wheels777

Looking from the side the bumper color is a off color from the body color.

Noticeable enough that it annoys me, but the alternative of the dealer having to try a better match makes me resigned to just live with it. Not the best endorsement for quality control.

The ML is white.

Even inexpensive cars are able to match paint.

T Class

I have an White ML.

I took my ML in to the body shop to some work done due to a accident I was in. One of the first things they warned me about was that the bumper wouldn't match the hood exactly due to the different materials.

I didn't notice it before the accident, I hope I don't when I get it back...

K91109

Pretty much normal on all cars. Different material = Different color look

caf

Agree with others; I notice this on virtually all cars. Obviously, the same paint is used, but the slight differences in material textures will give the paint a different reflectance. This is more noticeable with certain lighting conditions and certain paint colors. I don't think it can it can be completely eliminated. I notice it on my Seal gray Porsche, which has very good paint finish overall.

wheels777

Had an Arctic White 2010 E350 and the paint matched. Although whites are tough and some metalics for Body Shops.

I see that most all car manufactureres and good body shops have been able to accomplish bumper to body color match due to the fact that for all colors there can be as many as 20-25 formulas for the tinting the factory color code. Body shops know and use this color tinting every day. Matching paint has become very advanced.

For any car (manufacturer) to be produceing vehicles with pronounced color difference with the technology NOW available imo, is poor quality control. When you couple this with a "highline" manufacturer, it is disappointing. (Not the end of the World)

newyorktoLA

I have a 2011 E350 and the rear bumper color doesn't match the body color.

jweezy

12' ML350 -Steel Grey - Paint match perfectly, however on my (yellow) Dodge Charger from factory it had patch matching problems - which was common.

Scott5000

I have seen this on many new luxury vehicles. I think the water based paints are making it more difficult to match the lighter colors on the bumpers. Been seeing this for years on Acuras, but more recently on Lexus, Infinity, BMW and Audi.