Mercedes owner goes to court over rust
Joseph Bellia, owner of a Mercedes M Class worth some €60,000, today filed a judicial protest against the marque's local agents Kinds after rust appeared on the bonnet, the four doors and the luggage compartment.
He argued that this should not happened on a car bought new from Malta in 2007.
He said that he had made several attempts to settle the issue amicably, but the company had not taken action to solve the matter.
He held the company responsible.
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42 Comments
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Joseph Buhagiar
Jan 6th, 01:32
I have a mercedes 190 20 years old. It slept out side for many years and it did not rust. Howevr I read the following; Rusting ML 320 Cdi new in 2007 on MB World. "Hello Chaps. You think you have problems. I have rust creep under the paintwork on the inside of the bonnet ( Hood ) Tailgate and rear nearside door. http://mbworld.org/forums/m-class-w164/333190-2010-ml350-pitting-corrosion-rusting-met
Joe Portelli
Aug 10th 2012, 12:35
One has to demonstrate the faulty 'goods' and as it is difficult to prove that the vehicle was not subjected to some extreme (sea water wash) , then one should check with other owners who have the same problems with 'Rust' . Alternatively, the Importer can also defend the product by demonstarting the other similar vehicle of the same age and wear (if any) that have no excessive rust.
I own one of these vehicles and it was registered in 1999 and rust is certainly no issue - so ther must be some reason that needs to be identified.
Emanuel Farrugia
Aug 10th 2012, 07:51
How come nobody's mentioning anything about the warranty ? If as one commentor stated, Mercedes have a " lifetime guarantee " then I believe Mr. Bellia should be covered for accumulation of Rust on his car.
If not, then he has an uphill struggle on his hands.
Malcolm Mifsud
Aug 10th 2012, 07:49
You should have taken this up with the mother company, Mr Bellia. Local agents are just here to dry your pockets and give you one hell of a time.
John Scerri
Aug 10th 2012, 07:42
Anyone knows of an honest auto dealer?
Start the treasure hunt.
DR EMMANUEL BEZZINA,MA,MAG.JUR.[EU Law],LL.D.,
Aug 9th 2012, 21:09
You will be surprised what can happen, dear friend............+ you will be even further surprised what abuses are taking place at most of these major car dealers..............no wonder thanks to the EU, one can obtain a much better deal in every way by getting one`s car from abroad. Shy away from local dealers - most of the time, they are a bunch of crooks.
oliver mallia
Aug 10th 2012, 16:45
The Malta standard authority cannot take action Dr? or perhaps the Consumer Department? Heee bil-haq, id-Dipartiment tal-konsumatur fuq xi bott pizzelli jaqla plejtu u jamel xi sena jtelak u jnizlek ghal xejn. Shame on them
Mario Busuttil
Aug 9th 2012, 17:53
Well done Mr Bellia,unfortunately this is not the first time that rust appears in Mercedes. My friend noticed it in 3 years time and immediately he sold it.This was also brought from the agent and not UK imports.
Nathalie Gilford
Aug 9th 2012, 17:32
Prosit Mr. Bellia, I have bought a new Megane convertable for 13K from Kinds and after 5 years the gearbox had to be changed.
I too had a dispute with Kinds Ltd as I felt that no new car would be needed a new gearbox just after only 5 years but unfortnately I am not in a good financial position to take the matter to court.
One decision I made for sure...... no more cars from KInds as their customer care is at ZERO level.
Joseph Vassallo, (Bugibba)
Aug 10th 2012, 02:51
@ Ms Gilford,
You should take a good look at www.renaultforums.co.uk (don't be shy to register for full access because the site is not intrusive and it is completely free) to see how many problems have been faced by Renault owners, especially dci-engine turbos, and many electrical problems including batches of thousands of ignition coils on petrol-engines.
I am happy to say that RenaultUK was in most cases persuaded to remedy the situation even on vehicles outside the manufacturer's warranty. Some remedial work would have cost customers thousands of pounds, but of course, Renault demands work from their dealerships at a fraction of what these charge their customers. Most dealerships do not want to do warranty work unless pressed to do so; instead they tell the customer that Renault refuses to settle for a variety of reasons.
Has this ever happened in Malta or does the company simply say "Sorry but you are out of warranty". Ask any dealership about the Renault (yellow) YTS scheme and they will swear they've never heard of it.
Under the scheme, all failed DCi turbos on cars up to six years old and with up to 100,000 MILES, were replaced at Renault's expense. This also included the replacement of all the oil-feed pipes (badly designed) and the weak intercoolers which were replaced with a reinforced one.
Visit the forum and you will be amazed.
Joseph Vassallo, (Bugibba)
Aug 10th 2012, 02:57
Ms Gilford, why register your complaint only with the dealership? Take it to Renault itself and don't let them fob you off. Look first and see how common your gearbox problem is and look for outcomes if there have been similar complaints. Bear in mind that gearbox problems can be driver-induced but some are inherently faulty. You need to read all about it.
A. Mifsud
Aug 9th 2012, 16:11
By the time the matter is resolved in court Mr. Bellia's Mercedes M class would have been reclassified as a classic car.
Gustav Svensson
Aug 9th 2012, 15:37
No rust on my Punto from 98 hehe.. In general its not the rust thats the problem in Malta..
vella m
Aug 9th 2012, 16:55
Fiat are the best,outer panels are all galvanised so no rust at all.
Franco Attard Trevisan
Aug 9th 2012, 15:31
I don't know if Mr Bellia did it already but I would have bypassed the company and contacted Mercedes directly... Mercedes have an impeccable reputation for standards and I'm pretty sure they would have somehow helped to sort out the issue (unless of course there is some negligence by the owner)
M Darmanin
Aug 9th 2012, 16:53
I agree, the man should knock on the right door.. I would contact directly Mercedes` headquarters and bypass the agent.
Tonio Bone
Aug 9th 2012, 21:31
Guys, Kind's would have referred the matter to the parent company. There is NO WAY Kind's can accept/refuse such a serious claim without having consulted the manufacturer.
Robert Calafato
Aug 9th 2012, 15:29
Just for the record, the last Hillman Imps were built in 1976 and were great little cars!
John Vella
Aug 9th 2012, 14:31
Mr Bellia, by the time your sentence comes before the judge, you will look like a laughing stock. The car will look so old, as if today you are complaining about a Hillman Imp. Good luck cause you will definitely need it.
Jimmy Magro
Aug 9th 2012, 14:08
Mercedes carry a lifetime guarantee on their body and maybe there is something else in the pudding.
Reuben D. Spiteri
Aug 9th 2012, 14:21
Lifetime? Really? That would be one heck of a confidence (or overconfidence) in one's own product.
Ms.D. Galea
Aug 9th 2012, 15:00
Re the lifetime guarantee, Mr Bellia should have asked whose ''lifetime ''was being considered, that of a butterly, his or a galapagos tortoise''s., before signing the contract.
Deo Catania
Aug 9th 2012, 15:59
Lifetime guarantee, as if no Mercedes ever rusted.
Joseph N. Attard
Aug 9th 2012, 14:07
The court will just look at the guarantee terms and act accordingly. My opinion is that that car agents should do everything possible to prevent such cases from going public, but it is imprudent to comment without knowing the full facts. Today, one never knows where any car is assembled. For example, most Japanese cars bought new locally are NOT manufactured in Japan, Swedish cars are NOTnecessarily assembled in Sweden, etc. The car buying public is often swayed by the glamorous ads and car magazines. A little pre research on the web might be an eye opener.
Peter Maughan
Aug 9th 2012, 13:59
I feel a bit like a record stuck in a groove but if Mr Bellia would llike his dispute resolved while his car is still running he should abandon thoughts of a remedy through the Courts and invite Mercedes to mediate through the Malta Mediation Centre in Valletta. This is not only vastly quicker, but enables him to determine the solution rather than a judge imposing one on him and it is hugely cheaper.
donald borg
Aug 9th 2012, 13:43
Bear in mind the guarantee is only for two years.Wish you best of luck . My opinion is that the local agents referred the matter to Mercedes Germany and the response was that the guarantee expired.
Reuben D. Spiteri
Aug 9th 2012, 14:20
IIRC the warranty against rust goes about 5-7 years, so if he did all the proper servicing it shouldn't happen. Also rust takes way more than that to make a really grand entrance if the car's cared for, which at a 60k price tag I'd assume he did.
Joseph Borg
Aug 9th 2012, 13:43
Thank God that, after 5 years, your Mercedes still runs with the state of the roads!
Carmel Camenzuli
Aug 9th 2012, 16:04
It's not going to be long when we will be driving our cars as if we are driving them on a biliard table ! isn't it that you wanted to say Mr borg ?
On a more positive way I would like to say well done Mr Belia for your courage !!!
fred sammut
Aug 9th 2012, 13:38
Well done & good luck
Hope that when you get a positive sentence the rust will save a bit of your car.... cause its gonna be a lonnnnnnnnnnnnng time waiting at the Law courts.....
vella m
Aug 9th 2012, 13:23
I admire people like Mr Bellia,well done.
Michael Borg
Aug 9th 2012, 13:21
and then you will get the tax rebate Muscat has promised !!!
Deo Catania
Aug 9th 2012, 13:40
X'ghandu x'jaqsam?
Reuben D. Spiteri
Aug 9th 2012, 14:17
@Deo
It has nothing to do with the issue. It's just a political fanatic rampaging around the topics. Ignore him and don't feed the troll.
Ian Mamo
Aug 9th 2012, 13:14
proset... well done!
Jackie Bartolo
Aug 9th 2012, 13:00
Well done, Dealers all over malta are ok till u buy the car, then after when S@!t happens u never find them.
Jay Oatmon
Aug 9th 2012, 12:57
I don't see this court case succeeding - how can the owner prove that his vehicle was not subjected to the action of some corrosive substance (an acid rain type of incident/ or vandalism)?
Joseph Vassallo, (Bugibba)
Aug 10th 2012, 03:02
... easy to discover under forensic inspection.
Dom.J. Bugejja
Aug 9th 2012, 12:30
I thought Fiats are/ were the worst for rust specially in the UK where the weather is very cold, dumpish and miserable, but i didn't expect to read about rust appearing on a Mercedes, must be a one of, maybe the gentleman would have been much better to invest in a straight forward Jimmy besides being much cheaper mine is very reliable, just a thought.
Mario Fenech
Aug 9th 2012, 14:01
Cold weather does not rust cars it is the salt used to melt the snow that corrodes,then rust happens
Joseph Vassallo, (Bugibba)
Aug 10th 2012, 03:05
@ Fenech: Salt is no longer used. It is grit now that is the flavour of the day. DO NOT DRIVE CLOSE BEHIND A GRITTER or your bonnet (hood) will be sand-blasted.
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