DragonRR

Despite my Golf R being totally silent at all times I personally don't mind a hearing the odd thunk or a creak with a performance car on a rough road. My 911, for example, is nowhere near as good as the Golf but I don't have any constant or intermittent resonating noises (well not anymore anyway!).

So.. after ordering my now Iridium Silver C63s AMG ED1 Coupe a few weeks back I started noticing comments by several users of these forums (and other related forums) about the build quality of the W205 C series AMG saloon. These users seem to have experienced multiple different rattles from the dash, suspension creaks, noises from the LED lighting caused by the Burmester sound system, door rattles and others. Some rattles seem to be weight related, temperature, most are intermittent but some constant, some over bumps. I've also seen some users claiming that Mercedes have suggested that their noises are "normal" for the C series! I've seen users saying that they have inadvertently recorded conversations from mechanics suggesting the sales guy lowers the customer's expectations!

Lets face it, a lot of people only come to forums to complain about something so some negative comments are quite normal but I have never seen as many complaints about a car I'm about to purchase as I have about this one and it is seriously putting me off.

From my own limited experience, before ordering I test drove an Edition 1 saloon and it just "happened" to have a rattle from the centre dashboard area. At the time I just put it down as a one off but now it feels pretty ominous! I was talking this over tonight with my youngest son who was sat in the back during the test drive and he mentioned that there were noises in the rear too.

Obviously I'm buying the coupe not the saloon. It is possible the coupe will be perfect, maybe Mercedes have sorted all the rattles, maybe the coupe is simply a different car. Maybe.

I'm sure many of us get fairly cold feet whilst waiting for a delivery but I'm on the edge of cancelling the order, I just do not need the hassle of rattles after purchasing a $120k car.

Are the any of you who drive on fairly poor roads (we have lots round here) that have not had any experience of problems with rattles, squeaks etc.?? Any feedback would be appreciated in either direction.

Sanch

Firstly, you will never find a car that is 'perfect'. But in saying that I know exactly what you mean about getting what you pay for... especially when its 120k.

I get the occasional squeaks from the dash, I also faced the same problem in my E92 coupe and heard the same when I test drove the new M4/M3. It is for me however not as bad as some have made it out to be.

I currently have the sedan and am waiting for the coupe I've ordered. I can hands down say I don't regret it one bit. It's an exceptional car inside and out. After having it for almost a year, I still get a thrill when I jump inside... I haven't had that with any other cars I've owned.

Hope this helps mate!

DragonRR

Thanks for the feedback Sanch. My concern isn't the odd squeak it's the constant ticking or rattles you get whenever you drive down certain roads. The Porsche was riddled with them and took more than a month to clear. Even now the Porsche has microfibre cloths stuffed behind the rear seat belt trim areas and a business card wedged between the dashboard and the glove box. I was told that my 911 was unusually poor and other 911s and Caymans I've driven have been mainly fairly quiet (but not Golf like!). My RS6 had one rattle when new (fixed) and would then make the odd noise but rare, same with my M5.

C63 Bi Turbo

The Roads around my area (Rural Herts) are particularly rough to the point I thought I'd buckled a wheel last weekend on a pothole. My cars the non 's' saloon with 19" Multispoke wheels which I've had for a year now and 12k mls. I did have the struts replaced by my dealership after mentioning a slightly annoying creak at its 1st service. I didn't complain but the tech recommended replacement after applying grease and then test driving.
Other than that, I don't notice many annoying rattles day to day. It's not completely rattle free but you do have to listen for any rattles and creaks which considering the type of car it is, I think is acceptable.
Worst thing for me at the moment is squealing brakes.

DragonRR

Appreciate your comments C63_Bi_Turbo. I would assume the struts problem is a thing of the past by now (probably!). Extremely useful to hear from someone with considerable experience of the car.

PunjabiM3

Mine does have a few rattles which I have posted about in another thread. I can only hear them when the radio is turned off and I am going over a rough road and/or bumps such as expansion joints in the concrete. I think the worst culprit seems to be coming from the sunglass holder overhead. If I just touch it with my finger it will stop rattling. I will try to figure out what will be the best fix for it. By FAR the most annoying noise to me is the THUNK from the rear suspension when going over a large bump. It just seems to crash or something. It even makes the noise to a lesser degree when driving over the lane reflectors in the road when changing lanes. I told my wife I have a love hate relationship with the car so far. I love the power, the sound, the interior, and the overall driving experience. But I hate the annoying little rattles and especially the stiffness of the suspension which causes it to "crash" on moderate to large bumps. Also, the cupholders suck. I really hope I can keep the car for 3-4 years as originally planned, but I put the chances of that at 50/50 at this point.

DragonRR

How does it compare (noise wise) to your R8 PunjabiM3?

PunjabiM3

By noise I assume you mean rattles and squeaks. The R8 has ZERO rattles and squeaks. It also has much better ride quality, doesn't crash on the same bumps the C63S does, and no thunking noise when going over the lane reflectors. Honestly it rides like a 5-series on comfort mode while still having superb handling and zero body roll. If by noise you mean the exhaust, my R8 is probably 5 times louder than the C63S thanks to the awesome Capristo X-Pipe exhaust.

Hombrerojo

I was so excited about my C63S AMG when I saw it at the dealership. I had to have it and went to great lengths to make it work. After a a couple of weeks of back and forth I was the proud owner of my first Benz. My father has had Benzes all his life and my expectation was rock solid quality build; that feeling that the car was carved from a solid block. I most definitely have not gotten that.

My greatest annoyance comes from the shelf behind the back seat. Teeth jarring when going over some bumps if there is the slightest slip of the wheels. A friend of mine that knows nothing about cars said, wow, it feels like the wheels are gonna fall off. Wow, this to describe a Benz.

Love the power, handling, design, fit and finish even seemed great but the build quality is pretty bad and it feels like the car is deteriorating at an accelerated rate. I come from a Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT. I beat that crap out of that Jeep and the only noises that ever developed came from speaker rattling at times with very heavy bass from specific songs. And this is after 25,000 miles. Not even at 1000 miles my Benz was already creaking and starting to become a rattle bucket. The other annoyances come from the random resetting of my driver preference settings and other personalization features such as the review mirror setting when in reverse. The keyless entry sometimes does not work at all and the trunk foot sensor worked three times, I don't even bother anymore.

To go to the extent of comparing a Jeep to a Benz when it comes to noise, vibration and harshness is mind-blogging to me. I have been put off by this Mercedes and I will not be getting another car from this brand again. Yes, my expectations were high, but they should have been. I paid a lot of money for this car. That is part of the value proposition from Mercedes to it's customers. I was already brand loyal but this car has put me off to the point where I have often thought, I miss my Jeep. Not only did it not have the sub-standard build quality but also, when looking at value to feature set, the Jeep had a ton more comfort features as standard. Again, I'm comparing a Jeep to a Benz, why am I even at this point?

Again, performance is amazing, handling fantastic but that enjoyment has been diminished by the build quality to the point where overall I am disappointed in my purchase and the brand altogether.

PunjabiM3

Are you going to trade in the vehicle and move on to something else or keeping her for a bit? Overall it is a very nice car but I too may be one and done with MB. Will likely keep mine for 2-3 yrs and then move back to Audi or BMW, or maybe the new Porsche Panamera.

Hombrerojo

I'll be looking to trade-in in a few months. Will be looking at BMW mainly but will consider the CTS-V if they replace the CUE system. Like you say, nice car, but not nice enough for what I am paying.

PunjabiM3

I hear you on the CUE system lol. I tried out the CTS-V after I had already placed the order for my C63S. They didn't have one available for months to the spec and colors I was looking for. The CUE system definitely needs to go, though it wasn't terrible. I just don't like the rear of the current gen CTS. I feel like the last gen looked better and more tidy from the back whereas this gen looks more like grandpa's Caddy. Great driving car though, much more power, the suspension is very compliant, and great handling for its size. Quality of interior materials is a few steps down from MB and BMW IMHO, more like Acura or Infiniti.

DragonRR

I suppose the feedback so far is what I expected but disappointing nevertheless. No-one wants to feel like they've made a mistake when spending large amounts of money. Currently I'm thinking that I need to be lucky to get a C63 that doesn't have many problems!

jblaw

Are more of these problems with the 15? I have a 17 on order, also hoping these issues are resolved. Would have ordered a coupe (Germany) but didn't fit space reqs.

DragonRR

I'm hoping the problems lie with the older cars too (sadly for the owners) but so far only Sanch is upbeat and even he is saying that he is putting up with minor noises. It would be brilliant to get feedback from coupe owners but it is probably too early although they are available and on the road in the UK and I haven't seen anyone complaining so far...

So more threads with complaints:

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...-creaking.html

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...-recorded.html

Not all bad:

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...-love-car.html

Hombrerojo

Mine is a 16. I only see some of the same recurring issues and a lot of more random ones so for them to actually target specific issues seems like would take a long time to identify and find a resolution to.

AMGFTMFW

First lesson in understanding MB/AMG vehicles:

1.) Pre-facelift (PFL) cars, especially first MY's, are generally awful and inconsistent, quality-wise. Some folks might get lucky and get a PFL that has little to no issues, while some get one that is a total nightmare. It's a crapshoot. Not saying this to hurt anyone's feelings, but this is fact. Compare every PFL MB/AMG to every face-lifted (FL) MB/AMG in the past, and the difference/quality is visible. It takes 4 years for PFL to transition to FL; that's 4 years worth of data MB/AMG can leverage to upgrade/improve the FL versions.

2.) That said, though FL cars are generally better than PFL in terms of quality, it is again, not perfect. However, MOST major/minor issues PFL suffers from will have been resolved/addressed for the FL release. Think of it like a piece of software.

PFL = Beta Version
FL = Final Version

Naturally, issues from the PFL will be taken care of along the way, but they're going to be mostly patch work here and there. No extensive updates/upgrades will be available until the FL is released.

The Coupe may not suffer as much as the sedan, but I suspect the Coupe in PFL form will have its share of headaches.

PunjabiM3

So basically either way, if buying a MB you are screwed on resale. Usually it is better to buy early in the lifecycle of a car for resale purposes so you don't have an outdated generation of a particular model. If you buy PFL, you lose on the resale end since it appears MB can't get their **** together on build quality of PFL cars. But then if you buy FL car, you are screwed as much or more since it will be a generation old much faster. Sucks!

AMGFTMFW

Yep. Which is why as much as I want the FL C205 C63S Coupe 4 years from now, I'm not exactly sure if by that time I'll actually pull the trigger.

I'm leaning more and more towards getting a new 911 instead.....because 911 build quality/residuals are far better than AMG's or M's.

DragonRR

Well... there I was agreeing with you . Residuals on 911s are good yes. However my 911 was an utter rattle fest. It isn't now but it was from new. Not just rattles, spoiler deployment failures (faulty compressor), speaker buzzes, trim falling off, trim poorly fitted, problems with the seals on the moon roof drying out and causing yet more rattles... the lot. I was told by more than one dealer that this is fairly normal. I drove several Caymans, 911s and Panameras at the time and since - whilst few were perfect not one was as bad as mine was originally. Thankfully Porsche did fix everything but it took awhile. It's one reason why I started this thread - not wanting that nightmare again!

Having said all that - I love my 911.



I am coming to the conclusion that getting a rattle free car of almost any make is total luck. I test drove an X6M over the weekend (too heavy and fugly). Really loud rattling from the rear of the car. Test drove a Panamera a few weeks ago - minor but annoying dash rattle on rough road. M3 two weeks ago, creaking. C63 Ed1 saloon - rattles in rear and center console.

Golf - silent. Citroen work vans - silent (well nearly!). Wife's F-Type - silent.

Currently - well I'm going to stick with the C63 Coupe order and avoid walking under ladders.

AMGFTMFW

First off - BEAUTIFUL 991! Love it. I am still planning to wait for the FL'ed C63S Coupe to arrive in 4 years to make any concrete decision; thanks for the info on the 991's not being as rattle free as I thought!

It's interesting to me that we're in 2016, and we still have inconsistency with building rattle free cars.

AlexZTuned

Four years from now this car is going to be old news when you start hearing about the next W206/C206 with a fancy new V8 Biturbo and electric motor for torque fill... or the next-gen G20 M3/M4 putting down some crazy numbers

Life is short, regardless if whether you buy a PFL or FL, these cars are going to depreciate fast. I've had my fair share of experience with CPO'd cars, and if you think a car like this will hold up well through the abuse of 1-2 owners, you are mistaken. High horsepower, turbocharged cars like this are going to be an out-of-warranty nightmare, and even those covered under CPO are going to be making frequent trips to the dealership for warranty repairs.

I've purchased almost all my cars used (with the exception of my first car), and every single one of them was a CPO nightmare (my CPO B5 S4 racked up $20k in warranty work alone, and my E92 335i was nearly 10k over the course of three years). I'm sick and tired of buying someones beat up trade-in that has already taken a depreciation hit, only to have to make multiple trips to the dealership when sensors and hardware starts failing. At this point in my life, I'd rather spend the extra money to buy new and have the latest model now -- and not deal with all the problems that come with pre-owned or used cars.

4 years is a lifetime in the auto industry... a lot can and will change.

DragonRR

@AMGFTMFW Well to be fair it is a 2014 car. Perhaps a magic perfection wand was waved in 2016

@AlexZTuned I've purchased quite a few nearly new cars (and have not had many problems with them) but it's been awhile since I bought a longer term pre-owned car. You've put me off!

Leon Bacon

I guess there's comfort in knowing it isn't just me. Had 05 C55 and 09 C63, both better fit and finish with no interior squeaks or rattles. This is frustrating. I passed on a great deal on a fresh 997 Carrera S because of interior rattle. Who knew.

DragonRR

I forgot all about this thread. Wish I listened to my concerns back then, would have saved a lot of wasted time in the last 6 months or so! So annoying, everything else about the car is fantastic.