I bought a used 19 c43. It has spent 85% of my ownership in the shop with a water leaking issues. When it rains water comes in my car.
When I ask MB corporate customer service if future issues due to the water leakage, that was not fixed multiple times by the dealer, would be covered under the CPO warranty. They says they can’t say.
so they do not stand behind their problems.
this is my first Mercedes and it has been a terrible experience.

 

Don't pass judgment quite as early. Yes, having issues with the car sucks. Clearly you ended up with a problem car. The leak was probably known to the previous owner and the dealership just past it on or wasn't aware. Buying a used car is always a risk. However, being a 2019 and assuming it's within the mileage limits you still have 2 years of factory warranty before the CPO warranty even kicks in. I believe CPO warranty is one additional year beyond factory warranty, so you are covered for about 3 years. Repairs are typically warrantied for a year as well. Unless you do something to the car that voids the warranty, they will handle this under warranty, but if the problem isn't fixed then you might wanna look into a buyback. It's always a good idea to do a pre-purchase inspection by an independent mechanic to root out potential issues with a used car. The CPO inspection is unfortunately more show than go. They just figure you have the warranty to address any issues. That's what you pay for. The leak is most likely due to clogged drains. Something that happens especially if the car was parked under trees by the previous owner and stuff got in the drains and clogged them, so there is the potential for warranty to be denied if it's not a defect, but caused due to where the car was parked. You do have an angle, though with CPO as they were supposed to inspect such things as drains and clean them if they were clogged.

 

Sorry that this kept happening to you, MaverickC43. I was hoping that appointment recently helped remedied the issue. I am sorry it ended up this way.

I can't remember if I ask you on your other thread but did you escalate to MBUSA, if so, what was their response? I also forgot if I asked you this, did you also take your vehicle to a different dealership? Most MB dealerships are franchised so it might not hurt to take your vehicle to a different dealership to see if they can help you out. I have different types of experiences dealing with different dealerships here in Canada so I assume you might be treated differently as well in different dealerships in USA. Assuming that MB dealerships operate differently because they are franchised. Another method you could try is to escalate the issue to MB Germany through a TIPS case, if you register on the official private lounge, you can read more about such process.

I understand you like your car a lot other than this issue which is a deal breaker for you, that is why I suggested those other things to try before going through buyback (I also don't know how the buyback process works since we don't have it here in Canada so I don't know if you should initiate it first then try the aforementioned methods or try them first and then initiate a buyback afterwards, hopefully someone else can comment on this)

Hopefully things turn out in your favour, keep us updated.

 

Thank you for the responses.
I’ll post future details

 

Unless the mileage is high, that car is still under the factory warranty. They most definitely cover the issue. If they continue to play around, just lemon law the car.

 

Got the car back after a few weeks. I hope all is fixed. But a little concerned. Got a text yesterday telling me all parts have been put on the car and they will water test it ( also told me the last 2 times they would water test it)
got another text and hour later saying it was ready for pick up.

 

Crossing my fingers for you!

 

Yeah, I'm pretty disappointed with the C class too. Honestly, even though the A class is cheaper to buy and has cheaper interior materials and look more basic outside, the driving dynamics is better and the interior looks more modern.

 

Great, hope the repair did the trick this time.

 

I agree the A-Class is more modern looking for the interior if modern as in more technology and screens. I personally prefer the C-Class W205 in terms of the the overall design from interior to exterior (and especially prefer the pfl), there are also optional wood trims as well which I don't believe you can option on A-Class (Edit1: I mean the the centre console replacing the piano gloss trim) ? To each their own. Perhaps it is because of this idea of modernization which a lot of people like that led to MB simply making longer versions of the A-Class such as what they did to the facelift E-Class, the new S-Class which all include slimmer headlights and taillights inspired by their A-Class lineup (and not because they want to save on R&D) (so basically the other way around, which in the past it was always the S-Class design trickle down to E and then C) etc. The C-Class 205 interior design is uniquely Mercedes which is something I appreciate, I would also say the 205's design was given more thought to (and perhaps cost more in R&D?) compared to the A-Class with just two pieces of glass across (which is inspired by the E and S-Class at least) I guess we can't say it is fair to compare how modern (again, depends on everyone's interpretation) a C-Class that was released as model year 2015 to A-Class that was released as model year 2019. That being said, however old this car is, the facelift really did help bring it up to date a little, the digital screen replacing the old school analog, an optional wider infotainment screen, the front bumper design inspired by the E-Class and the headlight technology (not the design) completely from the E-Class. Other than that, it is a facelift after all, you don't expect it to look completely different. I think it is slightly more fair to compare the A-Class to the new W206 C-Class now (but that is just my opinion)

The driving dynamics I do have to agree. The car is smaller helps and there are different and newer technology on AMG tuned models that certainly helps with the overall driving of the vehicle.

 

In terms of driving dynamics, yes the A class is smaller so it handles better. However, I was mainly talking about the AWD system on the A45 being better than the one on the C43. The transmission on the C43 is also quite unrefined (jerky at lower gears) for its price tag and it shifts slower than the one in the A class, specifically the A45, I don't know how the other ones in the A class feels.

 

I see. I understand what you mean now. Yes, a lot of times, the newer the better. The A45s..'s 4MATIC+ system with drift mode was inspired by the E63s while the C43 had a permanent awd. So it kinda comes back to my point that because the A-Class W177 is newer compared to the C-Class and with its aging 9G tronic torque converted transmission, it can't fully keep up with the newer A-Class' DCT. A transmission such as the one in the 205 C43 C-Class normally won't replaced during a facelift. I am curious to see what MB will do on the C43 successor with the 206 gen, like if they would use a DCT over a TCT.
That being said, I should test drive an A45 one day and see how much smoother it might be to our C43, I never expect a dual clutch to be smoother than an torque converted transmission but based on your experience, I should really test drive one and feel it myself, maybe it will impress me. If so, I would be even more interested to see what the 206 brings.

 

Let us know the differences after u test one.
For guys who want to mod, I think the 4cyl discourages them. I though the a45 is around 385hp, how much more can u expect to get out of that engine.

 

To be fair the A/CLA 45 is to the A/CLA class what the C63 is to the C Class. The C43 essentially compares to the A/CLA 35 in terms of where they are positioned in their respective class. The 45 has a fancy trick AWD system, but it's still an FWD platform. The 4Matic system in the C43 however is not the greatest which I've said in the past. It's an old design and architecture that goes back quite a while. MB/AMG have played with the torque split, but it's still a fixed torque split system. The drift mode in the 45 is quite artificial. It's nothing like proper RWD in the C63. If you wanna properly drift get RWD or 4Matic+ in the E63 etc. that is actually a proper 2WD mode. The drift mode in the 45 doesn't disengage the front axle. It just plays with the two clutches on the rear axle to overdrive the outer wheel. Designwise we can argue. I've never been a fan of the two screens right next to each other and I find MBUX a step back overall. As a touchscreen the displays are way too far forward and require me to lean forward in my seat to operate them. Ergonomically pretty terrible and the physical controls are cumbersome to operate the touch UI. Not to mention that CarPlay isn't full screen with MBUX. I much prefer the COMAND 5.5 system in my 2019 C63. It has most of what MBUX has, specifically OTA updates. I'm looking forward to the new center screen with MBUX 2.0 in the upcoming C Class and the new S Class. The screen is positioned such that it can be operated from one's normal driving position.

 

Yup, I definitely agree that it's practically comparing a 6 year old car, A class vs C class, so I am excited for the new 206 as well. However, I don't think I'm going to like the 4-cylinder all too much. I also think the current C class has a better exterior. The new generation of Mercedes all look almost identical, grilles, lights, body lines etc. The only differentiating factor from the outside is pretty much big or small lol.

 

Me neither, it will take me a while before I am willing to give up at least 6-cylinders. However, once I test drive the successor of the 205 C43, it might change my mind. Maybe test driving the CLA/A45 will also change my mind.

Yup, they sure do look identical. In my previous post I talked about my opinion with the slimmer taillights first found in the A-Class, I want to correct myself, I completely disregarded the current gen CLS which is when MB first shown the design on. Guess the A-Class sold well for a few years (which is not surprising since it is the cheapest car in their lineup) but I guess MB decided that the lights design, which MB calls it the predator look play a huge role in the sales, that is why they decided to put it in their other tiers of vehicles (and of course, I could be completely wrong). I do however believe that MB's inspiration of such headlight design was from the Infiniti Q60 especially for the CLA if you compare it side by side for the front and rear of the vehicle.

Sadly, MB is rather lazy, especially true for the facelift of the current gen CLS. All they did was change the front bumper (from cars of their other tiers) and grille (to the one first seen on the new C-Class) and the steering wheel. MBUX was available on MY21 so that is not new for the facelift.

With the information superswiss shared previously, I got to admit I am disappointed with the C63e especially how heavy the new hybrid system is and that peek power is only usable for launch control like the Taycan. The current C-Class already rolls like a pig, I can't imagine what will happen with all the added weight from the batteries and associated hybrid tech in the 206 will do to the car. Either way, I am interested to see it in person once it arrives in Canada, hopefully it blows me away by then.

 

For sure! Once the time comes (when covid restrictions are more relaxed), I will be sure to test drive one and share my experience with it. Yup the current gen A45 is around that amount of horsepower, the S model was 421 was it? Agree that we didn't expect to get much more, at least not until I realized my expectations wasn't high enough as tuning companies decides to prove people wrong www.youtube.com/watch?v=SH-rGFotzGk
(They claim it is 600hp, although this is for the previous gen A45) That being said, the reliability and lifespan of the engine after such tunes is a rather interesting thing to think about.

 

I see, thanks for sharing your knowledge on this with us.

 

Keep in mind that the A45 has launch control and gets to 60mph in roughly 4.2 seconds. The 4.5 sec quoted on Mercedes website for the C43 is without launch control, since our W205 don't have launch control. However, myself and many others have gotten close to 4.0-4.1 by brake boosting. In terms of performance, I don't think the A45 and C43 are far off. The C63 sounds a lot better with the PE than the A45 though. I like the tone of the A45 from inside the cabin due to the fake or pumped in noises, but it doesn't sound as good outside for sure.

 

I was very surprised that I hit 4.00 0-60 in my c43.
It’s spent a lot of time away from me, so I will be interested to see how easy it is to duplicate

 

For sure, I never underestimated the capabilities of our cars and you just proved it well with data and your personal experience. Yup, I mean it is hard to beat a V8 with an inline-4 in the sound department, that is for sure. That being said, the sound of our C43.s are really not bad.

 

Hopefully you get to spend more time with it now that the repair is all done

 

Despite how good the current engine is in our cars, I got to admit when MB trademarked the C 53 moniker prior to pretty much everyone "confirming" (prior to the official confirmation) that the entire W206 is going 4-cylinder, I was very excited and was looking forward to seeing the inline-6 ending up in the C-Class, guess that dream was short lived.
https://mbworld.org/articles/mercede...mark-c53-name/

 

Hmmm I had to eat my own words. The crown of the most lazy facelift has to go to the the AMG GT 4-door, unless I am missing something, I don't think anything at all was changed (?)... I would assume due to the pandemic, the designers will have more time to actually come up with something nice or at least further refine the design... (the very least, there should be under the hood improvements, let me read the press release again to be sure...)
Edit1: So new colour, new wheels (incl. the steering one) and night package 2 as an option, softer air suspension in comfort and stiffer suspension in sport, special edition available with special optional paint, MBUX, optional centre console in the rear as per rear entertainment package?

 

Thought I'd share this: