Mercedes seriously needs to do a better job with there cars.
 

I brought a certified pre-owned E300 last year with 29,795 miles. In a year, I only drove the car 2,000 miles. All 2k miles have been from going back and forth to the dealership for new issues that arise. Issues from hood open warning signs to speakers making a cracking sound to wheel paint peeling off. I took the car in Monday morning because the speakers were making a cracking/crackling sound while I had music playing and the leather seats started to crack (the leather is cracking). They replaced the cars Tweeters and have the leather of the seats on order (Nappa leather coming from Germany). I tested the tweeters at the dealership after they replaced them and they sounded fine. On my way home, I start hearing the crackling/cracking noise again. So, if the tweeters were replaced I’m guessing the Burmester speakers are messed up. It’s annoying that I have to keep going back to the dealership every month for new things. I have an 11-year-old BMW brought it brand new in 2009 and never had any issues like this. I have a 9-year-old Toyota brought brand new in 2011, never had these issues. Mercedes is a well-known luxury car brand that really needs to do a better job with things. It's getting to the point where I am starting to regret this purchase.

Your experience is why I never buy used vehicles. You do not how they have been abused and/or misused. Dealers dress them up and push them off their lots with no concern other than to maximize profits. If you want to make dried leather look new just wipe them down with a $5 bottle of Mop and Glo floor cleaner. They'll look fantastik (no pun - that's another trick) for a week or two. My neighbor was a used car (MB) dealer and shared a few of his tricks.

Could the crackling noise be coming from the amplifier rather than the speakers themselves? I'm not an audio expert by any means, but it might be worth asking them that?

Does the noise happen with every Audio source (e.g. Radio, bluetooth audio, USB, etc.) or is it only one source?

I don't really listen to the radio, but it happens with Bluetooth. And it's not with one specific song where the crackling happens. It's with more than one. I haven't asked them about the amplifier. It's just really irritating at this point.

Try another audio source, for example Radio or USB, and see if it still occurs.

I was in the market for a luxury car under $40k. I brought this E-class for $37k otd (cash) with them buffing the whole car and touching some rock chips and stuff up. I did go to a BMW dealership to look at a 2015 5 series before looking at any Mercedes. I didn't really like that body style so I didn't go for it. They kept trying to get me to finance a new at the time 2019 5 series. I never finance cars and it was much higher than my $40k budget. But, now that I think about it, I could have gotten a pretty good deal on the new 5 series because of the incentives and the BMW loyalty program and might've been better off with a new 5 series then this E-Class. Just pay the car off in a few months.

I'll try that next. Thanks

I wonder how much I can get for my car if I sell it privately? Trade-in maybe 32k.

ua has it right here. I traded my 2019 wagon that was absolutely nothing but trouble and sadly it sold in 10 days - I feel bad for the people that bought it. It looked showroom new, but was a constant headache. To the OP, I would keep at it - my E300 was a great car, very few issues - getting the seats addressed and then the static, you'[[ have a great car on your hands - especially with the nappa leather.

Don't get me wrong, it's a nice car. But, man there are so many small issues. I don't know, maybe I'm just nitpicking at this point?

What year is the car? How far do you actually have to drive to get to the dealer??
Cracking speakers, flaking wheel finish, hood closed improperly, used leather seat, (lots of in and out of the car by previous owner? A tad on the corpulent side maybe?) All of these seem like fairly common wear and tear for a car with 30K. Doesn't sound like it was maintained very well prior to you getting it. I do wonder if the service has been up to par? As in how you're treated at the dealer and
whether or not they are fixing things to your satisfaction. I do recognize your other two vehicles are problem free, but you have probably cared for them well over their life. How long do you plan on continuing to foster your E300? GL to ya!

The cars a 2017 E300 4matic. Here's an actual picture of my car. I looked the vin up on google and it pulled up all the pictures of the car from the auction (the car was brought at an auction in Tennessee). The dealership is about 32 miles two-way drive from my house. The first owner leased the car and the second owner only had the car for 16 days per the carfax and my dealer. The manager at the dealership I bought the car from told me the 2nd owner traded the car in for a G-class. When I brought the car, I was told it went through the certified pre-owned checklist and passed the inspection. Yet, the day after I brought the car, I took a look under the hood (checked the oil it was dirty, and all the filters were dirty). I used to work at a Honda dealership and we always changed a car's oil and filters regardless of it was going to be sold on our lot or sent to auction. So, I called the dealership I brought the car from and told them what kind of inspection did they did because changing oil and filters are basic stuff to do during an inspection. Regardless of the oil being changed a few months ago. I want to keep the car until a major issue that doesn't exceed more than the car's value doesn't show up. But, these going back and forth to the dealership for new issues is annoying.

http://auctionauto.kg/auction/lot/20....MMAA.14380604 link to more picture of anyone wants to see.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mbw...8bb4991377.jpg

Mercedes the illusion of quality...

I don't know man. First owner was a lease, that's a red flag right there. Second owner had it for 16 days, that's code for run far away from this car. You do realize you bought a former rental car, right? Most people don't give a crap about their leased cars. It's just a long term rental that gets them around, especially an average E Class. Never buy a car that came off a lease. Would you buy a used rental from Hertz? Just saying. CPO is mostly an extended warranty. The inspection part is mostly show. It gives some confidence that you can go back to the dealer if there are issues with the car and they have to take care of it on Mercedes' dime, but that's about it. This is clearly a car that hasn't been cared for. The original lessee probably did just the minimum they had to do. Never took care of the leather or the paint really. Where was the car originally from? Wouldn't be surprised if it came from the snow belt and was sitting outside encrusted in road salt during the winters. Quality is one thing, but cars still need proper maintenance and care in order to last.

I am worried and baffled at your “new” car issues. I have a 2016 w213 220d with 200,000+ miles on it... I have no issues with burmester, seats(mb tex) or anything...
car runs fine with no issues what so ever, I wonder if the build quality for US cars are worse than for Europe cars?

YOu bought it at a russian auction?

Hmmmmmmmmmmm

Swiss, you have a point, but not all leased cars are treated like dogs. Lots of people I know who lease MB/Audi/BMW get the prepaid main and just do what the dealer tells them in terms of service. The car that the OP bought looks really nice, but I agree, the 16 day second owner is odd - and who trades a E300 for a G a few days after buying it? Luxury trim with nappa leather and driver assist - I'd still try to work out the issues on that car - really nicely equipped and I love the color combo.

I'm pretty sure the part about the other customer buying the G was to trick OP's brain into thinking he needed a better, or more lux car...….like a brain trick they use to make you feel inferior for buying a used car…….salesmen and their sales tactics.

All good points...as usual. However I would disagree on the lease being a red flag, I have leased many cars and always took good care of them like many others here. Garaged, scheduled maint., weekly cleanings. Like any pre-owned, cpo or not, it's a crap shoot. I have never purchased a pre-owned, potential aggravation is not worth it to me. As for the 16 days, yikes, that's a major red flag. Run is right.

This thread and many others on this site support the argument that Mercedes is one of the lowest quality and least reliable carmakers in the market today.

You have to remember like newspapers who only report bad news to sell papers, by definition "good news" is not really news, all of us who have had no trouble with our Mercedes, do not post that fact.

What you have on this forum are people who have had problems and are seeking answers to those problems.

However, what is disturbing is that there seems to be a number of people who have purchased a CPO from Mercedes, paid extra for the CPO vs. buying privately, and then found out that the Mercedes dealer failed to correct the problems some of which were quite obvious. It seems that the CPO process is nothing more than a good wash, wax and interior clean.

I think that going forward when you buy a CPO you must have the dealer present all the maintenance records to see not only that normal maintenance was done, but what other work, done under warranty was performed. That will at least give you an indication as to whether or not the car had problems and if it had, to stay away from it.

With regard to leasing: I always lease, and have been doing so since the mid 1980's. During the term of the lease I maintain my cars according to the factory schedule. I buy the Mercedes pre-paid maintenance which is residualized in my lease. Over 85% of E and S classes are leased and I know of no one who does not perform the required factory maintenance which is necessary to maintain the warranty.

My personal physician (and social friend) leases for 2 years, She drives about 4k-5k miles and never does any maintenance. I wouldn't consider buying one of her off-lease cars. A lease car is really like a rental where one does not know the vehicle's history. Carfax history reports are unreliable and contain only data voluntarily submitted by a service provider. The Carfax report on my own '18 E300 is very incomplete and misleading. My MB dealer provides a free Carfax for life account as part of the purchase.

I didn’t buy it at a Russian auction lol.

Car was originally from Tennessee. Second owner brought it from a Michigan dealership and I am Chicago now. Hell no, I would never buy a car from hertz. I wonder if I can claim the car has a lemon?

I only have 3 months left of bumper to bumper warranty. Im hearing rattling noises when going on bumps from the rear end now. The dealership told me CPO only covers mechanical stuff. Not cosmetics. So cpo is basically bs