Hi All. Just wondering what you all think will happen in the end. I ordered a 2025 E450 All Terrain back in April, and received it in September. She is beautiful, but I notice right away it has a grey headliner in it, but I ordered it with a black headliner. We confirmed it's the correct car, and it's correct other than the headliner. The salesman confirms we did indeed order it with the black headliner, so as far as I know the screw up is on Mercedes in Germany. Salesman says he will investigate the problem, and we proceed with the paperwork and I take the car. Was this a mistake taking the car? First the salesman said he didn't think they would change the headliner out to black, and was hoping I would just settle. I'm not going to settle because I'm in a wheelchair, and as I load the tires from my chair to the back seat I will sometimes rub the headliner leaving marks that will not come out completely. I learned this with my 2006 R500 with a grey headliner that has dirt streaks throughout.
The salesman also mentioned at one point they may give me some money back to try to get me to settle. I investigated having the headliner redone in black from a local custom shop, they said by time they do the headliner and A pillars, order all the plastic parts, sunroof rollers, and sun visors in black, he's guessing around $5000. They are still working up an actual estimate. I'm going to bet the dealer isn't going to offer me $5000 to go away. It's been about 3 weeks now and still no word on what Mercedes Germany or my dealer is going to do to resolve the problem. My salesman isn't hiding from me, but just says he still hasn't heard anything. I haven't tried going above him yet, or trying to contact Mercedes directly. Just wondering if anyone has gone through something like this, and what you all think. Thank you in advance.

 

My opinion. I think you made a mistake to buy the car unless you have it on writing that they will change the headliner. MB may make it right but since you bought the car knowing it was not exactly what you ordered, they are likely under no legal obligation to do so. Hopefully they will but you are likely at the mercy of their good will. Again, my opinion only and I'm sorry you are dealing with this. I would certainly contact MB directly and raise a stink but doing so respectfully. Maybe they will fix it somehow. You may also want to contact a lawyer to see what they say.

Another option is to see if the liner can be coated with some type of stain guard or ceramic coating to minimize potential for scuffs. Replacing it is a lot of work and cost.

 

Couple of contra points:

He took the car and noted immediately that the headliner was incorrect. That under the law is not an acceptance of he car as is.

Contacting a lawyer: unless you have a friend and/or relative that will do it for nothing, the fees will exceed the cost of replacement.

The OP is in a difficult place: I for one would have preferred the light color headliner as it makes the car feel more spacious. On the other hand the OP has encountered problems moving tires into the car which bump up against the liner and hence he ordered black. I think in the final analysis the OP will be forced to accept an allowance from the dealer, perhaps free service(s) and be careful when moving tires in and out of the car.

Just my $.02

 

My car has a black headliner. I was not sure I would like it, but as it turns out it is perfect for the Florida sun as it reduces the glare down.

 

There are some lawyers who will offer their opinion for free and even do a free consultation. If not free, a short consultation does not cost much.

You may be right that the OP has some legal ground with a verbal discussion that the car is not right. A lawyer could tell him that. One question to the OP. Did you sign the paper that states something to the effect that other than good service, the dealer owes you nothing? That is a standard doc I have seen on every car purchase I have made.

 

Where I live the only free consultations with lawyers are where they get a percentage of the damages, like personal injury, mass tort, etc.

When the car was picked up both the OP and salesmen noted that the liner was not black: the problem is that the OP is left with two options:

• Refusal to take the car
• Compensation: I do not think there is much compensation between a black and grey head liner.

 

If you don’t mind the gray otherwise, it might be easier just to have some kind of sheet or cover you could quickly drape over the wheel chair/tires when loading to protect the headliner.

 

Not a bad Idea Hicksra, Thanks

 

Yes that is the cheapest way and save the headache of dealing with lawyers and the dealership, that is a great idea!

 

Wow I have a 2025 All Terrain on order and I'm in a wheelchair and was hoping it is gonna be a black headliner as thats what it does say on the order sheet. Sounds like the same thing is gonna happen to me. I can live with it, I just try to keep the tires from scraping the headliner when I lift them over.

 

@B Dub - did you ever get a resolution to this or are you going to live with the light headliner and use the suggestion of covering the tire with a cloth to prevent scuffs?

 

The other thought is pull the wheels over you and put them on the floor of the passenger side or in between the wheelchair and the dash if you put the chair on the front seat. If you’re with someone just have them put the wheels in through the back door. I hear you though I’ve got marks on the light gray headliner on my S class car. That’s why I started putting them up front. I looked again on my order sheet and it’s listed as the black headliner I think code u51. I’m gonna be upset too if mb gets it wrong so I don’t blame you. Sounds like you may have to get mb involved. Off topic. Did you get the staggered 20 inch wheels or all the same size ones so you can rotate them. I opted for all the same size so I can rotate the tires. The wider ones on the rear look better but I figure most people wouldn’t notice anyhow and traction shouldn’t be a problem unless it was a amg lol. What kind of tires came on the 20 inch wheels? I hear they are putting Hancock on a lot of them. Guess being the 20 inch they are not run flats thankfully. Too bad though they don’t offer all seasons on the 20s as I may have to drive up north and 20s as far as I know are just summer tires.

 

Doesn't MB reserve the right to make changes with no notice?