Lug Bolt Woes

As they say, time is fun when you're having flies, which is what I have been doing a lot of lately and thus not actively working on JC. That said, Jonny has not been neglected and spent the last week at Autohaus in Simon's good hands sorting the air conditioning system and transmission leaks.  There were, of course, a few additional items in need of attention as well, including the recalcitrant trunk lock and sourcing an extra key, thanks to Mike & Vince (the sellers).

Additionally, the paint and body gurus took a look and came back with what I thought was a very reasonable estimate thus far. We will see if the estimate grows marginally or exponentially once they start removing glass, cladding and headliner.

I received six good wheels from Malcolm (thanks again buddy) and had four of them repainted. They look good as new. The biggest P.I.A. this week has been trying to find the correct replacement lug bolts for the freshly painted rims. It turns out Mercedes-Benz just recently discontinued the original style lug bolts with the elongated shaft and crown before the threads. I ordered replacement lug bolts from OEMercedes out of Atlanta, but only after talking to their customer service guy on the phone. The gentleman gave me two part numbers, the first one being A1264000070, which he said was discontinued. He then said the replacement part number was A1240000770, so that's what I ordered. What I received was part number A0009904807, Mercedes-Benz "replacement" for the old style bolt. The replacement bolts will be recessed into the lug nut holes and will not be flush with the surface of the wheel like the original lug bolts. After trying unsuccessfully to contact OEMercedes on the phone I sent them and email:

You sent me the the wrong wheel bolts (20). You sent part number A000-990-48-07, which appears to be a substitute or replacement part number; however, they are incorrect for the car. The wheel bolts required have a long shank before the threads. If you cannot supply the correct wheel bolts please let me know. In either case the wheel bolts you sent will have to be returned as they are incorrect for the installation. The proper part number should be A-124-400-07-70.

OEMercedes:

The Long Shaft Lug Bolts are Discontinued from Mercedes Benz, and NOT recommended. Mercedes Benz Supercede the Lugs to the ones you received. The Long Shank Lug Bolts would break at the shaft. The only reason for the Long Shaft was for Cosmetic Reasons (so the top of the nut would be flush with the surface of the rim).

(On the surface and even with further review, this is total B.S.  Mercedes-Benz offered A1240000770 lug bolt as a replacement up until just a few weeks before. They do not break at the shaft unless they are incorrectly installed by some neanderthal with an air gun or a breaker bar. There are thousands of W/C126's and R-107's out there running around with their original long-shaft lug bolts with literally millions of miles on them that have not broken at the shaft.)

So I emailed them back:

Sadly, the “new” ones are not original to the car and do not look right as they are recessed into the wheel. The original bolts did not break. I can only assume later Mercedes-Benz bolts were of poorer quality and maybe those did break. If you cannot supply the correct bolts, which these are not, then I must return them and find the correct ones from an alternate source. Please provide me with the correct return information and shipping label so I can do so.

OEMercedes:

You can return the Bolts and we will refund you for the Part only. We are a Mercedes Benz Dealer. These are the correct Mercedes Benz Bolts for you vehicle, as any other Mercedes Benz dealer will tell you. You will not be able to buy the extended shaft bolts from another Mercedes Benz dealer. You may be able to find an after market Bolt, but i would not recommend them. When they break they are not easy to remove.

Me:

I find that you will not refund shipping in both directions unacceptable. This is the wrong bolt for the original wheels. Mercedes carried the correct bolt until very recently. Just because they substitute a different bolt than the original because they choose to no longer source or supply the correct bolt does not make it acceptable in appearance or service when restoring a car. It is simply the wrong part.

OEMercedes:

Silence......................

Now here's the thing, if they told me from the beginning that they were going to substitute bolt A0009904807 for A1240000770 and explained the difference and then I ordered the bolts I could see where they have a point in not refunding shipping, but since they substituted the "new replacement" bolt for the old without telling me then I think it is incumbent upon them to make it right. If they cannot supply the correct part, regardless of what MB says, then they have an obligation to me the customer to accept the bolts back and refund all monies spent. I cannot accept the bolts because they do not look right, regardless of what some bean counter at corporate thinks. This battle will continue until I am ultimately victorious! Oorah!

On a more positive note, the correct replacement wheel center caps came from Pelican Parts today. At least somebody on-line can get it right the first time.

I keep meaning to sit down and list all the things we've done thus far to bring JC back up to speed, but work get in the way and time slips away, not to mention all the time taken up correcting what I can only describe as Cyber Induced Errors.

Thought for the week: If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there.

Hals und Beinbruch!