When I first bought my C230K sedan, I liked the fact it felt like it was carved out of a chunk of solid steel. It had great handling, performance and stopping distance.

After having it for 10k miles now, cracks are now appearing in the experience:

Problems with the climate control it turns itself off for no reason. Or somtimes it just doens't want to stwitch on and I have to fight with it to get it to turn on and stay on!

The sun roof switch is malfunctioning, locks and more.

I have also had the throttle stick 4 times, which red-lined the car and caused a horrible burnt rubber smell to come from the engine.

Mechanically, it has been very reliable and it still drives like nothing else. It actually got better after the first 5k miles!

So, right now, I am on the fence of whether or not this will be my last Benz and whether I should sell it or keep it and get the extended warranty. It will all depend on how the next 10k miles goes.

 

sounds like you got a lemon... my sun roof acts up sometimes, but also my car is four years old and needs a service B. hehe

 

minor issues man stop b!tching like a pmsing woman.

 

I've now got 33k on mine, and the only problem is the annoying 'skipping' of the CD player. I'll have them fix it during the next service.

My advice would be to note each of the problems that you are experiencing, go to the dealer, and have them resolve each one.

From my experience: the solid structure, great ride/handling, and smooth operation haven't degraded in the 33k miles that I've had the car.

 

**** happens and not every one off the line can be perfect. That is why they have a Warranty! Hopefully you take it in and they fix it all up and you get your good experiences again. Mine has had a few quirks but I still love it and will buy another one. It is only a car and Mercedes is no diferent that Ford, BMW, GM, Chrysler, Toyota..... when it comes to strange **** happening. No manufacturer can build the perfect car everytime......

 

Your symptoms aren't considered terrible, so don't get your hopes down. As mentioned, take it to the dealer.

 

Take it to the fixer upper. Trust me, whether we admit it or not, we all have rattles.

 

Wow, you are sooo lucky that you got 10K miles without a problem. Good luck to you, sounds like you got one of the better ones. Maybe that MB is improving on it's quality control.

 

as far as the climate control issue goes, i had a similar issue. They finally seem
to have it fixed. There is a temperature sensor in the overhead console. My console had a short and the sensor was not working properly.

 

My 2001 has just turned 42,000 and haven't had any things to report since the dealer corrected the last batch of small problems at 30,000. The dealers have been great at resolving itemized lists of issues that I have presented to them. Usually providing new parts to replace problematic ones, e.g., new fog lamps, new AM radio bar (replaced 3 times), new rear window, new turn signal sockets, new climate control unit, new windshield washer fluid bottle. I have never had a car with so much dealer support. I had 3 Acuras, 1 Honda, and 1 BMW and the dealers usually don't care about your problems after the first 12 months. MB has been great about standing behind their product.

 

yeah, but i have never had a car with so many issues. my dealer is great, but still, i wish i wasn't there so much. they have had my car all but 2 of the last 12 days. 2 separate visits. even the service mgr acknowledges the above average number of issues.

 

i had that same problem. free loaners and car washes make up for minor issues in my mind. every car isnt perfect.

 

I just hit my 12K mile mark and getting Service A done this weekend.

Other than car washing, I've never had to take the car to the dealer for a problem. From what I'm hearing, I guess I'm pretty lucky.

Funny story: In 2003 wanted a C320 Coupe, but Hoehn & Escondido did not have any on their lots. I went to San Diego... My car started off with a faulty water pump after the MBSD dealer received it and drove it for 7 miles. Then it sat on a back corner of a lot for almost a year, because it was going to get repaired. Then I came along and demanded a 2003 C320 coupe. Not a C230K which they had a bazillion of. The sales associate said there was only one in the lot and my favorite color too (brilliant silver 744). Didn't care much about the options, although it did have the C5 good stuff, but I knew I was going to mod much of the outside anyway. So I told the dealer I'd take it. After 45 minutes the dealer came back extremely embarassed along with the sales manager, and his supervisor. All 3 were trying to explain that they couldn't find the car, and while 2 of them would go on the hunt again, the other was going to show me around some of the 2004 models.
Another 30 minutes later, they said they finally found it and explained about the bad water pump. Another fifteen minutes later, it finally came around the corner freshly washed. (although you could tell it had sat around in a corner collecting dust for quite some time). Bad water pump and all, they asked if I wanted to go on a test drive. So sure... jumped on the 15 freeway and took it up to 85 mph. Felt pretty good, handled great on corners, fast launch 0-60, and perfect for mods. Coming back to the dealer, the supervisor offered right off the bat (I still had not even started negotiating for price) to take $3000 off the sticker price ($33K) because of the long wait. Also, another $2000 off because of the bad water pump, which they would replace immediately under warranty work, and the overall dirty appearance of the car. In my negotiating skills (which suck by the way) I was able to shave off another $1000 finally driving off the next day with a new water-pumped car, completely clean & shiny, for less than $27K including fees, etc...

Don't know how much of that price cutting was due to "embarrassment" or "mechanical / administrative" incentives,
but for a 2003 car that sat around for almost a year, I'm sure they wanted to get rid of it fast, now that the 2004 selling season was in full swing.

sorry for the long story...
honk if you see me

 

Honk

 

I picked up the car from the dealer today after bringing it in for the A service, along with the problems that I have mentioned.

Some stuff got fixed, some didn't. They are unable at this time to replicate the fault with my sticky throttle (typical...) nor my door locks popping open while the car is in motion. They also weren't able to fix the sunroof switch because they have to order the part, which is on back-order. When I looked at the line item for my auto-light sensor only working when it's pitch-black out, the fix: see line XYZ - part is on back-order!

Yep, a lot of the fixes were cured by.... replacing the whole thing!

From the gremlins that have shown up, it appears that I am somewhat lucky they have been minor. But I just hope this sin't a sign of things to come, hence my comment about the next 10k miles determining my future with the car.

 

sorry to hijack the thread, but quick question - if i take my car in to the dealer and ask them to fix my passenger seatbelt that broke because it got caught on the seat when i was pushing it back down, would they fix it? the thing that holds the belt by the pillar between the door window and rear window is what broke...the small piece that holds the two parts together is not holding it together anymore. i can take pics if you don't understand. but anyway, i don't know if that's warranty covered or not. thanks.

 

id think they would fix that.

 

That's all... Man your lucky. Don't start me with mine, i don't have time to list all my problems, could take a while.

 

yeah, i don't know, my c320 has just been a damn good car. i drive it pretty hard sometimes too, and it's just like, "what, that's it?" haha....hope you have better luck in the future with your car.

 

ive never had major problems, just little things here and there. they dont bother me, but i let a couple items appear then take my car in. its things like plastic trim piecees and i had a sunroof creaking issue, which is common with the pano roofs. but mechanically i think my car is sound.

 

Hmm my pano roof when opening makes a loud i guess i would say rubbing noise..and my shades are still sticking getting worse and worse.....It will have its first service A with under prob. 9,000 in the next few months and i am going to have them look at it.......

Just a quick ? when does the days start counting down.....it says...1,900 miles right now but that will prob take me about 5 months to reach :p...Dont know if this helps but its a feb. 03

 

i think 1500 if i remember right.

 

I would be very interested in why the car would sit on the lot for a year. That car is costing the dealer money every day that it is not sold. BTW, is your warranty 4 years from the day that you bought it?

 

it should be 4yr from the day you bought it. if the car was 2 days old from being an 03 or 15mths, its still 4 years from the day you buy it.

 

Warranty starts at the mileage and time of purchase. Even if the car had 10,000 miles on it cause it was a demo or something, it starts there. So warranty on a car purchased with 10,000 miles on it that had never been titled would be til 4yrs./60,000 miles.......