I'd start by seeing your dealer and showing them what it looks like and see what they say MBUSA will do. The riveted fix is superior to welding...that's why it is an upgrade. The original design is inherintly poor...

The thing I have heard is that MBUSA is much more likely to chip in for the repairs if it actually fails instead of having it brought to their attention that it is about to fail...so this may actually work to your disadvantage...

The replacement part can be ordered at any dealer and any good body shop ought to be able to replace them. There is a published procedure on the WIS which gives a step-by-step instruction for the rivet replacement method.

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Marty D.

2013 C300 4Matic
1984 BMW 733i
2013 Lincoln MKz