Following my fellow 'Black Series' owner's confirmation that their fender to door alignments are not on par with the usual MB fit and finish, I took the next step and spoke with a Master-Certified MB autobody tech who quickly confirmed that this panel fit is anything but perfect and common to these cars...attributing the issue to the composite fender and them being prone to vibration, stress and temperature. He volunteered to look at my car this Saturday...saying they can be adjusted (accessed by removing the front fender inner liner) and he'll run me through the process of doing it myself as I'm a pretty good wrench, or I'll have him do it. Upon closer inspection of mine - as others have said - the top and bottom portions aligh well, with the middle third of the fender edge (vicinity parallel with the 6.3 emblem) is where it tends to bow out a tad. This guy also said that they had the same issues with the CLS (not sure which version or years, but if I understood him correctly, a composite body panel or panels were used on that car too. I'm looking forward to Saturday and will report back as some have asked me to do re a fix to this.

 

Any update? Was he able to allign the panels?

 

which body shop did u go?

 

Thanks for the reminder to post my update. Yes, I did keep the appointment and the alignment (getting the fenders and doors in surface parallel alignment) has been markedly improved. There is a 10 or 12 mm bolt that is visible near the top of the door hinge area (viewable through an access hole through the black plastic piece seals between the hinge area and the inner fender). He loosened that plus the last few (closest to the cowl) top fender bolts in the engine bay and simply leaned/pressed into the fender where it meets the door...held, and retightened. Amazing difference. He also tucked the very top of the fenders (the triangular shaped wings) where they wrap just below the "A" pillar) in tighter and uniform to one another with a bit of high-tech urethane used for Aston Martin body panels. If "Mr. Helper" is monitoring this post, my car has been certified as a 'no hit' car, and once again, this is a common issue to these cars which has been his experience and others who responded to my original post. The front fenders of the BS are painted off the car when assembled and then fit by hand. The work was done by Didier Vincent at Tysons Auto Body (certified Porsche, Mercedes and Aston Martin shop) that sits in the back lot behind the Tysons Porsche service area. I also met with and was assisted by Rob Kelly - one of the managers at the Body Shop...both guys love doing work for 'car guys' and they could not have given me and my Black Series better care.