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I’m looking for some advice.
Picked up my CLA EQ new, last week.
straight away my wife sees a scratch, that went through the paint, on the bonnet and also a deep scratch on the bumper.
The damage was rectified and we picked up the car again after repair and were looked after by the dealership.
Later on at home I noticed a very small chip in the paint on the rear of the car on a panel corner by the rear window.
I told the dealership and the dealership collected the car and returned it fixed, it was dark and wet so couldn’t see the repair.
when I cleaned
the car a few days later I noticed the entire rear quarter had been painted and done badly with overspray on other parts of the car.
So this is the second time I have had to speak with the manager and voice my dissatisfaction and they are going to take the matter higher up the chain and contact me with a solution.
This has ruined my new car experience and I now potentially have a new car that has already had two lots of accident damage repaired, which must reduce the value of the car, that I’m paying full price for via financing.
Should I give them another chance to fix the car, or should I be demanding a new un-damaged car?
Cheers
Iggy
I’m looking for some advice.
Picked up my CLA EQ new, last week.
straight away my wife sees a scratch, that went through the paint, on the bonnet and also a deep scratch on the bumper.
The damage was rectified and we picked up the car again after repair and were looked after by the dealership.
Later on at home I noticed a very small chip in the paint on the rear of the car on a panel corner by the rear window.
I told the dealership and the dealership collected the car and returned it fixed, it was dark and wet so couldn’t see the repair.
when I cleaned
the car a few days later I noticed the entire rear quarter had been painted and done badly with overspray on other parts of the car.
So this is the second time I have had to speak with the manager and voice my dissatisfaction and they are going to take the matter higher up the chain and contact me with a solution.
This has ruined my new car experience and I now potentially have a new car that has already had two lots of accident damage repaired, which must reduce the value of the car, that I’m paying full price for via financing.
Should I give them another chance to fix the car, or should I be demanding a new un-damaged car?
Cheers
Iggy
I see. Did they or willing to disclose what happened prior to the repaint?
Nope, picked the car up from the dealership they didn’t even know it was damaged.
maybe something hit the car as they moved it from the valet bay. I only noticed the other damage the next day when detailing the car, the damage was a 2mm chip, which I wished I’d just touched up myself, didn’t think they would paint the whole panel and didn’t think a professional could make such a mess of it.
Nope, picked the car up from the dealership they didn’t even know it was damaged.
maybe something hit the car as they moved it from the valet bay. I only noticed the other damage the next day when detailing the car, the damage was a 2mm chip, which I wished I’d just touched up myself, didn’t think they would paint the whole panel and didn’t think a professional could make such a mess of it.
No and no one owned up to the damage.
If I had been contacted and handover delayed, I wouldn’t be as cheesed off.
I accept accidents happen and I’ve been unlucky, but how many chances should a company get to do things correctly.
No and no one owned up to the damage.
If I had been contacted and handover delayed, I wouldn’t be as cheesed off.
I accept accidents happen and I’ve been unlucky, but how many chances should a company get to do things correctly.
That stinks sorry to hear that OP. We have a different level of tolerance with this so not sure about you. What I would say first is get them to paint it right then if your are not satisfied, have a new panel replaced and painted to the same colour but given how factory paint processes are different, it will never match. Obviously the last but not least is a replacement new vehicle but that might be a little more difficult to achieve not to mention it might not have the options you want. Obviously you can also ask for some sort of compensation and accept it as is. Depends on where you want to end up with on this.
That stinks sorry to hear that OP. We have a different level of tolerance with this so not sure about you. What I would say first is get them to paint it right then if your are not satisfied, have a new panel replaced and painted to the same colour but given how factory paint processes are different, it will never match. Obviously the last but not least is a replacement new vehicle but that might be a little more difficult to achieve not to mention it might not have the options you want. Obviously you can also ask for some sort of compensation and accept it as is. Depends on where you want to end up with on this.
Thanks.
I wondered if wanting a new car, to be new, was unreasonable on my part, but I now see it is unrealistic.
I have detailed cars for 20 years as a hobby, so have very high standards, so I have to ignore water marks, swirl marks and left over residue and polish otherwise I’d never accept a new car.
Thanks.
I wondered if wanting a new car, to be new, was unreasonable on my part, but I now see it is unrealistic.
I have detailed cars for 20 years as a hobby, so have very high standards, so I have to ignore water marks, swirl marks and left over residue and polish otherwise I’d never accept a new car.
Actually, no. It wasn't unreasonable, it is just that it sadly happened and now we need to figure out what to do about it. Good luck, hope it all works out.
2023 E 450 Sedan. 2018 GLC 300. 2013 E 350 Coupe (retired)
Sorry this is how things have started. They will never willingly give you another car. I would pick out a premium paint shop, take the car to that shop, explain what happened, ask them if it can be rectified so that the car looks better than new, the damage undetectable, and how much they would charge for that.
I would then go to the manager of the dealer where you bought the car and explain that they needed to give you what you paid for, a new car with a good paint job, and that they are not capable of fixing the paint so that they need to use the shop that you found to do the work, or another well rated shop.
If they refuse I would either offer to pay a portion of the cost, maybe 20 or 30 percent as you are getting additional benefit of more paint, or I would pay for it out of my pocket and take them to small claims court, but that is a crap shoot.
Of course you can always get corporate involved or threaten a bad Google review, but if you write a bad review the dealer will never forgive you and you will get poor service going forward. It is always best to maintain a good relationship, and you are not asking for anything untoward for them to pay for a paint job or to get corporate involved. In the states the corporate level is MBUSA.
Last edited by smiles201; Feb 8, 2026 at 07:24 PM.
If people didn’t buy new cars, we’d soon look like Cuba with cars from the 50s and Mercedes would be out of business. So, thanks for keeping Mercedes around.
Personally, however, this is another reason I am happy to buy a good used car rather than a brand new one. There is a tiny dent in the rear bumper cover on my 11 year old SL that only I notice. Otherwise, the car is perfect. And, I saved over $60,000 buying it used with under 23,000 miles on it instead of buying one new.
Good luck getting this resolved, but Smiles idea seems like it might work.
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