I purchased my 2024 C300 a few weeks ago and every time I drive the car it makes me more and more pissed at my dealership. I asked time and time again if the car has the advanced ambient lighting and was told yes it does because it is the exclusive trim. I was assured it has it.

Since I bought the car in the day I couldn稚 see the lights but I figured the guy who sells these cars literally every day would know if it had it.

Well it doesn稚. Then I learn no 2024 models have it. All the dealer can tell me is sorry, he didn稚 know.

I can稚 return the car. Mercedes corporate won稚 do anything. So now I知 stuck with a car with the features I wanted but didn稚 get because I was lied to.

We need to abolish private dealers already. I知 pissed at this one and I don稚 think I壇 ever buy a Mercedes again if this is how they are allowed to sell cars.

Good thing I知 reminded about it every day.

 

First off, there's no such thing as Advanced Ambient Lighting. I'm assuming you mean Enhanced Ambient Lighting. Secondly, the dealership didn't lie to you. As far as I understand, there's a parts shortage, so the factory decided to build the cars w/o it. This happened a lot during the pandemic and some suppliers still have issues. It's up to you to read the window sticker and verify that it has everything you wanted before buying it. These omissions should be noted as credits on the window sticker and you can refuse taking delivery of the car if it doesn't have all the options you wanted. Now it's too late, though, as you accepted the car as-is.

 

Advanced, enhanced, whatever it痴 called, I specifically asked the dealer if it had it. I asked about the lights in the vents and dash because I knew there was a difference between the standard and enhanced lighting. The salesman told me yes, it indeed has it. That痴 the lie so I don稚 know why you池e telling me he didn稚 lie when he explicitly told me the car had a feature that it doesn稚 have.

The window sticker did not mention a credit or reduction of any feature or package. It lists the exclusive trim, which even on Mercedes own website for the 2024 shows it has the enhanced lighting package.

Regardless of any excuse I知 given about a parts shortage, it doesn稚 change the fact that the website showed the exclusive trim gets the lights, the salesman told me it had it, and it simply doesn稚 have it with no mention if a reduction.

 

Driving-J
I definitely sympathize & empathize with you. In the military we had this person called a recruiter. They have been accused of being championship liars/storytellers. The stories they tell sound so good, so sweet, so reassuring. But many times the outcome isn’t as promised. If you get the perspective of the recruiter, they will tell you they are honest, and they don’t lie. What sounds like a lie to a recruit, is not the recruiter lying(according to the recruiter). The truth just changes. And in their defense, the military does have the habit of changing the rules without notice, and pulling the rug out from underneath you.
As for your dealer, they made a cardinal sin of business. Overpromising and under delivering. They should under promise and over deliver.
I am definitely on your side. I think to a great extent, I know what you are feeling. I hate it that you got the “recruiter” treatment. If it’s any consolation, and you have never had any experience with a military recruiter, now you know what to expect.
The only good defense, in a situation like dealing with an issue on that level,, is get what you really want in writing. The pen is mighty. Sometimes mightier than the sword.

 

It's only a lie if the sales person deliberately lied to you rather than also being under the impression that it had it, because it was listed under the Exclusive trim package. This sounds more like an honest mistake on the part of the sales person unless you have grounds to proof that they deliberately tried to deceive you. It's clear that neither you, nor the sales person actually verified before the purchase that the car had the option. How does the proverb go again? Trust, but verify.

 

Regardless of the intent, the consequences are the same. I have a car without features that I wanted. It doesn稚 matter how honest their mistake was, the point is when I asked the guy who痴 job it is to tell me the features of the car about features of the car, and those features are later found to be missing, it needs to be corrected.

I don稚 think I知 being too outrageous in asking them to either add the feature in through a retrofit, or to provide one that has the lighting.

 

It definitely sucks.
Is there anything that the dealer can do to make it up to you?
If you can think of anything they can do to make it up to you, make a list.
Ask the dealer what they might be willing to do to make it up to you.
Between what you might ask for and what they may be willing to offer, maybe it can be worked out.

 

Unfortunately to me the only options are to add the missing lights to my car or switch me into one that has them. It was a dealbreaker feature for me honestly.

 

In principal you are absolutely right. In reality, the sales people know less than you think. Key here is to stay calm and professional and have a chat with the general manager or sales manager about the mistake and how they plan on making good on it.

 

I hate to ask but:

Did you not test drive and ensure everything worked prior to signing or agreeing to anything?

Cars are one of the few things that prior to purchase, you can test drive first to make sure it is what you want.

OK, stores let you try on shoes and clothes before buying.

 

I'm assuming you'll take a big loss if you sell the car. Ask them if they'll be willing to do the coding if you install the lights. I can't lie to you, if you think there's no way to return the car, I would take the loss and install the lights. For me it, changes the complete experience of the car. Without the lights I probably would've felt better buying a 3 series/a5 saloon.

 

I get your frustration with the situation and I'd feel the same way. Next time just check for things like this before signing off on the car - we live and we learn.

By any chance, have you accessed the settings in the comfort>ambient lighting and looked at the brightness of the zones? There are multiples zones and your accent might be turned down 0.

 

Dealers and sales people are nothing but bunch of cussies , all they know is to how sell cars and services to uneducated people, that's all. Consumers need to do their own home work before purchasing anything especially when there's so much information available so readily on line --- all you had to do was to get the VIN and see the options yourself

Few years back I had to buy a car for my FIL and I was dead set on leather seats, 6 cyl and a moonroof and guess what, 4 hours into the drive back home I realized the dang thing didn't have the moonroof, can you imagine how I felt and how mad I was LOL Funny thing was, even the sales man had told me it had all 3 options I desired so I never confirmed and just like you, the new car excitement blind folded me as well and I couldn't see the obvious

It's just one of those life experiences, happens to all of us all the time

 

what did the window sticker say as far as the option ??? Was it listed as an option?? I had a 2022 C300 that because of a parts shortage didn稚 have hands free access. It was listed as a credit on the window sticker and specifications sheet because due to the pandemic the part was not available. I always check the window sticker and I get the specifications sheet from the dealer that gives a detailed printout listing of the options on the car.

as far as responsibility, and please don稚 come at me, as a buyer of cars for 47 years with the last 8 years having 4 C300痴, it痴 our responsibility to verify that the car we are getting has the options we want. I understand your dilemma but in the end it痴 your responsibility to verify the car you池e taking delivery of has the options you want. Mercedes has a history of changing options available during different cycles of production, so it could be the dealer thought it had the option because other 2024痴 had it but in this case the specific model you purchased was produced without it.

as far as the website listing it as an option, many times earlier models are produced without certain features and then as supplies change those features are added on. Have you searched the forum for the 2024 ordering guide to see if it was part of that package?? After I got my 2022 in may 2022, cars were produced with the hands free access because the parts became available.

I just took delivery of my 2025 C300 and the option packages are different than my 2022, but the first thing I do when negotiating the purchase is to get the specifications sheet to check off it has what I want. I had a difficult time finding the car I wanted in the color I wanted with the options I wanted. I ended up having to wait 6 weeks for it to arrive from Europe. And before I took delivery of the car I asked my salesgirl to send me a video of the car to prove it had the options I wanted.due to a health situation earlier this month I couldn稚 go to the dealership to pick up my car so I got my car without me physically seeing it. But I verified the vin number matched my specifications sheet when she videotaped the vin number for me.

im sorry you have gone through this, but in the end it doesn稚 seem like you verified the options on the sticker or specifications sheet. I wouldn稚 want the dealer to modify the electrical system to add it as it could cause problems for you warranty wise and given the complexity of how these cars are built you could have electrical problems with the car.

Try and enjoy the car and see if the dealer will compensate you in other ways for the lack of this feature. I certainly wouldn稚 get it added to the car, but I would certainly ask them to give me a free first maintenance service for your car as act of goodwill.

let us know how it goes.

please see the screenshot below from the 2024 ordering guide I found in the W206 forum. It says from May to December 2023 enhanced ambient lighting is not available for ordering. That痴 in the 2024 ordering guide. it痴 quite possible your car was produced during that time frame and that痴 why it doesn稚 have the enhanced lighting package. Check your drivers door it will tell you when your car was made.

Debbie

 

I had a friend of mine that happened to the same thing with him he leased a 530 BMW was driving at home in the rain. Didn稚 really check the features of the car when he took delivery sign the paperwork and he realized it didn稚 have a sunroof. And then he called me and I said what do you mean it doesn稚 have a sunroof. How did you not notice that and he痴 like well I picked it up in the pouring rain. He went home, called his sales person and at the goodness of the dealership痴 heart and legally they didn稚 have to do this because in California and Los Angeles, where we live there is no cooling off. When you buy a car, that痴 the law, but the dealer took the car back after he had driven at home and signed all the paperwork and gave him a car that had the sunroof with all the options he wanted. But again, it was his responsibility to verify and had the dealer not been willing to do that he was would致e been stuck legally with the car.

 

I see a title...."Dealership Lied"...and think....huh, no ****, of course they lied. I bet we can all go on and on and on about how dealerships lied....heck, I had Jim Bolyn (RIP, dick) arrested for running from the police in my car (while it was in for service). A dealership crash a car (before delivery to me and try to hide it). A dealership try to say my car did not have options it has (when a new key setup was not working the windows) and on and on and on.....welcome to the life and styles of Car Dealerships. They are, in general, the scum of the earth.

 

What exactly is the difference between enhanced ambiant and not? Is it the vents that light up on enhanced?

 

actually most of them are yes, but I have found the most honest sales manager team at my dealership that I have ever met in buying cars. My guy who was the
gsn at my dealership who left and is now the GSM at a different dealership for a different luxury car manufacturer , went out of his way because I bought three cars from him when he was in charge of the Mercedes dealership, and he went out of his way for me to ensure that my new deal was the best I could get. in fact he saved me $600 down on my drive off fees and he saved me $ on my payment. I知 driving a $8500 more expensive 2025 C300 for less money than I paid for my 2022. So not all are scum. Didn稚 even have to do that because he痴 not at Mercedes dealership anymore, but he just made a phone call on my behalf and really help me out and those kind of people are rare.

 

The 2024 models made prior to December 2023 don't have ambient lighting in the A/C vents, The sides of the console, and the armrests on the doors. Mine was manufactured in September 2023 so I only have the more basic ambient lighting even though mine has the Exclusive package. I actually prefer it. It's less distracting at night.

The reason the mbusa website includes Enhanced Ambient Lighting in the Exclusive package is that they're configuring 2025 models, not 2024.

 

That's exactly what I was getting at. Cars are one of the few product categories where you get to try it before you buy it. Whether buying off the lot or custom ordering, you can test drive it and go over it to make sure it's exactly what you wanted before signing on the dotted lines. On top of that, some states have a so-called cooling off period of a few days during which the purchase can be rolled back if for any reason the buyer is not happy with the car. So know your rights before making a big purchase like this.

There was only one exception in the past where one didn't get to check out the actual vehicle before paying for it, and that was the European Delivery program, where you had to pay for the car and then fly some 4000 miles to Germany before ever seeing the car. I did that with my last two cars, so I was extra diligent during the process requesting build sheets and once the car was built MBUSA sent me the actual invoice, so I could make sure the car was built exactly as I ordered it. When my dealership first put the order in the system, they left out the digital instrument cluster which was a must-have for me, but there was plenty of time to correct the mistake. BTW, as said above, once you have the VIN, there are VIN decoders online that break down all the options, so by the time one signs the purchase agreement, one has all the information if they asked for it instead of relying on the word of a random sales person.

Being mad at the dealership after not verifying the vehicle before buying it, is a bit much quite frankly. I understand that it's upsetting, but the buyer is as much to blame for not verifying that it actually had all the options they wanted.

 

perfectly said!!!

 

Good thing I saw this thread, dealer had the car since 10/23... C300 4matic with AMG package (thought amg wasnt affected). Had dealer go into car and sure enough the air vents don't have ambient lighting, the car has exclusive package so has the extended ambient lighting but nothing on the window sticker gives a credit and car does not have it...

 

Yep, see the attached order guide. It's all in there. OP's sales person apparently didn't read it and nobody bothered to verify, either. It's understandably confusing as only cars produced during the timeframe below are affected.

 

I'm assuming that, "This does not affect AMG" means AMG C43 and AMG C63 because C300 with AMG Night Package made during 05/2023 - 12/2023 only have Standard Ambient Lighting.
Further proof that AMG Line is not Real AMG.

 

Correct. AMG Line is mainly just some cosmetic stuff to make the cars look more like an AMG, but it's not an AMG.