session

My car is now in the shop for the 7th time in 16,300 miles for the following problems:

- loud brake squeal even with light braking
- suspension noise, possibly sway bar bearings
- sunroof rattling, even at very low speed
- disconnected lighting on the center console (no lights on the shifter); they broke this the last time in the shop
- possible removal of "NO PHONE"/"NO AUDIO"
- possible Service B (the computer hasn't scheduled it yet)

Anyway, the dealer gave me a 2003 C230 coupe (silver, auto, sunroof, leather seats, cd changer) as a loaner. It's a very nice car, and while it's not quite as powerful as my 2002 it certainly isn't lagging behind much. This is the first M271 I've driven and it's an extremely smooth engine.

The crappy part? The car's build quality is better than my own! This is a loaner car for god's sake, driven 10,000 miles already, and there aren't any rattles or noises whatsoever! The seats don't squeak, the plastic panels don't pop with temperature fluctuations and the sunroof doesn't rattle. The suspension isn't noisy, the brakes don't squeal and everything just feels solid. I can only assume that a rental/loaner car has not been treated anywhere near as well as my own (the dirt and scratch marks on the leather are evidence of this). Why then is my car in the shop for the 7th time while the loaner car is more pleasant to drive?

Argh.

Kar don

man, sorry to hear that. I hope they fix everything to your liking. I really hate it when dealers do a crummy job slapping all the parts on and the problem returns within a few thousand miles.

vadim

Well, there always seems to be a trade-off: either you get a new model that turns heads but has a lot of bugs or a more reliable but less unique car in its 2nd+ year of production.

Speaking of brakes, I also had a squeal some time ago, and light vibration when braking from 60+ mph. The result: all 4 disks replaced, new pads installed during last shop visit.

session

I agree, but my 2002 was a late production car (Built in April 2002). They should've adjusted for at least some of these bugs by then.

I'm not sure when the loaner was produced.

MagmaSilk

sorry to hear all your problems.

i was wondering which nova/dc dealer you went to? i hear American service center is the best in NOVA.

thx in advance.

session

I go to EuroMotorcars, since that's where I bought the car from. Their service department has been very courteous and concise; I fault the car more than I fault their service guys.

I would check out ASC (or MBoA) but they're way out of my way (more so than Bethesda) and I've heard their loaner car program isn't quite on par with Euro's.

vadim

I use ASC for service. They have been very good, except for one service advisor who had no business doing this job. To their credit, he is no longer with them. All is fine again. The new service advisor had worked for an Audi dealer prior to this job, so tuning and aftermarket stuff comes natural to him. But overall, this is a rather conservative MB dealership.

They do provide MB loaners, but only to those who bought their cars from them; otherwise you get a loaner from a nearby Enterprise.

BTW, I didn't - got mine from Herb Gordon in MD, which is very inconvinient to me because of its location. So, I get non-MB loaners, which is fine - I usually get disappoined by them, wouldn't want to be disappointed by another MB (which is almost certain, considering their loaner fleet). On the other hand, if I would get a better MB, then I would begin to dislike mine, so... it's a win-win situation

session

That and the location are reasons enough for me to not use them.

nevide

Ha ha ha ha.. ha... 1.8 rulesss. Just kidding. Anyway, I also have a rattle on my sunroof and a very easy sollution is to get a grease and grease up all the railings on the roof. Rattle is gone and it's darn cheap. Gotta try that one. I also have problems with my brake. It starts pulling to the right when I apply the brake. Werd...

session

I've tried both grease and silicon spray on my sunroof to no avail.

galaxygrrl

Tim,

They should be able to fix your Sunroof, there is not reason for a rattle.

You know, I think it's build quality, because while my car had issues, it never rattled.

Go Figure. Hey, when are you comming to SF?

We have great politics to debate here these days.

Cheers,

Beth

session

Hopefully I'll be back out to SF in a month or two.

CitronC230K_03

generally, and i think this goes with most cars but the 2nd year production is when they seem to get all the bugs identified and figured out. im sure there are still some which will be elimnated byt he time the 04's come out. a great example is the fogging complained about on the windshield, i never had that. plus the buffeting from the open roof, i have that little handle up there so i dont have that either. but ive taken my car in about 5 times for the xenon lights. they dont seem to level right all the time. the drive one like to look right at the ground while the passenger one looks up at the stars. its like im driveing a car with a lazy eye. they fix it, then a week or two it starts again. it doesnt bother me to much, maybe one of these days ill get fed but until then i figure they are doing what they can. call me easy going i guess. i love the service dept. and even more love my car!! no problems here. (except my lazy eye every week or so)

nevide

you know what? Sometimes I love my car for having little problems such as sunroof rattling.... rear-end rattling..... blia bla... My friends keep asking me how I get a new benz everytime I meet them. Heheh. Too bad that doesn't happen anymore. Also I have to agree with buell about the free wash and sometimes they even clean the interior if they do an interior job. Heheh. Gotta love the services.

nevide

Did you try the black icky one? The one to fill hole on the boat, the one to grease the bike's gear. You know. I'm sure silicon spray wouldn't work as it will probly evaporate under the extreme heat.