W213 AMG Discuss the W213 AMG - 2017 to present

$2,000+ repair rock chip in front intercooler/heat exchanger?

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Old Jan 10, 2019 | 09:36 AM
  #26  
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Originally Posted by pentium7
And your rates will go up more than the cost of the intercooler damage (over time). ANY claim for ANY insurance you better make sure it's worth it!

Zunsport Grills installed for my E63S I took the risk for a couple hundred miles until I was convinced performance from air intake from another forum member was not affected using them.
You're not kind of mad that Mercedes sells you a car that is known susceptible to pebbles puncturing holes in radiators and causing multi-thousands of dollars in repairs, then not covering the damage?

I mean, aren't pebbles common things on the road? I feel like this is the same as the car melting if it sees snow...
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Old Jan 10, 2019 | 09:39 AM
  #27  
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Originally Posted by MuffinFlavored
You're not kind of mad that Mercedes sells you a car that is known susceptible to pebbles puncturing holes in radiators and causing multi-thousands of dollars in repairs, then not covering the damage?

I mean, aren't pebbles common things on the road? I feel like this is the same as the car melting if it sees snow...
I think it's awful. I get that there will be design flaws in pretty much any product brought to market, but as you pointed out, this one has a considerable expense attached to it, when it seems like the solution is super cheap for MB to implement. Same with the BMW flaw Vic mentioned. Kinda ridiculous.
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Old Jan 10, 2019 | 10:02 AM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by MuffinFlavored
You're not kind of mad that Mercedes sells you a car that is known susceptible to pebbles puncturing holes in radiators and causing multi-thousands of dollars in repairs, then not covering the damage?

I mean, aren't pebbles common things on the road? I feel like this is the same as the car melting if it sees snow...
Mad no. Annoyed yes. However I have a 603HP that's actually 630-640HP "supercar" with massage seats etc. cheaper than the R8 I had and unlike the R8 at 1.25 / mile (lease) this E63S is 0.25 / mile. Also Audi Financial and Service sucks (service won't even repair a tire with a nail had to take to MB Dealer) Audi had a fatality in 2012 from dealer repaired tire now all Audi dealers are forbidden to repair tires.

Back to the topic I no longer fall in love with cars I lust them and "use" them I know I want out in 3 yrs or 30 months if there's a pull ahead. MB is the best about this MBFS is good MB reps with dealers can make customers happy. I didn't even tint my windows because I didn't want to spend money on the car but I did pay the $320-$340 whatever it was to get the Zunsport to avoid the headache took me way longer to install than most people because I use painters tape to make sure I didn't scratch the paint. While the grills look good it annoys me the S65 has the proper stock protective grills.

TL;DR I'm annoyed but not angry glad I did my research, also glad I read this forum to make sure I was able to get the best lease deal and find the best dealership to work with which made me have to ship it in. I'm in SFL and dealing with Autonation (Mafia) is unacceptable will never ever get a vehicle from them.
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Old Jan 10, 2019 | 10:04 AM
  #29  
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Originally Posted by Vic55
A member on the M5 boards hit a piece of wood that punctured his engine oil cooler... he drove for 90 seconds and that was probably 85 seconds too long. His engine was toast and BMW obviously denied any warranty coverage even though the oil cooler is so poorly locate underneath the front of the car. His auto insurance covered it like the OPs here. Road damage is comprehensive in nature even when the damage is due to poor engineering.
At first my insurance tried to push the claim for collision (which typically holds a $500-$1k deductible for most policyholders I’m assuming) compared to comprehensive (which I have as a $50 deductible which doesn’t inflate my rate too much at all)

They were trying to argue that I “collided” with a pebble off of the freeway... come on lol

When insurance meets physics...
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Old Jan 10, 2019 | 11:35 AM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by MuffinFlavored
Wait... are the Zunsport grills only for your bottom heat exchanger/intercooler? I don't see anything on the one in the middle right in front.
The photos are from before installing the Zunsport grills. I now have all three inserts.


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Old Jan 10, 2019 | 12:12 PM
  #31  
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My wife confirmed what I posted earlier, it’s a comprehensive claim (not collision) and added that there should be no rate hike for a comprehensive claim. There’s no at faultness like in the case of collision claims.

Again CA insurance laws my be different than other states. Also some insurance companies or their claims people may be better than others about correctly classifying and paying the claims.

Not really any different than a windshield claim. In fact, it takes more energy to get a pebble higher up to strike a windshield so you’d think radiator strikes would be more common than windshield strikes, though radiators may be more forgiving than glass when hit.
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Old Jan 10, 2019 | 05:11 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by honeybadger15


The photos are from before installing the Zunsport grills. I now have all three inserts.


They look awesome! Thank you for posting. Did you install them yourself? Can anybody comment on if they are hard to install?
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Old Jan 10, 2019 | 05:32 PM
  #33  
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Vendor posted the diy instructions on its website
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Old Jan 10, 2019 | 05:57 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by MuffinFlavored
They look awesome! Thank you for posting. Did you install them yourself? Can anybody comment on if they are hard to install?
super easy install, 10 minutes DIY they just clip on
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Old Jan 10, 2019 | 06:36 PM
  #35  
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Originally Posted by izzy63
super easy install, 10 minutes DIY they just clip on
Listen to this if you want to scratch the paint during installation. Says right in the instructions to use painter's tape also there are screws that must be applied in the center grille that go through the plastic. 10 minutes is nonsense until you just throw them in there with no regard to scratching.

That being said it isn't "difficult" at all very easy to do just do it carefully. The side grilles for the intercoolers those clip on but be careful I had bent them a little so they would grab and ended up little scratches on the inner plastic when pushing them in. Not on the paint though.
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Old Jan 10, 2019 | 06:41 PM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by E634Me
My wife confirmed what I posted earlier, it’s a comprehensive claim (not collision) and added that there should be no rate hike for a comprehensive claim. There’s no at faultness like in the case of collision claims.

Again CA insurance laws my be different than other states. Also some insurance companies or their claims people may be better than others about correctly classifying and paying the claims.

Not really any different than a windshield claim. In fact, it takes more energy to get a pebble higher up to strike a windshield so you’d think radiator strikes would be more common than windshield strikes, though radiators may be more forgiving than glass when hit.
I think you are right on this, makes sense and I edited my inaccurate post. Thanks for this information if they classify it like the windshield he's absolutely correct. I had a pebble in windshield last year (almost everything is last year now) and made Liberty Mutual (FL) put it in writing that repair wouldn't cause claim or insurance to go up or lose the "accident forgiveness nonsense".
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Old Jan 10, 2019 | 07:01 PM
  #37  
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Originally Posted by pentium7
Listen to this if you want to scratch the paint during installation. Says right in the instructions to use painter's tape also there are screws that must be applied in the center grille that go through the plastic. 10 minutes is nonsense until you just throw them in there with no regard to scratching.

That being said it isn't "difficult" at all very easy to do just do it carefully. The side grilles for the intercoolers those clip on but be careful I had bent them a little so they would grab and ended up little scratches on the inner plastic when pushing them in. Not on the paint though.
My guy, if you line it up correctly you wont scratch your paint, do you have butter fingers?
But sure use painters tape as a precaution
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Old Jan 10, 2019 | 08:11 PM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by MuffinFlavored
They look awesome! Thank you for posting. Did you install them yourself? Can anybody comment on if they are hard to install?
Yes, took about 10 minutes. I didn’t use painters tape but I have paint protection film.

Just take your time and be patient. The center grill was a little tricky because of its length and how it fits into that space.
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Old Jan 13, 2019 | 01:41 PM
  #39  
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Originally Posted by honeybadger15


The photos are from before installing the Zunsport grills. I now have all three inserts.


I appreciate the function but not a huge fan of the grill look. Is it possible to install them behind the plastic slats?
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Old Jan 13, 2019 | 01:50 PM
  #40  
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unlikely due to the design of it. you may as well buy some wire mesh yourself and cut into the shape and then zip-tie it, of course, you will have to remove the bumper first.
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Old Jan 13, 2019 | 03:12 PM
  #41  
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Originally Posted by rick_vor
I appreciate the function but not a huge fan of the grill look. Is it possible to install them behind the plastic slats?
You don’t actually see the grill much - it just blends in. I had to edit that picture so the grill was visible for the sake of showing it. Here’s the original:



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Old Jan 13, 2019 | 06:03 PM
  #42  
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Originally Posted by bobblehead
unlikely due to the design of it. you may as well buy some wire mesh yourself and cut into the shape and then zip-tie it, of course, you will have to remove the bumper first.
That kind of makes it a non-starter... lol

Originally Posted by honeybadger15

You don’t actually see the grill much - it just blends in. I had to edit that picture so the grill was visible for the sake of showing it. Here’s the original:

Much better without the editing but for me, I like how the horizontal slats in the lower air ducts tie in with the vertical and horizontal lines of the grill. I'm sure I'd be singing a different song if I lost one of the coolers to a rock...
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Old Jan 14, 2019 | 01:59 PM
  #43  
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Originally Posted by bobblehead
unlikely due to the design of it. you may as well buy some wire mesh yourself and cut into the shape and then zip-tie it, of course, you will have to remove the bumper first.
lol my tow truck driver was like "I can get you some chicken wire and we can zip tie this up no problem" and I kind of had to hold back the laugh. Like it's 100% a good idea but also kind of like... $120k foreign luxury sports vehicle with chicken wire + zip ties in the front?
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Old Jan 15, 2019 | 01:38 AM
  #44  
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Thanks for sharing I just bought a set.
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Old Jan 15, 2019 | 05:45 PM
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Update: the Geico adjuster went initially and issued a $1,900 estimate for the part + labor. I don't know if the dealer is trying to milk the insurance (probably) but they are requesting another $900 in labor because they had to take out the radiator or something?... Probably going to be close to a $3k repair bill when it is all said and done. My adjuster said he's going to go to the dealer and try to "negotiate", but... if I was stuck $3k on this repair, I'd be afraid to drive my Mercedes anywhere. I was under the impression that pebbles kind of fly around on the road/highway. I haven't had my car for over a week now lol.

Driving along the highway, hit a pebble, week long, $3k inconvenience. King of bad luck/karma or something.
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Old Jul 10, 2019 | 08:47 PM
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Originally Posted by CALBenzo
This happened to me a couple of months ago. It was $1900 for a new radiator (or whatever cooler is in the middle). I had pink coolant leak out onto my floor. It was not covered under warranty of course, but my SA was able to get MBrace to pay for half of it since the car was so new. They also threw in a free 2K differential fluid change, but it still cost me $900. I have the Zunsports grilles now, but have yet to install it.
I finally took my car in for the recall that added the plastic stone protector for the center radiator. I asked my SA if I could be reimbursed for my previous costs for replacing the radiator since this recall is essentially an admission that the design was bad. Lo and behold, MB warranty service is reimbursing me in full. Hence, for those of you that had to have the radiator replaced in the earlier models that did not have this stone protector, go get your money back!!

Last edited by CALBenzo; Jul 11, 2019 at 11:51 AM. Reason: Grammar
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Old Jul 10, 2019 | 09:11 PM
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These cars are designed with clean smooth German Autobahn in mind it seems. They neglect to consider the pot hole filled crappy roads we have here.
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Old Jul 10, 2019 | 09:18 PM
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Originally Posted by MuffinFlavored
Update: the Geico adjuster went initially and issued a $1,900 estimate for the part + labor. I don't know if the dealer is trying to milk the insurance (probably) but they are requesting another $900 in labor because they had to take out the radiator or something?... Probably going to be close to a $3k repair bill when it is all said and done. .
I have an extended warranty on one of my other vehicles and exactly is the reason I don't plan on taking it to the dealer for any repairs. Extended warranty gives the dealer an open cheque book to milk the money from the warranty company.
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Old Jul 11, 2019 | 02:01 PM
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Originally Posted by C2 Turbo
I have an extended warranty on one of my other vehicles and exactly is the reason I don't plan on taking it to the dealer for any repairs. Extended warranty gives the dealer an open cheque book to milk the money from the warranty company.
?? Your extended warranty is not through Mercedes?

That was one thing that I triple checked and verified, that my extended warranty is Mercedes not some third party.

Now that's not to say that a Mercedes dealer won't try to milk some $$ from Mercedes corporate here and there, but if they make a practice of it I would imagine it puts their dealership or service department in jeopardy.

Finally, as I've noted before, the repair for a rock striking and penetrating the radiator should be covered by insurance under the comprehensive portion of the policy, same as a windshield. It is a no-fault claim and should not affect rates.

If you it a stationary object on the road, that can be a collision claim and could result in an at-fault finding and rate increase. But moving objects are treated differently.

You can't strike a stationary rock and have it pierce the radiator unless it is a really big rock, and then you'll have other issues to deal with. A small pebble sized rock has to be moving in order to strike your radiator, same as a windshield. My wife is an insurance agent in California. She's explained this to me enough times now that I hope I have relayed it correctly.
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Old Jul 11, 2019 | 03:30 PM
  #50  
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Originally Posted by E634Me
?? Your extended warranty is not through Mercedes?

That was one thing that I triple checked and verified, that my extended warranty is Mercedes not some third party.

Now that's not to say that a Mercedes dealer won't try to milk some $$ from Mercedes corporate here and there, but if they make a practice of it I would imagine it puts their dealership or service department in jeopardy.

Finally, as I've noted before, the repair for a rock striking and penetrating the radiator should be covered by insurance under the comprehensive portion of the policy, same as a windshield. It is a no-fault claim and should not affect rates.

If you it a stationary object on the road, that can be a collision claim and could result in an at-fault finding and rate increase. But moving objects are treated differently.

You can't strike a stationary rock and have it pierce the radiator unless it is a really big rock, and then you'll have other issues to deal with. A small pebble sized rock has to be moving in order to strike your radiator, same as a windshield. My wife is an insurance agent in California. She's explained this to me enough times now that I hope I have relayed it correctly.
if my service advisor would have been knowledgeable enough to tell me this, instead of looking at me crazy when i was all of the sudden asked to shell out $3k, maybe i wouldn’t have told her what i really thought about her...
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