jsloan01

Well, I sold my C Class today. After dealing with a unfixable wiper problem, I finally got rid of my car.

I could not bare selling it to a friend of mine b/c the wiper chattering was so DAMN loud. I have been to the dealer approximatley nine or ten times for this issue. Their new approach was now saying the wiper chattering (which had the magnitude of the brakes on a NYC bus ) was part of "normal operations." I took a fair monetary hit and let the dealer buy it, however, I am glad the headache is over. It's a shame they will turn around and sell this car to an unsuspecting buyer.

I am certainly not pleased with MB or the quality of my C. I had a lot stupid problems and the dealer certainly made the situation worse. I am not bitter enough to turn my back on MB, but they definitely have a LOT of work to do to win me back.

I will still hang around the forum, and hope to see you all soon.

TA-9FF

Stealerships are just about idiots everywhere I go. Sometimes if you're lucky you'll get a Service Adv. that'll actually be straight with you, and not BS you. But yeah, I've gotten a lot of excuses about things being in "Normal Operations" before too, and it's usually a steaming pile of BS.

I don't regret buying my C at all; however, I'm starting to feel the quality issues thing. Most of them aren't huge problems, (not yet anyway) and all were fixed under warranty. But I just find it irritating that for what's basically a new car, I've brought it in 4 times already. Like you, I'm not bitter enough to turn my back on MB, but for my next car, I'm seriously SERIOUSLY considering a BMW.......

.....that is, whenever they decide to go back to designing cars like they used to, and not this trendy crap they're releasing. IMHO cars are essentially identical to fashion. True style remains throughout the test of time. (think Porsche 911) Trendy fashions are temporary, and are quickly forgotten. That said, all current BMWs are all "trendy", and one day, when BMWs return to "classic" BMW design, the current models will just be remembered as "those Bangle years". Which is a bad thing.

jsloan01

TA,

I hear ya on this one. I was a proud MB owner - paid with my cash and hard work - I bought a new car b/c I was having too many problems with old Toyota Camry.

I may have been at the dealership more often for my MB than my old Camry. With that said, my C did drive a billion times better and I also felt more safe in it.

I am just thoroughly disgusted with my treatment in service. The wipers were so f-ed up and there was clearly some defect w/ the car. And their new approach, after replacing EVERYTHING (inserts, arms, transmission/motor, linkages, WINDSHIELD) was to tell me it's "normal operations". I even had them line up another C class, with wipers working fine, and then mine that were banging all over the place, and they told me to my face "I do not see a difference". WTF?!

I always felt like I was going to war everytime I hit the stealership. Whatever happened to customer SERVICE?

rlee02135

what replacement car did you get?

couldnt you just replace the whole wiper assembly and put in some piaa silicone wiper blades?

TA-9FF

Customer service is dead my friend. We live too much in a corporate-world mind set, where all that's being drilled into our culture and society is profit, profit, more profit, and uh...........profit. Preferrably without any cost to the corporation whatsoever. If they can't make money off us, why the hell should they be nice to us, or helpful to us in any way? That wouldn't benefit them at all!

And I'm not surprised you were treated that way. People hardly surprise me anymore. I sound incredibly cynical right now, but I don't mean to. lol
Like you, I dread going to the stealership, because it IS war!!!!!

jsloan01

Rlee - I am done with cars for a while. Moving to NYC in less than two weeks, so my new form of transportation are my legs and a metro card.

TA - You are right on the "profit, profit, profit" mentality, however, when will organizations recognize building RELATIONSHIPS is the key to long-term value creation and profitability?

Battery!

Dude, finally someone else has spoken up about the rediculous wiper chatter!! I had it on my '05 and my dad had it on his '04 C320, but my mom's never had it on her E430. Reason is MB is using some really cheap, generic wipers on these C class cars. My dad has his in 6 times and the dealer gave up. He went to Discount Auto Parts and bought an $80 pair of wipers and that solved the problem. He sent me a pair as well and they work perfectly. The OEM parts just suck and the dealers and MB refuse to pay for upgrading to an effective/safer part.

Seriously though, I'm 22 and have plenty of time to acquire nice(r) cars. This one was my dream and reward when graduating college, but I'm thinking of getting a nice Accord V6 manual next time and keeping more money in savings and having more available for a home purchase when the time is right. My real dream is a Porsche, so big deal about whatever else I drive until then, so long as its fun/safe. These lower end luxury cars get cheated with parts and we get screwed with service costs.

ultraseven

Spoken like a true intelligent YFNB (Young, Fabulous, NOT Broke) man. Spend the cash on real estate instead.

1sikbenz

Ya, MB service blows, luxury cars my ***! You'd think that a company that pushes the "Superior German Engineering" thing could figure out how to engineer some moderatly satisfactory customer service, I wish I didn't like the cars so much, I'm not impressed with them one bit, I wonder if MB execs read these threads, it might help them take their collective head out of their ***! I honestly don't see the difference in quality between a brand new MB & a New Honda or Toyota, they at least have better customer service, my ex-wife bought a brand new Civic in 00' & it's never not once had any problems, just routine maintenance. usM.B.

MB-BOB

I've had NO problems with wiper chatter on my 5 year old C320. They are as quiet as any car I've owned in 36 years. OEM wiper blades all the way.

I don't doubt anyone had such a problem. But I take issue with the assertion that it is a universal problem. It isn't.

raymond g-

i had chatter and though I tried the usual - cleaning (really) glass, rain-x, etc,
the OEM blade kept up the slight chatter. i tried all the suggestions from folks
on MBWorld for weeks and then ordered new blade. but as I was waiting for
the blades to arrive, I happened to take off the blade and in a moment of in-
spiration, I spent about 1/2 hr cleaning off the blade, then I dressed it using
common variety silicone (Home Depot). then, I found a PVC tube just large
enough in diameter to enclose the blade. filled the tube with silicone and left
it soaking for a day or two.

super silent....still using the same blade 2 yrs later. 2 new ones still in the box.
anecdotal, yes, but worth a try. cost for a can of silicone spray < $5

jsloan01

Unh - wish I would have tried/thought of that before I just got bent over on my f-ing car. The chattering was SO AWFUL I was afraid to sell it privately. Used Car dealer were scum bags and the MB dealer was not far behind.

I got hosed on the car - very badly - but I am glad the headache is over. I talked so much game on MB for the last five years (have always been a die-hard fan growing up), now I am a little bitter.

Hopefully MB can prove me wrong or make up for it. Whatever, life goes on.

And Bob - I think your wipers weren't the "Aero" wipers - did you just have the single rubber or an "arm" that held everything? Maybe there is a difference in later production models w/ the wipers????

Buellwinkle

I can't believe what people will complain about. It's just a wiper, get a different brand wiper blade, bfd. These care come across the Atlantic with salt air, spend days on a car transport truck and sit on large lots in direct sun for a while either in the distribution center or on the dealers lot. The rubber on the wiper is bad the day you take delivery, the same is true for any import. We don't have rain by us so the wipers are mostly a novelty but I do know that when I lived in NYC many years ago, that I had to change wiper blades often and keep my windshield squeeky clean, specially considering all the soot that lands on your car.

I'm looking for a cheap C230 for my kid, if there are any more woozies out there that want to sell their car for pennies on the dollar and the only reason is the wipers make too much noise, let me know.

patrick_y

I'm serious though, while I still love my C230 Kompressor, I find a lot of faults with it.

1. It rattles.
2. It's going to have a lot of electrical problems, rear sunshade is going to break, the Bi Xenon headlamps are going to break, things here and there are going to break.
3. The car no longer gives me the tank feeling. The doors are light, they don't make the big clunk sound anymore, etc.
4. There are starting to have better cars on the market. When I buy a car, the most important thing is handling; BMW 3 series (don't like the styling though), Infiniti G35 (can't stand that car's styling either), Lexus IS (I like the inside but the nose of the car looks a little stupid).

I totally understand jsloan01's decision to get rid of the car. As for me, I'm going to perhaps put up with it a bit more. It is totally in his right and decision to get rid of a car he's not pleased with.

In the meanwhile, it's still a great car nonetheless. However, it probably wasn't as good as it used to be.

Outland

The car is just the tip of the iceberg...imagine what else in life is going to be so hard to accept when its not perfect.

Wiper blades making noise...that's a good one.

Outland

This what happens when you get used to it.

My in laws have a Lexus. It has piston slap on startup. You guys complain about the noise that the cat preheat makes on a Kompressor? Wait till you hear the noise of the pistons slapping the cylinders until the engine warms up a little. The doors clang when you close them.

The grass isn't always greener on the other side. There's always going to be something newer, better, fresher, etc.. If not the year you buy it, the year after then...

jsloan01

Sorry chief, but I am going to lash back at this. When wiper chatter is louder than the f-ing stereo at full blast, it's a MAJOR problem. At its worse, the wipers would skip MAJOR portions of the windshield. Nearly a dozen dealer visits in 7 months is ENTIRELY UNACCEPTABLE. Anyone who wants to justify that as reasonable is clearly beyond rational.

In addition, I disclosed to ALL interested buyers it had a wiper problem that was not fixable and the dealer/SPOM/Regional Manager said they would do no more to TRY to cure the problem. I sure as hell would never buy a car with a known-defect that could not be fixed. People do not want the hassle.

I did not have time for a lemon law so I let the stealer buy it back. I may have lost a few bucks, but it's better than some unsuspecting buyer coming after me when they find out the wipers don't work right on their C class and they dealer won’t help.

I could have chosen not to disclose the issue and made a few extra bucks, however, I think we would all HOPE someone would inform us of ANY issues when inquiring about the purchase of a two year old Benz with only 15,000 miles.

patrick_y

When I said "it isn't as good as it used to be," I was not referring to the car when I bought it new. The car is still new, it's only got 10,500 miles on the odometer and is only 16 months old (I don't drive it very much). I'm referring to the entire Mercedes Brand in general. Through the implementation of cost cutting, Mercedes has lost some of its core values, some of which will never be replaced. The Mercedes car is no more, the best car in the world unfortunately. I as a Mercedes-Benz fan recognizes this and admits this fact. It's become a bread and butter car, everyone has one, from high schoolers (let's face it, it's a kiddie car, even the brochure markets to people around 25-35 years of age, unmarried professional) to 45 year old parents (in the sports model).

There are some demanding customers out there. I'm one of them, I know that because I'm not afraid to raise my voice and make a scene whenever a business enterprise that caters to civilians displeases me. However, I'm not going to switch around to a different brand after years and years of loyalty, establishment of myself at the dealership, being able to ask for anything reasonable from my service provider. If I were to make the change, I'd make a quantum leap and start off from scratch with a completely new brand and dealership.

But even if you weren't a demanding customer, if you've had to go into the shop half a dozen times to fix a small thing (I think it was a windshield wiper squabble) and it couldn't be done and that small thing was driving you nuts. You seriously can't keep that car. You'll become angry in the car and put people on the road in possible danger because you will not be able to think clearly. The poor man had no choice but to replace the car.

Stop bashing the poor guy for selling his car. If my car had some chronic problem that couldn't be fixed, I'd want to get a new one too.

jsloan01

Thanks Patrick - I would have escalated things further to get the car fixed, however, I am moving to NYC in two weeks and starting my new job in two months. I have exams and studying I must prepare for, so fixing some BS on my C class has become secondary on my list of priorities.

It's shame I lost some coin, however, I'll make it back 10 fold when I go into my first year of work and hit the ball out of the park.

NY C32

I think you and Buell have missed the point. IMO this is a big deal because its annoying as hell and it should'nt happen with an OEM wiperblade. As a result and as an MB cutomer, its not my job to go out and buy quiet blades. Its MB's job to get it right.

The way I read your message is that you just accept those flaws as part of life, get over it because its no big deal. ahhh...mediocrity at its best. I fire people with that defect every day.

jsloan01 - Its too bad you had those issues. You won't need the car in the city anyway, so the timing couldn't be better.

MB-BOB

Um, yes, I have the "old" wiper blades. Apparently the new ones are not ready for primetime. But that's OK, because both use the same wiper arm links, and the "New" Aero blades can be thrown away and replaced with New "Old" ones in less than 5 minutes at minimal expense. I'm surprised the dealer didn't offer that as an option. But of course, they don't know how to think outside the box, either.

Beats "taking a financial bath" in the thousands. People buy and sell cars for the strangest of reasons. This is just another one.

Buellwinkle

I never said you should live with it but sometimes you have to understand dealers, most don't have a clue. My dealer messed up an oil change. I can think of several times where I had to bring my car in more than once to get the same problem fixed, some cases 3 times, for something seemingly simple. Sometimes I give up and fix it myself but I can understand if you don't know how, wiper blades can be tricky. I've taken my car in for brakes (not MB) and they gave it back to me washed and ready, charged me for it, didn't do anything and they didn't believe me so I had to take it to elsewhere for brakes and 3-4 months later they mailed me a refund because their paperwork didn't balance. So yes, I think you got a raw deal, but no, you shouldn't have to take a loss on the car just because of their stupidity. I had to get MB regional office involved because they couldn't fix my A/C in August on my W201 because the part wasn't available. I told them that this is a Mitsubishi compressor, go to a Mistubishi dealer, get the part and fix it. They did it in 2 days. Sometimes you have to be assertive. People thing that just because their car is assembled by MB that the parts are made by MB, heck some MB's aren't even assembled by MB like the CLK.

BTW, the first week I had my car, a 2004.5, same wiper assembly as yours, the wiper fell apart, the rubber came off the metal. MB refused to fix it saying that it's a maintenance part. Keep in mind that it doesn't even rain here, it was never turned on, how could it not be a defect. But they give me free car washes, what can I say....

StapleGun

Hopping the fence to get a BMW will not avail you to "greener" pastures....their new autos are crap as well. My better half has had nothing but problems with her 328i, I'll take my ol' '73 2002 over ANY new BMW anyday.

patrick_y

Good luck with that. At least I know that you won't tank in the stock market. You're one of the people who know when to let it go. Hopefully, you're also one of the people who know when it's enough.

Outland

Its about dealing with what life deals you. This is part of life, how you deal with it is what defines you. Having a temper tantrum when things don't go right isn't going to get you anywhere in life. Must be great business you run. Do you have a revolving door? The adults going out, and the 3 year olds, drama queens, and perfectionists going in?