Hi All,

I bought used C300 4matic 2016 few weeks back. My previous car was 2005 Corolla. The most reliable car. Never failed on me. Awesome car. It has 135K, still runs like a son of a gun. I changed only the perishable items like tires,brakes and filters and Oil change. I never felt this car is going to stop in between. OK.

Now my Benz. The driver seat is the worst. Its too low. Feels like i am sitting just inches from the floor. Whatever the adjustment i do, I never feel comfortable. Its hard too, not plush. My right knee doesn't have space. I feel like its pressed against that big center console. Second, Controls. 3 locations to control the same. one from the steering wheel, one from the center touch Pad/ controller push button, the other one is the physical buttons. What is the need for all 3? With all these, you can't list songs by folder by folder. It will put everything together as a single big freaking list. To choose preset radio, I need to do Menu - > media -> radio -> Comedown -> Cycle list to choose preset menu -> cycle thru preset stations, instead of just pressing one button in corolla. Third and the important is the jerk while gear changes from 1 to 2, 2 to 3. WTF? This is like phone with 1000s of functions,but actual phone function (talking and hearing) doesn't work properly. In my corolla, you wont even feel that its changing gear. I really feel bad to compare this car with corolla. But still the functionalities and comfort I enjoyed in that basic car is lacking in this luxury car here.

The Last concern is, the fear of maintenance. When I read about the problems you guys discuss here is really scaring me. It may be buyer's remorse even with buying used car with the price equal to the new car of Toyota/ Honda. But I am wondering how some guys felt when their brand new $40-50K Benz had some piston issues. Looks like I need develop some bond with this car like Avatar movie where men and animal get connected. Lets see.

The plus is the blind spot warning system. I will add if I find anything interesting. I am also aware that I may not feel the advantage of all wheel drive, flat tire running capability and Eco mode.

 

Did you drive this car before buying it? You would have noticed all the things you list that you dont like.

Did you do any research on cost of maintenance/ownership before you bought it? Its well known that maintaining a Mercedes is more costly than an entry level economy car.

 

I think, Lot of issues discussed here doesn't come under maintenance. Oil change is maintenance, Piston crack - is not. They are manufacturing defects.

 

The ‘15s were the ones with most engine issues.

 

Sorry but why did you buy a Mercedes? You should have kept on driving your ideal car ie toyota corola. How many bhp does this Corolla have? Is it turbo charged? Does it have 4 Agility selection? Airmatic by any chance? Luxurious from the inside? Sporty dynamic? Aggressive? Sexy? All negative things you mentioned about the W205 do not make sense to me. Please dont compare luxury to economy. Luxury vs luxury and economy vs economy. My car seen in the picture 75,000 Kms so far. I had an auxiliary battery replacement. That was the only repair job. Oh yes my car is a 2015 so my oem battery died hence i changed it. I am thankfull and greatfull to Mercedes because it gave a quality car that combines luxury with sport


.

 

Others are also having piston issues. 2 weeks after I bought mine I noticed that the car is making noises that are not normal. Dealership says that this 4 cylinder engine is unique and loud. The wipers go nuts on the windshield, but only when it’s heavy rain outside (usually the opposite). The dealership replaced them but it didn’t work any better. Some Bosch aero twins from amazon fixed the issue. AC also has begun to smell. The transmission randomly jumps sometimes when going from 2-3. None of these are issues that will likely leave me stranded but nothing about this car equates with quality to me anymore. This is my second and last Mercedes. The first had much more significant issues and left me stranded. Took me 7 years to look at another one. The dealerships are generally pleasant but I’ve gotten used to hearing “This is normal for this vehicle or simply part of how it’s designed.” I have a feeling when the wave of boomers going into retirement crests Mercedes is going to be in trouble.

 

Strange indeed how come those issues do not show up on German MB. I am a member of a local (Lebanon) w205 watsapp group no one complained about these issues.

 

You traded it in at 135k? You should have kept on pushing it My dad's '99 Avalon had 416,000 miles on it when he got rid of it last year. He never any mechanical problems with that car. It was amazing. My last Infiniti had about 200k miles also and never any issues. I do think that the Japanese engines are just more durable.

 

nonsense. Here's the reality of it.

Common problems/issues:

Wrist pins: only affected a few people and fixed for free by dealership
Wind noise: if its an issue, Mercedes will upgrade your front windows to acoustic glass for free in certain years, see the thread up top
Front axles: early C400's have clicky axles up front. MB replaces both for free and gives a new 2 year warranty on them
Pano-sunroof: free design update. Comes with a 2 year warranty from MB
Hi Flow fuel pump: some are kinda ticky when cold, its not an issue
EGR pump: In the winter sometime the EGR valve sticks and throws a code. Goes away after warms up. Replace if you want to, but its not necessary

There's literally one guy with 5 threads about how terrible these cars are, but he doesn't mention he's got some grey market ****show he tried to work on himself with no mechanical ability. Another guy has threads about some wrecked C class he bought and is trying to fix with chinese ebay parts! Seriously, you can't take forum evidence for anything.

As for the infotainment, it took me a while to get used to it to. I don't use the touch. I think they just put all three ways there in order to accomidate any preference, but it was overwhelming as a result and they changed it in 2019.

Maintenance:

Service A: It's just a lube/oil/filter. Dealership will cost double anywhere else. Any shop can work on a C300, it uses no special parts or tools and doesn't require specific MB Branded fluids (like BMW, for example). Any mechanic can work on it with any tools or fluids.

Service B: It's just Service A with new brake fluid. That's it. Nothing else. Any mechanic can do it. You can do it.

All other maintenance is in the manual for you, and MB will sell you the parts to do it yourself if you want. They even provide some documentation on it, like how to replace spark plugs yourself @ 50k. But there really isn't much to do. The transmission is a sealed transmission, so is the rear differential. The brakes are nothing special and require no special tools, and just regular brake pads. O'Reilly's or Autozone can even turn the rotors for you for $20. They're nothing crazy like the AMG or S-Class stuff.

But really, that's all. The C-Class is Mercedes' money maker. IT HAS TO BE RELIABLE OR THEY ARE OUT OF BUSINESS. They try the new **** on AMG's and stuff like that. But the C Class? It's Germany's Honda Civic.

 

have you reset the transmission's learning thing?