Strafe1

For all fellow C63 customers who ordered their vehicle with PP but only received the LSD and Delimitation of speed...I am getting a refund of the $1250 delimit option (in addition to the credit of $1540 for the other items)! Yesterday I called MBUSA, spoke to a technical advisor about the inclusion of this separate (track only) option and that it has no value on a car without the other track prep modifications originally specified in the full package, and that I am requesting a credit for the option. Today they called back telling me to talk to my sales manager, as they had been in conversation with him earlier in the day. My sales manager said that MBUSA called him, discussed the situation, asked his opinion of my request for a credit of the $1250, and as a result, I will be receiving a check from Mercedes Benz (not the dealer) as a "warranty item". It is classified this way so there is no dealer in the middle and no sale documents have to be altered. Great news!
Anyway, my car is on the truck to Colorado as we speak and I should take ownership of it on Friday or Saturday! Pics will be posted soon after!
Good luck to all of you others who have received or will soon receive their C63 with partial PP, and try to get the refund for yourselves!

MHP

My composite brakes came in today, waiting on the susp/wheel.

Thanks for posting.

MB_Forever

Glad to hear they're doing the right thing, congrats.....

Merc-Skycap

Nice to hear that MBUSA does actually care....

I have an 08 C63 AMG "Fully Loaded" should I be asking for a refund aswell or is this only for the 09s? Sorry for the naive question.....

Shodan01

Another naive question:

What all is supposed to come in the PP?

I know my car has the slotted rotors, speed delimiter and lsd...but what else should be on the car.

SC

Sincity

Hopefully they came to their senses that word on the forum(s) travels far and fast.

Last Emperor

the FULL PP includes

-composite brakes ( i dunno if thats what you mean by slotted rotors)
-speed delimiter
-LSD
-alcantara (suede) steering wheel
-different (sportier) suspension

clktoc63

I know it's been asked, but I still haven't seen answer. What comes with the "different (sportier) suspension"? Different settings and/or different parts?

This is especially important to me because I am considering my dealer's offer of a retrofit, but if they have to rip out all of the suspension components when the retrofit parts arrive, then I'd rather order a new car as opposed to having my car torn into by the dealership. If there are NO parts coming and it's just adjustments or different calibrations/ride height, that's a completely different story and one I may consider. Does anyone know if the actual parts of a PP and non-PP car are the same or different?

(The dealer says they won't even know what parts will be in the box until they open it up when it arrives.)

thanks for the help...

chieplai

Strafe1,

I live in Colorado and am in the same situation; my car arrived at the port on 9/6 and I was informed that it's partially equipped with the PP as well. I would like to ask you a few questions directly if you don't mind. Please email me at chieplai@gmail.com when convenient.

Thanks!

thegamemodo9

No. 08's didn't have a PP option.

seven21

The Performance Package suspension includes stiffer springs and shocks, so they will need to replace the actual parts. I took posession of one of the 2009 June Production Date vehicles that came incomplete and they are finishing up the retrofit on all the parts for me at my dealership today. This includes the alcantara steering wheel, 2-piece composite front brakes (reduces weight), and replacing the shocks / springs (which also requires a realignment). The work isn't all that difficult, but replacing the suspension is time consuming. I brought my vehicle in Tuesday morning and should be able to pick it up after 5:00 tonight. I also had them install the passport 9500ci system while it was there.

I'll let you all know how it drives after I get it back. Let me know if you have any other questions.

clktoc63

Thank you for the info, it sounds like a pretty intrusive retrofit considering it's all new suspension parts. Is your dealer allowing you to keep the old parts and/or providing you with a parts list of what was installed? That would be useful for my sake and for your own records for the car.

As an aside, two of my local dealers have independently told me that the suede steering wheel is not available, and is the only part that will not be retrofitted. Interesting that somehow you are getting it. You may want to double check.

MHP

alcantra wheel came in today, now just waiting on the susp.

seven21

I am confident they will complete the work properly. The dealership I use is a Performance Center, so they do Renntech and Kleeman upgrades all of the time. As I mentioned earlier, it is more time consuming than it is difficult. Although, a suspension upgrade could definitely be considered intrusive. Of course, I would have preferred having it arrive with all the parts installed properly. But -- that didn't happen and now I'm just glad they are delivering on what they promised. Dealer adds are fairly common with new model launches and a performance center should be able to install a steering wheel, shocks, springs, and new front brakes.

As for the parts, they are letting me keep the old steering wheel. The rest of the parts are being treated as "warranty work", so they will be shipping them back to MB. I have an official letter from AMG that outlines the retrofit parts in generic terms (like I mentioned above), including the steering wheel.

I'm also 100% positive about the steering wheel. I spoke to the Mercedes-Benz SPOM (Service Parts Operations Manager) for the Southeast region directly. He was the ultimate decision maker on how to resolve the problem from MB's end. He told me that I was the first customer in the southeast region to identify the problem, which is why it took them 2 weeks to get back to me with an adequate resolution after I raised the issue. He committed to having all of the parts / work completed properly and ensured me that this job was something they could properly install at my dealership. I also have a direct line to contact him if anything doesn't work out properly. The parts then took another 2 weeks to arrive. I was definitely frustrated for my first month of ownership, but I am very happy at the high level of customer service that both my dealership and corporate MB have provided. If anyone is looking to purchase a new C63 in Atlanta, I highly recommend you work through Bruce Wile -- he's a great salesperson and helped me work through these issues as well. The GM, Jeremy Smith, was also very helpful. It never hurts to plug people that don't fall into the stereotype of your typical car salesman / GM.

One last thing on the steering wheel, I just got off the phone with my service advisor and he said the new steering wheel looks really nice -- but to make sure you wipe off the oil from your hands before driving to help keep the suede looking good I pick up the car in the morning since I can't get out of work before they close, so I'll confirm tomorrow. I'm not sure why your dealership told you that you couldn't get the steering wheel. Odd...

Best of luck to you and let me know if you have any other questions.

dlbello

When you pick-up your car tomorrow, can you please verify the ground clearence on the front end. I am being told that there is No difference in a Non PP ground clearence verses a PP suspension package,,,
Thanks and Good Luck with your New ride!

ARC101

I tried to find a pic of the alcantra wheel without luck. Can you post a pic once its installed...?

MHP

Mine goes on Monday. I'll be glad to post pics of the wheel and brakes.

Thanks
Andy

gravedgr

What dealership? I'm getting mine through RBM (Sandy Springs). There's another C63 owner here from Atlanta - we should hook up at some point.

OverBudget

Ironic, that I took it all the way to the owner of my dealership and MBUSA customer support - and they said "take the car and proposed credit or take a hike"!!!

exiges

Here's some pics of the alcantara wheel.. and a rare pic of a red C63

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=123672

MHP

Thanks for the link. I'd never seen a red one previously. Loving the wheel.

FrankW

so a total of $2790 refunded/credited ? not bad at all.

seven21

Haha, cool. We should definitely meet up sometime. I haven't seen another C63 on the road in Atlanta yet, but I know there are at least a half dozen around. I bought mine at Mercedes of Buckhead. I didn't like the salesperson I worked with at RBM, so I took my business elsewhere.

PM me when you get your car.

As for the other question on ground clearance, I will definitely let you know. I spoke to my service rep at the end of the day and he told me it was slightly lower with the new suspension. I'll confirm for you tomorrow.

gravedgr

Funny you say that - RBM is trying to get me a car from MB of Buckhead instead of waiting for my Oct. order. (although its only 3-4 weeks away at this point). RBM had a black C63 I test drove a few weeks ago, but when I didn't want it (color) they let it go to a couple who was buying another car - something for the missus, and the C63 for their 17 year old high schooler.

WTF is the world coming to when you buy a 450 hp, $65k car for a kid in high school?

Anyhow, I will probably pick up a Palladium Silver one this weekend, or get my Capri Blue in October. I should know sometime tomorrow.

seven21

OverBudget -- the difference with my situation may be that I took possession of the vehicle before the dealership even knew about the missing features in the Performance Package. I had a window sticker that said my car included the full performance package with all of the individual features clearly called out. I picked it up on a Thursday (after waiting 3 months for it to arrive) and was on too much of a high to even notice the steering wheel wasn't the alcantara until that weekend. They had no idea of the issue until I told them about it and subsequently found some other posts about the brakes / suspension not being included.

Anyhow, it still doesn't make what your dealer did right. The circumstances are just a bit different since I already purchased the car before the issue surfaced.