Sorry for your troubles.

I can only imagine your pain as I had to jump through loops despite owning the tire/wheel protection package. I don't know why I wouldn't have opted for it at new vehicle purchase, but there are two levels of coverage, with one being just $100 more expensive but offering cosmetic coverage as well. Dealer says I have the one where the tire/wheel must be LEAKING AIR for coverage. I'm not a penny pincher and know a good bargain when I see it, so I don't know why I wouldn't have opted for what I will henceforth refer to as the "premium tire/wheel protection", as opposed to my "tire/wheel protection".

Bad experience @ Mercedes of Huntington
Service Advisor: Kenneth Sirignano
Issue: Post-tire blow out vibrations, Check Psi, Alignment Steal.

I went into Mercedes of Huntington because of a steady beating vibration at highway speeds. My diagnosis? A bent or cracked rim due to hitting a very severe pothole at highway speeds. My fix? Tire and Wheel protection package during new cehivle purchase. In addition, the LF tire, just replaced days ago at Huntington of Mercedes, had a slow leak, 1 psi or less per day.

SA Kenneth's suggestion - they will check for a slow leak, and perform an alignment to see if that fixes the vibration. We will be charging the standard rate for the alignment. No loaner available.

I refuse to pay for an alignment if no correction is made, even if it means keeping the vibration, as methinks SA Kenneth Sirignano's is asking me to try a $300 bottle of Native American Snake Oil to see if it fixes me sore wrists.

1.5 hours later, no leak detected, no alignment issues found. The SA does not even come LOOKING for me to explain what my car and I were waiting for an hour for. Receptionist comes with a receipt, invoice states no leak found cannot replace rim/tire, alignment checked, no corrections made. So, ultimately NOTHING was done, and the SA didn't even come to me to explain that. I leave... NEVER to return for a scheduled maintenance EVER again, despite the fact it is minutes from my house and they do offer a shuttle service (yeah, more like they are bored and wanna go for a joyride in an MBZ they could never own). Methinks they treated me like crap because I'm a young and cost-weary customer that asks too many questions. I mean I swear, I see some of these SA's bending over backwards getting coffee for the middle-aged/older crowd and making small chat, but I don't even get a face to face encounter with the guy who I'm handing over my ~50,000 car to???

Ultimately, I went to the dealer I purchased from - Helms Bros. Bayside - got both the LF and RR rims replaced under the tire/wheel package (bent LF, cracked RR) and found no alignment/balance issues. All for free, loaner c-class provided, and done in just two visits...


Andy Lin from Helms Bros is a great SA. During the above experience he also found a noise emitting from the right front tirewell, found some loose/worn components and had them replaced under warranty.

 

I think I just figured out what the very faint vibration in the steering wheel is now.

 

i goto mb huntington too and their service is poor/marginal. ken used to be my service advisor and he's no longer there. anytime i would go in he doesnt even ask why i am there, he pulls out some giant binder and says at xx,xxx miles ur car needs blah, blah, blah, blah, blah and tries to do a hard sell of crap that i either dont need, or if i needed would be covered in service a or b. i never get an update with what is going on with my car. when i leave a msg it never gets returned. he was the worst SA i have ever dealt with. just like you i am young, cost weary and i ask a lot of questions and they dont like it. altho i must say they always give me a loaner, i never had a problem getting a loaner. their costs have skyrocketed tho...$350 for service a and $680 for service b???? r they on drugs? ill b goin to helms bros or silver star from now on.

 

@thegreatone45

I had trouble getting a loaner because of the sudden nature of my visits. No terribly hard feelings there bc I know how in demand loaner cars are.

I'm not sure if its kenneths fault that he is was a poor sa. I'm sure the sm there really pushes advisors to attempt cold sales.
The SM at helms bros is highly visible and helping clients if ccertain advisors are too busy. His name is Richard and his business card states that he is a Mercedes master tech. At huntington mb I never once saw the SM.

 

Bent and damaged rims and tires are now a fact of life with all cars having 18" rims and larger with correspondingly tiny sidewalls. Look at how thin any rim is. It's weight/substance vs. performance. They need to be thin. It's not unique to Mercedes, all makes share the issue. They make them thin and light for performance. Downside is you get them bent if you hit a worm on a rainy day.

There is a reason why alloy wheel restoration is a booming business.

I just blew a new-ish Michelin snow tire on a @*#&@ pothole. Rim seems ok.

 

For all of the above reasons has anybody moved from 18" stock rims to 17s? I have an 07 E350 sport with those pita to clean 10 twin spokes and just replaced a tire from a bubble in the sidewall. Thanks.

 

I stay away from low profile tires like the plague. Having a bent wheel or tire can ruin a good part of a week in between having an inoperable tire/car, having to diagnose the issue, get the issue resolved, and potentially pay major sums of money for a new tire, only to have to go through this all over again. Low profile tires might look good but I see nothing luxurious about having to deal with tire failures and the embarresement of being stranded on the side of the road. Until they somehow make low profile tires to be at least as reliable as regular tires there is no way I am going to get a car with those on. From what I have heard from friends it does not take much to damage them and basically you are more or less without a car for a day or two.

 

Drove from Dallas back to Austin last week, 1/2 tire pressure when I arrived, took it in for A service, found a cracked rim. They don't make these rims anymore, so they had to weld the rim...

 

This is the correct description of the problem here and there are no "conspiracies" involved.

It's always a giggle when someone posts here they want to "upgrade" to larger wheels. What's "up" about it?

May also want to read any Mercedes brochure, where you'll find ...

 

I agree. Someone should one day do a test on the SAME car with regular tires and the fragile low profile tires and time how the tires affect acceleration. I am willing to bet that the difference in acceleration between regular and low profile tires to be infinitesimal.

I don't consider the low profile tires to be an upgrade at all as well. Not if it increases the likelihood that I will be stranded on the side of the street and feel embarrassed as everyone else with normal tires drives right past me. This is not even factoring in the inconvenience and cost in replacing tires/rims.

Maybe Mercedes is making a lot of extra money on replacement tires/rims and this is why they are so eagerly pushing this on everyone by including "free" sport packages with low profile tires. This is going to be really tough for someone buying a pre owned vehicles to find a car with normal tires.

 

Some dealers offer the "fix your rim" service. I'm sure they contract the service out, but it can save the hassle of you having to search for a shop yourself.

 

Yes but it is at least half your day wasted while driving around on a donut tire most likely for days...

 

I agree that fixing the rim is inconvenient. When I found out my rim was bent, I tried looking around for shops. I ended up calling my dealer on Tuesday and dropping the wheel off on Wednesday night for Thursday. Thursday is the only day that they offer the service. I went back after work and my wheel was done. Overall, it wasn't too bad.

 

Actually it has been done by Car & Driver (IIRC) with a VW.

Remember that wheels are heavier than tires, so larger wheel/smaller tire equals more weight.

And, of course the wider tread creates more rolling resistance.

So ... acceleration and mpg go DOWN with the bigger wheel/tire setups.

What's most infinitesimal is the chance to enjoy very often the tiny increase in dry road cornering capability provided by the wider tires.

 

Good point! I didn't think of the higher weight with less tire area. Okay so you are telling that with the fragile low profile tires you also loose performance and mpg? I am amazed Mercedes is able to convince so many people to get them or that so many of their customers (face it, most typical Mercedes buyers are not buying the cars for slalom performance) tolerate these tires.

 

Good question. My 06 e55 has damaged 4 tyres and bent three rims in the last 4000 miles...and I'm running the supposedly less fragile 18s instead of 19s. Unfortunately we don't have the option of 'upgrading' to 17 rims - apparently they won't accomodate my AMG callipers so I'm forced to live in fear of the next pot hole...!
Brgds

 

I just ordered two new front 19x8.5 MMR GT1 rims today. I bent one wheel several weeks ago (damm NJ pot holes) and wheel vibration is noticeable at 40+ mph. I'll replace both fronts and keep the good one as a spare. My Falkens still have plenty of tread hence I will retain the same tires.