Just inherited a 2003 C230 coupe from my parents (they just picked up a 2004 C320 4matic).

My father told me the bose system is not working right. And I confirmed it by listening to it for 1 second. The thing has no bass.

Apparently when they picked up the car last year, the radio was dead upon delivery. So the dealer took a radio out of another car on the lot and replaced it. Then the amp died, and they again, pulled it from another car and replaced it (they didn't have the parts in stock).

Ever since then, the system has had no bass. We took it back to the dealer 3 times and they claim that it is working properly. They did not have another C coupe on the lot with Bose so we couldn't compare it.

Recently, we went to another MB dealer and tested the bose in a '04 C coupe. and it was much much better then the one in mine. Also, the bose system in the new C320 4matic that my parents bought is also much better then the one in my c coupe.

What should I do at this point? I am taking the car to Texas in 2 days (parents are in massachusetts). Will a dealer in texas fix/replace my bose system? Or will they be like the local dealer and tell me nothing is wrong.

Does anyone else with a coupe with bose think it has good bass?

Will contacting MBUSA help in gettin the system fixed replaced?

Also, the dealer delivered the car with a cracked mirror housing (passenger side) they refuse to replace it under warranty, because we did not notice the crack until we got the car home.

We did not expect to have to go over the car with a fine tooth comb when we picked it up. We trust that the dealer would make sure everything was ok before giving us the car.

Thanks! This is my first MB (previously only owned BMW's), and it's a wonderful car (minus the above mentioned bugs).

 

which local dealer is it (I am assuming boston area). Try Viti inc. in rhode island.

 

Bose system in the coupe is not as bassy as the one in the sedans. Also turn the bass all the way up, that is the only way the coupe sounds good. Next turn the DSP on and set to ambiente or driver for best bass, it may be set to vocal or whatever it is which is for talk radio type listening and also kills the bass. If that is not it then the sub in the trunk is shot, it is on the right side under the cover. The amp is behind the passenger side rear air bag. If there is sound though the amp is working. Maybe the sub is unplugged as well.

 

Actually, we're in the Springfield MA area, and the dealer is lewbar imports in west springfield.

I have the bass turned all the way up and the dsp setting is on driver, but it does not make any difference.

When I say no bass, I really mean no bass. A $5 plastic boom box sounds better then this "upgraded" sound system.

It did sound fine when we test drove the car 1 year ago, just been bad after we took delivery of the car and the dealer replaced the head unit and amp.

I'm wondering if they stuck a non bose head unit and amp in there? Since they didn't have the parts in stock, and they told us they took it from another car on the lot. They didn't have any other c coupes on the lot with bose, so I'm wondering if they took a non-bose component and stuck it in there just to get it to have some sound. Is there any way to verify if the head unit and/or amp is a bose unit?

Also, when you say right hand side, is that passenger side? I'll try to take a look today after I shovel my way out of this snow.

Thanks!

 

Yes passenger side. The sub is on the passenger side of the trunk under the panel. As far as I know there is no diference in the head units. There is also no amp for a non bose unit. You have the amp if you hear anything and the DSP functions are there. Check the sub, the panel is also the way to access the tail light bulbs so it is closest to the rear of the car. Hopr this all helps.

 

The bass module is connected to the rear speakers. If the fader is set forward, there will be no bass form the module. To check the function of the bass module, set the fader all the way to the rear. Open the access panel and put your hand on the bass module. If you feel vibrations, it is working.

 

Thanks for the fader info

 

Check if it is not on 'speech' mode either. I had my car the first couple of weeks on it and I thought 'man what a crappy bose system' and then I just fiddled around w/the head unit and I figured out I had it on speech mode the whole time I was happy afterwards....