Hey guys! Im new to this forum!

Well, I had my chance to take a picture of new C-class last saturday..

and it is really gorgeous... but wait.... can you guys tell me something's

wrong with this car..? yes it is headlight!!

what the heck is that? It doesn't have a projector and also new c-shaped

led light.....

I ordered my new 2012 c300 without lighting package.. and I'm very

worried if the car will come with that dumb headlamp... then i'll just cancel
my order..

 

Thats the 2012 without the lighting package. Regular Halogens.

 

seriously? how come previous c-class without bi-xenon package has projectors but not this one? .... I can't believe mercedes makes such a cheap stuff like this... even much lower value cars

has a halogen with projector....

 

Yuk.. that's a step backwards.. even the pre-facelift W204s without bi-xenons had better looking headlights.

 

I'm not 100% sure, but I don't think that is U.S. Spec. I think you still get projector halogens no matter what in North America, just, if you don't get bi-xenon, you don't get the "C" chaped LED in the headlamp cluster, instead you get:


I pulled that picture straight from the MBUSA website, it is the only one that doesn't have the "c" shaped LED DRL in the headlamps. You can see it has a reflector based DRL in the headlight closer to the grilles.

EDIT:
Actually, I'm not so sure, I jsut saw another picture that still shows this reflector along side the "c-shaped" LED...


That would suck if the non bi-xenon packaged 2012's look like that!

 

That's what I believed... I took this picture from rallye mercedes dealer in rosyln, NY.

how come they have non-us spec one in dealership? I even saw the sticker on the

window that it is sold to somebody.

 

Look on the bright side. It has the MB three pointed star with the blue border on the little bulb reflector in the middle.

 

Someone posted PDFs of the C Coupe ordering guide in the coupe forum. On Slide 20 they have a picture of the halogen and bi xenon headlights.

 

Not to hijack the thread, but looking at those close-ups of the bumper makes me think how much better our pre-facelifted cars would look with the new bumper! Sooner or later, someone (maybe a sponsor here, or someone on eBay) is bound to start selling these for our MY '08-'11s.

Now, back to regularly scheduled programming

 

I really really really don't understand why they downgraded look of headlight.....

for my c300.. pick up date is this coming thurs or friday.. hope it is not too late to

speak to the dealer and add lighting package or whatever.. I can't drive a car with that

trash headlamp.

 

I feel for you. It stinks to think your going to be getting one thing, and then get another. I don't think you are obligated to take delivery of the purchase (and if they try to tell you that you are) say that you were under the impression that it would look completely different. When you ordered it no one explained the 2012 headlight assembly would be drastically different from the bi-xenon equipped one (previous 2011 models suggest they would look nearly identical). If you are dealing with rallye I don't think you should have any problem, they seem very good in my book (have had nothing but good experiences with them). I would definitely contact them, the sooner the better and voice your concerns.

If they are giving you a hard tme, or you have to order the vehicle. I know a BUNCH of guys ranigng from salesman, to finance manager, to new car manager at Mercedes-Benz on Huntington in Suffolk County on Long Island. They will definitely do whatever you need to make you happy. And they have always beaten whatever pricing rallye has given me.

Looking back at the picture, it is U.S. spec as it has the amber front bumper side reflectors (which euro-spec doesn't have).

I'm afraid that Mercedes-benz is shooting themselves in the foot again. They are starting to appear stingy and cheap, much like the early 2000 chrysler days that they have been ridiculed of and are supposedly making a "comeback". With them seeming to be posting record breaking sales numbers and profits, it just doesn't seem necessary to be improvising further cost-cutting procedures. As far as the w204 is concerned, I noticed this in 2010 when they changed the euro styled lock/unlock chirp for a horn beep that sounds like a cheap american car... Stupid little things like that are annoying and I can live with (heck, most people probably won't realize). But then to drop manual configurations completely, and only offer 4matic on c300 (and no rwd c300 to boot) and only offer c250 and c350 in rwd (when canada can get the entire offering) just turns me off from the brand completely. Now to cheapen the headlights with reflectors, raise the price of the c300 and have the c250 start slightly above the 2011 c300's price point at the same time just angers me... What gives?

I had an Infiniti g37 the day it came out, and Infiniti always offered a great value. That value is seeming better and better each day. I am always willing to pay a premium for mercedes-benz because it really is the best. But when a G25 vs C250 pricing is AT least $6,000 difference for c250 to get up to STOCK/BASE G25 options, and $8,000 difference when both vehicles are loaded. It CERTAINLY makes me think twice about re-buying into the mercedes-benz brand...

And like I said in a different thread, this is only going to get amplified. With Hyundai quickly aiming to be the new lexus. The equus offers a mind-boggling value that just makes you wonder how much the s-class and 7 series should really be. And by no means am I saying a Equus is better, but I think that the value it offers should say something. And you would be naive to think that they will never catch on. They have already expressed great interest in creating a new "luxury" brand distinction, much like nissan - infiniti. But they don't think that right now is the best time (they are first trying to prove they can make nice, reliable luxury vehicles with cars like genesis and equus).

 

I know this is pretty silly of me... but since I found out that headlight will come out like

that.. I really can't get to sleep (I remember when I asked for the lighting package, dealer was telling me it is a bit difficult to find one now, and so I thought I could just order one without lighting package and change bulb to hid's on my own later. Im afraid that dealer will tell me to wait for few more weeks for the car with lighting package ,, i've already waited enough..almost a month and I felt one day is like one month)

I never drove mercedes before since I was a huge fan of bmw.. but this time I hardly

made my desicion to go for the mercedes and it is really disappointing me with that

cheap looking headlamp. I guess it is a half my fault that I didn't ask details of the car

and to be honest with you I didn't even test drive the car, just ordered it without

asking questions and sign the paper. sounds pretty stupid right?

I made a deal at this mercedes dealer one in queens, till last saturday I wasn't even

able to see the car and finally saw one in ralleys dealer while I was passing by and got shocked!!!!

 

Yup, that's definitely the headlights for the 2012 c300 without the lighting package. I saw one 2012 (in white as well) at my dealership here in Colorado.

 

Umm.. yeah, that's not very good. I usually don't care too much about this type of exterior details, but I could see that this can be a problem for many. So this essentially adds $1290 to the MSRP, not to mention making a whole lot of cars on the dealer lots not so desirable. This doesn't seem to be a smart place to cut corners. I wonder what MB was thinking.

 

Looks awful. Belongs on a Classic with Taxi spec.

 

This picture shows a C Class without ILS. On the facelifted W204 you have the follow opportunities:

- Halogen with DRL in halogen too. ( Two bulbs in the bumper, like W221 or W212 )
- Halogen with LED DRL ( like on the Picture )
- Intelligent Light System with Xenon and LED DRL.

 

I just spoke to the dealer and they didn't even know it would come out like that...wow..

Now, I guess I have to spend extra $1290 to get rid of that rediculously awesome ugly

looking headlamp.. personally I prefer custom 5000k hid bulb than oem xenon.. but well,,

seems I got no choice at this point.

 

Just some food for thought until we get a certain answer. Perhaps only the c250's have this headlight, and the c300's will have the projector headlight standard? This makes the most sense, and given the picture on MBUSA shows a base c300 with this projector headlight, it makes some sense to me...

 

** update info **
dealer just called me back and informed me that car will come out with projector housing even tho it is not bi-xenon. He said it should be same as 2011's one so there's nothing to worry about.
Now what... who should I trust..?

 

Your dealer is not giving you the truth, the car in the first picture is a US spec car (the orange sidemarkers on the bumper are a giveaway) without lighting pkg. If you are so concerned about the headlights, why dont you spend the extra money and get the lighting pkg?

 

Of course I asked for lighting package. But they said it will come out with projector.. and why would they lie such a thing? As I mentioned already I personally don't like 4300k oem xenon light..id rather get 5000 k hid bulb and put them there on my own.

 

get the light package and then change the 4300k bulb to a 5000k bulb. problem solved.

 

I guess its time to add the lighting package.

 

Sit tight and wait till your car gets here. If your dealer has gone on the record and said that your car will have the projector housing, you have some wiggle room if the car comes out different: you can walk away, or at least negotiate and avoid paying full price for the lighting option (if the dealer turns out to be wrong / doesn't know, how can it be your fault as the customer - you had no way to make an informed decision).

 

that's what Im exactly going to do !