Darel

'14 E350 on CPO warranty. About 64,000 miles.

Front of car looks like it's been sandblasted with gravel. The entire front fascia and mirror caps are covered in rock chips that were not there when we bought the car a year ago. I get that rock chips are a normal wear and tear kind of thing, but the physical amount of paint missing from the front of the car is incredible. It's as though every single bug and stone that ever touched the car removed a dot of paint and it's just playing connect-the-dots. There has to be some sort of paint adhesion problem, because I've never seen rock chipping this extreme on any car, ever, regardless of mileage. Certainly not a Mercedes. I am not exaggerating when I say there are SO MANY missing paint chips that if the loss of paint continues at this rate, there will be virtually no paint left on the front fascia by this time next year. Cannot trace this to any one event, either, because I've been agonizing over it getting worse and worse and worse when I wash it every week.

I've always been suspicious that the dealer I bought it from repainted the fascia and mirrors for the sale, and I'm pretty sure they did a crap job of it. Thing that sucks is that dealer closed earlier this year, and I'd have to foist the problem off on my local dealer.

Or, is this maybe something that can be covered under my other-than-collision insurance?

Thanks,
Darel

belarus27

One picture would be a good substitution to a million words lol

Darel

Didn't think you guys needed a pic to tell me if you ever had paint covered under a warranty.

belarus27

you are correct.
but i wanted to see it out of curiosity.

but as far as i know it will not be covered

Mud

It really depends on the particular issue and this sounds more like you should take it in to your local dealer for review. If its been repainted but not documented by MB service or dealer then it may be more of a goodwill shared cost response rather than pure warranty.
I believe that after deductible, insurance will cover road damage but maybe worth getting an estimate as strictly out of pocket. Sometimes they can be lower. And if there's no body damage, dings are easily sanded and primered/filled , then sealed then base/clear. I've painted a lot of vehicles and quality prep and materials typically last the life of the car. Seen a lot of front end quickie jobs that chip, crack and flake in no time. Remember that flex additive is needed for plastics and bumpers.
I was paranoid about my damaged door that had to be replaced and of course painted and blended, but the MB recommended shop did a great job, not only final appearance but the more important prep.

Darel

I'll try and get a picture tomorrow, but the problem will be my car is white, and it looks like either the plastic of the bumper or the primer is a really pale cream color so it probably won't show up well in pictures.

Although my insurance company did say it should be covered under comprehensive for a $100 deductible, so there's that.

KEY08

Bummer. It seems that these modern paints are getting softer and softer. I try to apply Xpel to any new car I buy now to avoid this exact scenario as much as possible. It's worth it to save the paint, but more importantly for the car to look good for a longer period of time and not worry every time you take it up to highway speed.

belarus27

for a 100 deductible i would jump on it... as i know that even at third party paint shops they charge min 250+ to get it painted.
and yes i know exactly how it is on a white car..i actually got a lot of chips and my bumper could use a new paint as well.
good luck

Darel

Whenever i get the bumper repainted I'm going to put one of those clear film bras on it.

belarus27

Thats the best thing to do , especially on these newer cars , is a must , this is the conclusion i came to.
on mine 2010 is pointless already... but next whip i get , i will definitely use one of those

kajtek1

Clear bra is leaving different color over the time.
I too would like to see pictures.
I have 3 MB with over 180k miles each and none of them has excessive rock chips.
The 1998 MB I already sold had some rock chips, but the seller admitted that he bought the house with few miles of gravel road and sold the MB after seeing what the road is doing to it.
Still sold the car with 270k miles and 16 years of age made clear coat starting to peel bigger problem than chips.
If dealer will not fix it - buy one of those paint pens, what makes decent touch ups.

KEY08

Xpel Ultimate does not discolor and comes with a 10 year warranty now. It's the only PPF I use and no one knows it's even there.

raja777m

100$ deductible for those parts you mentioned or the whole car? any body shop is eligible? If so, get the Diamond series from Mercedes.
Diamond Silver Metallic or Diamond White or Diamond Palladium etc. They behave like dual colors and doesn't show much of swirl marks when going through a car wash (I'm a 3rd owner).

Especially my Diamond Silver Metallic shows lighter shade during the day and a bit darker during the evening/night.

ItalianJoe1

OEM warranty wouldn't cover outside influence damage, def not CPO. If it's been repainted as you suppose (probably has, OEM paint doesn't normally do that), than there's absolutely no way you will get any type of warranty on it. Insurance if it bothers you, see if your local dealer has a decent paint touch-up guy that reconditions used cars for them, you'd be surprised how well they can repair stuff like that and it may not be that expensive.

akingzkid

Same car, same issue. Drives me crazy. Can't believe how bad the front of my car looks. I find myself checking out other people's E350s and their's never look as bad as mine. I have owned it for about 16 months and it looked bad when I bought it and now it looks even worse. My windshield is the same way. It has a million little pits in it and when the sun hits it, it looks terrible from inside the car. Called insurance (about the windshield) and they kept asking me when the damage happened and I told them it didn't "happen" on a particular date (dumb mistake on my part, but it is the truth) but that it has gotten this way over time and is now an obstruction to my vision when the sun shines on it. She kept putting me on hold and finally told me that it is considered wear and tear and not covered. Ugh. So, unless you call them and tell them that you were driving behind a gravel truck and gravel fell off the truck and did it and give them a date, you will probably be told the same thing about the bumper. I really want the bumper fixed because it looks BAD!!

akingzkid

You can definitely see it on mine. My car is the Palladium Silver and it shows really well. I will get a pic tomorrow or the next day and post.

Darel

You guys do realize I'm not trying to get the whole car painted, just the front fascia and mirror caps....

Even if the clear bra does discolor (although as mentioned above some are warranted for it) I can always peel it off and start over.

kajtek1

Bare in mind you can't just paint part of the panel. Sounds like in your case you will need to have whole front painted.
Bad news is that even factory paint will show different from the one 5 years old.
I had W124 years ago that was in pristine condition and silver front was repainted at some point. Look like original paint was used as I could not tell the difference looking at it closely, but on each picture you could clearly see the different tone.
Human eye is easy to fool.

Darel

Yes, the entire panel needs painted.

KEY08

White is one of the most difficult colors to match and blend. There are infinite shades of white and the eye can see slight differences. Not sure where you got the idea we assumed you were painting the entire car. That would be nutz.

LemonSqueezy

My guess would be a sloppy front end paint job to get the car looking fresh for CPO, probably did not primer properly or forgot to add the flex additive. Another local dealer definitely would not eat the cost on repaint.

Insurance company would probably cover the front bumper under rock chip damage but may give you some trouble with the mirrors because there is no way to prove the dealer actually screwed up painting bumper and mirror covers. For $100 comprehensive deductible I would use insurance. Keep in mind that paint doesn't stick the same way on a plastic bumper as opposed to a metal hood or fender, so from certain angles, the paint color will look a shade or two darker/lighter. This happens with oem factory paint too.

akingzkid

KEY08

Darel

That's bad but mine's way worse. Didn't get pics yesterday, I was out of town. Possibly Sunday.

Someone posted something like "you should go with diamond pearl" or something leading me to clarify that I am not painting the entire car.

Anyone know if your insurance goes up when you make a comprehensive claim like this? That's the one reason I figured it might be worth it to just swing it by the dealer first.

LemonSqueezy

In California your insurance rates would not go up for a comp claim because you are not at fault for it. Not 100% sure on other states. If rates go up after your renewal it could be because the state is getting more risky or average cost of repairs going up, but it would not be directly tied to a comp claim for this issue.