stratman1954

Bought a 2012 c300 sport about 3 months ago. Always wanted a Benz. Love the looks but.... don't like the seating position (seats themselves are o.k.) but can't find a place for my left leg ,Ride is a bit harsh with a lot of tire thump, got a nasty rattle in the front end, and the ashtray fuse has blown twice. Thinking maybe I pulled the trigger too fast. Anyone else not so happy with their purchase?

LILBENZ230

If it is under warranty get the rattle and fuse issue dealt with. If you have the 18" AMG along with the sport suspension, yes the ride is bit harsh. It's a trade-off. The Luxury version might have been a better pick.

Agree with you on the seats.. merely OK. I had a 2005 C-class before and the seats and seating position in it were much better.

Acapulco Bill

Ditto what LILBENZ230 said, having purchased a C300 Sport after driving a Luxury. Warranty (hopefully it extends until 2014 at least) should take care of the fuse and rattle issue. I find that the leg support is poor, making long trips difficult as legs go numb. Others in the family agree.

About a month after buying the C300 Sport went and bought a FORD which is twice the car at half the price. Better cabin tech and more comfortable than the C Class Luxury with nicer materials and better build quality. Better EVERYTHING actually except acceleration and brakes. Result: In 3 years FORD 46k miles, W204 14k miles. The Ford actually requires less service than the Benz, still waiting for its first "B" service at 50k miles.

Otherwise, the C300 Sport is an OK vehicle, certainly better than the 3 Series or the A4, except for what OP states and the 7G transmission that thinks it is a washing machine. Or maybe it is a refrigerator? And that said with "M" mode and paddle shifters.

OCDBenz

I'm really trying to love my Benz, but I just can't. Nice car, comfortable, but miss the performance of the BMW. I've done some mods that make my car a little more fun to own, but I will be going back to BMW in a year or two. I have numerous rattles, a whumping sound at higher speeds that can't be diagnosed (sounds like a wheel bearing or an out-of-balance tire), my brakes squeak, and a few other minor inconveniences. I also miss the free maintenance from BMW. No offense to MB, but I think I made a mistake by jumping ship on BMW. I drive my wife's 1-er whenever I can.

beneliezer

same. also miss the performance of my 3-er. Disappointed with MB. I have an '11 C300, also with a front end rattle that the dealership refuses to address after numerous visits. That 'whumping' you describe, is it only at a certain mph? try setting cruise at 63mph, if you here it consistently, its likely the tires, as was in my case, ended up figuring that out on my own as the dealer was too incompetent. The 7G is in fact a slushbox. Had the car tuned by OE and it helped acceleration a bit, but can't overcome the transmission.

last MB i'll buy unfortunately. wish I got an F30 instead.

JaredP

I'm a little disappointed with the tech, especially in Canada where we do not get MBrace at all. No official iPhone 5 support, and my Spotify streaming doesn't work very well. Otherwise, I'm loving it. Itching for a bit more power.

ahr69

Boy do I feel for you guys.
My wife has her C250 '13 since March 10, 2013. She hates the car. She complains: The car surges forward when she accelerates from a stop, like at a light, which has made her fearful of driving it. The car only has 900 miles on it and is 3 and a half months old. It sits in the garage; she won’t even drive it, for fear of an impending accident. She almost hit a car before at a light last week and subsequent times before in traffic. She also can't stand the tinny feel from the door closing on the driver’s side. Which makes her feel un-safe driving the car? The seats are giving her headaches from the non-padding of the seat backs. We've been in touch with chef mechanics regarding the surge problem and have been told this one: The car is too big for the engine and the turbo's software needs to be changed to accommodate for that problem. We feel that is why it surges from a stop. The car is trying to build up enough power for the transmission to engage. Does anyone have any helpful ideas to fix this problem, or to get MB to take back the car for a credit towards, let's say the E 350 class?

LILBENZ230

The front end rattle is a common issue and you have a dealer problem. My dealer addressed it right away. They replaced the front struts twice before handing the car back to me. Looking at the invoice, they first replaced them with the same part numbers and the noise was not completely gone so they replaced them with upgraded part numbers. No more front end rattle. This was at around 14,000 miles on my 2011.

What specifically is your complaint with the 7G? I feel a lecture coming on from Bill

LILBENZ230

Okay, having driven a C250 for a week I know what you're saying about the "surge" thing. It was a little difficult to get used to.. press down on the throttle and nothing..nothing.. then a sudden gush of power. I was used to the smooth, even power delivery of my V6. But I did get used to the C250 and, by the time my week with it was up, I enjoyed its spunky character. My C300 felt like it was towing a 53' trailer when I got it back.

That saying the engine is too small for the car is utter nonsense. The engine size and power ratings are more than enough for the C. You said "the engine is trying to build up enough power for the transmission to engage" - I am assuming this was what you were told. If so, the person who told you this simply strung words together to make a sentence and have no real understanding about the workings of a car.

I had no complaints about the seat in the loaner, seemed better than my 2011 but it could have been the same and I might just have enjoyed the newness.

Also, not sure where she gets "tinny" from. Nothing about the C-class has that feel. Everything feels very solid. Aside from the small overlap crash, the car is a very solid performer.

fireline43

I'm perfectly happy with my 2013 c250. Great everyday performance and road trip car. Has a spare tire! If I wanted a sports car, I'd get a mustang or something. If I had the money, i'd get a porsche.

LILBENZ230

You take that back!

fireline43

hahah, yea that was dramatic. i would think about the scion fr-s though.

vic viper

Doesnt anyone testdrive before buying a car these days?

beneliezer

My specific complaint about the 7G is the fact that in 'E' mode the throttle response is nearly non-existent. I came from a comparable vehicle (06 3-series) where I didn't have to mash the throttle to the floor to achieve a downshift.

I know the car HAS power, because in S mode its a different car altogether.

but alas, I shouldn't need to press the button.

beneliezer

that's a bit ignorant, no? I test drove the car. I was taken on perfect roads without a blemish.

Low and behold, first day driving on uneven payment after taking delivery and the front end rattles.

fireline43

It's funny you talk about the front end rattle. Thats the main reason I dropped my 3. I brought it to the deal 3 times within a 3 month span because it was making a front end noise. 3rd time after they said they can't find anything I asked for a test drive with the service manager. Low and behold he all of a sudden hears the noise when i point it out and says "i dont know what that is". They kept it for a couple days and gave it back saying that they really can't find anything wrong and gave me a checklist to fill out when ever I hear it again to write down when it happens. The SA also said that it might be something i'm going to have to live with. That was the end of my bmw days.
It wasn't just that point though also. I had my car at the dealership once a month with bmw for random stuff. Even the free maintinence would make that happen because I'd get an oil change but don't qualify for the brake service till the next month. Like just do them together so i dont have to come back all the time. The service area at BMW was always crowded.

danlnyc

I drove a 2012 C300 as a loaner and I hated it....

Marc Hufnagel

Well after 3 weeks with my C300 sport sedan I am finding myself disliking the car more as the days go by. Great experience for the first week but things you find out after 'living' with a car for aweek or three have been coming out.

1. Rain sensitive wipers. Soemtimes way too sensitive, sometimes will just stop for up to 10 seconds at a time during a light-moderate rain. Makes you panic especially at night.

2. auto-beam headlights. Apparently streetlights out in the country will make them dim. Different color spectrum but no other explanation. When I need brights they just sit there on low where it is completely dark on the highway, nothing in front or back. I've yet to get flashed from having highs on fortunately. But way too sensitive to dimming themselves for no valid reason and staying there long after any oncoming or cars have passed me (taillights).

That's two things there, wipers that will randomly stop wiping for lengths of time even though the rain hasn't changed, and let that happen when you have an oncoming car and the wipers stop at night.

3. When I get in and sit down I get a ka-clunk sound from the driver seat. I'm not a big guy (170#) and have not checked any other new c300's yet to see if it is just mine or not. I can gently raise and lower myself maybe an inch and reproduce it every time. Sounds cheap if they all do it.

I did have a retainer button pop off of the center rear seat belt the first day. Never did find it.

I have about 700 miles on mine and yes the mileage is great even with the v6, but I am kind of wishing I had kept looking a bit. I don't know if there are any kinds of updates on the two feature issues or not but I am going in for the seat and will mention it then.

I know I can turn off the autobeam lights and rain sensitive wipers, but they are touted as nice extra features that get mentioned in the sales pitch and should work right.

LILBENZ230

Did you have huge rims on the E90? The rims you have on your C300 are not helping the ride complaints you have.

I don't have to floor the throttle for a downshift in my 2011. It is less responsive than in S mode, but no need to floor it. If you are yo-yo'ing the gas pedal at any point you're defeating yourself. The 7G does not like this at all.

LILBENZ230

Well I don't know about the autobeam lights, but do the 2013s still have the two settings for the rain sensor? Mine has two sensitivity settings. One for less, one for more. You might use the more sensitive feature?

The seat noise if it does it every time should be able to be fixed. If you have heated seats, are you hearing the heating mat in the seat pop perhaps? My '11 did this for about 3 weeks but then stopped.

fireline43

I will agree it the rain sensing wipers. Mine do the same thing. They are manic depressive. When I bring it for service I was going to bring it up and see what happens.

Acapulco Bill

@Marc_Hufnagel: Suggest you clean the wiper sensor, and check post #5 in this thread. It is a safety issue so get it fixed, mine work perfectly.
https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-w...per-issue.html

As for the auto lights, there may be a threshold adjustment the dealer can make with the Star system to make them less sensitive. Option is just to perform turn-on and change high beans manually.

Wish the W204 was just 4% bigger and better everywhere. Guess that is the E, but the MY2010 E was just so... (mundane, ugly?). The 2014 E350 is something else, maybe a recommendation for @ahr69?

Marc Hufnagel

They actually were on the 'more' setting. I'll bring the seat up on my visit to the dealer soon if it doesn't stop.

Marc Hufnagel

I'll have them check on both, but just the point that it is a touted feature you know?

YoussefAbe

Im feeling the same way, im on my second month in of my c300. I love the way it rides, but thats about it. I feel that the interior lacks a lot.

1. contacts is a pain in the a to transfer from a iphone.

2. rain sensor is hit or miss on sensitivity, ill try to clean it and follow the other post.

3. the ipod hookup dosen't display songs on the main radio, but only on the driver side - pointless to me.

4. no volume level on the radio, how high do i know what im going and whats max ? the audio is horrible anyways.

i can keep on going. thinking about trading in for a 3 series coupe.