Hi everyone,

The purpose of this post is not to belittle Mercedes, but rather to give my honest opinion from my experiences.

I've been driving the new C43 AMG for a week now and I've already noticed during the test drive that the quality of comfort going over small bumps is noticeably worse than my traded in 2014 Lexus IS350 F Sport.

Right after I drove the C43 off the lot and into the freeway, I've noticed the quality of keeping out the wind and road noise is also noticeably worse than the Lexus.

Then the Burmester sound system quality is inferior in comparison to the stock sound system from Lexus.

I could ignore all those and it would not have gotten me into posting this thread.

What is disappointing is that my front passenger door cannot be closed without the need to use extra strength. Half the time my front passenger would have left the door open unnoticeably. I've tested the amount of strength needed to use to close all 4 doors and the front passenger door seems to have a defect. Perhaps from the latch.

Before I bought my first Mercedes, I expected it to be far superior to a Lexus. Now, of course, there are things that the Mercedes offer is better than the Lexus I traded in. However, when I've counted all the pros and cons between the two brands so far, I've came to the conclusion that I wished I didn't buy this Mercedes.

Also AMG does not live up to its name. I test drove the car, I knew the handling is not anywhere close to being better than the Lexus. The Lexus IS350 was far more of a driver's car and handles way better than this C43.

Now to be fair. I bought this car because I couldn't resist the AMG exhaust sound and the 0-60 with decent mpg rated. Also the design and material of interior cabin are more luxurious than the Lexus.

But........................... I expected Mercedes............. to be SUPERIOR

Is it because this car is manufactured by Americans in the US Plant???

This experience taught me to never doubt Japanese quality.

Somewhat regretted trading in my 2014 Lexus IS350 F Sport for this C43 AMG.

 

So let's see, you're in the US so that means run flat tyres. They are the same the world all over. Change them. Have you adjusted the bass mid and treble? If no, do so. Take the car back to the dealer and have them look at the door. Nicely explain the problem to them and I'm sure it'll get fixed. Handling is subjective, your experience is different from mine. I'm not going to go there on where your car was manufactured. As I've stated, take the car back to dealership and get the door fixed.

 

I agree with you here. The C43/C450 interior noise level is still better though compared to a BMW 3 Series or a Jaguar XE R-Sport.

I agree again. There is nothing special about the Burmester sound system in the C Class.

I couldn't disagree with you more on this statement. The Lexus has less HP, weighs more, and is slower than the C43/C450. I test drove a 2015 Lexus IS350 F Sport AWD before I bought my first Mercedes (2015 C300 Sport 4Matic), and although the Lexus handled better and had more power than the C300, the outdated 6 sp transmission and interior design steered me to the Mercedes. Now after buying my 2016 C450, that Lexus I test drove would definitely have been inferior in handling & power compared to my current C450.

 

The run flats are the worst. I bought my c43 in March and the tires are unbearable. I hear from people on here that if you switch to non-runflats, it's a dramatically smoother ride. However, it's hard to justify the expense of replacing them on a brand new car. Especially given that MB is aware that owners hate the runflats but won't switch them for you.

 

Couldn't disagree with you more. I owned a 2015 IS350 F-Sport and I think my C43 coupe is better in virtually every aspect. It has more power, faster throttle response, handles better, sounds better, and looks better (both interior and exterior).

 

Discuss the door with your dealer. Weather stripping issues aren't entirely uncommon and can be corrected. As others have already stated, run-flats are the culprit to your ride quality concerns. If you're leasing, swap out for Pilot Sports and save the RF's for when you turn the car back in. If you purchased, swap and sell the RFs. Either way, this will lead to a change in steering feel/road feedback as well. I'll agree to an extent regarding the Burmester, but tweak the EQ and you'll be better off.

I'll confidently disagree regarding overall handling however. I came from an FR-S/BRZ/GT86, universally regarded as a driver oriented car, albeit a grossly under-powered one. While absolutely different, I still really like the feedback and overall driving experience. I didn't get that same feeling when I test drove the F sport while shopping.

 

Coupe is MUCH better than the sedan. C450 was a piece of sh… crap.

 

Yeah, I test drove both and liked the coupe better primarily because of the aesthetics. Didn't really notice too much of a difference performance wise but I could be wrong.

 

Sorry you don't like your C43, but honestly, a lot of the complaints are of your own making. If you were hoodwinked from the exhaust and didn't do your due diligence on the rest of the car...it's on you.


Hey, stuff happens and certain cars are not for everyone, it happens.

 

And 200 lbs heavier than the sedan.

I've had good luck with my C450...knock on wood...

 

Love the C43 hate the Burmester sound system. My TL Type S and CRV (with a sub) sounded soo much better then the Burmester. I will have to add a sub to the car as the bass is just not cutting it for me.

 

To be honest, I've seen a number of these buyers remorse threads in different forums. The 2014 IS isn't all that old and is a very solid car - we have a 2014 IS350 F-Sport (w/ F-Sport Exhaust) in the family.

The bottom line is, moving between competitors in the same class within a few model years of each other very rarely yields a fundamentally better experience. If I was getting rid of my 435 for the C43C and I expected a huge difference, I would have been hugely disappointed.

Given that you're changing up a 2014 for a 2017, you will probably be in the market for a 2020 a few years from now. Just keep that in mind and enjoy your ride.

 

This this THIS!

I've said this so many times I'm surprised I don't have it copied to a notepad for my own convenience. It should be stickied at the top of the forum.

 

Or in my case since I own my C450 and a set of both 19" & 18" OEM AMG wheel sets, once I wear out my 19" Pirelli MOExtended Mobility tires, I'll replace them with Michelin's new Pilot Sport 4S conventional tires, buy a OEM car jack set (around $75 online), and use a front 18" AMG wheel/tire as a spare on long trips.

In the case of my 18" AMG black wheel set, since this is the original set that came with the car and those Continental tires seem to wear WAY better than the 19" Pirelli tires (18" Continentals have a UTQG of 500 A A compared to the 19" Pirellis UTQG of 220 A A), that and I only run this set for half the year during Winter, these will stay with the car as is when I trade it in. The 19" wheel set I'll keep for the next C Class or sell them if I buy a different brand vehicle....and yes I know the front offset is different than the offset for a C300. I learned that the hard way!

 

I think you bought a C43 thinking you were gonna get the smoothness from an S Class.

I've had my c450 for about 1.5years and:
- ride is indeed a bit rough but that's your suspension and run flats
- the Burmester isn't crazy but there is some settings you can adjust and also depends on what you're playing (e.g. Bluetooth is always "softer" vs radio or physical plug)
- handles? The car is pretty high stock. I threw some H&R sport springs on and the difference is pretty substantial.
- your door.. well sounds like you got something that's preventing it from closing properly. Take it in to the dealer and they'll find what it is and fix it.. guaranteed! I'm saying this cause I had the same issue on my passenger side rear door.
- several of my friends have the IS350 Fsport (14-16) and it looks amazing and is a well rounded car but wouldn't say inferior to the c450/c43 AMG platform

I hope you end up liking your car as much as I do one day during your lease

 

My ----in feelings are hurt! Dayum!! But, like Mass450 said, knock on wood, we'll a'ight.

Still, full disclosure, I luuuuuv that damn coupe. Might have to trade up for her sexy, fat *** one day. (I'm kidding, I'm kidding!! And no offense ladies.)

I know. That was unnecessary. My bad...but I do love that classic Merc coupe shape. If only they coulda lost the B-pillar, I would've kept the 63 3-4 months longer.

Speaking of aesthetics, Mr. A&M (I think...or NM St. maybe?), have you ever taken a close look @ the side profile & tried to imagine it as a 2-door? Maybe hold a finger up to sort of cover the rear door + handle. Have co-worker who parks her CLA next to mine, and when visualize with 2 less doors I could swear nice coupe shape.

Just sayin.

Of course I'm diggin the 205 C-Coupe's shape anyway, but I'm thinking the sedan as a standalone is not doing so bad....needless to say, absent the gordita coupe parked next to us. (There I go again)

 

This issue illustrates the importance of performing rigorous due diligence when considering the purchase of any car, particularly a meaningful road test.

I doubt that it matters much anymore where a car is manufactured. The assembly process is so automated that if you were inside any plant, I doubt you could tell what country you were in. I expect MBZ (and Audi etc.) builds all of their assembly plants the same, no matter what country they are in. I doubt that the workers have too much impact on build quality, given the complexity and precision of the assembly processes these days.

 

There's no doubt that runflats are noisy. My C250d was also delivered with runflats because of the AMG-package, but the C43 (which is a real AMG) will come with non-runflats here in Norway at least. My car is running on 18" AMG-wheels. The C43 demo car I testdrove had 19" non-runflats which were considerable more quiet.

 

In what universe is a is350 f sport in the same league as a c450/c43? It's underpowered and has zero driver feedback, even less than the current generation 3 series. Its behind by a large margin in every performance metric compared to the Benz.

The closest competitor from the Japanese luxury brands is the Q50 Redsport. Acura and Lexus are both way behind in driving experience and performance.

Reliability is another story all together.....


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In my case, Coupe is almost 400 lbs heavier than my C43 sedan because of the standard panoramic room on the Coupe and my solid roof without sunroof.

I drove the Coupe and Sedan back to back with panoramic roof and decided to take a C43 without the sunroof home.

 

i have leased various Lexus IS vehicles and an RC 350 F sport Coupe over the last 11 years. In fact I traded my 2015 RC 350 for my 2017 C 300. I have found the C300 hands over a better built faster car then my IS ever was and I've had the IS 250 and 350. I find my car a lot faster than my Lexus ever was. In fact I was waiting for the 2017 I asked 350 to come out before I leased my Mercedes. I was a diehard Lexus fan until I got tired of waiting and I decided to give Mercedes a test drive. Yes burmeister can not compare to the Mark Levinson system in the Lexus. But that's about it. I find the build quality and the interior far more superior than Mercedes. And fact at the end of my lease in two years I'm already looking at getting a C 43. My RC was priced out somewhere to my C300 and I have far more features and in the Mercedes. My C300 has 19 inch run flats panoramic roof and the premium package three and was the sport sedan. I've had it for six months and I'm very happy with it and usually by now because I trade my car so often I'm already looking to figure out when I can get out of my car. But not with this Mercedes I'm looking forward to keeping it 2 1/2 more years and getting into that C43 next time.

And living in Los Angeles I drive a lot of canyons and freeways and through Mulholland Highway and I find the Mercedes handling far superior

 

C300???? 😳

 

Yes. But I like it. It's my first Mercedes. My next will be the c43. Just like when I got my Lexus I had the IS 250 then switched to the 350.

 

Lexus IS350 has defeated BMW 335i in terms of handling and driving experience in 2014.

One thing I like about my Lexus is when going around every corners, the rear wheel drive just wants to keep going faster and its so smooth and it feels like the car is following in what I want it to do.

The steering feel in the C43 is way too light and its turning circle is no good. I do not have the confident in driving the C43 the same way I did in my IS350 when it comes to going around corners. Not to mention I cannot even make a U-turn without having to block off incoming cars, embarrassing. I did not have this problem in the Lexus.

Honestly besides having a more powerful engine and a more luxurious interior...... and of course like I said I love the exhaust...... everything else is inferior in comparison to the solid built Lexus.

I just didn't have the patience to wait for Lexus to put out its twin-turbo engine to replace the current IS350, but I believe once they do, their build quality will remain the same. I will definitely switch back to the Lexus in the future. (Lexus is taking forever to develop a new turbo engine to replace the current IS and that's why I test drove and bought the Mercedes, well in additional to the goodies from C43)

The new 2018 Lexus LS is the fastest car in its segment even compared to the BMW 7 Series. That is thanks to the new twin-turbo that Lexus gave it.

Also, you guys should know that Mercedes recalled a major problem relating to engine defect and models includes the 2017 C43 AMG. That was in March and some members are still waiting for the parts to come here in July to fix the problem.

Now I do not know what happened, but I tried to turn on the engine of my car today and one time it didn't turn on. Hopefully, my C43 is fine because they shouldn't be able to sell me an unfix recall vehicle.

Another thing is the transmission issue that people have talk about in this forum. I've experienced the transmission rocking the car back and forth in Sport+ mode and omg it's so dangerous. The 8 speed transmission in the Lexus was a very great transmission that was fun to drive around.

Now lets face it, how many of us would like to throw out $400 for an oil change in a Mercedes when you could do it for $120 in Lexus. Maintenance cost so much because us consumers give Mercedes a better status than they deserve. They do not build their cars with the quality that it's worth.

And.......... the stock windshield wipers on this C43 is terrible quality compared to the one Lexus gave my IS350.

 

Where the hell do you get your information? That recall is not an engine issue, it's a "potential" electrical overheat issue IF the operator attempts to start a damaged engine (e.g. hydro locked engine)...solved simply by adding a fusible link at the dealership.