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I went by dealership yesterday and looked at the C300's on the lot. All of the tail lights protruded from the bumper like my car. I showed mine to the service advisor and pointed out how other Mercedes models around us lights are flush with their bumpers. He was not that interested in the problem and I replied I would make a future appointment to see what could be done.
So I'm sure you would agree with me that the red car's bumper alignment was unacceptable. I would have that adjusted.
Are you and Glyn referring to Vic's post #47? If so it appears that the red cars bumper is perfect and the white tail lamp is out of adjustment (barely). In fact I printed a picture of the red car to take to the dealer when I pick my car up in case there are any issues.
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
Originally Posted by PeteInGilroy
Are you and Glyn referring to Vic's post #47? If so it appears that the red cars bumper is perfect and the white tail lamp is out of adjustment (barely). In fact I printed a picture of the red car to take to the dealer when I pick my car up in case there are any issues.
Relook ~ the white cars plastic is better aligned ~ both could do with a minor tweek . What satisfies me with SA cars is that there is no noticeable variation. They are all the same & nothing looks misaligned. You can look at 20 of them side by side.
Last edited by Glyn M Ruck; 01-11-2015 at 12:42 AM.
Relook ~ the white cars plastic is better aligned ~ both could do with a minor tweek . What satisfies me with SA cars is that there is no noticeable variation. They are all the same & nothing looks misaligned. You can look at 20 of them side by side.
I took a look again at post #47 and just saw #49, and it's pretty much a draw. In #47 the left side white wins, but the right side of the red wins. I'm pretty ****, but either would be acceptable compared to the US versions. Thanks for your clarification.
Last edited by PeteInGilroy; 01-11-2015 at 01:17 AM.
late 2009 CLK 350 Coupe Elegance, '65 Jaguar S Type wires
Just to clarify:
Firstly the plastic bumper moulding must be accurate.
Secondly it must be fitted properly & clipped to the steel body so that the light aperture is uniform.
Then the light must be accurately fitted.
Here are photos of the bumper/tail light fit on my C400. It's the same on both sides. I don't think it's acceptable and probably can be easily fixed, I hope. The gap/alignment at the top causes the bottom of the tail light not to be flush.
When you look at that photo it's quite interesting. The chrome trim (lip) of the bumper lip obviously has a pronounced step ... so I wonder if the design is meant to be like that to carry through the line of that edge on the bumper as well ?
Regardless of the design though.. there's certainly seems to be a lot of variance in the build between cars.
Checked my sisters C300 with 12/14 build date, and the driver side tail light protrudes a bit and the fitment of the rear bumper is also misaligned on the driver's side a bit, much like the photo above.
Here's to hoping that the C350E will be all built in Germany...
When you look at that photo it's quite interesting. The chrome trim (lip) of the bumper lip obviously has a pronounced step ... so I wonder if the design is meant to be like that to carry through the line of that edge on the bumper as well ?
Regardless of the design though.. there's certainly seems to be a lot of variance in the build between cars.
The picture is a bit deceiving. It's hard to show the depth along the entire length. If the bumper section were pulled out about 1/8 inch to match up with the fender, it would line up with the chrome strip and the entire length of the tail light would be flush. That has to be what MB intended to do.
Funny how MBUSA hasn't commented on this poor quality standard.
I agree...much to gain for the business and customers alike if they acknowledged the QC issues, assured those who purchased they will be taken care of, and for future builds how it will be addressed immediately.
It's definitely not supposed to look like that. Mine is identical to the picture. The top of the bumper is pushed in too far. I'll check the fitment at the Philly Auto Show in a few weeks to see if they made any corrections because I don't think they'd want people seeing that.
So take a look at the official Mercedes Benz Press Release photos of the new C350 Plug In Hybrid. The one below shows the rear bumper lip in question, NOT flush to the fender. Presumably, MB chose and checked this vehicle properly before photographing it and releasing the images. So maybe the bumper is meant to be recessed?
So take a look at the official Mercedes Benz Press Release photos of the new C350 Plug In Hybrid. The one below shows the rear bumper lip in question, NOT flush to the fender. Presumably, MB chose and checked this vehicle properly before photographing it and releasing the images. So maybe the bumper is meant to be recessed?
That's interesting. I noticed the same thing. I would like to see the tail light fit on that vehicle. The tail light sticks out about 1/8 inch on the cars I've seen with the bumper misaligned. This thread actually started out as a tail light fit problem. Later, owners started to notice that it's actually the bumper fit that seems to cause the tail light to fit poorly.
Stan's car appears to fit nicely and the tail light is flush.
The picture is a bit deceiving. It's hard to show the depth along the entire length. If the bumper section were pulled out about 1/8 inch to match up with the fender, it would line up with the chrome strip and the entire length of the tail light would be flush. That has to be what MB intended to do.
I suspect that might be the case. I checked mine and it seems to line up perfectly with the chrome piece...
Here's a photo of the C450 at the Detroit show that I stole from Autoblog. Looks pretty bang on to me as far as how it should look. If anyone will actually be at the show, can you take very close photos? I imagine that some of the forum members here can use those to help convince the SA's at dealerships that poor fitment is not "just the way they all are."
Such a great car design that obviously on the exception it can be built well....and we have like 7 variations of the W205 now? Could they have just done 2 or so to start and gotten those built right and somewhat consistently?
01-10-2015 | 11:43 AM
