gfmohn

You might have mentioned that to get seat ventilation, you have to get leather seats. That is the sole reason I got leather seats. The MB-Tex seats in my W203 2007 C280 would build up perspiration, even though they were perforated. The ventilated leather seats of my C300 do not.

Mike5215

Yes. Selecting leather gets you a bunch of stuff including heat/vent.

BMWMB71

What i hate about my C450? The rattling and squeaking noises in my interior if i drive over bad roads. It drives me crazy!!!

Less bad, but also a disapointment for me, is the lower sound quality of the Burmester, in comparison with the Harman Kardon i had in my BMW F10 530d.

And, why is it the suspension so high!?! It's almost a SUV.

That's why i'm thinking about ordering a W213 E43 AMG.

bobhbenz

For Me...It's the Transmission, stays in first gear to long then shifts hard into second, and right into third, crappy!!!

BMWMB71

Yes, the transmission is not perfect either. When you come to a stop, and immediately push the throttle, there is a huge delay. Irritating.

Xtrema

Sport mode? I don't mind that.

Comfort mode, it shifts really fast.

As for time needed for downshift, there is no comparison coming from a DCT and ZF 8 speed, but I don't mind it as I don't do that a lot any more.


I would assume that the new 9 speed will be a lot better in this regard.

bobhbenz

Oh...One more thing, the Run Flats tires suck!

JBMCL

I'm not sure if this is normal but my trunk can actually be opened by anyone. I'm sitting parked in the driver seat and my trunk can be opened from the outside..

When I'm parked, it seems like anyone can reach under the trunk lid and open the trunk.

Is this normal? It seems pretty dangerous and in my previous cars, I've never had the issue where the trunk can be opened when the keyfob and driver is inside the car..

mcbc220

In addition to complaints about "No leather!", the other category I don't get is that of complaints about the transmission. Do people test drive the car before they buy it? If you want a ZF 8 speed, buy a car with a ZF 8 speed.

Mike5215

Look, I don't know how you guys buy cars, but I like to stand in the middle of the lot blindfolded and toss a tennis ball. I get whatever car it ends up rolling closest to.

cptobvious64

what the Fu#$ is up with the radio? Why does it take so long to "load" or play a station? This is with the "HD FM radio" feature. Is there any way to turn it off? Forgive my ignorance my previous car was extremely primitive and I'm used to a simple dial method with standard am/fm radio. Please enlighten me folks.

Xtrema

It's slow because of the Command.

HD FM is basically playing analog FM when digital HD FM is absent. But when playing digital HD FM channels, there is a slight lag in the decoding, much like XM Satellite radio.

But most of the lag is from the Command system.

That shows you how good C450 is when people just overlook this flaw.

Mike5215

Not only is the radio in my C slow, last night the Victrola in my house broke.

gfmohn

Don't you have to kick the tires? Seriously, keeping the lists of features and the choices of options straight is almost impossible. I spent many hours of reviewing the MBUSA website and read every online review I could find. Still, I almost made an option choice that would have had me cursing myself for as long as I owned the car. I realized only at the last minute that the heads-up display that I very much desired would not display navigation directions from the Garmin system. It would display only speed and general direction (North, South, etc.). I would have to order the COMAND system.

topsider

mine does the same thing even in eco it waits forever to shift out of 1st

Jdem22

Anyone noticing any of their doors (particularly the drivers door) not closing with a solid thud? My passenger front and both rear doors all close with that distinct thud you get with a quality built German car. My Drivers door sounds off, kind of tinny. Almost like the door panel had been removed at some point and put back on and they forgot something.

Mike5215

Definitely noticed it compared to the sound my previous car made. After having sound deadening material applied (while we were upgrading the Burmester) it now sounds solid.

mcbc220

How does it cost to Hush- or Dynamat the doors at a shop?

z28lt1

Well, in Eco (and i think Comfort) it starts in second gear actually, so that may be why it feels like a long gear,

Jdem22

+1.

I am starting to get annoyed with my dealer giving me the "sorry not hearing what you're hearing" response and there just aren't a lot of MB dealers near me at the moment.

Mike5215

Not much. Couple hundred bucks for both doors labor and materials. Any local car audio shop can handle it.

wumpyr99

You need to pull off the door lining and quite a few torx screws on the inner door module to get a look behind it. On the outer door skin there should be an OEM butyl adhesive based aluminium tile dead centre of the door. If it's missing it will sound as you describe. (I'd argue they didn't put the tile in the optimum place either).

If you want it to thud like an old Merc you'll need to apply more resonance damping/tiles.

Note that resonance tiles control only that, they don't really reduce noise very much. They are part of sound deadening, but it's not very true that they will have any major impact on sound reduction.

Mike5215

Yeah they used a good deal of Hushmat on the doors when we did the audio upgrade. So much they had to use longer clips to get the inner panel back on. They sound very solid now.

skhan007

This thread has been extremely useful! As a prospective buyer, who just took a C300 4Matic for a weekend test drive, here are things that are making me choose MB (this would be my first MB ever):

Love the interior more than any other interior in the same class. The smooth sloping console w/ open pore ash is gorgeous.

Love the shifter on the column! Huge selling point, as it creates a non-obtrusive look to the console and contributes to smooth lines and aesthetics.

Drove incredibly smooth (for me anyway, coming from 12 years of driving a Lexus SUV). Not sure what people are complaining about with the run flats. What should I be noticing here that I'm not seeing/feeling? The test drive was with 18" wheels.

Premium 2 and Multimedia were superb, as was the map display on the larger screen. Again, I'm coming from 12 year old technology in my current car, so all this a quantum leap forward.

Burmester was great and no issues with using two different iPods in each of the usb inputs and switching between.

Mike5215

I think ride quality is always relative to the nicest riding car you've owned. If the car on 18" RF isn't too firm for you, perfect. If not, swapping to non RF will buy you a little more compliance. They're also less expensive and last longer.

A couple of minor beefs with the interior. Design is great. Materials are so so. Fit between elements creates squeaks. Grab the top of the soft dash at the peak of the gauge binnacle and rock it back and forth. If it squeaks a little, with time (especially on RFs) it'll squeak a lot. Not hard to fix (cram some foam tape or felt in there) but kind of a drag.

If also recommend against the crystal gray leather. I have 7k miles and this weekend noticed a spot on the outside bolster of the driver's seat where the color has already worn thru and is showing black. I'll address it with the dealer or fix it myself but again, a drag for a new car.

The Burmester is okay relative to the standard system (which is terrible) but not great. I think 80% of the budget went to the speaker grilles. It's fine at low volume but beyond that the bass gets loose and the mids are overpowering.

Good car overall but for me it took about $5k to get it where I wanted it.