Do you think they were dragging their feet in hopes you would use MZB financing? I know a dealership and the finance person make a ton of money when they arrange the loan for the customer.
Is there way to disable the passenger side air bags? My wife is short and is terrorized of the airbag system I know that placing a child seat by Mercedes disables it, but how?
You out driving that new car???????? I hope so!! I'm hanging around the house, my school district in southern California!, is having its second snow day in less than week, so I'm home with the baby. I'll be looking forward to hearing about the new car!
I am actually a bit surprised that the salesman hasn't called to ask what he can do to make me happy. In today's message to him I finally blew my top a little bit and said something like "you said you would do anything to make me happy, and right now I am not very happy." I still hope to get those cargo nets out of him, and if he asks what else he can do, I'll ask him what he can offer and put the ball in his court. Maybe he's going to wait and hope that I will forget about what has happened.... I'm pretty sure he understands my frustration with them, and if he asks you better believe I'll tell him. Since the dealership is literally right around the corner though it will be the most convenient place to go for service and everything, so I guess I want to be a bit careful in how the relationship stands.
As for forcing me to use MBCC financing, that was the first thing I thought of when they gave me their whiny little pitch about having trouble with Eloan "in the past" "we don't think they have the money" "their drafts never get paid" "we've had over a million dollars worth of drafts from them go unpaid" blah blah blah. Clearly this draft would not have been paid if I hadn't been so diligent, and this was their set up. They really had no choice but finally cough up the documents since they were so clearly the ones at fault and dragging their feet. Last week I thought that perhaps the person who finished up the paperwork and submitted my check and the bank draft assumed that the documents were already sent or didn't bother to read the letter that tells the dealer what to do. I had pointed out to Finance Guy what they needed to do, but it's likely he never passed that on to the person who ultimately finished things off. However, my calls to the salesman should have resulted in him checking on this stuff, which he obviously didn't do. If the draft had come back to them unpaid they were going to "call me to make other arrangements" and I suspect that they would have then tried hard to get me to use MBCC just to get it all over with. When I bought my Honda I didn't have any troubles at all...but there I used the dealership to finance with the bank they deal with (not Honda Credit), so maybe that made some sort of difference.
I think the people at MB had better get used to this sort of stuff. The internet has already changed the way people buy cars, even MB cars. It's not Biff and Muffy plunking down cash MSRP no questions asked anymore. The New C seems to have attracted a lot of first time MB buyers (like me) and I think the dealers are having a bit of culture shock.
Think I may have been a couple of days too early. Was told it was released to the Trucking company today. So it may get here late today or hopefully tomorrow. Then the dealer needs a day to prep. So maybe it will be ready end of Thursday or hopefully Friday.
I have never heard back from Edmund's. Wish they would disable their "Top 10 Discussions" as the software does not accurately reflect what is shown. I wonder if anyone at Edmund's is even working on it ?
I recollect few messages back somebody was talking about reaching new shipment to baltimore and wondering how many new C will be on that consignment - does anybody have any updates on that?
I'm sorry to hear to don't have the car yet, I bet you're really chomping at the bit now!!!
I posted to the sedans host, not Drew, and got this reply: "I think the hot topics list is somewhat arbitrarily picked from a traffic report. I don't think that it's automatically generated. Has it been on the list at all recently? I see that stuff so often I don't look very closely..." So I guess we're just out of luck, no biggy!
fedssocr - interesting that you had all the financing problems with ASC. I thought I paid for my European Delivery C240 last week and guess what?? When I called my credit union this week to inquire whether the draft had been presented, they said "yes, but we had to send it back because the dealer didn't endorse it". Sound familiar?
Admittedly I have some time (I pick it up in 4 weeks), but jeez.....
nice pics! the clone of my car(actually i have a 240) almost time for my 10,000 service.. maybe 2-3 weeks or so... very happy with the total experience... just cant wait for a run of warmer nicer days so i can do the zaino
Approaching 3000 and going to get the oil changed with whatever oil they use. Radio static disappeared, no problems whatsoever. In the SoCal rain, I noticed that when I turned a very slippery corner, the caution light came on for a brief second. Is that normal? Not sure what that's intended to do. I appreciated the comment in an earlier post about shifting from D to 1 simply by holding the shifter to the left for a full second. That was not explained in the manual. The more I learn about the car, the more inadequate that manual appears to be. Someone commented on all leather vs. std leather inserts. I saved the money and went with the std pleather or whatever it's called, and I have no regrets at all. I got my license plates and trashed the dealer frames. Notwithstanding Beverly Hills BMW's ad campaign, I cannot imagine why I should advertize a car dealership. Instead of bargaining for the baseball cap & teddy bear, I should have gotten the MB frames. Or is frameless ok?
What's your plan with the table? Is it for our hopefully upcoming owner's group? My interior color is oyster by the way. Have you heard anything new on the car? I bet you're sick of me asking!! LOL My school district had yet another snow day today, so I'm off to pick my wife up at work and go to the first day of the San Diego auto show, I'm really hoping to see that C32 but the really good cars seem to have a way of skipping San Diego. I'm trying to talk her into letting me put a deposit on the C32, before you do the whip whip sound on me keep in mind I'm a third grade teacher, she's VP of Sales and Marketing! Keep me posted on your car, haven't seen Drew at any of the threads yesterday or today, maybe he's playing with his ML in the snow!
This may already be old news but I have no heard it being discussed here. Motor Week's 2001 Drivers' Choice Award has the C320 as the best Sport Sedan. Though I have a C240 this is good news for all of us, something is bound to trickle down.
I only have a 00 C280- where's my chart? Just kidding. I'm approaching 5K miles and the car has been perfect. The black finish had fine scratches and swirls from the washes it received at the dealership. We had a break in the weather and
ZAINO to the rescue. One coat of Z5 removed all the badness. The finish is perfect. I still have another coat to add of z2. But I dont think it can look any shinier.
That was the traction control/ESP telling you that it was intervening on your behalf to keep you on the road, assuming you are referring to the yellow triangle with the exclamation mark. Might be a good idea to spend some time with the owner's manual; it does a good job explaining when this system is activated and why. At least, it involves using the brakes and throttle to just cut back on the power - at the extremes, it involves differential braking [separate wheels braked at differing forces] to keep you from heading off into the boondocks. It always means you have, however briefly, exceeded the traction and adhesion capabilities of the car...and if you try hard enough, you can still put the car on its roof...it's just a lot more difficult with the ESP system activated.
Thanks for the feedback. Was not sure whether it would be received positively or negatively. Seems people are generally in favor of it. I just quickly (over lunch hour) scanned posts from 900 forward, and know I have missed lots of people, and am happy to add any info from people in this forum. Used MS Access database, so can sort on any column etc...
Trying to keep it to one page wide, will try and add column(s) for brakes, or put in Notes column.
Maybe it could be a topic of discussion in the upcoming Owner's Group chat (March 6th, 8 EST/5 PST), or a reference to share, especially with new visitors that would like to see photos/combinations etc...
Post #1128 references a number of Posts on Brakes
and also this Table of Issues (can't find the Post for this one, so here is the link again:
I've been waiting patiently since I placed my order November 11, however today I finally received dealer confirmation on my C240(Brilliant Silver/Charcoal,C1,C2,C4,Bose and Xenon's) build date. Second decade in March...then an additional 4-6 weeks for shipping.
Gosh, I feel like I'm going to have a baby, actually it's taking almost as long...hahaha
Please keep posting pictures...It makes the wait a little easier. Oh, does anyone have pictures of a charcoal interior with Laurel wood trim? All the pictures I've seen have aluminum inserts. If you have Laurel wood trim and charcoal interior, please take a couple of pictures and post them. Thanks, Erich
Well, I went to the dealer orientation last night and it was pretty good. About 15 new MB owners attended. They took us all around the shop and went over all the service programs. They had about 15 techs there and one each of everyone car. (The C was a Capri Blue 320. Nice color.) We spent about 1/2 hour with a tech and he was able to answer all our questions.
1. MB is changing to Mobil 1 and will replace the regular oil during my first oil change. I asked about an extra change at about 3k miles. The old timer thought it was a good idea and the younger tech really did not think it was necessary.
2. No TSB on the TICK, Tick. I asked about the gas fume re circulate deal, he said that made sense and it could easily be the culprit and would be simple to fix.
3. No news on the MB child seat.
4. I won the door prize which was one of those $100.00 MB wash buckets. Guess whose trunk would not open after the meeting. I had 6 techs and 2 service advisors working on it in the parking lot. We got the trunk open and they adjusted the rubber stops on the inside bottom edge of the trunk lid. (Just screwed them in about 1/2 turn by hand.) Time will tell.
5. No one knew anything about MB canceling the door unlock service and in fact they were telling people how nice it was and how it would be offered on all models next year.
6. Tire rotation was recommended every 5k. It is free but it is also a secret!
7. All in all, a very well spent evening! The food was even pretty good but no wine.
Just over a week old and its been a "little of everything bad" sort of a week, weather wise. Rain, freezing rain, sleet, and oh, did I mention snow, fog, and ice! However, with weather like this you get to experience all of the goodies quickly.
The wipers are great, just about one beat ahead of me all of the time (about the time I notice moisture on the windshield the wiper is a quarter of the way through a sweep). ESP, works as advertised, snow or ice, just a little slippage, warning light flashes, things settle down and off I go, Flat or on a hill, no difference. My car came fitted with Goodyear Eagles. I don't think I'll need to shop for Winter tires because I don't plan on driving in any worse weather than we have had the last week and it was as bad as any we've had in the last five or more years.
Although the car is still in breakin mode, and the weather has dictated Winter mode for the A/T, I haven't missed the performance of the GS-R. The handling is very refined and I expect the power to be all that I will need.
diwc240, The specs on my 320 is Black with Java interior. C2,C3 pkgs.,Full Leather and CD changer. Build date Feb.20th,2001;Delivery date 2nd week of March. I love the respect and enthusiasm everyone has for each other and their cars.
Ward, I could not stop laughing, that was great ! "Efficient" use of time plus a fast PC and T1 connection - it's easy, once you get the meat down. Plus I needed some practise in Access database. I'll see if I can keep the info updated, no guarantees. And right now I'm on Cloud 9 as I just went to the Dealer at 7:00 a.m.EST
My Baby is on the Lot !! Took some digital photos at sunrise, white plastic covering the hood, roof etc... Hopefully the Dealer will have it prepped by end of day. Also a White w/ Java and Black were delivered yesterday. (I did see an Auto Hauler with Mercedes on the drive home last night, but he passed by too quick, and I did not notice any new C's, but still I think deja vu...)
Options & Problems column, will see what I can do.
Yeeee Haaaa !!!! Long Weekend is going to be a Blast ! (fingers crossed). Think my Free Time is going to be occuppied...
P.S. I'd post the digital photos right now, but my camera's s/w only runs on Windows 98 (home PC) not at work on NT. Maybe I should ask my manager for a Windows 98 PC...LOL
Bubba, I also looked at the tires this morning, and C 240 6MT Desert Silver / Charcoal was delivered with Goodyear Eagles. The Desert Silver with Charcoal interior looks fantastic IMO. I'll see if I can meet my "prediction" Post #1320 and show Sirus32 some Laurel wood with charcoal interior photos.
Ward, that sounds like an excellent way to spend the evening. Congrats on the Door Prize !! I'll be asking my Dealer if they have something like this organized. Did you say they are once per month ? The Trunk puzzle is priceless...I'll make a note of "tweaking" the rubber stops.
How did some of you end up with Goodyear tires on your cars? Did they just come that way or did you make a special request? My car has Continentals and they seem fine to me, but I'm not a tire expert. :-) The salesman said that they were more performance oriented tires than a normal car would have, so they would wear out faster...he also claimed that the brake pads would probably only last about 25,000 miles. Of course we all know how much I believe anything my salesman says...
(Need to figure out how to make this larger, i.e. saving a .mdb file to an image .gif or .jpeg. Right now I just do a screen capture, and paste into PowerPoint and saved as a .gif)
In the current (Feb. 12) issue of Autoweek Magazine, they request input from C320 owners (among other recent cars) for their Autofile section. The email address is [autofile@crain.com]. Here's my input - we'll see if any of it gets used....
In the current edition of Autoweek, you asked for owner's input regarding the 2001 Mercedes-Benz C320.
I took delivery of a 2001 C320 on October 23, 2000. The VIN is WDBRF64J41F031373. I paid full MSRP of $41,360 plus tax, title, and license fees. I did get a break (dealer cost) on a CD player, car cover, and trunk cargo nets. Now have 3400 miles on the car, and have had NO problems, although I did return to the dealer and got a wheel/steering alignment because the steering wheel was at the '12:02' position when the car was going straight ahead. That's the only malfunction or complaint I've experienced.
The C320 is a gadgeteer's dream - whenever I thought there was a malfunction, careful reading of the 370-page owner's manual revealed that a given feature (for example, the passenger side rear view mirror looking down at the curb when in reverse)was working as it was supposed to. In the case of the mirror, you must have the mirror adjustment select switch in the correct position for the look down feature to work. The C320 is very powerful, smooth, and quiet. The Bose sound system is superb, and the safety features (8 airbags standard)are impressive.
I considered the BMW 330i and the Lexus IS300, but not seriously. I picked the MB because it was the best car for me. BMW seems to change the 3-series appearance frequently, and the IS300 is too much a "boy-racer". Mercedes tends to keep a given model style for a long time with only minor mods. I also considered the MB E320, but it was a little too large and is due for a makeover for model year '03. The '01 C is truly a little S class in appearance, features, and price.
Glad to hear all is well with your car! We're about to hit 3k ourselves and the car is still impressing us everyday. I've had an Autoweek subscription for years, I'll be looking forward to reading their detailed review of the C320, hopefully seeing you in the owner's reviews section!
Great table. I'm picking up my car this Saturday. It's a 2001 C320 Brilliant Silver ext. and Charcoal int. w/ C2 package and cd player. I got it at Mercedes Benz of Morristown, NJ. I'll take pictures this weekend.
Does anyone know how long the salesman should spend time with you going over the many gadgets this wonderful car has?
Bill, I've been really busy this week, which is why I've not been actively posting in my usual topics. Will definitely be catching up this weekend (well, actually Friday evening). So, just a short message from now.
Ian, great job on all of the tables. I'm throughly impressed with the effort that you put into it. It will most certainly come in handy for the "Meet the members" topic, when Karen has an opportunity to set up the C-class owner's club topic. FWIW, those URLs for the great pictures that everyone has been posting should come in handy. I have requested that a photo gallery topic also be set up in the owner's club area similar to that of the M-class photo gallery. All of the pictures can be reposted in there for all to see in one centralised location.
Enjoy your new ride, and be sure to take pictures :-) A couple of tips...make sure that your tires are deflated to the correct psi that MB recommends. They're often grossly overinflated so as to prevent flat-spots during shipping. Of course, take a test drive (preferably with the radio off for a portion of the time; listen for any unusual noises - ex. play around with the moonroof and its sunshade cover) and make sure that all of the goodies, including the infamous trunk and its valet key function, are working properly. Oh right, and be sure to test out TeleAid. Check that they have all of your (correct) particulars.
I'm not sure how long it will take the salesperson to explain the features of the C-class (heck, with all of the knowledge that Town Hall has armed you with, you could probably explain it to him! ), but they should go over the warranties - extended warranty can be purchased within the 1st year of ownership, so don't spring for it quite yet -, owner's manual (which you should try to read little by little, unless you're an engineer; after all, engineers don't RTFM), etc. FWIW, it took about 2 hours for my salesguy to go over the various features/insurance issues/warranties for the M-class with me. Just procedure mainly, since he was already aware of how much I knew. In contrast, it took him about an hour just to describe the basic features (excluding warranty issues, etc.) of the S430 to my parents! :-) The S-class, of course, has far more widgets than the ML or C, hence the reason why I love the car; I love gadgets! You may also want to ask him to recommend/introduce you to a service advisor (preferably one with several years of experience under his/her belt).
Good luck! Drew Host Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket and Accessories message boards
Will add your info. I'm picking mine up today after 5:00 PM. I've heard about an hour and half to two hours with Dealer, depending on how well you already know the car. Like the right side mirror rotates down to show curb when reversing if you have the mirror select switch to RHS, trivia...
From floridacar Post # 563: Things to Check on Delivery: Radio operation Rear doors not opening/unlocking Trunk not opening or opening on its own Test drive and check brakes Ignition Key: modes of operation, unlock etc...
And there we go, Thanks Drew for the excellent advice !! P.S. I "R" an Engineer ... LOL (Queen's Mech. '82).
A central / common photo gallery will be great !
What is the break-in period ? Any different on a 6 speed vs. Auto ? Ian
Finally picked up my Blk/Java 240, 6 sad C1 C2. Ordered on NOV 15 Rcvd Feb 1, 500 miles and no problems other than trying to figure out all the bells & whistles. Just figured out last night that I needed to engage the AC button to disengage the A/C compressor. Should get better mileage now. The dealer was useless. My original salesman was fired/quit (pick one) and I rcvd no status on delivery until car was in U.S. The driver compartment is a little narrow for my liking but I'm getting used to it and if you're contemplating a 6 go for it. It took a little practice but I'm getting much better off the line and into 2nd. As far as the BOSE, I compared my standard set-up with my wife's Infinity BOSE sys and I don't see the cost benefit. Take care, CW in SC Love this forum.
Hey All!! I have a build date of 2/28 for my c320-Black/Java with the c2 package and cd changer. Autohaus here in Pompano tell me last week in March is expected delivery but i feel it will be mid april. I've been getting great service from there, sorry to hear some of the horror stories from some of you. 81 degrees today!!!!
Just when I thought things were finally straightened out, today I get a rather frantic phone call from my salesman. He claims he just got a fax from Eloan saying they need certain documents, claims he and 2 others have already sent these things at least once, and that they have not gotten their money yet. I ask him what day the fax came in, he says yesterday and that I need to call Eloan and find out what's going on because this is "taking up way too much of [his] time." I call Eloan and of course they tell me everything's fine and that the fax was sent on Tuesday when they needed all of this stuff. They also tell me that the dealership has had the money since they deposited the draft and that Eloan would have taken the money back if a problem had arisen, but the dealership already has the money. This confirmed for me what I already knew. The finance woman said to me that the car had "already been paid" so that's why she didn't send the documents in the first place! Right after they had called her asking her to send these things.
I am totally p-ed off at the salesman who could easily have called Eloan himself, but it's clear that no one at the dealership ever really wanted to lift a finger to communicate directly with the people financing my car. I am angry that he blames Eloan for his own dealership's incompetence. I am angry that they have tried to make it sound like I put them through this great hardship. I am considering writing a letter to the dealership's GM detailing what occurred throughout this process and letting him know that I am not happy with his dealership.
On the other hand, I will eventually need to have the car serviced and I don't want to poison my entire relationship with the company over what is really a problem with their sales and finance offices. I could take the car elsewhere for service, but this dealership is literally within a 5 minute walk of my home and I would prefer to have it taken care of there. I don't think I will ever buy another car from them though after this experience and I think they should know that.
So, should I send the letter or not? Is it likely to matter at all to the GM or just go in the circular file? Anyone have any thoughts?
For those of you with remote problems i just spoke to my service advisor today and he said " there currently is no fix for the problem". Our remote seems to have a mind of its own, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. They ordered a new key first for my wife and i gave her my key last night, at their suggestion, and now mine is not working properly so i called and that was the response i received along with "if you put the key in the ignition and take it out 10 times that would correct it short term". He hoped to have a software fix in the next few days. Needless to say i was not real happy.
Fedssocr...Sorry about your problem getting your car paid for. I hope it has not spoiled the pleasure of getting this wonderful new car. As for writting a letter to vent your displeasure about the handling of the payment process, I can only tell you what I would do. I would call the salesman and tell him I want an appointment with him at his office. I would want to talk to him FACE to FACE. I would tell him exactly how I feel.I think I would leave out the part about never buying a car there again. I also think before you leave you should ask him to bring in the MANAGER to discuss the "future", meaning service etc. Making it clear you expect a much less stressful experience in the service department, and you want him to see to it that you get it. This lets the salesman know how you feel, It informs the manager of your less than perfect experience, and I think it will help with your future service. I am sure you understand, this is just my opinion, and no guaranties. Best of luck whatever you decide to do.
FWIW, I planned to use PeopleFirst.Com to finance my C320 but the dealership flat out said 'no eLoan and no PeopleFirst" period. They cut me a great deal with MBCC financing: I got the loan at their cost. I know of NO MB dealers in my area that will take an eLoan or PeopleFirst draft. They all cited the sort of problems you are having as the reason for not dealing with them.
Tim, as I recall, the SmartKeys can be re-synced (procedure is in the owner's manual). Have you tried this as a solution (albeit a temporary one)?
Ian, I think you mentioned the engineer part to me in the past. That's why I threw it in ;-)
Break-in should be the same for auto and manual cars. You know, it's the usual. Take it nice and easy when accelerating and braking, and try to vary the revs on the highway. It's tough at first, but your car's engine should be loosening up even well past the break-in period. At least, that has been my experience. The ML loaner that I drove a couple of weeks ago was a MY2001 model and the engine felt tight (compared to mine), even though it was well past its break-in (~2500_ kms on the odometer, if I recall correcty).
Drew Host Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket and Accessories message boards
When I bought my car back in Set. I didn't know about loan. So I went with mbcc @ 11.5%. I then came across loan a week later, and refinance it through them (as a used car loan-since it was a week old) @ 9%. I had absolutely no problem at all. I didn't get the 7% rate for a new car but I will still save about 5k over my term from mbcc.
Sorry about the misspelling in 1248 and the bad post in 1249. I used spellcheck and it messed things up. My post should have read.
When I bought my car back in September, I didn't know about ELOAN. So I went with MBCC @ 11.5%. I then came across ELOAN a week later, and refinanced it through them (as a used car loan-since it was a week old) at 9%. I had absolutely no problem at all. I didn't get the 7% for a new car but I will still save about 5K over my term from MBCC.
Sorry about the multi posts but I hate it when I make errors. Martin
You have 30 minutes to edit your posts. No need for multiple messages. Simply hit the "edit' button and then make any changes.. The instructions are right above the post box.
Drew Host Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket and Accessories message boards
Comments
Do you think they were dragging their feet in hopes you would use MZB financing? I know a dealership and the finance person make a ton of money when they arrange the loan for the customer.
I hope so!! I'm hanging around the house, my school district in southern California!, is having its second snow day in less than week, so I'm home with the baby. I'll be looking forward to hearing about the new car!
As for forcing me to use MBCC financing, that was the first thing I thought of when they gave me their whiny little pitch about having trouble with Eloan "in the past" "we don't think they have the money" "their drafts never get paid" "we've had over a million dollars worth of drafts from them go unpaid" blah blah blah. Clearly this draft would not have been paid if I hadn't been so diligent, and this was their set up. They really had no choice but finally cough up the documents since they were so clearly the ones at fault and dragging their feet. Last week I thought that perhaps the person who finished up the paperwork and submitted my check and the bank draft assumed that the documents were already sent or didn't bother to read the letter that tells the dealer what to do. I had pointed out to Finance Guy what they needed to do, but it's likely he never passed that on to the person who ultimately finished things off. However, my calls to the salesman should have resulted in him checking on this stuff, which he obviously didn't do. If the draft had come back to them unpaid they were going to "call me to make other arrangements" and I suspect that they would have then tried hard to get me to use MBCC just to get it all over with. When I bought my Honda I didn't have any troubles at all...but there I used the dealership to finance with the bank they deal with (not Honda Credit), so maybe that made some sort of difference.
I think the people at MB had better get used to this sort of stuff. The internet has already changed the way people buy cars, even MB cars. It's not Biff and Muffy plunking down cash MSRP no questions asked anymore. The New C seems to have attracted a lot of first time MB buyers (like me) and I think the dealers are having a bit of culture shock.
Was told it was released to the Trucking company today. So it may get here late today or hopefully tomorrow. Then the dealer needs a day to prep. So maybe it will be ready end of Thursday or hopefully Friday.
I have never heard back from Edmund's. Wish they would disable their "Top 10 Discussions" as the software does not accurately reflect what is shown. I wonder if anyone at Edmund's is even working on it ?
I posted to the sedans host, not Drew, and got this reply: "I think the hot topics list is somewhat arbitrarily picked from a traffic report. I don't think that it's automatically generated. Has it been on the list at all recently? I see that stuff so often I don't look very closely..." So I guess we're just out of luck, no biggy!
Admittedly I have some time (I pick it up in 4 weeks), but jeez.....
almost time for my 10,000 service.. maybe 2-3 weeks or so... very happy with the total experience... just cant wait for a run of warmer nicer days so i can do the zaino
Great job in how you presented them. I am curious as to what digital camera you used? The clarity and resolution was fantastic.
Do you think this is a good idea ?
Have a look at this table:
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1508702&a=11393668&p=40968699
Sleake - C320 Glacer White/Java
bought 10/14/2000
C2, plus CD player.
Sacramento, CA
Problems: radio static, (repaired after 5 days in the shop and replacement of antenna part in the headliner)
Sherrill
ZAINO to the rescue. One coat of Z5 removed all the badness. The finish is perfect. I still have another coat to add of z2. But I dont think it can look any shinier.
Trying to keep it to one page wide, will try and add column(s) for brakes, or put in Notes column.
Maybe it could be a topic of discussion in the upcoming Owner's Group chat (March 6th, 8 EST/5 PST), or a reference to share, especially with new visitors that would like to see photos/combinations etc...
Post #1128 references a number of Posts on Brakes
and also this Table of Issues (can't find the Post for this one, so here is the link again:
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=1508702&a=11393668&p=40789380
Gosh, I feel like I'm going to have a baby, actually it's taking almost as long...hahaha
Please keep posting pictures...It makes the wait a little easier. Oh, does anyone have pictures of a charcoal interior with Laurel wood trim? All the pictures I've seen have aluminum inserts. If you have Laurel wood trim and charcoal interior, please take a couple of pictures and post them.
Thanks,
Erich
1. MB is changing to Mobil 1 and will replace the regular oil during my first oil change. I asked about an extra change at about 3k miles. The old timer thought it was a good idea and the younger tech really did not think it was necessary.
2. No TSB on the TICK, Tick. I asked about the gas fume re circulate deal, he said that made sense and it could easily be the culprit and would be simple to fix.
3. No news on the MB child seat.
4. I won the door prize which was one of those $100.00 MB wash buckets. Guess whose trunk would not open after the meeting. I had 6 techs and 2 service advisors working on it in the parking lot. We got the trunk open and they adjusted the rubber stops on the inside bottom edge of the trunk lid. (Just screwed them in about 1/2 turn by hand.) Time will tell.
5. No one knew anything about MB canceling the door unlock service and in fact they were telling people how nice it was and how it would be offered on all models next year.
6. Tire rotation was recommended every 5k. It is free but it is also a secret!
7. All in all, a very well spent evening! The food was even pretty good but no wine.
(I forgot to ask about squealing breaks)
First name is Ward
The wipers are great, just about one beat ahead of me all of the time (about the time I notice moisture on the windshield the wiper is a quarter of the way through a sweep). ESP, works as advertised, snow or ice, just a little slippage, warning light flashes, things settle down and off I go, Flat or on a hill, no difference. My car came fitted with Goodyear Eagles. I don't think I'll need to shop for Winter tires because I don't plan on driving in any worse weather than we have had the last week and it was as bad as any we've had in the last five or more years.
Although the car is still in breakin mode, and the weather has dictated Winter mode for the A/T, I haven't missed the performance of the GS-R. The handling is very refined and I expect the power to be all that I will need.
The specs on my 320 is Black with Java interior. C2,C3 pkgs.,Full Leather and CD changer. Build date Feb.20th,2001;Delivery date 2nd week of March.
I love the respect and enthusiasm everyone has for each other and their cars.
"Efficient" use of time plus a fast PC and T1 connection - it's easy, once you get the meat down. Plus I needed some practise in Access database. I'll see if I can keep the info updated, no guarantees.
And right now I'm on Cloud 9 as I just went to the Dealer at 7:00 a.m.EST
My Baby is on the Lot !! Took some digital photos at sunrise, white plastic covering the hood, roof etc... Hopefully the Dealer will have it prepped by end of day. Also a White w/ Java and Black were delivered yesterday.
(I did see an Auto Hauler with Mercedes on the drive home last night, but he passed by too quick, and I did not notice any new C's, but still I think deja vu...)
Options & Problems column, will see what I can do.
Yeeee Haaaa !!!! Long Weekend is going to be a Blast ! (fingers crossed). Think my Free Time is going to be occuppied...
P.S. I'd post the digital photos right now, but my camera's s/w only runs on Windows 98 (home PC) not at work on NT. Maybe I should ask my manager for a Windows 98 PC...LOL
I'll see if I can meet my "prediction" Post #1320 and show Sirus32 some Laurel wood with charcoal interior photos.
I'll be asking my Dealer if they have something like this organized. Did you say they are once per month ? The Trunk puzzle is priceless...I'll make a note of "tweaking" the rubber stops.
(Need to figure out how to make this larger, i.e. saving a .mdb file to an image .gif or .jpeg. Right now I just do a screen capture, and paste into PowerPoint and saved as a .gif)
My car just came with Eagles, no special order.
In the current edition of Autoweek, you asked for owner's input regarding the 2001 Mercedes-Benz C320.
I took delivery of a 2001 C320 on October 23, 2000. The VIN is WDBRF64J41F031373. I paid full MSRP of $41,360 plus tax, title, and license fees. I did get a break (dealer cost) on a CD player, car cover, and trunk cargo nets. Now have 3400 miles on the car, and have had NO problems, although I did return to the dealer and got a wheel/steering alignment because the steering wheel was at the '12:02' position when the car was going straight ahead. That's the only malfunction or complaint I've experienced.
The C320 is a gadgeteer's dream - whenever I thought there was a malfunction, careful reading of the 370-page owner's manual revealed that a given feature (for example, the passenger side rear view mirror looking down at the curb when in reverse)was working as it was supposed to. In the case of the mirror, you must have the mirror adjustment select switch in the correct position for the look down feature to work. The C320 is very powerful, smooth, and quiet. The Bose sound system is superb, and the safety features (8 airbags standard)are impressive.
I considered the BMW 330i and the Lexus IS300, but not seriously. I picked the MB because it was the best car for me. BMW seems to change the 3-series appearance frequently, and the IS300 is too much a "boy-racer". Mercedes tends to keep a given model style for a long time with only minor mods. I also considered the MB E320, but it was a little too large and is due for a makeover for model year '03. The '01 C is truly a little S class in appearance, features, and price.
Great table. I'm picking up my car this Saturday. It's a 2001 C320 Brilliant Silver ext. and Charcoal int. w/ C2 package and cd player. I got it at Mercedes Benz of Morristown, NJ. I'll take pictures this weekend.
Does anyone know how long the salesman should spend time with you going over the many gadgets this wonderful car has?
Thanks.
Ian, great job on all of the tables. I'm throughly impressed with the effort that you put into it. It will most certainly come in handy for the "Meet the members" topic, when Karen has an opportunity to set up the C-class owner's club topic. FWIW, those URLs for the great pictures that everyone has been posting should come in handy. I have requested that a photo gallery topic also be set up in the owner's club area similar to that of the M-class photo gallery. All of the pictures can be reposted in there for all to see in one centralised location.
Enjoy your new ride, and be sure to take pictures :-) A couple of tips...make sure that your tires are deflated to the correct psi that MB recommends. They're often grossly overinflated so as to prevent flat-spots during shipping. Of course, take a test drive (preferably with the radio off for a portion of the time; listen for any unusual noises - ex. play around with the moonroof and its sunshade cover) and make sure that all of the goodies, including the infamous trunk and its valet key function, are working properly. Oh right, and be sure to test out TeleAid. Check that they have all of your (correct) particulars.
I'm not sure how long it will take the salesperson to explain the features of the C-class (heck, with all of the knowledge that Town Hall has armed you with, you could probably explain it to him! ), but they should go over the warranties - extended warranty can be purchased within the 1st year of ownership, so don't spring for it quite yet -, owner's manual (which you should try to read little by little, unless you're an engineer; after all, engineers don't RTFM), etc. FWIW, it took about 2 hours for my salesguy to go over the various features/insurance issues/warranties for the M-class with me. Just procedure mainly, since he was already aware of how much I knew. In contrast, it took him about an hour just to describe the basic features (excluding warranty issues, etc.) of the S430 to my parents! :-) The S-class, of course, has far more widgets than the ML or C, hence the reason why I love the car; I love gadgets! You may also want to ask him to recommend/introduce you to a service advisor (preferably one with several years of experience under his/her belt).
Good luck!
Drew
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Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket and Accessories message boards
From floridacar Post # 563: Things to Check on Delivery:
Radio operation
Rear doors not opening/unlocking
Trunk not opening or opening on its own
Test drive and check brakes
Ignition Key: modes of operation, unlock etc...
And there we go, Thanks Drew for the excellent advice !!
P.S. I "R" an Engineer ... LOL (Queen's Mech. '82).
A central / common photo gallery will be great !
What is the break-in period ? Any different on a 6 speed vs. Auto ?
Ian
The dealer was useless. My original salesman was fired/quit (pick one) and I rcvd no status on delivery until car was in U.S.
The driver compartment is a little narrow for my liking but I'm getting used to it and if you're contemplating a 6 go for it. It took a little practice but I'm getting much better off the line and into 2nd.
As far as the BOSE, I compared my standard set-up with my wife's Infinity BOSE sys and I don't see the cost benefit. Take care, CW in SC Love this forum.
I have a build date of 2/28 for my c320-Black/Java with the c2 package and cd changer. Autohaus here in Pompano tell me last week in March is expected delivery but i feel it will be mid april. I've been getting great service from there, sorry to hear some of the horror stories from some of you. 81 degrees today!!!!
Talk to you all soon.
I am totally p-ed off at the salesman who could easily have called Eloan himself, but it's clear that no one at the dealership ever really wanted to lift a finger to communicate directly with the people financing my car. I am angry that he blames Eloan for his own dealership's incompetence. I am angry that they have tried to make it sound like I put them through this great hardship. I am considering writing a letter to the dealership's GM detailing what occurred throughout this process and letting him know that I am not happy with his dealership.
On the other hand, I will eventually need to have the car serviced and I don't want to poison my entire relationship with the company over what is really a problem with their sales and finance offices. I could take the car elsewhere for service, but this dealership is literally within a 5 minute walk of my home and I would prefer to have it taken care of there. I don't think I will ever buy another car from them though after this experience and I think they should know that.
So, should I send the letter or not? Is it likely to matter at all to the GM or just go in the circular file? Anyone have any thoughts?
Ian, I think you mentioned the engineer part to me in the past. That's why I threw it in ;-)
Break-in should be the same for auto and manual cars. You know, it's the usual. Take it nice and easy when accelerating and braking, and try to vary the revs on the highway. It's tough at first, but your car's engine should be loosening up even well past the break-in period. At least, that has been my experience. The ML loaner that I drove a couple of weeks ago was a MY2001 model and the engine felt tight (compared to mine), even though it was well past its break-in (~2500_ kms on the odometer, if I recall correcty).
Drew
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Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket and Accessories message boards
When I bought my car back in September, I didn't know about ELOAN. So I went with MBCC @ 11.5%. I then came across ELOAN a week later, and refinanced it through them (as a used car loan-since it was a week old) at 9%. I had absolutely no problem at all. I didn't get the 7% for a new car but I will still save about 5K over my term from MBCC.
Sorry about the multi posts but I hate it when I make errors.
Martin
Drew
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Vans, SUVs, and Aftermarket and Accessories message boards