nlpamg

So, I brought in my car b/c my service advisor told me that the center armrest had come in. Mine was "peeling" and she said that it was the first time she had ever seen it and that it was defective.
I brought it in at 9am, and I told them that the car pulls to the right. I didn't want a loaner, and didn't really need a ride home, so I decided to wait in the waiting room. At 11, my service advisor says that they had to do an alignment and that I get one free before 12k miles. She also asks me if I ever had it detailed by someone else, and I'm like no. She then says that the peeling is not just on the armrest cover/top part, but spreading to the console, it's "like a bad reaction, that I've never seen". She says that they have a "painter" that will do a "permacoat" and that they don't have any records that my car was ever "permacoated". So, she goes to lunch and says that another advisor will help me.
I go to him at around 12:30, and he says that they're done and are just washing it now. I said, don't bother washing it, I just waxed it and it'll probably rain soon anyways. So, they get my papers together and call my car. At 12:45 my car is still not there. The valets and attendants are calling for it on the walkie talkies and then running around looking for it. At 1pm, I start walking around the service area and the adjacent lots looking for it, no sign of it. They can't find it. They FINALLY find it at 1:10 on the roof of their facility. Apparently they had to do the "painting" up there. When I got the car, the interior was a MESS. There was dirt and white stuff all over the car, and I showed it to them and they cleaned it and vacuumed it. The exterior was really dusty, but I really didn't care after that point.
When I got into my car I saw that my radio was changed, and that it was on this random station. The bass and treble settings were also changed and they were at their MAXIMUM. Also, I found that they had been rifling through my cd's that were in the driver side pocket. (The cd that was in the dash wasn't the same on that I had going there.)
Also, they must have left the car running for a while, or were gunning it, b/c the mpg display said 15.1mpg. I can't even get it that low by straight flooring it.

This was at South Bay Mercedes. I'm pretty disappointed in the service, and I'll have to talk to my advisor or someone about it soon.

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05 KOMP SS

Somebody high up in the service department needs to hear about that. That just irritates me to know end. Hopefully they will make things right and deal with the individuals involved.

CitronC230K_03

i would definately complain. when i had my VW before this, i had my car in for warranty. they lost the key, a tech had taken it home. i was pissed!

Phillip711

Happens all the times at these dealers.. I used to work for Mercedes-Benz of Long Beach in the fleet dept and no matter what I tell the upper management, they never listen.

nlpamg

My service advisor FINALLY returned my call... I told her the story, and it sounded like she could care less. She said that since I requested it not to be washed, that that means that they usually don't clean it.

Also, to make things worse, I just realized that they did NOT change the center console lid. They just PAINTED the entire console. They had some guy apply some sort of paint. Now, I'm going to go back to the dealer on Friday, and compare it to another C230K that's on the lot. WTF?!?! Since when do they paint the interior console of a car that only has 3600 miles? That's bs, my car isn't new anymore... I want them now to just replace the entire console.

This is just terrible service.

MBZman

nlpamg, the center armrest "peeling" has been a known problem on the W203 since its introduction. I can't imagine your service advisor has never seen this before, my advisor went ahead and changed my sisters (03) without her even asking. He said it is a known problem.

Although I respect the C-class (especially the 05's) I wonder if MB has really addressed the issues that have plagued this car its entire model run: peeling center armrest, seats that go flat way to soon, easy entry/exit feature that stops working, bulbs burning out & ABS/ESP malfunctions. It will be interesting to read owners comments on 05 models.

CitronC230K_03

you can add H/K problems to a list of items for 05 owners. Bose wasnt that bad. dont forget the leather shift knob peeling in the manual versions. im replacing mine with an 05 shift knob from an auto. i want the Star!

nlpamg

WHAT!?!?! I didn't know that. I will tell her about that next time I see her (soon). Thanks for letting me know.

What sucks even more is that I just came from the gas station. After picking it up, the steering has felt somewhat harder and more stiff... So, I decided to checked the tire pressure. When I complained about the car pulling to the right, I said that it may be the tire pressure since I had never checked it since getting the car. She made a note of it on the work order, and it even says "(check tire pressure)". Well, I checked the tire pressure using my handy MB digital tire gauge. Look what I found. Left Front = 28psi, Left Rear = 28 psi; Right Front = 40 (FORTY!) psi, Right Rear = 28 psi. So I evened em out to 33.5 psi front, and 36.5 psi rear and it does feel better now. But, WTF kind of service is this? This is bad survey/letter material.

Yep, I'm right there with the H/K problems too... You can see my many threads on that. However, I think that the H/K system on this car is MUCH better than the Bose system that I had on my w202 (which incidentally had a problem--hissing).

CitronC230K_03

i wasnt impressed with Bose with the Audio30. it sounded awesome with the Audio10. with COMAND there is a big improvement over the Audio30, but nothing like the audio10. either way, the way i see it, if they are going to integrate a new radio, make sure the memory presets work from the steering wheel controls.

Sauceboy01

15.1 mpg?? that doesn't happen on IDLE.. looks like someone took it for a JOY RIDE! that sucks!

-Danny

jayitx

I'm actually pretty happy with the Bose in my car. Nothing to complain about--sounds fine, no hissing, no shutting off by itself. I do have some CD problems with the Alpine in the glove box (song playback is bad on the last few songs of burned CD's).

nlpamg

****!!! That's what I thought, thanks for telling me, I'm most definitely going to write a letter to their management now.

scorchie

Although these kinds of statements are subjective, I think you're definitely hearing things.

The perceived notion that the Audio 10CD sounds better than an Audio 30 is due to a couple factors: that the Audio 10CD has a different frequency response due to its amplifier, and that the amplifier has a higher damping factor. The Audio 30 has a definitely different frequency response... whether one is better than the other depends on the source material and the preferences of the listener. The better damping factor of the amplifier output transistors is definitely a plus for the Audio 10CD.

However, when you start comparing the Audio 10CD, Audio 30, and COMAND, using a digital Bose system... if you hear a difference, it's definitely not due to an amplifier change. Obviously, no amplifier is used in the head unit if you are listening to a digital source (hopefully we're comparing CDs here and not the FM radio). Since the path of the signal is completely digital from the source (CD) to the amplifier (Bose), the head unit should have no effect on the sound.

Perhaps the next thing you will tell me is that if you color the edge of your CD with a green marker, the sound is also improved. (Those who do not understand this statement should do an Internet search on "cd green marker".)

-s-

nlpamg

****!!! That's what I thought, thanks for telling me, I'm most definitely going to write a letter to their management now.

Phillip711

write the letter to MBUSA, that's the most effective.

CitronC230K_03

plus if they were "painting" on the new console why does that require a test drive?

nlpamg

I was thinking of writing the dealership a letter (the service manager and general manager). Well, not just thinking, it's already written. I think I'll fax it in to them later tonight so that it'll be on their desks bright and early tomorrow morning. Do you think that I should cc it to MBUSA as well?

They actually didn't even put in a new console they "painted" the old one. I told them that the car pulled right, and they apparantly drove it for like 4 miles to "test" it out. But it still doesn't explain the 15.1mpg and the cd's...

CitronC230K_03

actually, yeah it does!

CitronC230K_03

well my perception is the Audio30 sucked. maybe i didnt give it enough time. i swapped with the Audio10 the day i picked up my car. the base in the audio10 was nice. as far the clairty goes for each radio, they are good IMO. its the base im referring to. the audio30 doesnt have any, COMAND a good amount, and Audio10, nice base as well.

wouldnt put a green marker on my CD's!

Phillip711

[QUOTE=nlpamg]I was thinking of writing the dealership a letter (the service manager and general manager). Well, not just thinking, it's already written. I think I'll fax it in to them later tonight so that it'll be on their desks bright and early tomorrow morning. Do you think that I should cc it to MBUSA as well?


That sounds like a plan.. Do whatever you need to do to get your console replaced to your satisfaction..

mick1

sorry to hear about your experience. i don't get the painting part. the center console is aluminum right , and they painted that console ?

nlpamg

No, it's actually the center armrest that was peeling. They painted the black plastic console.

CitronC230K_03

ive read about peeling issues. mine isnt doing it, but my shift knob is.

how did you find out they painted it. did they tell you, you read on the service receipt, or ask?

i would think they would replace the entire armrest with a new one.

nlpamg

I thought that they'd replace it too... But, it smelled painted, it still had the scratches underneath that my old one had, they told me, and there was no replacement item on the receipt. I think I may just call my service advisor tomorrow and tell her that I want it replaced. **** this paint ****. If she doesn't want to, I'll just send in the letter. I told this to my parents, and they weren't too enthusiastic about me sending in the letter b/c they think that the dealership will think that I'm way too damn nit-picky and that they may mess it up even more...

vadim

Whoa there! You are aware that both Audio 10 and Audio 30 have built-in equalizers, right? Well, even if the signal is "completely" digital, in no way does this mean that it can not be altered. If you ever dealt with sound recording - all processing is nowadays done in digital domain (hence the term DSP). That aside, even 'simple' oversampling can change the way the same CD sounds to a human ear. This may well be part of the reason why some CD players out on the market cost $30, and some cost $300 (and this is not a limit even in this day and age). Returning to the difference between Audio 10 and Audio 30 both coupled with the Bose amp - the former definitely is "perceived" as having a lot more bass than the latter (which is clearly inadequate).