DavidNJ

First we couldn't order the 4-place climate control with auto-recirc and charcoal filter (features we wanted, we didn't need 4-place controls) couldn't be ordered on an E320 CDI.

Then we couldn't get the heated steering wheel was unavailable with the ventilated seats.

Then the price of the premium package with ventilated seats went from $3650 to $4720 to $5200 with the ventilated seats a standalone option.

Then the valet trunk lock disappeared. Amazing on a $60k car. Don't they think we have other valuables besides the car?

Then some little stuff...puddle lights, rubber mats for the ashtray, glove box shelf, console cooling...nice but way less important.

So we thought, and thought, and thought, and went ahead and ordered the car. For European Delivery. And made the flight and hotel reservations.

Now this. No REST function...minor, but nice...and no hot/cold knob for the upper vents. I use that continuously. One of the reasons we bought the car, one of several to be sure, but a very important one, was that BMW buried that control in iDrive, and MB had it where it was supposed to be.

Now that is gone!!! And by the way, BMW has added ventilated seats and improved console trim for '05.

I am upset. I am furious. I am mad. I want to take the product managers and engineers behind this out and flog them. I want them to drive Hyundai Excels and Kia Rios for the rest of their miserable lives. No, at this rate, those cars will be better than MB in a couple of years!

I am so...%(&*^%%&$(%!!!

HELL ONA HARLEY

The thumb wheels are still there, just the one that controled the now defunked center vent is gone....B.T.W.... Don't sweat the climate controlled center console, I find it a waste of good ventalation. I find it quite useless, that is unless you keep your chocolate bars in there during the summer and your calzone's in there for safe keepng in the winter....

konigstiger

Now, now - calm down. Enjoy your vacation, and your car for 7500 miles and sell it to someone in CA. Didn’t you say you were thinking of doing this anyway?

kort677

I wish that I didnt't have the climate conteolled console, I keep my sunglasses in there and if I put them on after drivng awhile with them in there they fog up because they are so cold, it really is a useless feature, also that center vent thing is useless too, the puddle lights are missed but that's no biggy but I do like the rest feature, my volvo does that automaticaly

HELL ONA HARLEY

Ya know you could close that vent to help keep things at a more normal temp... Look towards the bottom leading edge of the console, there you will find a vent that you can slide open and close (up and down)... I keep mine closed all the time in hopes to redirect that air into the cabin.

nyca

I think the point is - how is this car differentiating itself as a $50K automobile if they decontent features that no one else has - at some point, its a German Honda (minus the reliability), when everything (except the chassis) devolves to what everyone else has in their cars.

I bought an Accord this week. Yes, although I wanted an E, I bought an Accord as an interim car. I'll drive it for 2-3 years, and hope things get squared away on a 2007 E350 w/7G plus the facelift.

MB-JIM

My 04 CDI still has the top center vent. Frankly, I would rather have it gone since it reflects so bad on the windshield. My C320 had the vent but didn't have the reflection problem of the E.
I wonder what they have done with the center radio speaker that was located under the top vent? Is that another cost reduction item?

DavidNJ

Isn't the "top center vent" a speaker?

The wheel, a feature in BMWs and I believe Audis, if not some Japanese and English cars also, is a VERY, VERY important feature to me. It is what keeps me comfortable, epecially one cold and cool days.

All of the missing features appear on one or more of the competitors. Our '01 530 has the charcoal filter, auto-recirc, REST, RDS, the center hot/cold thumb wheel, heated steering wheel, speed alert (I think MB calls it Speedtronic), programmed auto start for the ventilation system, and a valet trunk lock (with individual locks for each half of the rear seat).

The E60 makes puts the hot/cold wheel under iDrive (absolutely ridculous) and adds individual fan level adjustments for the driver and passenger for upper and lower vents, and relative temperature adjustments for the heated seat back vs. cushion, heated rear seats, heads-up display, active cruise (at $2200), std LED tail lights, SAT radio in a sail, and Bluetooth phone.

I the E60 interior was so cheap, hostile, and ugly we would have never ventured into an MB store in the first place. Chris Bangle, another person who I'd like the practice the Lawrence Oliver role in Marathon Man on (he would have the Dustin Hoffman role).

MB isn't taking off marginal features that other brands don't have or people don't what. They are taking off the features that made them competitive..

I may try the CA thing. 7500 miles should occur in January. 5000 leaving 2500 for the cross country drive would occur in early December. Still before the M45 or G430 are available. I wonder what the NY law is?

Still absolutely livid. This was supposed to be a 48-52 month car, not a 2-3 month car!!! It probably makes no sense anyway. The CA dealer would need a below invoice deal. And I have $3300 in sales tax.

MBE55AMG

Sorry to hear your debacles, Dave. Something the unexpected happens when we just don't want it to. Have fun with the car, nevertheless.

levind

Are you sure these items are really being removed? I have read nothing about the eliminations on any German forums. They usually discuss every minute change in great detail. The '05 CDI I test drove had the REST feature as well as the center air vent. This whole rumor is based on a picture in a brochure. What does your dealer say?

DavidNJ

The first features, 100%. The last 2 features: 99%. Told by a dealer in Brooklyn, NY. He knew about them explicitly. And there was a an '04 and '05 C-class. The '04 had it. The '05 didn't.

konigstiger

Would that be boys over @ Soveriegn?

jyg e500 maybe

dave , maybe you shoud keep your 530. I'm keeping my 528, very dissapppointed at content reduction. CHEAPENING . of MB. I find the center climate control vent system is a major part of the way I drive, Also radio on bmw is much more user friendly. Yes you can get presets from steering wheel , but not on mb,

Brav

All I can say is, all that is BS. Changing pricing on packages is one thing, but this elimination of nickle dime sh*t is BS. Its the little things that make this car. This, combined with all the stuff Europe gets that we dont, and the intermitted elec. problems really **** me off.

DavidNJ

Yes on the dealer...I had some family issues to handle in the area.

I wanted to keep the 530, and it made some sense in February when we could have still received a CPO for it (dealer buys and certifies it and sells it back to us.). However, it has a few issues, can't get the extended warranty, and the market value appears to be way lower than our residual. Although I will check with the dealer again.

I forgot that the presets and scan work from the wheel on the BMW. However, I virtually never use them, relying on the 1-2-3-4-5-6 buttons all the time. Faster for me.

I though the MB phone style buttons would give me the same ease in dialing. Or did they get rid of that also?

levind

I want to say again that the climate control info is only hearsay and based on no fact. The C-class is a different animal, and all changes have been noted for a while. NO german factory worker has mentioned the climate control changes. They see and hear EVERYTHING! Removal of the REST function is a major change. Something would have been said. I started the original threads months ago about the decontenting. The information I get from the german forums has been very accurate so far. The only mention of the center vent was that there will be a redesign in the appearance of the vent; it will look more like that of the C-class in order to reduce the reflection in the windshield.

DavidNJ

What is the date of your pickup? What is the URL of the German forums? The salesman I spoke with was very specific. No room for doubt. The 1% less than certain (based on the salesman, the salesman's report of the pictures, the pictures posted here, and the comments posted by people with an '05 manual) because I don't have it firsthand from MB.

CDIs built with the '04 run have the old vent. Cars built with the '05 run (since June) I understand will have the '05 vent. However...maybe the conversion is in August and earlier '05 will have the old vent?

I am still angry. I shouldn't have this aggravation.

levind

My build date is third week of this month, with pickup at the end of August. Isn't that about the same as yours? BTW, the best german forum is at:
http://www.motor-talk.de/f155/s/

Oslo

This is taken from Moto-Talk:


Laut Info gibt es folgende Änderungen für das Modelljahr 2005:

- CD-Wechsler kann zusammen mit dem Comand MP3 wiedergeben
- die Staufunktion SBC Stop entfällt (der Halteassistent bleibt aber)
- bei "Twin" entfällt ein Echtlederanteil (?)
- die Standheizungs-FB empfängt nun auch ein Rücksignal
- das WAP-Telefon gibt es nur noch mit Teleaid
- die Handyvorrüstung entfällt (dafür gibt ja es die neue UHI)
- kein Aschenbecher mehr vorne in Serie (aber ohne Aufpreis lieferbar), dafür Ablagefach mit Steckdose Serie
- der Tempomat verwendet nun auch die SBC-Bremse zum Reduzieren der Geschwindigkeit im Gefälle ("Bremseingriff")
- das Ablagefach in der Armlehne ist nicht mehr belüftet - also weder beheizt, noch gekühlt
-Sitzunterteil (die alte Plastikabdeckung) wird seitlich mit Kunstleder bezogen
-Neigungsverstellung nun elektrisch
-Alufelgen sind nicht mehr glanzgedreht, sondern nur noch silber lackiert

HELL ONA HARLEY

Translation please?????

Oslo

This is a quick translation. Remember that this is from a German Board for EU cars, and specification could/would be different from US cars.

- CD changer can play MP3 with Comand
- SBC function now only works with SBC Hold, not SBC Stop
- "Twin" genuine leather portion is gone (?)
- Parking heater now sends return signal to the key
- WAP telephone only with Teleaid
- Prewire for mobile phone gone. Replaced by UHI
- No ashtray in front as standard (still available as option), but with plug socket
- The Cruise control will engage brakes for the reduction of the speed downhill
- The cooling/heating in the armrest console is gone
- The covers below the seats (the old plastic cover) is now covered by imitation leather
- Neigungsverstellung now electrically (not sure about this translation)
- Some rims are only silver painted

konigstiger

“The covers below the seats (the old plastic cover) is now covered by imitation leather”

Does this mean the portion that incorporates the under seat storage bin? If so, isn’t this going to be a nightmare to keep clean for the lighter colors even more so than now? Or am I simply misunderstanding?

Apollo

Hi


You can turn it off if you want.

lig

I say vote with your $$$.

If you are that torqued - get something else.

At a minimum - the three pointed star on this car is a 10K premium anyway.

The marketplace will decide what the automakers produce. If you and others walk away - the concept of *value* might be a more influential force in M-B pricing/marketing.

HotWheels500

Good point. It is all based on a picture. But, in the brochure, no mention of a rest feature is made, or the rest of it. And the dealer knows nothing!!

Something's not right with THIS picture!