Dealership stepped up and replaced my faded wood grain trim
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2014 E350 4Matic
Dealership stepped up and replaced my faded wood grain trim
Happy to report that last month MB of Fredericksburg, VA stepped up and performed a "good will" replacement of all of my interior wood grain trim that was fading. It wasn't fading horribly but if you looked at the trim on the rear doors, they were considerably darker than the doors, dash and center console in the front. The car is a 2014 e350 and when I got it in Jan 2017 it was not tinted. About a month or two later I had it tinted (not very dark but back is about 30% darker than front). Factory warranty is expired but I have extended and CPO warranty. Neither of those covered this but they were nice enough to do it as a good will replacement. I don't have great "before" pictures (maybe 1 or 2) and they are shortly after I got the car so they don't show how they had faded over the last year and 7 months. These pictures don't do it justice and it's kinda hard to see a difference in them but it does look better now. The main purpose of my post is to let everyone know that it is possible to have this done and to give a shout out to the dealership that hooked me up.
Thank you MB of Fredericksburg, VA.
Thank you MB of Fredericksburg, VA.
Last edited by akingzkid; Oct 25, 2018 at 02:30 PM. Reason: pictures didn't load
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From: Charlotte, NC
2014 E350 4M Diamond Silver
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From: Miami, FL
2014 e250 bluetec
Funny timing, the dealer is actually in the process of replacing all of my black ash wood in my 2014 w212 as well!!! They are waiting on the pieces to come in from Germany. In my case, it took two visits to convince them to replace the pieces. The first time, they agreed to replace the drivers side vent because the wood was cracking at the corner underneath the clear coat. Once they replaced that one piece however, it became very obvious how yellowed and faded the other pieces were.
I also did not buy my car from them, but have been servicing it there often, and have had a lot of small issues fixed with them under warranty. I bought it in March of this year and the previous owner did NOT have a tint on the vehicle (which I immediately corrected the first weekend I had it).
I also did not buy my car from them, but have been servicing it there often, and have had a lot of small issues fixed with them under warranty. I bought it in March of this year and the previous owner did NOT have a tint on the vehicle (which I immediately corrected the first weekend I had it).
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They really took care of me. But, I will say this; it wasn’t without some negotiating with the service manager. He wasn’t sold on it at first and then decided to take some pictures and send them to some regional rep (up his management chain I guess) and that person would make the ultimate decision and he approved it.
Last edited by akingzkid; Oct 25, 2018 at 09:01 PM. Reason: Correct typos.
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2012 E550 v8-Biturbo
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From: SOUTHWEST OHIO
2016 E350 2015 ML250 2002 Z06 CORVETTE
They should replace it. It is a known problem and has been for some time. I had it replaced in my previous 2012 E350 back in 2013. You do realize the dealer does not pay the cost and in fact makes a substantial profit. The manufacturer is ultimately the source of any warranty or goodwill.
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From: Miami, FL
2014 e250 bluetec
For item like this, which involve environmental factors such as prolonged sun exposure ( I know, doesn't make much sense), the dealer has to get approval from MB corporate to replace the items, even if it's a known issue. If the dealer replaced the wood, but an MB rep comes by and inspects the original items and denies the warranty work, the dealer is out $$$$ for the replacement.
The issue is that most dealers don't want to go through the extra leg work of sending pics to corporate for approval, or at least elevate the work order to that level.
The issue is that most dealers don't want to go through the extra leg work of sending pics to corporate for approval, or at least elevate the work order to that level.
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Joined: Sep 2012
Posts: 342
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From: SOUTHWEST OHIO
2016 E350 2015 ML250 2002 Z06 CORVETTE
For item like this, which involve environmental factors such as prolonged sun exposure ( I know, doesn't make much sense), the dealer has to get approval from MB corporate to replace the items, even if it's a known issue. If the dealer replaced the wood, but an MB rep comes by and inspects the original items and denies the warranty work, the dealer is out $$$$ for the replacement.
The issue is that most dealers don't want to go through the extra leg work of sending pics to corporate for approval, or at least elevate the work order to that level.
The issue is that most dealers don't want to go through the extra leg work of sending pics to corporate for approval, or at least elevate the work order to that level.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 57
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2014 E350 4Matic
For item like this, which involve environmental factors such as prolonged sun exposure ( I know, doesn't make much sense), the dealer has to get approval from MB corporate to replace the items, even if it's a known issue. If the dealer replaced the wood, but an MB rep comes by and inspects the original items and denies the warranty work, the dealer is out $$$$ for the replacement.
The issue is that most dealers don't want to go through the extra leg work of sending pics to corporate for approval, or at least elevate the work order to that level.
The issue is that most dealers don't want to go through the extra leg work of sending pics to corporate for approval, or at least elevate the work order to that level.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 57
Likes: 6
2014 E350 4Matic
They should replace it. It is a known problem and has been for some time. I had it replaced in my previous 2012 E350 back in 2013. You do realize the dealer does not pay the cost and in fact makes a substantial profit. The manufacturer is ultimately the source of any warranty or goodwill.
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From: SOUTHWEST OHIO
2016 E350 2015 ML250 2002 Z06 CORVETTE
I knew that about warranty work but did not know that about good will work. I would think they had to eat the cost for the good will work (for the labor if nothing else). Yes, I used the argument that this was a known issue. That combined with the obvious difference between the color of rear and front panels was enough for him to submit it up.
