Good afternoon and Happy New Year,

I have owned 4 Acura's and it's time for a change. My latest is a 14 TL with SHawd.

I test drove the c43, such a great car and ready to make the move to Merc.

Looking at the build the car feels solid, but I do put on 20k miles on the car a year and will keep this car for 5 years or so.

What is the long term consensus on 4matic? Is it maintenance free fairly? On my TL I have to get the rear diff fluid changed ever 15k and that's adding up.

Look forward to working with this great forum.

I don't need a big car because wife has a mdx. Other cars I am looking at are the BMW 340 and 440.

 

id go in and get one of the maintenance schedule books from your local dealer. Also, talk to a tech while you're there and ask them what their services cost and how often they are. I have a c63 so it's a little different but you'll have service a and service b once every other year (a year one, b year two, a year three, etc). My dealer said 250 for a and 450 for b so I imagine yours will be close to that. The service booklet I have says change diff fluid every service A on AMG 4 matic vehicles. My diff service was 275 which is reasonable. Hope that helps. You'll for sure have to check with your local dealer(s) though because each one charges different amounts for service so if you find one that's cheap stick with them and save money that way. Or prepay maintenance or get it included in your purchase then you don't have to worry about it.

 

Hey, I might be able to help here. I've had a 2010 TSX , 2013 RDX, and currently have a 2016 TLX in my immediate family - I know exactly what you're used to driving from an overall Acura standpoint.

I noticed that t he C43 has a different level of sportiness to it and drives fundamentally different from every Acura I've owned. Overall - the C43...

1) Feels very different between different modes - Comfort, Sport, Sport+ as opposed to the Acura lineup which seem like they just holds a gear longer
2) Has a lot of road presence....the Acura lineup needs a refresh pretty badly, the beak is getting outdated so be prepared to get more road attention.
3) Is no where as close to as comfortable as modern Acura cars are on long drives. Soft suspension = a lot less driver fatigue over long distance. I would argue that my RDX was probably the best road trip car I've ever had.
4) Is not as good as the SH-AWD when it comes to winter driving. This is subjective but given that I live on the snow belt in Ontario, I feel a major difference in winter driving with Acura's AWD relative to 4matic. I have a CLA 4matic as well that has FWD bias and I am 100% satisfied with it in the snow. The C43 really is more tail happy with about 69% of power at the rear wheels in the 4matic configuration. You will notice a difference when you gas it in ice and heavy snow.

Overall, I plan on leaving the Acura brand altogether once the TLX's lease is up. I find that Honda Canada has terrible customer service and I've surprisingly had more issues between my Acura's than my German cars. Be prepared to have some electronic issue though - faulty light, backup camera glitch, etc. The Germans still haven't quite perfected that kind of quality yet I'm my opinion. As long as it's under warranty, you're good.

Take the 440 out for a spin if you already haven't. It's a very capable machine as well. I have a 435i as well and would be satisfied with having either that or the C43 if I really needed to decide which one I liked better.

 

Interesting you've had these challenges with Acura. A guy I know has a new TLX and it is indeed very comfortable and has quite a few more little features than the C43 (heated windshield, headlight washers, heated steering wheel, heated rear seats, etc etc).


I agree that the TLX is more comfortable on long rides.


Of course the C43 smokes the TLX in the power department and the PE makes up for most of the above noted feature deficiencies.

 

The current generation of Mercedes is pretty reliable mechanically, there won't be anything falling apart, but there will be some mild rattles and squeaks that you gotta pinpoint and get the dealer to look at during the first year.

The most serious issue that I've ever heard from Mercedes drivers around me was my own CLA250 which had a problem that kept triggering a fault code in the oxygen sensor system, it turned out to be a pinched wire that had worn through in the main engine wiring harness and was so ridiculously improbable that it took them a week to diagnose(I did get a free new oxygen sensor and a new wiring harness put into my car, for what that's worth), no damage done aside from mild inconvenience but curse those Hungarian grease monkeys.

 

There's a thread I initiated before I went for my C43 order. Tried the 340, Jaguar XE, C43, Tesla... all of them drive really nice, the Jag has a really nice rear end bias, up to 90%, 340 accelerates like crazy and feels really good. I went for the C43 as it has rear bias, (my opinion) a much better interior than the bimmer... oh, and it sounds amazing!

 

We have two 2016 TLXs in the family and both have had a handful of issues. The worst is the vibration issue that affects 1 in every 5 TLXs. Yeah, you basically have a 20% chance of getting one that will vibrate aggressively once you pass 100 kmph or 60 mph. We were lucky enough to get that on our second draw. No fix from Acura, issue arose the highway drive home from delivery and we're pretty much pooched until Acura releases a fix. The first TLX has had two software updates already to fix issues with aggressive gear holding in comfort mode. Overall, not impressed. The heated steering wheel and rear seats are nice. The touchscreen dual Navi is sweet too. If only they had spent a little more time fixing the fundamentals, it would have been a beauty.

 

I too have been a long-time Acura driver. I just sold my 2001 CL and got the C43 sedan. I've also driven a 2013 RDX and we currently have a 2016 RDX. I love the RDX. I second the comment above about it being the best long-haul driver I've ever been in. My kids love it too. The C43 is in a different league. Totally different experience. But an amazing one. Personally, for my own car (as opposed to the family "bus"), I'll never go back to Acura.

 

Can anyone share a ball park cost for monthly insurance on the C43?

 

$1200/year in ct usa

 

Could you also share what your deductibles are on that $1,200 per year cost?

 

$1200 seems like a good deal. I bundle home and auto and mine is a little more than that. Then again, I have a super low deductible and high coverages (required by my job). So your mileage may vary, but assume at least $1200.

 

I'm paying $1273/year for the C43 with USAA. (Have 2 cars, home, umbrella, and personal property insurance bundled.) Deductibles are $200 comprehensive and $500 collision, and I have the max liability protection they offer.

 

I have similar coverages, also with USAA. Mine is more, but that could just be because I'm in NY?

 

Hard to say what makes it different. I'm in MD. Could be that or it could be my, ahem, advanced age. Driving history, length of time with USAA, miles per year on the vehicle are probably all factors.

 

Vehicle brand/price/style (sport...) seem to be the most important factors. If you take all to minimum you can drop it by $100? Insignificant. Anyways, my $1200 quote is still part of a bundle, not alone by itself. I don't know the deductible.

 

GEICO $900/yr
$100/300
$500 deductible for collision and comp
Had been with USAA for many years but they wanted about double for the same coverage so went with GEICO.
Car insurance is a commodity so price matters.

 

And do you have any umbrella policy with other cars, home, etc that gives you this rate? Thank you

 

FL and no other GEICO policies

 

Geico $250/m in Brooklyn, NY :'(

 

$170/mo in Philadelphia PA. 100/300 full tort

 

I used to have an MDX, and used to love the Acura lineup. I switched to Mercedes on my last car, but took a long hard look as I did love my Acura. Unfortunately they are becoming vanilla - and lacking on the performance side - which was the original reason for the cars. Now they are just a cheaper lexus. Blah.

The C43 is awesome. It won't be as plush a ride for sure - and I find myself switching the suspension to comfort all the time. There is NO comparison in the rides.

The 4Matic is rock solid. Had it on my E550 (different system) and it was incredible. The fixed ratio on the C43 means it won't be as good in snow, but it is still pretty darn good.

I have no issues yet... but I am only a month in and 1000 KM. I love the fact I have 350 days left until I have to go into the dealer :-).

 

This is more like it for our neck of the woods. Sad but true.

 

Does anyone know how much it costs per mile for overage on a C43 lease?

 

I believe it's $0.17 here.