FOR five weeks, Chris Pavey has been standing outside a Mercedes garage, in a suit with a placard, protesting about the state of his car.

The 51-year-old says his Mercedes E55 AMG is rusting from the inside outwards, and his one-man demonstration will continue until Mercedes agrees to strip, and respray his car free-of-charge, or provide a replacement.

Mr Pavey, of Bramble Avenue, Bean, stands outside Mercedes Benz in Burnham Road, Dartford, every day while also finding time for his job as a freelance sales and marketing consultant.

The father-of-one said: “I intend to keep this up for as long as it takes.

“It’s the most direct way of making a statement and to get action.”

Mr Pavey says the time spent protesting means he misses out on meeting clients, which he says costs him around £1,000 in lost income each week.

He said: “I vanish for a couple of hours in the morning and afternoon so I can catch up on work.

“I’m drained, you wouldn’t believe how exhausting it is to sit or stand here all day.

“It’s so frustrating, I want to get on with my life.”

Mr Pavey says the public has been very supportive, bringing him cups of tea and cake, with passing motorists frequently tooting their horns.

He said: “I suppose it’s the psyche, they identify with the little man against the big conglomerate.”

Mercedes says that although the car has long been out of warranty, the company is willing to foot half the costs of repairs.

The Dartford retailer was originally prepared to pay the other half, but withdrew its offer since the protest began.

However Mercedes says Mr Pavey also wanted repair of stone chips and bird lime damage that came through the car’s use over its life.

A spokeswoman said: “We feel offering to pay 100 per cent of the cost of repair for an privately-bought unknown car that’s not had a service history with us for six years was reasonable.”