New E550 replacement has rough downshifts too, lovely
Peter, went thru these threads and wow what a terrible experience...glad it was finally resolved and good luck in the hunt for your next car





BMW revolutionized car design thus far this century. The M-B's you're all in, are EXTREMELY influenced (read: copy off of) Bangle-era BMW designs. Like it or not, it's a fact, and anyone not sniffing the M-B kool-aid too closely will realize that.
M-B's are hardly the reliability benchmark of late. BMW's have improved greatly recently, and mine is by far more reliable than my M-B's were, so far. BMW has come a long way in fit/finish than you guys talking about pre-2011 models are referencing. The E60 has nothing to do with the quality of the 2013+ F10. It's like saying M-B's are quality disasters because I had a W220 that was a POS. My W212's didn't fare well after some age, nor were they fit/finish perfect when I got them (thus resulting in numerous trips to the dealer on all of them). My BMW has so far, in terms of initial quality, "aged" a lot more gracefully (no rattles to boot, which is never the case with newer M-B's, from my many experiences with or in them).
BMW made discordant, angular designs popular with the E65/E60, which M-B ran with during the W221 generation (including "Bangle Butt" on that model) (which peaked during the W212). Then BMW went back to round, while M-B were scrambling to try and "fix" their angular designs, resulting in uncharacteristic "about-face" facelifts to go round again, like BMW. The W212 facelift was said by many to be M-B's attempt to try and look as much like the F10 as they could (the front with its smoother lines and "sporty" grille, the lava-lamp taillight graphics, the BMW inspired rear diffuser that "lifts" at both ends, which M-B implemented very haphazardly).
Even little things like how BMW has thickened its chrome window trim at the end are now being done by M-B, on the new S and C Classes.
I know on an M-B board nobody will want to see it like that, but it's the truth. BMW set the design standard, and M-B has followed, in vast respects. BMW hasn't copied any design traits off of M-B for an extremely long time.





BMW revolutionized car design thus far this century. The M-B's you're all in, are EXTREMELY influenced (read: copy off of) Bangle-era BMW designs. Like it or not, it's a fact, and anyone not sniffing the M-B kool-aid too closely will realize that.
M-B's are hardly the reliability benchmark of late. BMW's have improved greatly recently, and mine is by far more reliable than my M-B's were, so far. BMW has come a long way in fit/finish than you guys talking about pre-2011 models are referencing. The E60 has nothing to do with the quality of the 2013+ F10. It's like saying M-B's are quality disasters because I had a W220 that was a POS. My W212's didn't fare well after some age, nor were they fit/finish perfect when I got them (thus resulting in numerous trips to the dealer on all of them). My BMW has so far, in terms of initial quality, "aged" a lot more gracefully (no rattles to boot, which is never the case with newer M-B's, from my many experiences with or in them).
W211/220 design language simply became old and tired, especially the boring curvy dash/center stack. An angular interior is more MB tradition. I doubt you've experienced anything older than that 220, however.
" said by many"
You said it. Now please, well, put up or shut up

I wonder if the amount of F10s with fuel delivery issues is more than W212s with clunky transmissions...
I won't waste any more space here, sorry for falling for it

BMW made discordant, angular designs popular with the E65/E60, which M-B ran with during the W221 generation (including "Bangle Butt" on that model) (which peaked during the W212). Then BMW went back to round, while M-B were scrambling to try and "fix" their angular designs, resulting in uncharacteristic "about-face" facelifts to go round again, like BMW. The W212 facelift was said by many to be M-B's attempt to try and look as much like the F10 as they could (the front with its smoother lines and "sporty" grille, the lava-lamp taillight graphics, the BMW inspired rear diffuser that "lifts" at both ends, which M-B implemented very haphazardly).
Even little things like how BMW has thickened its chrome window trim at the end are now being done by M-B, on the new S and C Classes.
I know on an M-B board nobody will want to see it like that, but it's the truth. BMW set the design standard, and M-B has followed, in vast respects. BMW hasn't copied any design traits off of M-B for an extremely long time.
Last edited by fintail; Apr 24, 2014 at 08:58 AM.
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
To date, MBUSA has agreed to refund all my cash, still waiting to actually hear back to drive in to the dealership to and pick up the check for $74k and the remaining check for the 4 year service plan and the extended warranty. I still have the dealership's CLS550 loaner, and as far as I know, my car, that I still have the title too, is on the rack waiting for parts.
This is a very very slow process. I get a kick out of people that think you can snap your fingers and "just get your money back." Patient is a virtue apparently.
Thanks again for all your support guys, I certainly do hope this documentation on the site helps others, I know for a fact via PMs that it has helped a few get resolutions.
I truly do not believe there is a known fix for this transmission issue, the C300 "clunk" drama continues as well on the w204 forum. It's really amazing.
The way they have done the instrument cluster and graphics is sweet. They also have a lot of the tech or more. You should look for a Demo S6. 90k new. Prob in the 70k range for 2014 used. Also the 2014 A6 tdi is rated well. My local dealer has a used 2014 CPO for 60k with everything and a 74k msrp.








I'm not a big Audi fan, but the S line cars do seem cool. E550's and 550i's have become so "unspecial" aesthetically than the E350's and 535is, i.e they look identical, whereas back in the day, the V8 models got some little exclusive details (it's basically a telling sign as to how changing the car market is, where big motor cars become more irrelevant). I believe the "S" Audi's, even though technically comparable to the "550's", have a lot more aesthetic variations, and perhaps even more performance variations.
Audi's don't discount much, but that's a good thing. M-B and BMW look less premium (which is how they're priced) when they have to slash prices just to get people to buy (or "rent") them. The W212 being the worst offender to where MBUSA makes it appear as if they have to give them away to keep up the sales figures they want to show. Audi's are a much worse value, but the way they treat their sales are more sophisticated. Less incentive to lease, more incentive to actually afford the car you're trying to buy. I respect it, but I like BMW's and M-B's more to the point where an Audi not being attainable for the same value obviously isn't enticing to me.
Thanks also to SolidGranite -- my brother in arms, thanks for all your wisdom and advice.




