djw_va

I bought a CPO W222 last week from an out of state Mercedes dealership. When I picked up the car, I noticed that the leather on the dash had some light bubbling. The selling dealership said I could take it to my local dealership to get it addressed.

Now I’m back home and my local dealership is quoting me $11k to fix it and saying that it isn’t covered by the CPO warranty.

1 - It’s not that bad for now and I can live with it, but is there anything I can do to make sure it doesn’t get worse? Can this actually cause problems down the road or is it purely cosmetic?
2 - Would it be right for me to expect anything out of the selling dealership or am I on my own here?

carlosinseattle

I assume the car you bought came from somewhere in the South. This can happen to any car. I bought my car from Georgia last fall and it has a tiny bubble along the windshield line on the passenger side. I'm going to get in there and fix it when I have my windshield replaced. I'm scheduling it to be done at my house, and while it's out I'm going to use some 3M Super-77 spray glue to glue it back down. The most difficult part is the only way to get to it is when the windshield or dash is removed.

Unless the raised section on your dash is particularly large, it shouldn't cause any problems. I've always mentiond this as something to look for when people have posted about purchasing advice, especially if the car is from or has been in the South. Post some pictures of your car, not just the problem, but of the nice car you picked up

as.thompson

There have been discussions about repairs for similar bubbling of the leather. Perhaps a search will turn it up for you. Here is one https://mbworld.org/forums/sl-class-...-bubble-2.html

The least invasive fix IIRC is to put a damp towel on the leather ro dampen the leather then remove the towel and warm & dry the leather with a blow dryer. Press the bubbles down as it cools and drys. Removing the dash is a job that can cause worse problems.

Quadrobenz

The dash leather wrinkling is most common with the upgraded designo exclusive semi-aniline leathers. Sun could sometimes be a factor but the semi-aniline leathers can severely wrinkle even when always garaged as my SL65 did. The 2015 S65 with the same leather has seen a lot more (probably 50x more) of our SoCal sun and it is perfect. The SL65 dash was replaced by the dealer early this year. The warranty does not cover it. The R231 SL65 is a lot of work because of all the items in the leather (clock, speakers and vent outlets.) The seats had to be removed to R&R the dash. The estimate was something like $8,800, it helped a lot that it is a convertible, better worker access. The dealer service GM chose to cover the cost from his goodwill budget.
Our A217 S65 Cab also developed the wrinkling. The replacement dash was not available from MB. I was buying the car used from a dealer, it was fixed prior to purchase. The dash was removed, the leather cut low down behind the windshield, then restreched and reglued. The dash is now perfect for the last year, the cut is not visible. I have no idea what that cost.
Definitely look at the dash leather closely prior to purchase. If wrinkled, any fix will be expensive.

Sactownmb

djw, MB CPO item 90 says the dealer should inspect the dash & door panels. Did your dealer know about the dash problem??

carlosinseattle

I bought a CPO W222 in 2022 and the dealer took care of everything; fuel filler door, ambient lighting, and a couple other small items. I'll bet your dealer will take care of it if you push it. And this problem should have been covered. Either the car shouldn't have been certified, or they need to make good.

djw_va

Thanks! I will give this a try this weekend because my dash bubbling is relatively minor. It was immediately visible when I got into the car but I pressed it down and it's not very noticeable anymore.

@Quadrobenz you're spot on with this being one of the designo leathers and @carlosinseattle you're spot on with the car being purchased in the south. Bunch of detectives over here.

vincheung

It's minor now but if it is showing signs of detaching it will only get worse over time, the towel method may work for now but if you can get the repair covered you should opt for it right away. Since the car was recently purchased, you should go directly back to the selling dealer to address it. Time isn't on your side both in terms of the dash damage and when it comes to support from the dealer.

badq45t

Call original dealer and tell them you driving down to have the fix it, period!!! No way you let this go, my 16' is perfect and the car came from Oklahoma so plenty of sun there and no issues and i have the desigo leather

mercedesbuff

Your best chance for resolution is with the selling dealer. The CPO warranty excludes most "cosmetic" items, since the CPO inspection and certification process is supposed to restore/replace anything that is cosmetically defective. The selling dealership either didn't conduct a properly thorough CPO inspection (not at all surprising), OR they did the inspection, noted the issue, and decided not to spend $,$$$'s fixing it themselves (shameful, but also not at all surprising).

I hope you're successful in getting the selling dealer to resolve their issue!

Quadrobenz

Before going back to the selling dealer is is important to know if the replacement dash is available. Confirm with your local dealer that quoted the $11k to fix it, that the dash is available and in stock in the MB parts network. If the dash is out of stock and no longer available, as was the case with our S65 Cabriolet, the selling dealer is under no obligation to fix it. Since it was CPO'd that dealer should have noted the unrepaired, defective dash leather.
If it is in stock the dealer should replace it. If unavailable, it will have to be repaired by a leather interior specialist and the coverage of that cost negotiated. The dealer does not do those kind of repairs.
As stated above, once a dash begins to bubble and wrinkle it will continue to get worse over time.

NbyNW

I wouldn’t do the damp towel thing or anything else that the selling dealer could use against you, saying you made it worse with a DIY repair.

And I like the idea of taking it back to the seller for the fix, drive it or hire a flatbed.