Mercedes Benz and AMG Owners

[Steedie]

I'd be interested to know the outcome of this - I once had a chap from BMW assist offer to introduce me to a guy that could sort out my mileage before I got rid of the car. I think BMW assist might be outsourced right enough but I've always had my suspicions that the main dealers could get away with it if they wanted...

I spoke to them, asked them what's going on and they assured me it's a typo and will be fixed immediately. Here we are 2 weeks later and it's not fixed, that dash image has gone as well so who knows.

 

[[ui]ICEMAN]

As an update to my ongoing AMG GTR saga….

Car is still at the dealer (6 months now) with no end in sight. Even Mercedes corporate have stopped answering my calls or replying to emails.

The dealer stepped up (did not purchase it from them, got it from an independent) and despite the car being dead, and out of warranty, traded me out into a brand new SL55 AMG. No extra money needed from me, and a $20k discount on the new SL.

Not my ideal car, and definitely not a true replacement for the GTR, but it’s an incredible car. Extremely grateful to the dealer for stepping up, as they really didn’t have to. All I really lost in this (other than the car I wanted) was $5k from my purchase price of the GTR. Could’ve been a hugely painful loss.

 

[MrRockliffe]

As an update to my ongoing AMG GTR saga….

Car is still at the dealer (6 months now) with no end in sight. Even Mercedes corporate have stopped answering my calls or replying to emails.

The dealer stepped up (did not purchase it from them, got it from an independent) and despite the car being dead, and out of warranty, traded me out into a brand new SL55 AMG. No extra money needed from me, and a $20k discount on the new SL.

Not my ideal car, and definitely not a true replacement for the GTR, but it’s an incredible car. Extremely grateful to the dealer for stepping up, as they really didn’t have to. All I really lost in this (other than the car I wanted) was $5k from my purchase price of the GTR. Could’ve been a hugely painful loss.

So you’ve essentially swapped cars for good?

How come you didn’t go for another GTR?

 

[[ui]ICEMAN]

So you’ve essentially swapped cars for good?

How come you didn’t go for another GTR?

There aren’t many in the country, especially in green. Only way I was going to get out of this car was to buy something the dealer had. Any other dealer would’ve laughed at me if I’d brought them a car that doesn’t even start.

I’ll keep the SL for a bit, then maybe buy the new GTR when they release it.

 

[MrRockliffe]

There aren’t many in the country, especially in green. Only way I was going to get out of this car was to buy something the dealer had. Any other dealer would’ve laughed at me if I’d brought them a car that doesn’t even start.

I’ll keep the SL for a bit, then maybe buy the new GTR when they release it.

How gutting though :/


Did they ever diagnose the issue?

 

[[ui]ICEMAN]

How gutting though :/


Did they ever diagnose the issue?

No, they keep finding and possibly causing more issues than it came in with. When I brought it to them it still ran, just had an intermittent warning light. Now the car won't start, has multiple failed systems, and has had about $30k of parts thrown at it. They've had the car almost 5 months straight, and an additional 1 month prior to that. I think I put a total of 800 miles on it in my ownership sadly.

 

[MrRockliffe]

No, they keep finding and possibly causing more issues than it came in with. When I brought it to them it still ran, just had an intermittent warning light. Now the car won't start, has multiple failed systems, and has had about $30k of parts thrown at it. They've had the car almost 5 months straight, and an additional 1 month prior to that. I think I put a total of 800 miles on it in my ownership sadly.

Gosh that’s terrible

I’m really sorry you’ve had such an awful experience with the car, as I’m sure it’s otherwise lovely!


What have you done for a vehicle in the meantime? Have you had a courtesy car?

 

[[ui]ICEMAN]

Gosh that’s terrible

I’m really sorry you’ve had such an awful experience with the car, as I’m sure it’s otherwise lovely!


What have you done for a vehicle in the meantime? Have you had a courtesy car?

Thankfully, they provided me with a loaner car. Was a far cry from the car I gave them, but it was better than nothing.

 

[mjt]

Potentially looking at the E300(d)e hybrid. This thread seems to be full of complaints about Mercedes reliability.. How much of a concern is it? I don't think I've ever owned an unreliable car and I don't wish to start now..

I can probably push the budget to 2020 facelift models; is this worth it? Anything in particular to look for on the latest E Hybrid estates?

 

[Muska]

I bought a 2019 C300de estate in December last year, so happy to share experiences of the engine but I’ve had no reliability issues or concerns so far.

The step in the boot floor annoys me though. Whoever signed off on that needs a slap!

I’ve averaged 94mpg this week so far (27mile commute from Lichfield to central Birmingham), 78mpg over my total mileage so far, but it’s worth me pointing out that I’m a blue light responder, so that obviously affects the total figure with some of my journeys. It’s surprisingly nippy in sport+ too. 300bhp and more torque than my old C63 helps.

 

[mjt]

I bought a 2019 C300de estate in December last year, so happy to share experiences of the engine but I’ve had no reliability issues or concerns so far.

The step in the boot floor annoys me though. Whoever signed off on that needs a slap!

I’ve averaged 94mpg this week so far (27mile commute from Lichfield to central Birmingham), 78mpg over my total mileage so far, but it’s worth me pointing out that I’m a blue light responder, so that obviously affects the total figure with some of my journeys. It’s surprisingly nippy in sport+ too. 300bhp and more torque than my old C63 helps.

I can see how the step is a pain, but the E is still has more space than an A6 or 5 Touring. The Audi Virtual Cockpit is awesome, BMW's digital dash is useless. How's MBUX?
Literally have had zero experience with MB since 2005..

 

[Muska]

I set out to buy an E originally but this was £5k cheaper.

My 2019 has NTG5.5 not MBUX but I like it and prefer it to the options of wired Apple carplay/android auto. With MBUX you’ll get more options for customising the dash (both sides and centre) and more sophisticated voice assistant.
I use the built in sat nav for every journey as it helps the hybrid system work in the most efficient way. I did subscribe to the Traffic option for nav, which I find to be very accurate and worth it for my use.

I found this chap very useful for seeing Mercedes features and options:

https://youtube.com/@npoleary

 

[Penfold101]

My 2017 E220d has done 30k miles in the 20 months I’ve owned it and has been mechanically sound. It just eats through the motorway miles and the lane keeping/radar guided cruise control are a fantastic combination.

 

[GravyMonster]

Potentially looking at the E300(d)e hybrid. This thread seems to be full of complaints about Mercedes reliability.. How much of a concern is it? I don't think I've ever owned an unreliable car and I don't wish to start now..

I can probably push the budget to 2020 facelift models; is this worth it? Anything in particular to look for on the latest E Hybrid estates?

I had an E400d pre-facelift for a couple of years. No issues with it whatsoever, nor any of the Mercs I've owned (touch wood). Regarding the facelift, there was a few exterior styling tweaks most notably grill and front/rear lights. The interior saw more lighting options and different stalks and steering wheel, which I think looks better, but is worse to use because it's all now touch sensitive which is annoying, and the centre console Comand system changed to the A-class style touch pad without the jog control. So while there's a few differences, nothing worth specifically seeking out a facelift IMO.

There's also a gulf in price between facelift/non-facelift models due to Merc basically stopping production during lockdown, so unless you specifically prefer the styling updates, I'd go with whatever meets your budget best. That said, I would go for the Burmester system, as I had one in mine and it was fantastic.

 

[shifty_uk]

Interested in this E class conversation.

I’ve never been fussed about any Mercedes models in the past, grown up preferring BMWs but the latest g30 5 series sport seats are terrible and after 200+ miles on a trip, my hips and back pay the price. As much as I love the car, I just cant get to grips with them.

The E class coupe(2020+) has caught my attention. Am I correct in thinking the 220d would be the way to go?

My driving is 80%+ motorway for business.

I notice the economy boost from the mild hybrid tech in the 5 series, is there something similar going on in the Merc?

How is general comfort levels?

Anything else I should consider before arranging a test drive?

Cheers

 

[MrRockliffe]

Interested in this E class conversation.

I’ve never been fussed about any Mercedes models in the past, grown up preferring BMWs but the latest g30 5 series sport seats are terrible and after 200+ miles on a trip, my hips and back pay the price. As much as I love the car, I just cant get to grips with them.

The E class coupe(2020+) has caught my attention. Am I correct in thinking the 220d would be the way to go?

My driving is 80%+ motorway for business.

I notice the economy boost from the mild hybrid tech in the 5 series, is there something similar going on in the Merc?

How is general comfort levels?

Anything else I should consider before arranging a test drive?

Cheers

I’ve had issues with seats in the past - sometimes they need adjusting for a slightly different seating position

Does the seat base tilt forward? Try having it tilted as far forward as it’ll go

 

[shifty_uk]

Yeah, got the front titled forward, lumbar support adjusted, been putting up with it for almost a year and a half now. Frustratingly, I had them doing ok after about 6-7 months but the dealership messed them up when it was in for a service last month and we’re back to square one.

I’m fit and active, make a conscious effort to stretch out the usual culprits, hip flexors, glutes etc but the seats are just rubbish, never had this issue in any other car I’ve owned. Loved my old F10.

I’ll test drive the Merc and see how the seats are.

 

[dlockers]

I regularly do 200 mile days 4+ hrs and the E class seats are great. I just have the basic AMG ones with heat and less than a billion controls but they're more than good enough.

 

[Homer-Simpson]

Well the joys of C63 ownership. A month ago I started to get a sensation that felt like my front wheels were catching on something when going over bumps, it was such an odd sensation, a lot of vibration, noise and sudden loss of speed. I also noticed my driver side suspension sat lower than the other side. The suspension definitely didn't feel right, and I'd not had any incidents with potholes or anything like that so found it a bit odd. Tried to book an appointment to be told that I would be looking at ~6 weeks until they could see it. It got quite bad so called for recovery and it was sent to the local dealer, car was collected, courtesy car provided and after a few days the dealer confirmed that after <4 years and 20,000 miles the shock absorber failed and that in turn caused damage to other shims which compressed them dropping the ride height. This is the 2nd shock that had failed, the other one was replaced under warranty just before it had its first MOT. Mercedes confirmed it's not covered under the extended warranty and no contribution was being offered which I was a bit miffed about hey ho, 1k later and I was back up and running.

Roll on today, I've had an annoying issue where on long journeys, every so often the EML will come on and the car misfires. Turning it off and back on again clears the issue and the EML goes off. I've never been able to re-create it on demand and it's happened about 4 times in the past 2 years. Each time it goes into the dealer, they say there are no faults found and they can't see anything wrong. Well over the bank holiday weekend it happened again. Pulled over, turned off and back on again and it went away, drove for another 15 minutes and the same happened again. This time when turning off/back on again the light didn't go out but the misfire went away. Thankfully I was ~5 minutes from home so drove back. Called the dealer, they can't see me for 6 weeks, they suggested I call recovery if I have had a misfire. Called the recovery number and they are refusing to recover it or even send anyone out as the EML is yellow, which they have stated means it should be safe to drive. I explained that the car had been misfiring but they said they wouldn't budge on their stance and my option was to raise a complaint. Currently stuck with no car, and no one seemingly wanting to help in a timely manner. Luckily I have a service + MOT booked in the middle of this month so I've added this onto the booking but now without a car for 2 weeks as I really don't want to risk damaging it. Really has come at the worst time as over the next few weeks I can't work remotely due to certain work that had been booked in so looks like I'm going to have to hire another car

 

[Robbo]

That is disgraceful service, but not surprising given what I've heard about Mercedes dealers/customer service...