Nice, my car was in an accident before I bought it

fields5069

Nothing major, but the accident repairer phoned me to say that there is a bad paint job on the passenger side bumper and going in to the wing. I must say I didn't notice. I bought it from a Merc main dealer, 15 months old, very low mileage, no mention of previous repairs and they had sold the car when new.

It's nearly 9 months since I bought it so there's probably no recourse, like a better paint job at least, so ho hum. Now it's been pointed out, the parking sensors have been painted over, one is blistering a bit and it looks pretty bad close up. Also the bumper and wing are a little out of line. Stuff I wouldn't have noticed but the repairer was just about ready to reject the car unless I sent some photos to the Merc dealer.

The current repairers are dubious about what they'll find when they take the bumper off, nice. Obviously they're not paid by the insurers to fix someone else's bad job. Doh.

Hattigol

Get in touch with the Merc dealer straight away and tell them. If they have decent customer service, they should make amends.

Have you checked if it was Cat registered? My guess is that it isn't otherwise Merc wouldn't have sold it. That said, if it's a poor job, Merc should have spotted it anyway.

MattBanshee

Well, at least your Merc came with the brake fluid hose properly connected, so the brakes didn't fail after 375 miles.

fields5069

Hattigol said:

Get in touch with the Merc dealer straight away and tell them. If they have decent customer service, they should make amends.

Have you checked if it was Cat registered? My guess is that it isn't otherwise Merc wouldn't have sold it. That said, if it's a poor job, Merc should have spotted it anyway.

Yes I alerted "my guy" at the Merc dealer, with the photos which the repairer took. The repairer is afraid Merc will blame the shoddy work on them, let's see what happens. To be honest I don't have an A1 feeling about the dealer - seems their PDI process leaves a bit to be desired.

fields5069

MattBanshee said:

Well, at least your Merc came with the brake fluid hose properly connected, so the brakes didn't fail after 375 miles.

This is always a plus!

simonk

You’d be amazed how many brand new, pre registration cars end up having repairs on them (I’ve done plenty over the years) they get damaged on the transporters, being driven around the compound by some heavy footed yoof etc etc The owner of said brand new vehicle will not be notified their shiny new car has already had a prang.
Its hardly surprising the dealer neglected to tell you there was a previous repair on it, they probably had no idea in the first place, and likely wouldn’t care if they did. It’s the motor trade... a shady place if there ever was one.

Strat_a_tat_tat

fields5069 said:

Hattigol said:

Get in touch with the Merc dealer straight away and tell them. If they have decent customer service, they should make amends.

Have you checked if it was Cat registered? My guess is that it isn't otherwise Merc wouldn't have sold it. That said, if it's a poor job, Merc should have spotted it anyway.

Yes I alerted "my guy" at the Merc dealer, with the photos which the repairer took. The repairer is afraid Merc will blame the shoddy work on them, let's see what happens. To be honest I don't have an A1 feeling about the dealer - seems their PDI process leaves a bit to be desired.

 Any chance you can say who the dealer is, please? If you don't want to put it here - can you send me a private message?  (I'm looking at second hand Mercs right now).  Thanks.

fields5069

Strat_a_tat_tat said:

fields5069 said:

Hattigol said:

Get in touch with the Merc dealer straight away and tell them. If they have decent customer service, they should make amends.

Have you checked if it was Cat registered? My guess is that it isn't otherwise Merc wouldn't have sold it. That said, if it's a poor job, Merc should have spotted it anyway.

Yes I alerted "my guy" at the Merc dealer, with the photos which the repairer took. The repairer is afraid Merc will blame the shoddy work on them, let's see what happens. To be honest I don't have an A1 feeling about the dealer - seems their PDI process leaves a bit to be desired.

 Any chance you can say who the dealer is, please? If you don't want to put it here - can you send me a private message?  (I'm looking at second hand Mercs right now).  Thanks.

PM'ed. To be fair they haven't answered yet, and if the previous owner didn't go through insurance for the fix then I guess there's no reason they would know anything about it.

m_c

Given the repaired area, it's very likely been a quick touch up of a scuffed bumper/wing.

As it's obviously been acceptable until now, I'm not really sure what the dealer has to do. It sounds more like your current repairer has neglected to look at the car properly when quoting the repair, and is now looking for excuses to avoid losing money on the job.
Ultimately it's up to the repairer to restore the vehicle to the condition it was before the damage, and if that means having to re-repair another repair, they should of allowed for that.


Just remember when you do finally collect it, the only good repair is one that you can't see. I've not had to inspect any repairs for a while, but it amazes me some of the things people don't notice, and what bodyshops think they can get away with.

simonk

m_c said:

Given the repaired area, it's very likely been a quick touch up of a scuffed bumper/wing.

...

Doesn’t sound like it... given the sensor was painted over I’d say it was a spray repair. Just not a very good one. Although it can’t have been too bad or it would have been identified at point of sale.

ArchtopDave

If you bought it off a main dealership, did it not come with a 12 month guarantee?

fields5069

m_c said:

Given the repaired area, it's very likely been a quick touch up of a scuffed bumper/wing.

As it's obviously been acceptable until now, I'm not really sure what the dealer has to do. It sounds more like your current repairer has neglected to look at the car properly when quoting the repair, and is now looking for excuses to avoid losing money on the job.
Ultimately it's up to the repairer to restore the vehicle to the condition it was before the damage, and if that means having to re-repair another repair, they should of allowed for that.


Just remember when you do finally collect it, the only good repair is one that you can't see. I've not had to inspect any repairs for a while, but it amazes me some of the things people don't notice, and what bodyshops think they can get away with.

The repairer contacted me as they were inspecting the car before being booked in. It's an insurance job so they're not doing anything with that side of the bumper at all,they just wanted to make me aware. It will not need restoring to its previous state, since the accident didn't affect it at all.

I will definitely be inspecting the current repair quite closely. 

fields5069

ArchtopDave said:

If you bought it off a main dealership, did it not come with a 12 month guarantee?

Yes indeed, but I guess they could say it doesn't really need a repair.