So Ive been having the jerky tranny prob since I bought the C32 from Carmax, about 6 months ago. Not too harsh but noticeable. I do have a Valeo Radiator made in 2001. Heeding advice from all the other posts I have read I took the car to the dealer to have the glycol test done. The Glycol test came up negative or less than 100mg. The tech said I had a stored fault for "P2502 Gear implausable or transmission slipping", which he cleared, I also had a warning of "Engine oil level too high". The dealer charged me $220.00 for the tests and said the oil level was .5 Ltr over causing Oil level fault. Carmax was the last one to change the oil. So anyway, I take my bill to Carmax to get reimbursed for the oil level being overfull and to have the dealer take out .5 Ltrs. Carmax payed for everything including the Glycol test. So with the check they gave me I cut my losses and bought a Behr radiator for $160.00. Carmax has also foot the bill for new rear pads and rotors, and new stabalizer bar links. I am surprised and I may just buy another vehicle from them. I just wont let Carmax mechanics touch my car.

That's awesome. I wish some one payed for my new brakes and rotors.

"paid" not payed...

It was the OEM rear pads and rotors, but hey, i'll take all I can get.

Glad to "Hear" that all went well

That's great...Customer service is not dead!!

I am pleasantly surprised also...
I am foremost cause they treated a man who defends their and our country with more then a respectful reinbursement...its people and businesses like these that stand out in my eyes...I am more then excited over the fact that Carmax acted so honorable to you my friend! You take your earnings and reinvest it right back into your country and they help by not making you spend so much in the same issues...I hope the tranny jerk doesn't get any worse I also heard that resseting ECU by disconnecting battery about 1 minutes helps to minimize it....keep reading about the tranny jerk and you might be the first to come up with a solution on how to fix it.

Glad to hear that it turned out well. I have long been fascinated by Carmax - they actually have lots of sweet cars at very reasonable prices.

They seem to be just learning how to deal with higher end cars though. Very hard to determine what option packages the cars have given the skimpy descriptions and the fact that Carmax can't possibly become expert at so many different makes.

But, bottom line is that customer service counts for a ton. And, it looks like Carmax understands customer service. Tip of the hat to them.

Its so funny. When I originally went to Carmax to look at cars I looked at an Eclipse a E320 and a C32 and thought Hmmmm Mitsubishi or Mercedes....Mit or Benz? I am sooooo glad that I picked the C32. E320 Is way too Grandpa for me. Nice car though. Any way, for sure +1 for Carmax.

funny..
I bought my C-32 from Carmax also.. and they were as good as Id have expected them to be..
However,my car has had a jerky,erratic shift since I drove it off the lot.. And a full throttle run leaves the trans in whatever gear it was in when you lift off the throttle..and it stays in this gear for sometimes a mile..at 5-6K rpms.
Wouldnt you know the local Knoxville Tn dealer cant duplicate the problem,even tho it does it every time Im in the car.
And it has a noticeable thump in the driveline on initial take off....
Is all this normal with the other-wise WONDERFUL car?????

Turbo16lbs has had similar experiences with Carmax as well
and your right dont let their mechanics touch ur car!

The car us supposed to do that...within reason anyway. It's a "performance" feature so if you go to pass someone and have to let off quickly and get back on it, you're already spun up the it will hold the gear. If you want it to shift, let off the gas tap the shifter to the right to manually shift. Sometimes mine will get hung up and won't want to up shift but just hold the shifter to the right and it will figure itself out.

As for the tranny jerk, most of us have than nagging problem. Nothing has worked for me. Shortly after I purchased mine I kept it in the shop for over a month while they replaced the tranny, TCU, and I don't even remember what all else. I am convinced it's part of the "adaptive" learning causing the problem because it will go away when you clear it out but comes back like clockwork. Even after a tune, which eliminated the problem for a few days (same as clearing adaptations) the jerk came back strong as ever. I've learned to live with it.

good decision i'd say!

Wow, this thread came back almost exactly a year from birth. Wierd. Even though the C32 is pretty much packed up for the Bavarian winter and driven only when the sun is out, it still kicks @ss all over most of the other things on the Autobahn. But hey, AMGC32-58, that gear holding problem isnt really a problem and was designed to do that as SilverBulletAMG stated. The tranny jerk......Its something we live with. Thump in the driveline sounds serious and I would take it back to CARMAX. You have a certain time (30 days I believe) for them to make free repairs. G/L and keep it on 4 wheels

I'd probably fill this page with numerous encounters with Carmax and their excellence. Carmax is definitely the place where I would get my next vehicle without a doubt. Don't be afraid to use your warranty!!! I practically have a new engine thanks to them!!!

Actually I purchased the best Warranty they(Carmax) offered... but its only as good as my ability to collect. lol
Carmax throws their hands up,and the dealer,who drove it 4 days,says they cant feel anything wrong with it... even tho the Tech,and the Manager says they feel the thump on take off.... wtf?
I LOVE the car.. these things worry me as far as completly breaking after warranty expires. (btw..thats when the dealer says they know just whats wrong)

driveline thump could indicate a problem with the 2 piece driveshaft. could be the flex disc or the center support bearing.

I saw that a Carmax around here has an E55 AMG for sale for $24k. I might have to go check it out. Yet another example of Carmax being full of surprises.

An E55 is my next purchase when I get back to the states. This car over here would probably cost $40-$50,000

I bought mine from Carmax. The car was perfect. The experience was easy and would buy my next car from them. They had an E55 that was in great shape when I bougtht my E550. Here's one I saw today:
http://www.carmax.com/enUS/view-car/...5-cebbc6be1e56

hey guys,

i've also bought my car from carmax, and i got the maxcare extended warranty.

now i've got a question; when i bought the car, they told me that i could go to an authorized repair place, and carmax will take the bill as long as i pay a 75$ deductible. is this true? i have my paperwork in sacramento, so i can't go over them. would i be able to take my car to a mercedes dealership, have them fix everything, and then take the bill to carmax to get it reimbursed? or do i have to tell carmax that, and then they take the bill instead of me footing for it first. i'm a college kid, and there's plenty of crap i needa get redid, such as my engine wiring harness, sunshade, sunroof, etc. let me know, thanks guys!

I take mine to the M-B Dealer,they diag. the concern,then call the warr. co. and its approved or not then. If you have a problem that Carmax can repair,the warr is lowered or done away with... I tried that,and they threw their hands up quickly. lol

It cost me 75 dollars to get a complete new rear window installed because the radio would go out when I hit the rear defrost... $1200.00 dollar repair!

Always good to hear seller standing behind their product.

I am curious: How do you tell if your car has the Valeo Radiator or not? I know that most if not all the 2002 models did but they changed sometime in 2003. Is there a tag somewhere? I looked and cannot see one. My car is an '03 model.

As for the tranny jerk, my car is not doing the low rpm 1500rpm jerk that I hear described by alot of owners. When it is cold, if I back up and shift to drive quicky, there is a marked jerk forward when drive is engaged but it goes away as soon as the tranny warms up and I consider that normal, especially in the frigid weather we have had this winter. If I shift from reverse to neutral, pause for 2 sec and then shift to drive, the jerk is non-existent.

As some of the posters said, if you go full throttle and suddenly lift to zero throttle the tranny TCU programming goes into a sports shift mode and will hold the gear and not up shift for several seconds unless you lightly get back on the gas or as another posted, push the shifter to the right (I did not know that one - thanks!). It is assuming that you are going over an alpine pass and are needing the engine braking affect or that you are on a track day and are decellerating into turn 3 and will need to be in the lower gear to power out hard so you can draft-pass that pesky M3 you are following

When you drive the car very aggressively this actually works pretty darn good. Its not a manual gearbox but is OK.

Irish

so what you're saying is that if carmax says they could fix it, they won't let the dealer do it? i don't want them touching my car, and last time i had repairs, the same problems showed up. i needa do engine mount, alternator, etc etc.