Apollosalon

I brought my newly purchased Artic White 2013 GL 450 in for service at a Mercede dealership. While it was there, some how they put a small dent on my rear bumper. They apologize and said they would get it fix right away. I was mad but I knew it was an accident so was ok with it. After I got the car back I noticed in certain lighting and certain angle the paint job on bumper seem like it was a tad off from the rest of the body. Like it's got a tint of yellow to it. I told the service guy and he told me that all White GL has this problem because the whole body is made of metal and the bumper is made of Plastic. He assure that he seen this on all other arctic white GL. Can anyone with a Arctic white GL confirm this for me? Thank You!

patsy1099

I would tell him yeah that's a great story, now replace my bumper cover. Please and thank you. end of story.

JimBarnhart

If the plastic front bumper looks perfect and the plastic rear bumper doesn't, it seems like it wasn't repaired properly. If you observe the same tinting on the plastic front bumper, then it seems like it's reasonable.

blittle

Sounds like BS to me.... that being said, only those of us with an Arctic White could really answer that one. Paint is paint..... it will/should cover all material with the same hue quality EXCEPT if the bumper material was translucent plastic ( and it is not ) If the factory can make the bumper and body match , so can a quality paint shop.

sraza

just tell them to change the bumper cover- if they dont - call MBUSA and voice a formal corporate complaint

alx

Hint of yellow is generally indication of ****ty color matching. Factory mercedes paint usually does not have that "quality".

newyorktoLA

On my black Mercedes vehicles (E350 & SLK350) the rear bumpers have a different shade of black than the rest of the car...this is of course, under halogen lighting and at certain angles and isn't noticeable in the sunlight. The same effect happens on all plastic bumpers and the shade is a little different on plastic than it is on the metal panels

Apollosalon

Thank you guys for chiming in! I guess I should go and look at another Artic white GL and see if there's a different.

patsy1099

bumpers covers aren't that expensive. If the dealer was responsible for denting it, they should replace it. You shouldn't have to struggle with this decision or run around and inspect various paint jobs. They should have never touched it up in the first place. The dealership makes plenty of money both on the sales and service side. They should have offered to replace the cover right away (IMO). You should just tell them that you are not satisfied with the touch-up. You tried...but this is a brand new and expensive vehicle and you would like them to replace the bumper cover.

StuBee

I bought new in April 2011 a GL450 in white - well it was white, now it's white and off white - all of the plastic moldings over the guards and the protection strips on the doors are a very different color to the vehicle color. The front and rear bumpers are the same. I asked MB to fix it at 2 years old, they refused, and now at 3 years old they have again refused. Today I rejected a quote to buy a new GL500 (NZ$192,000 or US$165,000) because I fear the next one will do the same. The paint that's used in the plastic parts does not have the correct UV Stabilizers, I'm told. As you can see we pay a pretty hefty premium buying these cars in NZ !!!

cookstar

I have a 2013 GL (Diamond White), the dealership hit the vehicle with something and cracked the lower bottom portion, they ordered a new bumper and painted it, it now has a yellowish tint to it which you can tell is obviously is different than the rest of the car. the MB body shop has now ordered a second bumper which will be painted and put on the car next week. I will take a picture today or tomorrow so you can see the different tint in colour. I was also told that the colour is off because its plastic which is nonsense in my opinion. I was also told that once the sun hits it the colour will stabilize, also nonsense.

Dog hauler

It's tough to argue with that.

And for those who suggest that that the bumper cover be replaced, that wouldn't change anything. It's the paint that's the problem, not the bumper cover itself. If you put a new cover on and got the same (poor) quality paint job, you'd have the same color match problem. If a new cover can be painted to match, so can the old cover.

A good shop can match the paint. The problem is finding a good shop.

cookstar

I went to a MB body shop, they only deal with MB and are authorized by MB and they had a SLS AMG black series in the shop... so I assume if they can deal with a $300,000+ vehicle they can fix a bumper... apparently I was wrong. will post results next week as I am taking the vehicle in on Tuesday. Even the bumper does not fit right.