# Is this normal?



## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

Just had a brand new set of alloys fitted today at a main dealership.

Checked the face and edges to make sure no damage when tyres were fitted and wheels put back on but just noticed this...










Bolts are filthy I know and waterspots on the faces (not sealed them yet) but that doesn't look right to me? The car has done less than 2 miles since they were fitted. Would you expect the paint finish to be like that?


----------



## Ultra (Feb 25, 2006)

So what was you expecting, highly polished stainless steel ? it's a merc not a koenigsegg :lol:


----------



## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

Ultra Detail said:


> So what was you expecting, highly polished stainless steel ? it's a merc not a koenigsegg :lol:


I would be expecting factory finish.

I bought the car at 12 months so don't know from personal experience as to whether this is or not but thanks for your response


----------



## DuncanB (Oct 5, 2009)

It's the expected finish. They were the same on my E Class.


----------



## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

DuncanB said:


> It's the expected finish. They were the same on my E Class.


Thanks Duncan, just looked like end of the bolt holes hadn't been painted/finished properly and it's something I'd never have bothered to check before now so had no idea 

Going to clean them and seal with C5 as soon as I can get the wheels off.


----------



## Ultra (Feb 25, 2006)

MDC250 said:


> I would be expecting factory finish.
> 
> I bought the car at 12 months so don't know from personal experience as to whether this is or not but thanks for your response


No offence meant by my response, but if it was a bmw i would not be surprised to see rusty wheel bolts.


----------



## Phillloyd (May 27, 2013)

I've got brand new bmw alloys and they've not even sprayed behind the spokes!!!


----------



## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

Ultra Detail said:


> No offence meant by my response, but if it was a bmw i would not be surprised to see rusty wheel bolts.


Bolts have already been replaced once due to rust 

Asking whether getting paint evenly applied at the end of the bolt hole was pretty stupid of me in retrospect.


----------



## Ultra (Feb 25, 2006)

Phillloyd said:


> I've got brand new bmw alloys and they've not even sprayed behind the spokes!!!


That's normal on new and refurbed alloy's


----------



## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

Phillloyd said:


> I've got brand new bmw alloys and they've not even sprayed behind the spokes!!!


Good job Manufacturers don't charge through the nose isn't it?

I had Mfr contrib on these but invoice price was over £2k


----------



## Ultra (Feb 25, 2006)

MDC250 said:


> Bolts have already been replaced once due to rust
> 
> Asking whether getting paint evenly applied at the end of the bolt hole was pretty stupid of me in retrospect.


I use a zince based primer ( bilt hamber ) topped with a stone guard ( hycote 
) spray paint for these little details on my own chariot :thumb:


----------



## Nigglyb (Mar 28, 2015)

Ultra Detail said:


> No offence meant by my response, but if it was a bmw i would not be surprised to see rusty wheel bolts.


I know what you're saying!
I just had £3k worth of replacement alloys put on under warranty & they used the same scabby bolts & even the same cheap plastic centre caps complete with scratches where they'd taken them off :wall:
The service manager did a pretty good impersonation of speechless when I pointed it out to him although he probably gave the instruction to do it in the first place hoping I wouldn't notice. Amateur....


----------



## Ultra (Feb 25, 2006)

Nigglyb said:


> I know what you're saying!
> I just had £3k worth of replacement alloys put on under warranty & they used the same scabby bolts & even the same cheap plastic centre caps complete with scratches where they'd taken them off :wall:
> The service manager did a pretty good impersonation of speechless when I pointed it out to him although he probably gave the instruction to do it in the first place hoping I wouldn't notice. Amateur....


It's easy to forget that dealerships do not have the the same high standards as the detailing community, i said elsewhere today, it creates work for detailers so they can crack on employing low rent car cleaners.


----------



## Nigglyb (Mar 28, 2015)

Ultra Detail said:


> It's easy to forget that dealerships do not have the the same high standards as the detailing community, i said elsewhere today, it creates work for detailers so they can crack on employing low rent car cleaners.


Surely it's nothing to do with the standards of the detailing community? It's to do with them being a supposedly prestige brand with prices to reflect & outputting a product fit for the image. We're not talking a street corner Arfur Daley in sheepskin coat here


----------



## Sicskate (Oct 3, 2012)

I'm not sure if this is common knowledge, but dealerships are not owned by the car manufacture, they are franchise. 

Eg, my landlord has a pretty penny, he also owns the local Peugeot and VW dealerships. 

The same way McDonald's isn't owned by McDonald's.

So, I'd assume a dealership couldn't give a toss what the Mercedes standard is. 

I work at a ford direct reconditioning centre, it isn't owned by ford, but luckily our standards are a lot higher than some robot in a factory.


----------



## Nigglyb (Mar 28, 2015)

Sicskate said:


> I'm not sure if this is common knowledge, but dealerships are not owned by the car manufacture, they are franchise.
> 
> Eg, my landlord has a pretty penny, he also owns the local Peugeot and VW dealerships.
> 
> ...


I understand dealerships aren't actually owned by the manufacturer but can they not claim back all expenses for a warranty claim? The dealership that changed my alloys wasn't even the one where I bought the car. I'd have thought just adding new bolts & caps to an already huge cost just so they could output some decent workmanship wouldn't be too much trouble & bolster their own reputation into the bargain as well


----------



## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

I originally went to the dealer to see if there was any goodwill on the centre caps as they were in a shocking state and I'm tight .

Merc said no but here's a healthy contribution towards replacement wheels, no brainer really.

Dealer to be fair has been sound and can't really grumble at Merc just a little surprised at what seems to be a standard finish on box fresh wheels.


----------



## Rayaan (Jun 1, 2014)

Yes that is what happens on Merc bolts. They seem to be really soft and it was the same on my c class. They rusted so I used to paint them with hammerite lmao. 

You'll get this MDC250 haha ->> my Lexus has stainless steel lug nuts from factory. Can't see why merc can't do it  hahahah


----------



## Sicskate (Oct 3, 2012)

Yeah, they may have charged for a set of bolts and shiny new caps, but they may have not bothered in order to make/save a few quid. It's just the same as most shops, sellers and companies, if they can make money by not bothering, then they won't. 

Either way, buy a new set of shiny wheel bolt covers from eBay


----------



## Ultra (Feb 25, 2006)

Nigglyb said:


> Surely it's nothing to do with the standards of the detailing community? It's to do with them being a supposedly prestige brand with prices to reflect & outputting a product fit for the image. We're not talking a street corner Arfur Daley in sheepskin coat here


Most dealerships employ the cheapest staff in a effort to save money and have standards that are ok for jo public and lets be honest the majority would'nt know a paint defect from a donkey's ear hole, the sheepskin coat has been traded in for a dapper outfit and some slick banter.


----------



## Nigglyb (Mar 28, 2015)

Ultra Detail said:


> Most dealerships employ the cheapest staff in a effort to save money and have standards that are ok for jo public and lets be honest the majority would'nt know a paint defect from a donkey's ear hole, the sheepskin coat has been traded in for a dapper outfit and some slick banter.


I did notice that actually. This was my first venture into buying a car from a main dealer, all be it an 11 month old "approved" one. I really set my expectations high but the salesman was exactly the same as in my usual back street garage purchases. The only real difference was he had polished his shoes :lol:


----------



## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

So I'll get a chance to do a make stop protection detail on the wheels today.

Fallout remover will colour change the wheel weights, anything I can do to stop this? Alternatively once I've used fallout any suggestion on how to clean the weights up without affecting what they are supposed to do?


----------



## Mugwump (Feb 17, 2008)

Sicskate said:


> I'm not sure if this is common knowledge, but dealerships are not owned by the car manufacture, they are franchise.
> 
> Eg, my landlord has a pretty penny, he also owns the local Peugeot and VW dealerships.


Actually, some dealerships are manufacturer owned  Following from your reference to Peugeot; dealerships branded 'Robins & Day' are wholly owned by Peugeot.

I know that Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Ford and Renault also own some of their dealerships. I expect there are others too.



MDC250 said:


> I would be expecting factory finish.


I think it is perhaps a little much to expect a factory finish, but I agree the finish should be as near as possible to it - I would be disappointed to find the finish like you have near the wheel nuts (although achieving a perfect finish in such an inaccessible area is not as easy as on the face of the wheelrim.


----------

