagined a company like Mercedes would treat a customer so badly. I will have a look at the link you have kindly sent me. I see you are in Australia, i hope you have not had fires too close to you? The devastation it has and is still causing is heart breaking. Kind regards Miss Furia

absent

You live in UK so unfortunately you are not going to have as much legal help and recourse as you would in US.
We all here complain at lawyers but in cases like above, having them is much appreciated.
I would still consult a lawyer to find out what your options are, otherwise use as much social media outlets as you can to let everyone now your situation and put additional pressure on MB.
Contact Autocar, they are known to help and are very effective but they have to see the case as straightforward, with the manufacturer/seller being at fault and you as the victim.
https://www.autocar.co.uk/misc/contact-us

Furia

Thank you i will look at Auto Car. Kind regards. Miss Furia

Surge

Total BS. I don’t believe a word of this.
But customers are responsible to keep the drain channels clear.
A friend with a Porsche cabrio had a similar issue. He didn’t keep the drains clear and rain did major damage to the internal computers.

Furia

Hello! i am sorry you don't believe me. I am extremely distressed over the whole situation and everything i have said is true. The reason for me posting on this forum was to hopefully get some help. So please don't be so nasty. I am feeling bad enough as it is. Regards Miss Furia

Surge

I’m sorry - I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. I gather you have a convertible?
Unfortunately, it’s the owner’s responsibility to keep the channels that divert water clear. Have you been servicing the car annually? If so, the MB dealer is supposed to do this for you. You could file a lawsuit if you’ve been doing the annual service.
Otherwise, it’s easy to clean these yourself.

My story of a friend with a 1 year old Porsche Boxster is similar to yours. He had not cleaned the gutters and rain went inside and damaged a computer, among other things.

Furia

The car had its first health check a few months before this happened. It is only just over a year old now, with 3,000 miles. How would i find out what they are required to check on its first health check?

Surge

Who checked it and what does your invoice say? The A or B Service is supposed to include drain channel cleaning.

This is not covered under warranty, and wouldn't be compensated in the US or anywhere else. It's up to the owner to ensure this is done - either by performing the annual required service at Mercedes or DIY.

thebishman

I strongly suspect that the necessary drainage channels/ports were blocked from the factory and never inspected either before it left the plant, or by the selling/servicing dealership.

You, based on your reports, are NOT responsible for this!

Obtain legal representation ASAP and let them move forward on your behalf from this point onward.

Good luck!

Surge

I highly doubt that - every car gets water tested at the factory. And why would the channels be blocked on a brand new car?

It's really tough to win this legally - because the owner will have to prove a window or the top was not left open.

Also, the channels would still be blocked if they were blocked, which should be easy to determine right now.

thebishman

You’re assuming that the dealership and MB UK are telling the truth re: blocked/open water drainage channels. I find it ominous that the OP is not receiving any info from MB at this point; hence my advice of obtaining legal representation ASAP.

Surge

Right, I see, agreed. She should also get the car back ASAP and take it to another dealer. Have that dealer inspect the drainage channels.

Furia

Hi, I can prove easily that the roof was up and all doors and windows shut because everything was jammed shut due to all the electrics shutting down. Initially i called the garage to say i couldn't get into the car because the key wasn't working ( After i had changed the battery, just in case! ). They sent out their road side assistance to see what the issue was. With the convertible, when you pull on the door handle the windows drop a fraction to enable the door to open from under the roof. Because all the electrics were down this did not happen, we had to forcefully pull one door open to gain access to the car. I also have lots of witnesses who saw the car parked in an area with no chance of any debris falling on it! The car has always been immaculate. I am a very precise and tidy person.

SlothFL

Are there any diagrams showing the location of these drain lines? How are we supposed to check the lines to ensure they are clear?

Surge

I just asked my AMG Serivce tech. He’s very good and I trust him completely. He said the coupe has no drain lines, since the roof doesn’t open.
The cabrio does, but nothing that would cause water to come into the cabin. This is because the roof mechanism is separate from the body, so there’s no way for water to go into the car - unlike the Porsche Boxster experience my friend had.

Seems like Miss Furlas window or roof was open, perhaps just a bit...
If the key unlock button is held down do the windows or roof open?

fullvietfx

Reading this made me scared to ever purchase a convertible. Having never owned a drop-top before. Are these common occurrences?

Surge

Did you read my post directly above yours? This did not happen because the drain channels were blocked. I spoke to my AMG service technician - who is outstanding - can’t happen with the way the cabrio is designed. It’s not like some Porsches where water can enter the cabin on cabs if the drain channels are blocked.

fullvietfx

I did read it but I was still confused. But knowing that if you leave your convertible can flood if it's parked in the rain is concerning.

Surge

Certain convertibles can flood if the drainage channels are not kept clear. An example is the 2009 Porsche Boxster, and probably all 911 and Boxster cabriolets.

The AMG GT cabriolet will not fill with water, even if the drain channels are blocked. You'll get water in the roof mechanism, but it will not enter the cabin, according to my AMG service tech.

Td33

Your crazy if you think the factory is doing what they should in regards to inspections. It’s a joke actually. I have bought two new amg’s with paint damage straight from the factory. A new cls63 had to have most of the driver side repainted after the truck driver-to the dealer- found a major defect. It’s laughable, the truck driver finds it!! I have stayed away from Amg for years because of several issues, one of which is the very poor quality control and the poor manufacturer support it gives clients. This is a prime example!

About one month ago I went back, not sure why, and bought a 2020 gt63s diamond white that caught my eye. Last week while detailing the car, I found a blemish in the paint on the upper passenger side hood. It is under the clear coat and will require the entire hood to be repainted. Again, how is this missed? Really upsetting on a car with a MSRP over 191k, but I’m not shocked at all.

If these water channels can cause such major damage this should be something the dealers go over in detail with the buyer. My Porsche dealer never said a word to me when I bought my 991.2 turbo s cab. Not a word said. The difference is I’ll bet Porsche would stand behind their clients and fix the problem.

The car was just serviced and this should never have gotten to this point. I feel bad for the OP, but again not surprised.

Good luck to the OP!