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.