Yes of course it's an easy task. Easy and right are completely different subjects. To say it's remedial indicates it's something Mercedes might consider doing. I'm absolutely convinced they simply won't rebadge cars. Some here seem to think if they get a C450, when the C43 starts coming off the trucks, they'll be able to go over to their dealer and the dealer will just take the C450 badge off and put on a C43 badge. They're dreaming. And yes of course one could likely go to Amazon and buy any manner of badges. Having the ability to get a badge off Amazon, doesn't make it right to do so.

Oh and using Shaq's car as an example is not in the same league. Chances are his car was a one of a kind car, made for him exclusively. If you're as famous as him, you can likely get your dealer to do exclusive things for you too.

Thanks, Norway! Appreciate it.

I agree, I wouldn't do it myself. I find it odd when you see a car that is not the model the back says it is. but I'm not sure the dealer would care one way or the other what someone wants done to their car.


a simple run of the vin number would show what the car truly was.

It's not whether the dealer cares, it's whether the dealer will participate in changing the badges. I truly doubt dealers will re-badge peoples cars.

Does anyone understand when a build becomes "locked"? I have a build with a delivery first week in Feb. . Trying to understand for future orders.

I think it's in the faq of the c450amg.com

locked mean you cant change options or remove options.
where you at ? when you ordered it ?

I think some dealers won't do it because it isn't a standard procedure with labor hours in the book. But I doubt all these dealers will think it is "wrong" as you have been saying and will refuse to do it because they have taken the Badge Police oath. It's not like they would be "protecting" the AMG brand or anything, these cars already have AMG badges. The badge on the back has nothing to do with dmv registration or insurance, so from that standpoint, it is a non-issue.

If some of the posts in here are true, this might even be a in-model year change, in which case it really, really doesn't matter. I'm skeptical of the in-year change though, seems like an odd thing to do.

It's a badge and a name. Same car. Not a big deal.

I found it on the site. Thank you, just what I wanted.

I have not gotten a status code from the dealer yet. Ordered first of November .the main hold up was the surround view. Still the date has moved twice already and starting to feel like I am being stringed along. New date is first week of February .

my build date is supposed to be Feb 8 2016, ordered Dec 15 2015. i have parking package with surround view camera too.

noticed this today. guess they used to be Diamlers signature, didnt see anything on why the changed it up and i wonder if thats across the line up, or just the C.

Can't people just order the pieces and badge it whatever they like?

I mean, as long as Mercedes will sell the pieces might as well go badge it a C93 by just turning the 6 upside down. Why be satisfied with just 43?

And that way the car will be worth more because it is one of a kind and has a higher number than the C63...

Exactly and stick an M and VTEC sticker on there too.

Was actually going to mount a little Bentley guy on my hood.

too much?

Heck, you can stick an F-150 badge on the back of your C450; just don't try to tow a 10,000 pound trailer with it.

My build date is Feb 9th. Can't wait.

Personaly I will never rebadge my C450 to C43 because :
- 450 is the most powerful model in its category of MB and would become the entry level in C AMG
- I bought an AMG sport model (like S vs RS or M sport vs M)
- it is not a pure AMG even if they badge it everywhere as far as th engine is not single name signed
- MB is making a big mistake in changing the nomenclature
- C43 is lower than C45 which is for me a real entry and lower level of AMG.
- there will be only few 450 and many C43 going forward some I prefer to be in that exclusivity


Thx

I ordered the same time and am told my car is 1-2 weeks away (on a train presently).

They never risked giving me a date before as there is variability.

P

Hey Bourne, all good points. I wasn't specifically asking my sales guy at all about changing the badging from the 450 to the 43 AMG - He had called me yesterday to tell me that he's speaking with all of his customers who have a 450 on order to ask them if they wanted the badging changed for free upon arrival, as the 450 and the 43 AMG will essentially be the exact same car. I haven't decided what I'm gonna do... but I do like the points you've made about the 450.

exactly !
when you see E500, you know it's higher end of E350
when you S600, you know it's higher end of S550
when you see C450, people know it's a higher end of C300

when you see C43, it's the lower cheaper model of C63

Is it common for dealers not to give you the status of the build? I asked and Kind of got a reply that seemed like I was crazy for asking. I just wanted the netstar build status .

You're not crazy, but depending on when you ask and how frequently you ask, it can likely be annoying or even pointless.

Once you're given your build date or production start date ETA, there can be anywhere from 1-2 months with no Netstar updates. So for instance, if you're given a build date of March 10th but keep asking about updates now or in February, it's likely that your dealer has no status updates to give you beyond what you've already been given.

Netstar will typically start listing updates once your vehicle hits and starts production, completes production, gets assigned to a ship/rail, hits the VPC center, gets assigned to a truck for transport to the dealer, etc.

A good dealer will provide you with the occasional update as they come in, or at least when the vehicle is closer to arriving. Otherwise, I'd say just relax and seek an update for your vehicle after the build date hits.

When you see AMG on the trunk lid, you know it's better than a regular MB. When you see 2 numerical digits instead of 3, you know it's a top tier MB and not an average run of the mill family style MB.

Now, I don't really buy into either of the above, but I'm making a point. Both are valid (or were, at least) to many people. Everything you're saying can easily be countered in this regard.

Stop being so desperate to convince yourself (or others) one version is going to be perceived as better than the other simply because it's the one you have. They are, for all we know, the same damn car. There's really no point in claiming one is better or worse than the other until we know otherwise. Besides, 99/100 people you pass on a daily basis don't give two ****s what car you're driving and they for damn sure don't care what the trunk lid says enough to analytically think through "It's a large number so it must be better" or "Its two digits so it must be awesome."

After two schedule changes and a delivery date of two weeks away you could say I am of really able to relax yet. 😀