The C63S really IS built like rubbish
no rattles or squeaks except the damn isofix on the toddler car seat rubbing against the metal on the isofix point on the car and the toddler seat itself squeaking. the roads we have in Surrey UK are shockingly bad, potholes everywhere. 2018 c63s estate , 9k miles , and this is a reasonably stiff car so I'm pleased there are no rattles after all abuse the car has suffered on these roads here. maybe I just got lucky.
my last Merc did rattle only from the sunglasses compartment and door bins. the ride was stiffer than a British upper lip too. gla 45.
based on this and the car I got for my wife , build quality has been to a high standard on the 3 recent mercs, but in no way can they match the 230.6 and 230.4 we had in the 70s and 80s. those cars were tanks
Compare that with the 2012 BWM 135i convertible I drive now. 75k miles in and only a year or so ago did I notice the first rattle which the dealership quickly fixed. Maybe the 1 / 2 series from BMW are just built better than the 3

I'm picking up a custom order C63S soon (hopefully March!) and am the kind of person who is driven bonkers by rattles. I hope I luck out on my role of the dice.
The Best of Mercedes & AMG




With that said, how is the F&F of GM products which ARE American products? Ford, Chevy, GM..... Just wondering out loud.
With that said, how is the F&F of GM products which ARE American products? Ford, Chevy, GM..... Just wondering out loud.
Assuming that you are 100% correct, it is still a Diamler problem. If they aren’t doing proper QA on the American assembly line, the problem goes right back to Germany and the product they’re providing.
With that said, how is the F&F of GM products which ARE American products? Ford, Chevy, GM..... Just wondering out loud.
Purely anecdotally, lately all the serious facelift mechanical issues (misfires, etc) seem to be coming from coupe/cab owners.
The sad reality is that it's an engineering rather than manufacturing issue. And our cars are on the C-class platform which is held to a lower standard than a S or GT.
Now, the Beijing-built cars (C63 sedan included) are actually crappier. The interior quality is noticeably lower and they don't use the same plastics. There's more of the flimsy cheap gloss black you'd expect in a Versa
After 3k miles, it is very obvious this car is the absolute worst built car I have ever owned from any brand. Many of my problems have been reported extensively on this forum and elsewhere. Just adding to the chorus...
- Nasty rattle from the center dash now that it is cold
- The headliner in the car squeaks like mad now that it is cold
- The glass sunroof rattles like mad
- The speakers vibrate like mad when using the phone or listening to music within certain frequencies
- The speakers have an electronic buzzing noise all the time
- There is a rattle/squeak coming on the passenger side
- The exhaust system vibrates/rattles with any movement to the car from the outside
- The active safety systems go off ALL the time randomly for now reasons
- The headlights are aimed far too low
- The rear bumper does not fit perfectly on the right side
It's like driving around in a car from the 70s with rusty springs! The worst part is, I still REALLY like the car. The engine! My wife said it was embarrassing how badly the speakers squeak and how all she hears when in the car are rattles. Sadly, this has been my worst ownership experience so far outside of the driving dynamics. Really disappointed. I hope most if not all of these things can be fixed with one visit; who has time to keep going back and forth to a dealership?
- Nasty rattle from the center dash now that it is cold (Yes, but it's the same as the speaker grille for me)
- The headliner in the car squeaks like mad now that it is cold (Not yet or I didn't notice since I don't really drive the car in the winter)
- The glass sunroof rattles like mad (Not yet or I didn't notice since I don't really drive the car in the winter)
- The speakers vibrate like mad when using the phone or listening to music within certain frequencies (Yes, fixed when dealer added "felt" along the speaker grill)
- The speakers have an electronic buzzing noise all the time (NO)
- There is a rattle/squeak coming on the passenger side (Yes, and I diagnosed to the rubber seals)
- The exhaust system vibrates/rattles with any movement to the car from the outside (No)
- The active safety systems go off ALL the time randomly for now reasons (Yes)
- The headlights are aimed far too low (Hadn't noticed)
- The rear bumper does not fit perfectly on the right side (Yes - no fix and I wouldn't want the dealer to make it worse)
I will tell you that whoever got my car from the dealer I traded it in to is getting the most issue free AMG C63S in the world. At the cost of repeated trial and error through my ownership.
The senior diagnostic tech had my entire interior ripped apart multiple times, felting touch points, clips and other areas. The center control stack (mine was the carbon version) doesn’t come with screws from the factory even though there are spots for them. He added them and felted that area too. Just examples.
For the door seals, just a reminder that Mercedes released a new part version which did resolve my squeaking issues for over 4 months after replacement. Previous attempts failed after just weeks.
I actually miss the car though. Call it Stockholm syndrome, but it had so much personality while driving, so long as you didn’t trigger active safety systems by being near..air...
(I’m in an RS5 Sportback now)


