Mercedes Benz and AMG Owners

Soldato
Joined
20 Feb 2004
Posts
21,198
Location
Hondon de las Nieves, Spain
Been given a new B Class as my courtesy car today.

I had kind of hoped it would feel nicer/better than my 2012 plate model and feel like an upgrade would be worthwhile however it's a little underwhelming, doesn't help it is a bit of a poverty spec model. Also noticed that despite being automatic and the same engine it feels much more sluggish compared to mine. It's a 1.8 diesel so it's never going to set the world alight but even the gearbox seems to shift a lot slower and be more jumpy than mine.

Did see a stunning SL63 which looked lovely and seems they've moved away from the ipad infotainment on that model. Just a shame they're well above my budget!
 
Soldato
Soldato
Joined
26 Oct 2013
Posts
9,714
Location
Leicester
Soldato
Joined
20 Feb 2004
Posts
21,198
Location
Hondon de las Nieves, Spain
Well, other than the disappointing courtesy car. This has been a very satisfying experience. Just had a call to say the cars been done, there are no advisories on any of their health checks and they've washed and hoovered it.

The only issue was a split rear wiper which they've fitted for the cost of the part which has worked out less that me buying it from ECP and fitting myself!

Given the cost has been less than it would've been at an Indy i'm very happy :)
 
Soldato
Joined
19 May 2004
Posts
2,945
This will probably be my only time being able to post in this thread.
I got a cla 200 as a courtesy car last week. Looking to buy a car at weekend tho so it may go back next week. Lovely car
 

nam

nam

Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
2,671
Location
London
Terrible, hope you can get it sorted. I wish all new cars had cameras and sentry mode like the Tesla Model 3 , it is one sure way of catching the scum who do this

as it a PCH you could speak to your Finance Team and ask options, most would say leave to the end of the lease and take the hit from BCA collection which usually is a lot cheaper then you going and doing a full repair as most of these PCH go back into Auction, but as it has been only 4 months into your lease you don't have many options



So yesterday I drove to my usual county park to walk the dog, was out for about 90 minutes and came back to see that some ***** has done this to my car and driven off with no note:

LDdrvqb.jpg

YgXP7hd.jpg

So it looks like the metal bodywork is unscathed, but the plastic front bumper is all one piece and will need replacing

There's no CCTV, so I've got nobody to claim from, and though I have 11 years no claims bonus, I had a £21,000 claim on my last car with a cyclists who rode in to me (long story) which only has about 18 months left to run before I can tick the 'no accidents in the last 3 years box' when getting insurance quotes, so another claim now would just be the nail in the coffin.

I'm pretty ignorant about bodywork/repairs

A) What am I looking at for a brand new W213 AMG Line bumper? I can't seem to find brand new ones for sale, which is a bit worrying.

B) Do they come in black and need spraying to the colour of the car? It's Contract Hire and came with some stupidly expensive 'designo diamond white bright' paint

Car is only 4 months old, so I do want to repair it to Mercedes standards, but I'm looking to avoid Mercedes prices.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
29 Jun 2004
Posts
21,490
Location
Oxfordshire
Had an annoying itch these last few days contemplating upgrading my C43 to a C63 after a recent big payrise.

Test drove one a week or so back and it was the first time driving one since I originally drove one back in November, so it was after 7 months of owning the C43. The test route was absolutely horrendous so I came away feeling very underwhelmed as I barely got a chance to open her up.

Went again today and test drove a 68 plate C63 estate. Identical spec to the C43 other than the exterior colour. Had a good test route with plenty of roads to really test the acceleration and I have to say, I was pretty meh about it. Up in the higher rev range the power is as relentless as in the lower revs, but from a slow speed and a rolling start, it really didn't feel much quicker than my car at all. Also, the noise, it is absolutely glorious don't get me wrong, but it almost felt just too grown up. Part of the joy of my car is it is just so fun to drive with the pops and bangs and the almighty crack you get on gear changes when flooring it, it's just such an event. Whereas the C63 sounds brutal, but a lot less shouty in terms of the pops and bangs, you get the odd one on the overrun but downshifting or on gear changes, nothing. I think if I wasn't clinging on to my youth so much, I'd love it as it is definitely a more sophisticated and mature sound, but mine is just a lot better for putting a childish grin on my face. I also appreciate mine is a lot more marmite with people.

The other thing that put me off was it being RWD. It's just so raw, it felt so twitchy at times, the power was scary because you weren't sure what would happen. By the end of the test drive, I was afraid to put any power in to anything that wasn't perfectly straight, whereas mine, because it's AWD, it just feels so planted all of the time. All that power goes instantly on to the road, but the C63 was struggling with the power at times when on more bendy roads. If I was tracking the car then I'd definitely want RWD but that is something I'd never do in my own car.

One thing that did blow my car away was revving it at idle, sounds incredible!

Overall, it only reinforced the love I have for my car and made me realise that I made the right choice 7 months ago. I think maybe when I'm older I might go back to it, but for now, I just love the chavvy nature of some of the noise my car makes, and given it's close to 400 brake, I'm never wanting for power.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
29 Jun 2004
Posts
21,490
Location
Oxfordshire
Does a big pay rise stretch to the E63S as that should tick all the boxes

E class cabin is so well insulated that you lose a lot of the magic of that exhaust. When I drove one last year, it wasn’t until I opened the window that I could really appreciate the noise.

It wouldn’t be for me. Especially now a lot of the things that make the E class great inside are being used in the other cars.
 
Soldato
Joined
4 Apr 2003
Posts
7,964
@Steedie honestly, the C43 or E43 are the real world UK road sweet spots.

Often in UK road and weather conditions the 4wd drivetrain far outweighs more powerful rwd AMGs.

Some of the Q2 M5 Comp deals though with £18k dealer contributions........just saying
 
Soldato
Joined
29 Jul 2004
Posts
9,671
Location
Somerset
Had an annoying itch these last few days contemplating upgrading my C43 to a C63 after a recent big payrise.

Test drove one a week or so back and it was the first time driving one since I originally drove one back in November, so it was after 7 months of owning the C43. The test route was absolutely horrendous so I came away feeling very underwhelmed as I barely got a chance to open her up.

Went again today and test drove a 68 plate C63 estate. Identical spec to the C43 other than the exterior colour. Had a good test route with plenty of roads to really test the acceleration and I have to say, I was pretty meh about it. Up in the higher rev range the power is as relentless as in the lower revs, but from a slow speed and a rolling start, it really didn't feel much quicker than my car at all. Also, the noise, it is absolutely glorious don't get me wrong, but it almost felt just too grown up. Part of the joy of my car is it is just so fun to drive with the pops and bangs and the almighty crack you get on gear changes when flooring it, it's just such an event. Whereas the C63 sounds brutal, but a lot less shouty in terms of the pops and bangs, you get the odd one on the overrun but downshifting or on gear changes, nothing. I think if I wasn't clinging on to my youth so much, I'd love it as it is definitely a more sophisticated and mature sound, but mine is just a lot better for putting a childish grin on my face. I also appreciate mine is a lot more marmite with people.

The other thing that put me off was it being RWD. It's just so raw, it felt so twitchy at times, the power was scary because you weren't sure what would happen. By the end of the test drive, I was afraid to put any power in to anything that wasn't perfectly straight, whereas mine, because it's AWD, it just feels so planted all of the time. All that power goes instantly on to the road, but the C63 was struggling with the power at times when on more bendy roads. If I was tracking the car then I'd definitely want RWD but that is something I'd never do in my own car.

One thing that did blow my car away was revving it at idle, sounds incredible!

Overall, it only reinforced the love I have for my car and made me realise that I made the right choice 7 months ago. I think maybe when I'm older I might go back to it, but for now, I just love the chavvy nature of some of the noise my car makes, and given it's close to 400 brake, I'm never wanting for power.

Sounds like you need to try something Hybrid / Full Electric ;). Dat torque :cool:, Cayenne / Panamera?
 
Don
Joined
17 May 2004
Posts
12,763
Location
Telford, Shropshire
Sounds like you need to try something Hybrid / Full Electric ;). Dat torque :cool:, Cayenne / Panamera?

Don't think that they are proper alternatives;

Haven't drove the C63 estate, but loved the C63 saloon; Took it around the MB test track in Surrey and was impressed.

Had my A45 two years very soon; still no real information about the new A45s - I'd swap over if it was available now, but it isn't! Sad tromboneeeeeee.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
29 Jun 2004
Posts
21,490
Location
Oxfordshire
Ha the noise is definitely important to me, it's not the be all and end all, but I think in this particular instance, because the C63 would be so similar given they are the same interiors and look the same on the exterior that it has to be properly special for me to want to upgrade, and I didn't find the C63 special enough. If I didn't already have a C43 then I'd have been blown away.

As for the second car, I'd love too but it would be storing it somewhere as we only have a double drive and parking on the street is frowned upon down our road :p Plus at the moment in my current contract, I'm getting the train on the few days I'm not working from home, so if I had a second "fun" car, I'd never drive the C43 or vice versa.

I think my plan of attack now is to wait a couple of years for a C class refresh and get a C63 then as a natural upgrade to the C43 as I only tend to keep cars 2-3 years max anyway, as it will make more sense then instead of doing it after 7 months. I was originally looking at my next car being a Huracan, but having baby number two on the way in October put a pretty big halt to that :p
 
Soldato
Joined
24 Oct 2002
Posts
14,162
Location
Bucks and Edinburgh
E class cabin is so well insulated that you lose a lot of the magic of that exhaust. When I drove one last year, it wasn’t until I opened the window that I could really appreciate the noise.

It wouldn’t be for me. Especially now a lot of the things that make the E class great inside are being used in the other cars.

Was that the standard E63 or the S version? If it was the standard version, the S has a sports exhaust where the standard one doesn’t. Couple that with an increase in power and 4matic makes it very useable.
 
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