Archangel60

After 3 years in my C300 4Matic Coupe, I put down a deposit for a 2023 E450 Coupe in Graphite Gray. I wanted an AMG E53, but for what I would have paid for a 2-3 year old one, I was able to buy a new E450...used car prices being as stupid as they are right now. And after a test drive I was sold. Plenty of power and very comfortable. I was able to order this one with everything I wanted: Driver Assist, Head-Up Display, adaptive LED lighting, vented seats, AMG Line with Night Package, soft close doors, black ash trim, body color rear spoiler, heated steering wheel, illuminated door sills. The car won't be built until October, but will be here for XMAS (so they say). I normally buy pre-owned, but I wanted to treat myself this time, and I'm very excited. I have a few questions for the group.

I know this has been covered before, but I'm going to convert the rear diffuser to the AMG style quad exhaust. Has anyone found a decent aftermarket exhaust system for this car, or even better mufflers? I'm talking specifically for the I-6, not the V-6. I don't want a full on bark, but a nice growl under acceleration would be great.

Second, when I ordered my interior, I spec'd out the leather seats, not the Nappa leather. The website and the actual build screen at the dealer say "Leather Seats". There is no mention of MB-Tex. Has Mercedes gone away from MB-Tex in the E Class? If I'm reading this right, it appears that now you have a choice of two grades of actual leather. Can anyone shed some light on this? I'm not going to change my order, but I'd like to know what I have. My salesperson said it was indeed real leather.

Any help would be appreciated!

teksurv

Congrats on your order. As to the seats, at least in 2018, the coupes come standards with leather. The sedans come standard with MBTex.

splunge

Congratulations on your order , these are amazing cars . I'm surprised they are still producing the coupe/cabriolets having been told my recently delivered 2022 cab was the last year ?
I have no knowledge regarding the rear diffuser but would be interested to hear comments .
Regarding the leather ,yes all the coupes /cabs have real leather or Nappa .( both in Canada and USA ) , only the sedans and maybe SUVs have the non-leather option .
I hope yours comes sooner than mine ( 16 months from order ), but that was in the height of Covid. Good luck and it didn.t happen without pictures !

Archangel60

Thanks for the comments. I hope my order is on time too, though my sales guy said that my dealership has experienced almost no delays in deliveries from Germany, so fingers crossed. I actually went into the MB website and saw that if I ordered an E450 Sedan, you get a choice of MB-Tex, Leather and Nappa Leather, whereas in the Coupe ordering section, MB-Tex is not shown. So yes, it appears that with the coupe you get to choose between "good leather" and "better leather" (i.e. Nappa). Fine with me. There's nothing really low quality on these vehicles anyway, which is why this will be my 4th.

I've seen on thread where someone removed the resonator and put in straight pipes. I also remember Renntech having replacement mufflers for the SL. This would be ideal, but it was a long time ago, and I don't see it on their website now. There's a place here that I've gone to on a few occasions which is a top-notch exhaust place. I may talk to the owner and experiment. Regardless, the E53 looks rear diffuser looks SO much better than stock. It's a must have.

Haven't even built the car and I'm spending money on it!

sgawiser

I certainly hope that the death of the E Coupe and Cabriolet is premature as our 23 Cab was built on July 19!

Archangel60

What I was told was that there was one more year for both, then they were going to be merged into a new platform. CLE or something like that.

Archangel60

Was at the dealer the other day for my complimentary car wash. Sales guy looked in the computer and saw that my car has a status of PNS (Produced Not Shipped). Apparently it was completed on October 13. So now we're just waiting for a boat to put it on. He told me it averages about 6-8 weeks from this point. I'm sure that it'll have to go through customs and then a Vehicle Prep Center before getting to my dealer. Looks like now is the time to order the AMG diffuser package from the UK. I told my sales guy that I wanted to be one of those goofballs with the red bow on my car in the showroom. "No problem" he said..."there's a place for folks like you." We just laughed.

Merry Christmas to me!

Elvisfan0108

My dealer doesn’t do free car washes. Only after a service. I asked them to do a carfax for me. After my rear bumper was fixed. Salesman said no. However, they didn’t try to raise the price when the car came in though

Archangel60

My dealer has offered free car washes for anyone who purchases a car from them. They stopped during Covid but now have resumed. It's a nice little perk. I have found them to be great to work with. I've bought 3 cars from them and my son has bought one.

UPDATE: My car is on a ship just off the coast of Newport News, VA. It is scheduled to dock on Saturday morning. After that comes customs, vehicle prep, then to my dealer. My salesman said that he's confident I'll have my car before Thanksgiving!! Now I'm getting excited! I have to say that this process has gone very smoothly with absolutely no delays at all. I am one happy boy!

sgawiser

Sure hope they have released the 23 coupe as our 23 RWD cab has not yet been released. So far almost 4 months since produced and 3 since it was at the
VPC!

2150john

I find that our 2022 E450 cab in sport+ mode has plenty of growl for me without any aftermarket changes in the exhaust. Did you test drive the I-6 E450 with the sport+ dynamic?
Changing the diffusers is mostly cosmetic and a matter of personal taste. It does give the car a more aggressive look . I believe there is another thread on this board where someone
has found a place to order the parts for the change. I think you made a wise choice in your order. I love our cab. It is the fourth Mercedes Cab we have owned and it is our favorite. The mild hybrid I-6 will push you well back into the seats on acceleration in stock configuration.

Archangel60

That's mainly why I'm having the diffuser put on. Back in the late 60's and early 70's, car manufacturers would routinely put nicely finished exhaust extensions and tips on the rear valence (what it used to be called). It gave the back end such a nice finished and aggressive look (The 1971 Charger "machine gun" tips come to mind). I love the angled square tips on the AMG's, but the double pipes look great as well.