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  #1  
Old 12-21-2001, 02:32 PM
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500E spare wheel well - is dealer lying?

Yesterday, I purchased a '92 500E from a Los Angeles MB dealer. During an independent PPI, the mechanic noted that the previous owner must have backed over something, as the spare tire well was pushed inward and showed significant abrasion. He recommended I have the dealer's body shop repair the well and respray the bottom.

Well, when I took the car to the dealer (and got them to agree to fix a bunch of other things), my salesperson was told by their in-house mechanic that the 500E has a different wheel well than the 300E/400E and it was supposed to be like that. The plastic cover in the trunk does not lay flat over the spare, so I'm pretty sure the PPI mechanic is correct.

Can anyone verify that the dealer is inaccurate so that I can get them to fix this? Thanks in advance.

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  #2  
Old 12-21-2001, 02:34 PM
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Sniff...sniff...

Anyone smell fish?
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  #3  
Old 12-21-2001, 02:54 PM
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Yeah, I smell fish! Sure the wheel well's different- it's a little bigger since it holds a larger spare. And the plastic cover over it is 500E-specific; it's shorter to allow for the larger fuel tank.

Everything should fit together perfectly- that plastic cover lies perfectly flat. Dealer's absolutely wrong.
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  #4  
Old 12-21-2001, 06:42 PM
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Michael is 100% correct.

That cover should lay flat- no excuses!

:-) neil
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  #5  
Old 12-21-2001, 09:46 PM
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Me 3

Mine's completely flat.

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  #6  
Old 12-21-2001, 10:04 PM
roas
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Flat yet again. Somebody at the Dealer wanted you off there back.
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  #7  
Old 12-21-2001, 11:22 PM
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You're right. The technician who said this was probably thinking "this will fool the guy and we won't have to deal with him on this."

Thanks for the responses. I'll force them to fix it.
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  #8  
Old 12-22-2001, 02:09 PM
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Is it possible the cover for the spare in the car you purchased isn't the one that came with the car originally?
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  #9  
Old 12-22-2001, 02:55 PM
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There are 3 tabs on the plastic cover that fit into slots in the chassis; the 500E cover is 3-4 inches shorter than a 300/400E, so if it's the wrong cover it'll be real obvious
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  #10  
Old 12-22-2001, 05:53 PM
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Mine is perfectly flat - have it fixed or get a better price and fix it latter.
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  #11  
Old 12-23-2001, 08:04 AM
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The correct P/N for the cover is 124 693 45 33, FYI
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  #12  
Old 12-26-2001, 07:20 PM
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Dealer service advisor maintaining innocence

I took the car in to have a number of things done to make it right, one of which was to address the rear wheel well. My service advisor, who when I brought the car in was very sympathetic and gave me confidence this would be handled, called today to say that the shop foreman she spoke with assured her that the car is as it should be. Now, they're saying that my spare is a non-standard size. I argued and we agreed that tomorrow, I will go out there and we will straighten this out.

My PPI mechanic (Enrique) used to be the service manager for this dealership (Auto Stiegler) and is well-known by Los Angeles members of this forum. So I'm sure he is right when he says the spare tire well was compromised by the previous owner.

I'm sure I know this, but the '92 500E came with a full size spare, correct? I can't figure out why they are fighting me so much on this. All they have to do is hammer it out and possibly respray underneath.

More to come...
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  #13  
Old 12-26-2001, 07:43 PM
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Enrique is great. He also used to work at beverly hills Mercedes. If he says its not right then you can be rest assured it isn't.

The 500e should have a 16x8 spare that is full size just like the rest of the wheels.

I suggest you find another 1992 500e to compare it to and have the dealer see pics of everything in it.

That way there is no argument.

Alon

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