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I've been so busy that I've put less than 100 miles on the car since picking it up and driving it back from MD. And I finally got around to washing my car today. I plan to do a full detail when the weather gets a bit warmer.
But I wanted to wash and get some sealant on the car before flying out to UT and WY tomorrow for a ski trip. Unfortunately, while cleaning the interior, I discovered a factory issue.
The rear panoramic roof fabric cover roller was not installed correctly. So there is a three inch rip in the left side. I'll need to schedule a service appointment with one of the local dealerships for a warranty fix one we get back from vacation. Hopefully they won't have to tear apart the roof...
Anyway, here is the picture of the ripped roof cover and some post-cleaning pictures...
First impressions are everything so here are mine...
TL, DR; I love the car.
I picked it up yesterday. I had a tough day at work so I blew off my evening plans and drove for a couple hours.
I did not get the car above the recommended speed or rev limit so I know there is more goodness to come.
I chose a route I know well with surface streets, highway (where people generally drive 80), some twisty narrow roads with a 30-35 MPH speed limit and a wonderful curvy winding road with a 55 MPH speed limit. My frame of reference is my old 2013 C350 Sport
First the C43 is orders of magnitude quieter inside than the 350. I can easily hear a phone conversation. I know some models of the 350s had door seal issues but I didn't realize how quiet the car could be.
Second, the packages:
I am glad got the sport exhaust. I briefly put it in Sport+ mode when I was getting on the highway on the return leg. It sounded wonderful, I love the burble when you let off.
The Advanced Lighting Package was worth the money for me. I did this drive after dark. I don't have great night vision when driving. The new lighting package is miles beyond what I had in the 350. The high-beams adjust down immediately when there is an oncoming car. More importantly they adjust back up very quickly when the car has past. This really helps me regain my vision and sense of the road. I had an easy time driving on unlit twisty winding back roads. I always knew where I was and wanted to go. Again, glad I paid the money.
The biggest surprise was the Burmeister system. I am something of an audiophile. My goal was to use my iPhone, (I have my entire music collection, except vinyl, stored on my iPhone in full resolution, Apple Lossless format or AIFF.) controlled via CarPlay with a fantastic sound. I was expecting to have to go have a DAC and possibly an amp put in the C43 to get the sound I want.
My 350 had the Harmon Kardon. The CD was just OK. Playing USB MP3 at 320 BPS sounded crappy as did the iPhone through USB. I have no expectation of decent sound through Bluetooth.
On the way back from the dealer I listened to MP3s at 320BPS via USB. I was not very impressed. It was missing a lot of dynamic range. I was freaking out because the Burmeister doesn't have a CD player.
When I plugged the iPhone in however the magic happened. I listened to rock, classical, jazz and blues. All sounded fantastic. Great dynamic range, rich sound and a joy to listen to. I am really pleased, I got EXACTLY what I wanted. No modification necessary.
IF you have high resolution files on your smartphone AND you want great sound THEN the Burmeister is worth every penny. If you are just using MP3s I am not sure it is.
The only disappointment for me is the interior. I wanted carbon fiber. I also wanted NFC. You cant get both I switched to walnut and kept NFC. The walnut doesn't cut it. It looks like a cheap plastic veneer. I really wish I had dumped the NFC and chosen another interior.
The handling of the '43 is great. I had some reservations about 4Matic. The car sticks to the road like glue. There are some curves on my route where the old 350 would start to drift. I could really feel the weight of the car. I would have to fight to get it through the S curves. The '43 stuck like glue. The car felt lighter and was much easier to handle. I tried this in both comfort and sport.
I am not going to bother to post any pics. As @ACSchnitzersprt said AH! Finally, someone with the selenite gray, night package, and the updated headlights. ;-)
For everyone who is peeved about the missed delivery dates, it was worth the wait.
Congrats! Great first impression review. I'll need some high res tunes to test out the Burmester. Usually Bluetooth streams from Spotify and YouTube Music. Agreed the glossy walnut resembles a plastic veneer... and doesn't really tie in with the sporty black/red stiching interiors. The AMG Matte Silver Fibreglass still allows for wireless charging. Glad the 4MATIC handling is on point, winter is in full effect here in Canada.
I've been so busy that I've put less than 100 miles on the car since picking it up and driving it back from MD. And I finally got around to washing my car today. I plan to do a full detail when the weather gets a bit warmer.
But I wanted to wash and get some sealant on the car before flying out to UT and WY tomorrow for a ski trip. Unfortunately, while cleaning the interior, I discovered a factory issue.
The rear panoramic roof fabric cover roller was not installed correctly. So there is a three inch rip in the left side. I'll need to schedule a service appointment with one of the local dealerships for a warranty fix one we get back from vacation. Hopefully they won't have to tear apart the roof...
Anyway, here is the picture of the ripped roof cover and some post-cleaning pictures...
Blue!! Def. know blue was a good choice! Mine will be delivered Friday, soon I keep telling myself. Soon!
If it is as bad in person as it looks in the pics it's hard to believe it was not noticed during the make-ready process? Sounds like you got it from an out of town deal? If so maybe they either didn't see or that when you discovered it you'd take it to your home town dealer. When they delivered mine even though I've had previous AMGs they spent an hour in the car with me going over everything including sunroof operations which would have clearly shown that issue up. I'm for buying locally if you can just for stuff like this, they sell and service it. I'm sure they'll fix it either way.
If it is as bad in person as it looks in the pics it's hard to believe it was not noticed during the make-ready process? Sounds like you got it from an out of town deal? If so maybe they either didn't see or that when you discovered it you'd take it to your home town dealer. When they delivered mine even though I've had previous AMGs they spent an hour in the car with me going over everything including sunroof operations which would have clearly shown that issue up. I'm for buying locally if you can just for stuff like this, they sell and service it. I'm sure they'll fix it either way.
I ordered it from Shahul/Steve at Euromotors Germantown. It was a great buying process; much better than my local dealer. I wouldn't hesitate to get another car from them again.
We went through everything at delivery. So it could be a small problem that worsened over a few uses of the sunroof... From my time washing the car and going over the various panels, it seems like a really well built car with no panel gaps, etc.
I couldn't say the same for some other cars that I've had in the past like an Audi with a cracked cylinder ring from the factory. Or a South Africa built BMW (will never again get one from their South African factories) that I had which had trim pieces falling off and really bad panel gaps...
As long as MB takes care of it as a warranty fix within a couple of days, I'll be ok...
Some good news on my front. My vehicle just got released to carrier, being loaded onto a train and then a truck but probably won't ship out until Jan 2nd. Train will take a week or so, then a couple days on truck. Progress in the right direction, I'll take it. Getting closer.
Some good news on my front. My vehicle just got released to carrier, being loaded onto a train and then a truck but probably won't ship out until Jan 2nd. Train will take a week or so, then a couple days on truck. Progress in the right direction, I'll take it. Getting closer.
I'm sure many of you can appreciate this. Today was the first day taking my car to the train station for the morning commute. I hate parking lots and always get scared of dings and scrapes on a new car. Usually the lot is packed, but seems like everyone in my town took the day off. I found good space.
I'm sure many of you can appreciate this. Today was the first day taking my car to the train station for the morning commute. I hate parking lots and always get scared of dings and scrapes on a new car. Usually the lot is packed, but seems like everyone in my town took the day off. I found good space.
This will be me, wide open parking lot, still parked in BFE lol.
Watching the Advanced LED headlights come on in the garage is really cool, they move up and down and left and right before they settle down, watching them on the wall is neat. Then there's the digital dash that is very cool.
Just ordered my 2019 C43 Coupe in Toronto, Canada! Ordered it in Selenite grey metallic, standard seats with artico interior, dark ash trim, Tech package, AMG Drivers Package, Premium Package, Intelligent Drive Package, Heads up Display, bi color rims, and 3 year PPM. Almost fully loaded.
For those still in the market for a deal - I got a 7.5% discount on the sticker price and got them to throw in the PPM on top. Car will be ready for pick up in April. My SA says it will make it in time for February build allocation.
SUPER SUPER EXCITED! ALMOST GIDDY WITH EXCITEMENT! Anyone else place an order through an Ontario dealership?
Last edited by aniqmatic; 01-01-2019 at 12:56 PM.
Reason: community service
Just ordered my 2019 C43 Coupe in Toronto, Canada! Ordered it in Selenite grey metallic, standard seats with artico interior, dark ash trim, Tech package, AMG Drivers Package, Premium Package, Intelligent Drive Package, Heads up Display, bi color rims, and 3 year PPM. Almost fully loaded.
For those still in the market for a deal - I got a 7.5% discount on the sticker price and got them to throw in the PPM on top. Car will be ready for pick up in April. My SA says it will make it in time for February build allocation.
SUPER SUPER EXCITED! ALMOST GIDDY WITH EXCITEMENT! Anyone else place an order through an Ontario dealership?
Did you lease or finance? What are your monthly payments, if you don't mind? I'm in Ontario as well.
If I end up with the C43, it will basically be the same options as yours, but the sedan w/ night package, but minus the intelligent drive.
The car comes pre-wited for the MB SD card nav ($200 sticker), at delivery you plug in the SD card ($650 list) and all the data is loaded to the vehicle. From then on it is online so you get live traffic etc and no monthly data or Sirius traffic charges. I've had many previous MB with Multimedia Command and this is way better. Command is the computer system which works and I can't see any difference except I saved money. I can talk to the phones hands-free and the Nav etc. I can't find anything it won't do. I think this is an evolution of previous year's Garmin SD that worked the same except this is branded MB and had more features including being "live online" all the time. Got the SD thrown into the deal, everything is negotiable. So to me it's still Command but better and less money.
Just ordered my 2019 C43 Coupe in Toronto, Canada! Ordered it in Selenite grey metallic, standard seats with artico interior, dark ash trim, Tech package, AMG Drivers Package, Premium Package, Intelligent Drive Package, Heads up Display, bi color rims, and 3 year PPM. Almost fully loaded.
For those still in the market for a deal - I got a 7.5% discount on the sticker price and got them to throw in the PPM on top. Car will be ready for pick up in April. My SA says it will make it in time for February build allocation.
SUPER SUPER EXCITED! ALMOST GIDDY WITH EXCITEMENT! Anyone else place an order through an Ontario dealership?
Congrats! Ordered a C43 coupe in Ottawa, ON back in SEP. Selenite Grey Magno on Saddle Brown Leather, AMG Matte Silver Fibreglass, and 5-Twin Spoke wheels. Only $2500 off sticker and $1000 off options. Hearing magno paints are delayed, no timetable on delivery.
Just checking, but I backed into the price of the car with what you paid down and the remaining payments over 2 years and it appears that you're roughly $99,000 for the car after discount but including taxes etc? Of course maybe that's what it is in Canadian dollars, just curious. Glad I'm paying USD prices here.
Just checking, but I backed into the price of the car with what you paid down and the remaining payments over 2 years and it appears that you're roughly $99,000 for the car after discount but including taxes etc? Of course maybe that's what it is in Canadian dollars, just curious. Glad I'm paying USD prices here.
Thanks to everyone who has been posting - this thread has helped keep me informed and sane as we’ve all been waiting. I got the text this afternoon with the pictures and waiting for it to be detailed as I type. More pictures to post in the morning, but here it is coming off the truck and getting its first tank of fuel.
I’ve really enjoyed seeing all the other delivery pics and specs. This is the first Obsidian Black I recall seeing, so I think every color of the rainbow has now been posted. Can’t wait to get inside with the Designo Platinum White interior.
12-29-2018, 10:10 PM
I switched to walnut and kept NFC. The walnut doesn't cut it. It looks like a cheap plastic veneer. I really wish I had dumped the NFC and chosen another interior.
