MARS RED PAINT PROBLEM
 

So I have a question for anyone who delt with the Mars Red paint problem. When they repainted your car did they repaint bumpers & door handles or only the metal part? Would love to speak to someone who went through the whole process.

As someone who has had the Mars Red paint on several cars and has never had any problems with it, I am HORRIFIED to hear that they are REPAINTING cars! Is this right? They are actually repainting cars? Like the OP, I am VERY interested in hearing about this from anyone with first hand knowledge.

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They want me to pay half the cost of a repaint.

What year & model car are we talking about? Did you buy it new, used or CPO?

2014 C300 sport, Mar Red, CPO

Have been dealing with paint issues for a couple of years. Started with dealer and they would not do anything except change my oil once. Moved to customer care. We have been dealing with them since the first of the year. Today they asked me to get another estimate on repainting the car at another dealership. This due to my dealer not having an authorized repair center. First estimate was around $6000. Customer care said they would pay half if the new estimate is near the same. I didn't buy half a car!

The huge issue that I see here, is that you will have a REPAINTED car, which, in my experience, is NOT NEARLY the same as a car with the original paint. Almost invariably, a repaint does not hold up as well as the original, factory paint job. Stone chips on the front of the car will usually result in a much larger piece of paint popping off on a repaint. Especially with reds, they tend to fade differently, etc. If it were me, I would start by asking them to take the car back and give you a refund. At the very least, I would expect them to pick up 100% of the cost to repaint the car, AND a free loaner while the work is being done.

P.S. Thinking more about this, I would ask them to either take the car back and give you a full refund of your purchase price, or, that you be allowed to trade it in on another CPO MB, with you receiving trade in value equal to what you paid for the car. DO NOT let them bully you! Tell them that if you can’t come to terms, that you will be hiring an attorney and taking them to court. YOU hold all the cards here, my friend.

Yea they repainted my car this past month. I had a friend come out & look at the paint job & what I find odd is my friend pointed out that if the car in fact was stripped & repainted, why did one of the fenders inside already have cracking paint. The other side was smooth. I just don’t want to believe that an authorized shop recommended by Mercedes would somehow be scamming Mercedes especially since the cost for repair was close to 10K.

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These are some of the pictures of paint.

Since this issue is a known problem by MB, if they will not buy the car back and give you full restitution, I would consult with a lawyer who specializes in Lemon Law cases. This isn’t a Lemon Law case, but it would still be right up their alley. Be tough with MB. You didn’t buy a repainted car, you shouldn’t have to end up with a repainted car.

I agree totally. The front of the car looks like someone has taken a ice pick to the paint. I think they are just trying to wait me out.

Justin, Did you have to fight with them to get your car repainted?

Well, Mercedes has made me an offer. They will pay 50% of the cost of a paint job. They keep saying they are unaware of the paint issue with the Mars Red paint. Now they want me to take to another dealer for an estimate. Funny thing, My wife is finally pissed and found the CEO's email address. She fired off a email to him telling him of our dissatisfaction of the offer and service. The next day I received a call from our Executive Manager we have been dealing with. He was calling due to the fact the CEO had read her email. Still no help from his side. The manager did offer us a $2000 towards a new or CPO mercedes if we chose to go that way. I then discussed with him about the trade value, it would be low due to the paint issues.

Better call Saul!:D

Looks Like I have bought my First and Last Mercedes!
Mercedes says they do not have knowledge of the paint issues with MARS RED.

Mercedes knows about the Mars Red paint problem and there are at least 2 class action lawsuits ongoing, and there is a Mercedes Technical Service Bulletin directly related to this problem.

Clearcoat Peeling/Flaking/Bubbling
#LI98.00-P-058914 Version 10, Date of issue May 23, 2018 ( yes, they are aware of it, fully)
MBZ: All vehicles with 590-Mars Red

Symptoms: Exterior clearcoat is peeling, flaking, or exhibits bubbles under the surface

Cause: Improper adhesion of clearcoat. Exposure factors like humidity or solar radiation may cause adhesion problems between base coat and clearcoat.

Remedy: Refinish affected areas only, according to WIS and approved paint manufacturer instructions.

Here we go again with someone thinking the solution is to spend $$$ on an attorney and take them to court. Good luck if you do. It's expensive and the majority of these cases will favor the dealership...and if not, they'll stall on appeals since they are more likely to have council on retainer.

The most likely compromise, even using lawyers, is what you have now. An offer to to share 50% of the repaint cost. Especially on a used car. If it were me, I'd try my best to finagle a good buy back or trade in deal if you're not crazy about repaint. If done properly, a repaint can look fantastic...just like everything else, it's all in the prep. If you're worried about paint chips, get a clear bra later on. That being said, it is a shame and I wish you luck. Just an opinion.

This is a known paint defect that MB either knew about or
should have known about as far back as 2003 (according
to NTHSA data). The FIRST technical service bulletin issued by
MB to their dealerships was issued sometime before 2014 and
was reissued in 6/2014 and 7/2017. MB then continued to sell vehicles
with a KNOWN manufacturer defect. There are several cases of vehicles
completely taken down to the metal and repainted with Mars Red paint, only
to have the same thing happen again a year or two later. If MB had acknowledged the problem
and worked with their customers in good faith, I could see your argument.
However, given that I am now an owner of a car for which I paid $50k, plus a PermaPlate
policy (specifically marketed by the dealership to cover this type of issue) which refuses
to cover me, and with no viable solution to maintain whatever residual value I might have,
I am of the opinion that EVERYONE with a Mars Red vehicle should
be a part of a class action lawsuit, whether it's been repainted or not.

Well I finally was able to get my paint issue taken care of. I did cost me though. I now drive a BMW 528i Xdrive. NO MORE MERCEDES FOR ME!

I just today did some internet research on my 2013 Mars Red 250C and found 2 class action suits that were both settled by Mercedes. My question is, how do I get a settlement? One of the websites said I should be notified by mail or email, but neither have happened. Sounds like Mercedes is trying to keep this quiet, but I will scream it to the hilltops to get them to cover this 100%!!!

By the way, here is the link to one of the class action suits...

https://www.classaction.org/news/cla...peel-or-bubble

Here is another one and I'll be contacting at least one of these attorneys to find out how to proceed. Hopefully they take lawsuits on a contingency basis. My daughter is also dating a class action suit attorney, so I'll see if he can help too. Let me know if any of you are interested in his contact info.

https://www.carcomplaints.com/news/2...-lawsuit.shtml

This is plain WRONG and Mercedes needs to make it right without us having to pay one penny! I love my car and can't say I'd never buy another Benz, but have definitely lost confidence in their service.

Our GLK was refinished by the dealer under warranty from Mercedes (2013MY refinished in 2018). But they only refinished the metal.

This winter the bumper clearcoat started peeling in several places. I contacted the dealer and was told MB only warranties the metal, where they have seen the failure. Paint on my car was all original (including on the bumpers) before MB resprayed the metal. So it looks like the plastic paint formulation also peels, but at a later time. MB does not cover it. I've attached a photo of the current failure. Both sides are failing like this.

Anyone else have this experience? Looks like it is time to add on to the class action.

Filippo

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Class Action law suit