Tiny blisters on roof

[RFT]

No MB dealer can give you that assurance, it's completely out of their control I'm afraid.

 

[Carol]

He has told me he has raised the issue with MB Germany technical dept , So l will wait until l get reply before giving go ahead for new roof

 

[Steve B]

I waited for winter and combined it with a service (1st one, just not doing the mileage at the moment), so didn't miss it. We didn't even take a free courtesy car and that worked out fine. I would get it done, surely West-failure must have got the hang of fibreglass construction by now, they have had enough goes at it.

 

[Carol]

Like it West failure

 

[RFT]

I wouldn't be suprised if Westfalia buy the roof in.

 

[Jts49]

Got my MP back on Thursday, new roof on. Excellent service from MB Northampton, took just over a week and looks to be a good job. I could see the blisters were no more and I tried the roof out, up and down perfectly. I will give it another inspection this weekend as it was just a walk around on the day. As for the response from customer services, its just wrong, MB are replacing roofs under warranty as its a manufacturing defect. Is there another garage you could try, probably a bit of a drive but start again.

Hi Steve, I am looking to take mine to MB Northampton. how long did it take from first contact to be being called forward for replacemen?

 

[Steve B]

Hi Steve, I am looking to take mine to MB Northampton. how long did it take from first contact to be being called forward for replacemen?

The timing was a bit protracted but down to me, not MB Northampton, and through last year. Initially it took a couple of weeks to approve the work, no hassle just took the pics and it was approved. Then we had lockdown, eased lockdown, then more restrictions and we did want to use it so I delayed. Our service came up in January so I asked for it to be done along side this, which they did, and it was two weeks from the booking to getting the work started. I think they had the or a roof in, and I estimate it was a couple of months from approval to being able to fit it if I had done it last summer. MB Northampton were great, the work was good, and they had already replaced one roof so knew what they were doing.

 

[Jts49]

That’s great thanks Steve, my service is due in June I will contact MB Northampton to try and align the works with my next service. Hopefully I will get a similar experience to the one you had.

 

[Paul Cardiff]

The dreaded blisters have returned! And this time much worse than before. Another visit to MB Cardiff tomorrow!! I am convinced it is due to the very cold weather as I’m sure they were not there last week!

 

[Carol]

My blisters were always noticed after the frosts , l am waiting for dealership to come back with a reply from technical dept at MB , as MB head office at Milton Keynes denied there was a problem with manufacturing process of roofs ,despite me now requiring a 3 rd roof . I know another owner who has raised a complaint . Perhaps we all need to do this , as once out of 3 yr warranty they won’t have to replace

 

[Steve B]

It'll take some time to find out but my MP is now undercover so shouldn't get the heavy winter frosts. The issue is a reference to compare against, if no blisters appear - would that outcome have happened anyway?

 

[Grand Tourismo]

My blisters were always noticed after the frosts , l am waiting for dealership to come back with a reply from technical dept at MB , as MB head office at Milton Keynes denied there was a problem with manufacturing process of roofs ,despite me now requiring a 3 rd roof . I know another owner who has raised a complaint . Perhaps we all need to do this , as once out of 3 yr warranty they won’t have to replace

Hi Carol, Not quite sure where you would stand legally after warranty expires as I am no expert, but, if there is a known fault with your vehicle and the dealer has had to replace the roof three times already, I really doubt they would have a strong argument to dodge future warranty claims within a reasonable timeframe...what would be deemed reasonable is another issue, probably one year after the final roof was replaced as a minimum, maybe two years given minimum product warranty times in Germany are two years.
It might be worth asking for a letter or email from your MB dealer warranting the replacement work, given the three attempts they have made to correct the issue this is the least they could offer.

 

[Epigram]

IMO this is now a matter for the Motor Industry Ombudsma to investigate and provide a ruling that any repair/ replacement that MB undertakes is effective and fit for purpose for a reasonable time Irrespective of the original warranty period which would have started from when the vehicle was supplied.
Checking on this forum and on Facebook there is the same old story of roofs being replaced and problems recurring,
Continental winters and frosts are harsher than in UK. therefore you would expect there would be a problem with EU Marco Polos but I am not aware of any.
Unfortunately the current cold weather might bring more blister to light.

 

[Paul Cardiff]

IMO this is now a matter for the Motor Industry Ombudsma to investigate and provide a ruling that any repair/ replacement that MB undertakes is effective and fit for purpose for a reasonable time Irrespective of the original warranty period which would have started from when the vehicle was supplied.
Checking on this forum and on Facebook there is the same old story of roofs being replaced and problems recurring,
Continental winters and frosts are harsher than in UK. therefore you would expect there would be a problem with EU Marco Polos but I am not aware of any.
Unfortunately the current cold weather might bring more blister to light.

Totally agree with you, mine has just been back for investigation as was worse than ever and the service manager agreed and asked me do I think it is connected with the cold weather! So looks like a second roof for me with 6 months of warranty left! Worrying if it happens again.

 

[Epigram]

Sorry to hear you have the problem again, Paul.
All the more reason to refer to the Motor Industry Ombudsman to ensure that the warranty clock starts ticking from the date of the repair not when the vehicle was purchased.

 

[Carol]

Hi Carol, Not quite sure where you would stand legally after warranty expires as I am no expert, but, if there is a known fault with your vehicle and the dealer has had to replace the roof three times already, I really doubt they would have a strong argument to dodge future warranty claims within a reasonable timeframe...what would be deemed reasonable is another issue, probably one year after the final roof was replaced as a minimum, maybe two years given minimum product warranty times in Germany are two years.
It might be worth asking for a letter or email from your MB dealer warranting the replacement work, given the three attempts they have made to correct the issue this is the least they could offer.

This time,they saw my roof a few weeks before my warranty ended, my worry is will the replacement also get blisters

 

[Grand Tourismo]

This time,they saw my roof a few weeks before my warranty ended, my worry is will the replacement also get blisters

Just ask them for a little mail explaining what the warranty period of the work carried out is? most reputable service providers will guarantee the work they have carried out

 

[Carol]

Will do

 

[askho]

This time,they saw my roof a few weeks before my warranty ended, my worry is will the replacement also get blisters

That's why I am still trying to decide whether it's worth my while to report the returned blisters on my second roof. There is no guarantee that it won't happen again. In fact anecdotal evidence shows that they haven't solved the basic problem and blisters will appear again sooner or later. How many roofs are you prepared to go through.
At least my roof fits well. I have read some roofs came back not fitting properly. It's just too much hassle.

 

[Grand Tourismo]

It would be interesting to get a report from a paint/fibreglass specialist to further understand what causes the blisters...is it a paint issue caused by a reaction/application failure or maybe frost as others have said...