I posted extensively on the transmission issue I’ve been having on my like-new condition 4.6k mile 2021 C63s coupe in this thread. Long story short, I got a Transmission Malfunction error when reversing my car, the car freezes and can’t be shifted into neutral, drive or park until he engine is killed and restarted. it’s been at the dealer 3 times in an effort to fix this issue. My first trip involved replacing some transmission related module (2 weeks), the second involved swapping the entire transmission with a brand new one that had to be special ordered (4 weeks), and the most recent and most prolonged “repair” (5 weeks) resulted in the dealer wanting to order and install a data logger, which they then changed their mind on because it would’ve taken several more weeks (possibly months) for the logger to arrive. Instead they flashed some sort of transmission software update which was supposed to once and for all resolve the problem.

Upon picking up my car following the third and most recent “repair” towards the end of January, my SA was very apologetic yet very confident that the software update would be the ultimate fix. He informed me that based on the conversations his service department had with MB mothership and MBUSA, they had basically exhausted all repair options going forward. So in the unlikely event the error reoccurs, MB is prepared to buy my vehicle back as there is nothing else they can do for me to repair the problem.

Fast forward to a couple of weekends ago, the pesky Transmission Malfunction error popped up on my dash yet again (4th time overall since before the first dealer visit). I decided enough was enough, and since my dealer informed me on the previous trip nothing more could be done, I decided to take up MB’s offer to buyback my car. I first notified my SA via email of my intention, and asked if he had an MB point of contact who I should get in touch who’s familiar with the case and has knowledge of the buyback offer. Unfortunately, he only pointed me to the general MBUSA customer relations number and instructed me to start the process by filing a claim, which I immediately did.

Two days later, an account manager called me back and left me a voicemail + email. I got back to her right away but she was never available by phone and didn’t respond to emails until today (2 days later). Which is fine, I was just happy she called me back. But that’s when things went south. She informed me I had no basis for a claim and they would not qualify my car for a buyback. She didn’t care that it has less than 5k miles and has been in the shop multiple times for an entire transmission swap, module and software repairs, was (according to my SA) escalated to the highest levels at AMG and MB mothership, yet the issue remains. She offered no solutions, showed no empathy or care, and basically told me I’m SOL, it’s my problem to deal with.

I reached out to my SA right after that phone call, but couldn’t get a hold of him. Hopefully I’ll hear from him tomorrow. If I don’t get any help on the dealer’s end, it looks like I’ll have to lawyer up. This has been really frustrating and aggravating, I never expected to receive such lack or care from a company who sold me a defective $100k car. 😡

 

Had the same thing happened to me. My car spent 1 full year in service for repairs, Mercedes always been saying that they could buy it back. When I finally gave up and asked Mercedes for a buyback they told me to GFY. ****ty customer care from MBUSA, my dealer was shocked. Never liked BMW but was so pissed off that I sold my C63 for profit last year and purchased the new M4. While it doesn’t sound as good as the C63 it’s been a very reliable ride, took it to the service only once for an annual service today lol. And the whole customer service experience is light years ahead of MBUSA. But I still miss the C63 a lot though, good thing I have the GTR to enjoy that V8 rumble 😊

 

Sorry you had to go through this as well. Were your repairs all for the same issue during that one full year or various issues? No way I’d be able to sell mine for a profit like you did, the market isn’t what it was last year. I’d take a substantial hit and I’m pretty sure the car has been devalued even more with all those transmission repairs on the Carfax.

 

Yeah, for the same issue - the steering wheel was loosing power while driving. But yeah, I got lucky that I was able to sell it well in January of 2022. I’d say you should definitely need to get a lawyer and have MBUSA buy your car back.. They have no cars for enthusiasts available for sale and they are willing to lose their loyal customers as well. What a shame.

 

It seems you were pursuing a voluntary buyback from MBUSA. Why not go the official lemon law route? The lemon law is different for each state, so the question is what it is in Texas. But once you qualify, MBUSA has no other choice than buying it back by law. Comes down to how consumer friendly your lemon law is. Here in Cali it's pretty straight forward and very protective of consumers.

 

Thanks for chiming in superswiss.

I attempted to go this route because according to my SA, MB was prepared to buy the car back should their 3rd attempt at a fix fail. So I’m not sure if this was communicated from MB mothership or from MBUSA. I’ll try to get more info from my SA tomorrow. The lemon law route could take months if not years, so I was trying to also avoid that route if they were supposedly going to take it back voluntarily.

Texas lemon law should qualify my car based on the fact it’s been out of service for more than 30 cumulative days without a comparable loaner issued to me. It might also qualify under the safety hazard clause as the last time this happened my car froze in a high traffic area. Lastly, it doesn’t yet qualify under the 4 dealer attempts, but my SA told me last time there wasn’t much more they could do if it should happen again so I don’t know if I can even bring it in for a 4th attempt.

 

Sorry you have to jump through hoops. It does seem perplexing that they claim you have no case when the dealership says they can't fix it and the car is essentially not drivable I assume. With the new transmission having the same exact issue it seems the root cause is not the transmission, but something else. Perhaps the ECU, since it works together with the TCU. The ECU might be sending the wrong signals to the TCU. A data logger would probably actually be the way to go.

Have you posted about this in the AMG Private Lounge? The team there does assist with getting to the right people within AMG. They have done so for others. It is our most direct line to AMG. Also, has your dealership even bothered to bring out an AMG engineer to look at the problem? I know they suspended flying out engineers during the pandemic and not sure if they resumed that, but this seems something that an actual engineer needs to look at.

 

Man the saga continues : (
UGH I am so sorry to hear this.
Like forum member superswiss mentioned, the lemon law and AMG Private Lounge is your next step. Is your dealership part of an AMG performance centre? I would had thought the tech there have more qualifications and certifications to work on AMGs.
Best of luck!

 

Document, Document, Document. Keep receipts. Extensive notes. A call log with names, dates and times. Everything is evidence going forward. Sorry to read all this pain. BTW, please tell me the M6 has a 6 speed and not an SMGIII....

 

Interested to hear what response you get from your SA. It’s really strange that he would just direct you to the MBUSA customer care number. If MBUSA told them that they’d buy back your car if the issue happened again, you’d think they would be more involved with assisting you.

I would suggest pursuing the buy back through your servicing stealership. They have all your case history and have been liasing with MBUSA/MB the whole time. Maybe ask to speak with the service manager/director if your SA doesn’t pull through.

 

Still frustrated that the dealer couldn’t fix the issue on your vehicle. And I would do what everybody is suggesting on here. But if I was in your shoes I wouldn’t let them lemon my c63s. It’s the dealers fault not running proper diagnostics. Or little to no ACTUAL troubleshooting or diagnostics. Any schmuck can tell what they have been telling you. Simply because they don’t want to deal With the issue and in their eyes have wasted so much time on your case. What I would recommend doing is taking it to another dealer with high reputation and good reviews. And give them a shot. It’s obviously not the Transmission or internal mekatronic TCU. Knowing those parts ruled out already the next tech should be able to isolate it for you. Not all dealers hold their technicians to the same standards and you might just be dealing with one of those dealers and their untrained techs..Keep me posted, I would gladly be able to help with any Mercedes repair or diagnostics. I personally own a 21 c63s with 23,000 on the clock. Had it since new and never skips a beat so I’m sad to hear your story with the same model year.

 

Great advice in trying a different dealership!

 

Thanks superswiss. So upon more careful review of the TX lemon law, MBUSA was in fact correct, my car does not qualify. The first 2 repair attempts would have had to have occurred within the first 12 months or 12k miles of ownership. I definitely qualified in terms of mileage but not time, as the first repair attempt wasn’t until a couple of months after the year mark.

The car is very much drivable, in fact it drives absolutely flawlessly. It’s just that pesky issue happens once in a while where it freezes and has to be restarted. It only does this on rare occasion and only when it’s in reverse. The service department was on video calls with AMG engineers in Germany the last 2 repair attempts. The they were going to go the data logger route but my SA said there’s only a couple dozen of those in AMG’s inventory and all of them were loaned out to other customers so it could’ve been weeks or months before they could ship one to my dealer.

I have not posted about this in the AMG private lounge. I decided I don’t want this car anymore so I’m going to sell it as a buyback is officially off the table. Unfortunately used C63s values have plummeted the past few months, but on the plus side I found one at MSRP so I won’t have to pay an ADM on top of depreciation.

 

Thanks, appreciate the support. Unfortunately lemon law here in TX won’t apply to my car. See my post to superswiss. I decided I’m going to sell and go with a new 2023.

 

I spoke with my SA today. He said it was mentioned that a buyback would be “a possibility “. But as you can see also from NYCSoil’s case, MB is just all talk and no action when it comes to situations like this.

 

Thanks for chiming in! Actually lemoning my car would’ve been the best case scenario, I’d get everything I put into my car refunded, less a mileage usage charge which in my case would’ve only been like $3k.

At this point I no longer have the time or energy to deal with it so I’m going to sell and use the proceeds towards a new 2023 C63S.

 

Im sorry you had to deal with that. I am currently waiting to pick my 23 C63S and just noticed your thread. Had a pretty annoying buyback issue with an AMG GTC roadster before the pandemic. Got pushback from everyone (dealer, MB USA) for over 2-3 months despite multiple visits. Issue started as car wouldn't go into park occasionally. Then progressed into car would have a "differential lock issue" that cut all power while going 80mph on the HWY. Sometimes would resolve with a quick restart. No one could diagnose the issue including AMG HQ engineers. My saving grace was that the errors were recorded in the computer. Once the buyback process was approved, it was a pretty straightforward process. But until that process is approved, it's pretty terrible.

 

I completely understand your frustration and I am very much sorry to hear about it. I really sincerely hope it works out for you and you get the 2023 at least for a good deal and have positive equity from the lemon you currently have. The C 63 S is a great car without the issues so hopefully the new car you can redeem the enjoyment that you deserved but lacked from the lemon. All the best!

 

Thanks and sorry to hear you had to go through that with your AMG GTC, an even higher end AMG than mine. Did your issues happen in the first year of ownership? I would’ve qualified for a buyback if the first 2 repair attempts happened within the first 12 months but I missed it by 3-4 months. Glad to hear you’ll soon be picking up a ‘23 C63s. My ‘23 dealer build is still at least a couple months out.

 

Thanks bro I really appreciate it! I was on track to pay my 6 year loan off almost 3 years early so there’s a good amount of positive equity which I’ll be using towards the new C63s. I should also be able to recoup the ELW cost once I cancel it for a full refund, I’ll also use those funds towards the new one.

The 2023 is spec’d at over $104k MSRP and considering every other new C63s I’ve inquired on has anywhere from a $5-25k ADM, I think it’s a great deal that I’m getting it @MSRP. I’ll post a new thread when I’m closer to taking delivery.

 

I got pretty lucky that my first encounter with the issue was 10 months in. It had just crossed 12 months by the 3rd dealer visit. The whole buyback process is so dumb - the hoops you gotta cross. My dealership initially was blaming my driving lol. I literally had to quote sections of the manual to prove I didn't cause the issue. Then they wanted to sit with me as I drove the car - which I felt was a type of entrapment. Thankfully by then MB USA and the AMG HQ realized it was a real issue. Had it happened 2 months later, I would be out of luck sadly.

 

All the best~!

 

Thanks Bruce, sorry I just saw your reply now.

After much careful research and speaking with an attorney friend, MB had a solid reason for denying my claim. I missed the time window by 3 months, unfortunately the first 2 repair attempts had to have occurred within the first 12k miles or 12 months. So rather than fight a losing battle, I decided to sell. I got near the high end of Edmunds value from a local dealer (KBB doesn't even have a value on our cars for some reason).

My M6 is an SMG, I actually prefer the SMG to the 6MT as it's essentially a manual car with an extra gear sans 3rd pedal. The 6MT's were produced in very limited numbers (only around 320 examples for the E63 M6 coupe during its entire production run) and are almost impossible to find on the final MY2010. But I probably have one of the lowest mileage 2010 coupes left in the country (it was less than 12k when I bought it last year as I was selling my other 2010 M6 with 49k miles).

This was last weekend. I plan to lower it at least an inch or two this summer.

 

A few years ago I owned a 2009 GT500. I got bored and test drove an M6 convertible with a manual transmission. It was a bronze color with the cream-beige interior. I came close to trading but I couldn’t get over having to keep the engine on high revs to get the same thrust as the Shelby. Almost…