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My Fire Opal Red Diary

15K views 40 replies 18 participants last post by  LeonardoDaBenz 
#1 ·
Hi All
Guess What?
I’m going to post this in diary format to chronologise (is that a word?) my experience, please feel free to comment.
September 2018
Bought car, absolutely gorgeous and immaculate. Very happy! But I was aware of Fire Opal Red paint problems and only bought it as it had an MB Tier1 Warranty.....
Summer 2019
Attended many car shows both MB and Classic. Received many complimentary comments re the colour, which TBH is lovely!
20th October 2019
Washed and shammy’d the car as usual, lovely.
30th October 2019
Walked around the car, noticed some tree sap spots on the boot, strange! I haven’t parked under any trees....gave it a wipe, oh dear, it’s not tree sap, it’s pin-marks. Took a closer look, some other panels affected and also vague “watermarks”....
Of course I knew what it was.........:frown:
Note. This happened in ten days!
More to follow.
TonyS
 
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#2 ·
31st October 2019
Rang MB Bristol to say my Fire Opal Red has gone bad. They said they’d be in touch.
1st November 2019
Got a call back from MB Bristol from their Bodyshop Repair man, explained what I had, the answer didn’t surprise me.....arranged an appointment for Monday 4th November.
Monday 4th November
Took the car in for inspection, with V5 and Service and Warranty details.
Next coming up....
TonyS
 
#40 ·
31st October 2019
Rang MB Bristol to say my Fire Opal Red has gone bad. They said they’d be in touch.
1st November 2019
Got a call back from MB Bristol from their Bodyshop Repair man, explained what I had, the answer didn’t surprise me.....arranged an appointment for Monday 4th November.
Monday 4th November
Took the car in for inspection, with V5 and Service and Warranty details.
Next coming up....
TonyS
My 05 slk 55 is fire opal/mars red... does this condition appear in this model year? My paint looks great, but while she's 18 1/2 years old I have only had her for 2 weeks...
 
#3 ·
The inspection
This was interesting, took about an hour.
He took a quick walk around the car and said every metal panel was affected which amazed me. But he took me around and showed me very, very tiny pin marks that I hadn’t spotted, I guess he’s used to it!
Took the car into the LED lighted area for pics and paint depth measurement, presumably to check it hadn’t been painted previously.
So, full respray hopefully.....but...l
Note 1
MB UK will only spray the metal panels as the plastic panels were sprayed in a different factory and aren’t affected (they say).
He has submitted a claim to MB Germany for Warranty Repair Approval. Apparently this can take up to six weeks. I’m pretty confident they’ll approve it but hey, who knows. TBH I don’t care as long as the plastic panels don’t react and the paint matches.
Now the bad news.
MB Bristol have twenty seven cars in front of mine to be done one at a time and each one takes a month, that’s over two years....
OOOOPS!
TonyS
 
#5 ·
Hi AD
Yes, twenty seven cars in front of me all for Fire Opal Red problems covering all models.
MB Bristol only has one body shop but is “Head Office” and draws in cars from all the local MB Sytner Dealerships, Gloucester, Weston Super Mare, Bath.
My advice, be very vigilant on a weekly basis!
TonyS
 
#25 ·
Can you actually feel the paint bubbles? They look like raised bumps from the pics you posted.
 
#8 ·
Sorry to hear Tony that your car is a part of the problem. Since every panel is affected of the car besides a respray did MB or the Dealer offer any other solution like a buy back find a car in a different color same features that you could trade for etc etc. or will you have to get a lawyer. I don,t know how it works over there would be interesting to hear how it works in you neck of the woods.
 
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#10 ·
Hi BH
No, apart from a respray they didn’t offer me anything and I didn’t expect them to.
I note (from your post? sorry can’t remember) that a Class Action has been launched in the USA this week re Fire Opal/Mars Red
This may have repercussions in Europe in time, who knows.
TBH I’m not too bothered, just want my car lovely again by whatever means,
I don’t think I’ll be taking on Daimler Benz on in the European Courts any time soon!
Best
TS
 
#9 ·
Some things you may not know know about Fire Opal Red Cars
1 What causes it?
I’ve been told three different stories
a) It’s a reaction between the primer and the undercoat.....not sure but I don’t think so.
b) It’s a reaction between the undercoat and the topcoat (colour). Maybe but not sure about that either.
c) It’s a reaction between the lacquer and UV light. My most recent diagnosis.
This seems to make sense as all my problems are on upper surfaces facing the sun, not on the sides of the car.
2 Should you buy a Fire Opal Red Car?
Yes, maybe, ...BUT....... and it’s a BIG but. Check it has a fully paid up Tier 1 Warranty from MB and hasn’t already been repainted by them.
3 The bubbles come up and go down according to temperature, hot weather smooth, cold weather bubbly! Amazing. But it explains why mines erupted when the cold Autumn weather arrived. Maybe I should just leave it till next summer, ha ha ha.
4 Will Mercedes Benz U.K. give it full respray?
No, I think not.
In the early days all cars were. They were chemically stripped and had a full respray from primer, base and top colour. Times have changed, presumably as a result of ongoing costs and liability.
When you take your car in for inspection they will only respray affected metal panels (or at least Sytners will and I expect this is the same now across all Dealerships). This has an interesting result. Do you take your car in early or after you’ve established all panels are affected? Having said that you can take it in, get it inspected and then take it home again for another day.
5 If the car doesn’t have a full MB Tier 1 Warranty, DONT BUY IT!
6 How do they fix it now? They rub it back to flat and then give it a coat of two pack primer to isolate the original paint from UV light. Then they paint the colour and apply gloss coat. I’m told they haven’t had any cars come back.....watch this space.
That’s it for now, I’m waiting to hear back from MB Germany re my Warranty claim.
More coming soon.
I do hope that this thread will be useful to current Fire Opal Red users and potential buyers.
TonyS
 
#15 ·
Yes! Thanks
Got that

BH
“I note (from your post? sorry can’t remember) that a Class Action has been launched in the USA this week re Fire Opal/Mars Red
This may have repercussions in Europe in time, who knows.
TBH I’m not too bothered, just want my car lovely again by whatever means,
I don’t think I’ll be taking on Daimler Benz on in the European Courts any time soon!”

TonyS
 
#18 ·
Sorry to read your car has fell foul of this problem Tony, but at least it sounds like it will be sorted for you, and hopefully before the 2 years you mentioned pass.

I certainly wouldn't want to be getting the car resprayed a different colour, as personally I think that it looks great on the SLK. Mind you I'm slightly biased in my opinion! :grin:
 
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#20 ·
Hi Botto
Unfortunately not I think. I believe it’s common to all FOR metal panels on all classes of cars painted in the same factory over all years.
If the ultraviolet light theory is correct I believe that it’s just a matter of time and exposure till it catches up with you. How long that might take I've no idea, maybe never?
It’s a dilemma isn’t it?
My advice for what it’s worth.
If you don’t have an MB Warranty take one out if you can, you’ll need a full, unbroken, main dealer service history and it’s not cheap, £1,700 per year for as long as it takes. Third party warranties generally cost around £900 but crucially will not cover paint problems.
If you can’t do that I’d seriously consider selling the car. I know it’s drastic but do you want to pay for a respray at some point in the future?
Of course you could get it wrapped, which I very seriously considered in Solarbeam Yellow equivalent. From a reputable company including door reveals etc. I was quoted £2,500. However they would have had to ”flat back” the existing bubbles at additional cost and I was worried that despite being protected from UV it may continue to bubble and thus put pimples in the wrap and then there was the cost of the wrap itself of course.
Or you can take a chance like I did (but I had an MB Warranty in my pocket). Although maybe I shouldn’t speak too soon and tempt fate as my Warranty claim has yet to be approved in Germany, five weeks and waiting....



Best
TonyS
 
#23 ·
Fire Opal Red - Further Research
I’ve done a pretty exhaustive internet search on this problem and haven’t found an answer as to the cause.
There are many, many threads on lots of MB and other Forums around the world but no answer!
Mercedes Benz is very tight lipped and the rest is conjecture.
Overall the UV cause seems to be the favourite but other than that, who knows, only Daimler Benz.
TonyS
 
#24 ·
Thank you for documenting this event. I am the third owner of my SLK. When I originally shopped for an SLK, I was hunting for a white SLK 350, but an awesome MARS RED 2012 SLK350 caught my eye at a great price. I bought it knowing the issues with the Red paint, but I did a thorough examination, and found no flaws. My thoughts at the time of purchase were, if there were problems with the red paint, the issues should be present on a 7 year old car. I am reading your post and now thinking, there is still potential for my paint to fail on me. I pray my vehicle avoids this issue, but I'm already aware that my resale value will be affected by this issue. Sucks for me, but I have grown fond of my SLK and so far it has been a happy marriage. My SLK is a daily driver and purrs like a kitten. Best of luck with your respray. IMHO, they should respray the whole vehicle when it is that extensive.
 
#27 ·
Hello everybody,
my 172 FOR is from 2012 and fortunately has no such damage to the paint.
The previous owner unfortunately did not care for the paint well. :frown:
I polished the paint in several stages this year and then provided the paint with a coating.
So i know every milimeter of paint on my vehicle. :zwinkern:

I wish all FOR Driver good Luck with the paint.

Greethings Alex



More you can see here : https://alex3000blog.wordpress.com/category/slk/
 
#28 ·
UPDATE - AT LAST!
i was hoping to hear back from MB before Christmas 2019 that my Warranty Claim has been approved, but no luck.
February 2020 Since I still hadn’t heard anything I rang MB only to be told that my claim had been approved in Germany and I was in the queue. Slightly disappointed that they hadn’t contacted me to tell me that.
March 2020 Lockdown!
July 2020 I rang for an update to be told I was third in the queue and could be in the body shop by October? Seemed strange but the boss wasn’t there. Progress at least.
11th September 2020 I received a phone call today from the body shop boss to say he had a cancellation for Monday (write-off) and would I like to take that slot, grabbed it with both hands! YAAAAAAAY! (Apparently I was scheduled for early 2021).
So, ten months on my car is going in for paint.
I’ll keep you all posted.
TonyS
 
#29 ·
UPDATE - AT LAST!
i was hoping to hear back from MB before Christmas 2019 that my Warranty Claim has been approved, but no luck.
February 2020 Since I still hadn’t heard anything I rang MB only to be told that my claim had been approved in Germany and I was in the queue. Slightly disappointed that they hadn’t contacted me to tell me that.
March 2020 Lockdown!
July 2020 I rang for an update to be told I was third in the queue and could be in the body shop by October? Seemed strange but the boss wasn’t there. Progress at least.
11th September 2020 I received a phone call today from the body shop boss to say he had a cancellation for Monday (write-off) and would I like to take that slot, grabbed it with both hands! YAAAAAAAY! (Apparently I was scheduled for early 2021).
So, ten months on my car is going in for paint.
I’ll keep you all posted.
TonyS
Good news! I sincerely hope this is the beginning of the end of your paint problems. :)
 
#37 ·
Looks superb!
My 2012 SLK200 in red has "pimples" on it's front wings. When it's clean and polished you wouldn't really notice, but under the fluorescent lighting of the garage quite visible. Also to the touch, it's as if they've sprayed over the top of a dust covered car. No paint peeling at all though.
My worries, is it the dreaded Fire Opal curse? I expect I have no recourse now from MB.
I did in my naivety buy the card as a trade purchase unseen at a good price. To be honest I didn't notice the paintwork as being defective, nor did anyone else. Only under closer inspection after reading about the Fire Opal issues did i see it. I can live with it as long as it doesn't get any worse, it's still a gorgeous looking car.
Does anyone know, what kind of percentage of Fire Opal cars were affected? Land vehicle Vehicle Car Convertible Personal luxury car
 
#38 ·
Looks superb!
My 2012 SLK200 in red has "pimples" on it's front wings. When it's clean and polished you wouldn't really notice, but under the fluorescent lighting of the garage quite visible. Also to the touch, it's as if they've sprayed over the top of a dust covered car. No paint peeling at all though.
My worries, is it the dreaded Fire Opal curse? I expect I have no recourse now from MB.
I did in my naivety buy the card as a trade purchase unseen at a good price. To be honest I didn't notice the paintwork as being defective, nor did anyone else. Only under closer inspection after reading about the Fire Opal issues did i see it. I can live with it as long as it doesn't get any worse, it's still a gorgeous looking car.
Does anyone know, what kind of percentage of Fire Opal cars were affected? View attachment 587376
Hi wp
Sorry to hear that, pimples are a classic sign of Fire Opal Red problems. Re peeling, it’s not so much the paint that peels but the lacquer coat and believe me it looks unsightly.
im no expert but I believe it will only get worse over time, the question is how long? After my initial symptoms it didn’t seem to get worse, but since apparently it’s related to ultraviolet light I think you may expect it to get worse in the summer.
MB will only help if you have a current MB Warranty, which requires a full MB service history.
i guess it’s up to you to decide if you can live with it or alternatively you pay for paintwork or you sell the car whilst the symptoms aren’t noticeable. Drastic I know but you have limited options I think.
Meantime if you love the car just enjoy it.
Best
TonyS
 
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