Mercedes E class MOT failure <sob>

Hyburnate · 19 Dec 2023 at 23:07

Mines a 59 plate... I'm not that concerned if Mercedes say they'll sort it.

I probably won't keep it forever but it's more plugging a gap as a daily at the mo!

footman · 19 Dec 2023 at 23:58

Hyburnate said:
Mines a 59 plate... I'm not that concerned if Mercedes say they'll sort it.

I probably won't keep it forever but it's more plugging a gap as a daily at the mo!

I'm less concerned now about Mercedes sorting it out than I was this morning but I would like to get an independent opinion about the state of the subframe before I take it to the dealership.

dvinell · 20 Dec 2023 at 00:27

If a pressed steel subframe has a hole in it, it will have rusted from the inside out, and won't be anywhere near as strong as it was originally.

MadMan-JaMeS · 20 Dec 2023 at 11:04

Hyburnate said:
Mines a 59 plate... I'm not that concerned if Mercedes say they'll sort it.

I probably won't keep it forever but it's more plugging a gap as a daily at the mo!

MY E350 is a 59 plate. Its a C207 like your the Cabriolet version. so yes it is the same. Exactly the same car as mine probably the same OM642 Engine too.

They did mine no problem, but like i said they did tell me it was only cos it was serviced with Mercedes before.........But they probably said that to make themselves look good.

Hyburnate · 20 Dec 2023 at 11:19

MadMan-JaMeS said:
MY E350 is a 59 plate. Its a C207 like your the Cabriolet version. so yes it is the same. Exactly the same car as mine probably the same OM642 Engine too.

They did mine no problem, but like i said they did tell me it was only cos it was serviced with Mercedes before.........But they probably said that to make themselves look good.

Oh goodie

I'll get it up on my mates lift and have a poke around!

adam cool dude · 20 Dec 2023 at 11:20

I thought Mercedes Benz was meant to be a premium car brand but has Mazda levels of rust on their cars. Not a good showing really.

footman · 20 Dec 2023 at 11:55

adam cool dude said:
I thought Mercedes Benz was meant to be a premium car brand but has Mazda levels of rust on their cars. Not a good showing really.

They have cut corners with this and it's bitten them on the backside as far as reputation goes.
I'm off now to get an independent inspection before I throw myself at the mercy of Mercedes Basingstoke

footman · 20 Dec 2023 at 13:06

Got the result I wanted without having to grovel to the Merc dealer, took the car to the people who look after our motorhome in Camberley. Their engineer had a good look underneath and pronounced it to be a small and easy weld repair, had a look around and said everything else seemed fine. A couple of hours work, £200 and he said he'll get it MOT'd as well.
Interestingly, he said that MOT engineers would not allow by law a dangerous vehicle to be driven away from the test site.

tom_e · 20 Dec 2023 at 13:30

footman said:
Interestingly, he said that MOT engineers would not allow by law a dangerous vehicle to be driven away from the test site.

Pretty sure MOT testers have no power to stop you leaving with your car.

jpaul · 20 Dec 2023 at 13:30

you looked at subframe too ? - wouldn't you take it to Mercedes, nonetheless, even if they suggest you are crying wolf.
(I had an ageing rear trailing arm bush shift on a bmw which was not fun)

footman · 20 Dec 2023 at 13:54

jpaul said:
you looked at subframe too ? - wouldn't you take it to Mercedes, nonetheless, even if they suggest you are crying wolf.
(I had an ageing rear trailing arm bush shift on a bmw which was not fun)

Yes, following further advice from our independent Merc engineer I am going to take it back to Mercedes Basingstoke. If I get an independent repair then they will refuse to carry out any goodwill work should other problems occur further down the line.

JonRGV250 · 29 Dec 2023 at 17:41

@footman, did you get any further with this?

Starting to see quite a lot of them now.
Another one I failed on it's MOT today..

JonRGV250 · 29 Dec 2023 at 17:42

tom_e said:
Pretty sure MOT testers have no power to stop you leaving with your car.

We have zero powers to stop people taking away unroadworthy cars, we can only advise against it.

footman · 29 Dec 2023 at 17:53

@JonRGV250 I'm taking it into Mercedes Farnborough next Tuesday and I'll try to avoid flinging myself on the floor sobbing

.
Seriously, I've been doing a lot of reading about this issue on various UK Merc forums so I'll be very softly softly in my approach.
I'll keep you posted, it could go either way.

JonRGV250 · 29 Dec 2023 at 17:57

Best of luck, but I'm fairly sure they'll sort it for you.
Fingers crossed

bobuk · 30 Dec 2023 at 10:06

footman said:
Interestingly, he said that MOT engineers would not allow by law a dangerous vehicle to be driven away from the test site.Not true

Not true

footman · 30 Dec 2023 at 11:01

bobuk said:
Not true

Yep, that's been confirmed by the KwikFit branch manager where the MOT was done.

footman · 2 Jan 2024 at 15:22

JonRGV250 said:
Best of luck, but I'm fairly sure they'll sort it for you.
Fingers crossed

Took the car into Mercedes Farnborough today who carried out a thorough inspection and provided a nice video. Without any prompting by me they said they would be contacting Mercedes Germany immediately and I should hear within 48 hours.
He also said that they have approved all previous submissions bar one. Interesting that are bypassing MB UK. In the meantime I am having the subframe welded in order to pass the MOT.
So it's still fingers crossed but I'm slightly more optimistic.

JonRGV250 · 2 Jan 2024 at 15:34

Awesome news, I didn’t think you’d have any problems getting it done (providing they do).
The only downside is they’ll give you a brand new courtesy car for a few days that you’ll have to eventually give back

Every one I’ve failed on MOT has been replaced + god knows how many I saw replaced when I worked at Merc.

MadMan-JaMeS · 3 Jan 2024 at 11:07

footman said:
Took the car into Mercedes Farnborough today who carried out a thorough inspection and provided a nice video. Without any prompting by me they said they would be contacting Mercedes Germany immediately and I should hear within 48 hours.
He also said that they have approved all previous submissions bar one. Interesting that are bypassing MB UK. In the meantime I am having the subframe welded in order to pass the MOT.
So it's still fingers crossed but I'm slightly more optimistic.

When is the MOT ?

I would be careful welding it, and wait till MB replace it if you can.

Never know they might try and wriggle out of it, if you have it welded saying it voids the warranty or some rubbish.