This wear just isn’t normal! It wasn’t the case in our past E Class, 5 series, 3 series, A6, etc.
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Just thought to put an update on our W205 C 220D (2016), that’s now done 32,500kms over the last 7 years. For some reason, I just cannot help but feel shortchanged with the quality & spare part / service costing of this product, and the most recent service estimate has not helped one bit!
Going through the math, the total cost of maintenance over the last 7 years has been around Rs. 7L (including tyres), which includes maintenance carried outside & maintenance done under warranty. I approximately expect to spend a cool 1.5-2L more on maintenance this year. In comparison, the other German cars at home were far cheaper to maintain – the BMW for instance, bought used when it was already 5 years old cost a cool 30% lesser than the C Class, despite being an older out of warranty car when we bought it.
Parts that have been replaced under the 3 warranty (13,000kms on the odo):
- Front Passenger Seatbelt 2017
- Secondary Battery Capacitor 2019
- Driver’s window switch 2019
- Sunroof Blind Motor, Sunroof Blind Fabric 2019
- Steering Logo 2019
- Passenger Window Switch 2019
I decided against getting the extended warranty as it just didn’t make sense to spend the ridiculous amount they were asking for a 6 year extension – and more or less it worked in my favor despite the following niggles – most of which have been resolved from outside, if it was Mercedes I would have been a few more lakh poorer by now:
- Front Passenger Window Switch (Driver’s console) 2020
- Windshield Fluid Container replaced 2020
- Rear right window switch 2021
- Headliner 2021
- Sunroof Motor (not the blinds) 2022
- A.C. Cooling Coil, Evaporator 2022
- Driver’s side power window button 2022
- Boot open button 2022
Over and above these niggles – my suspension seems worn out in 33,000kms; the rear brake pads have been replaced twice, and front ones once (I switched to after market brake pads which have been performing better – 13,000kms since the switch and going strong vs the usual 10K the OEM rear brake pads lasted).
Our last service a couple weeks ago saw them present me with a Rs. 4.3L + taxes estimate for additional work – including suspension, some cosmetic damage like a small scratch on the MMI trackpad, etc. and also some additional items like a starter battery, passenger side mirror unit because the movement is a little slow and jerky, bonnet shock absorber, and a cool 14k+ bill to fix the rattles.
This wear just isn’t normal! It wasn’t the case in our past E Class, 5 series, 3 series, A6, etc.
And the worst of it is the noise – there is a constant rattle or creak that comes across on any poor road which was coming from rear parcel shelf + near the rear parking sensor (which Mercedes wanted Rs. 14k + to fix), squealing brakes (since new – but apparently it’s normal despite them swapping pads, etc.), a rattle that comes and goes at speeds over 50, and a few other noises that are evident only when moving the car around at parking (but which they again say is normal),
Heck – the equally old S-Cross which does beater duties is a quieter ride despite what people may say about Maruti’s being rattly tin-cans.
And the noises clearly aren’t one off – have heard similar noises in other W205s, and even the E Class with similar build didn’t seem to be great and is a complaint I’ve heard other friends have – creaky plastics, etc. and almost everyone agrees that these newer Mercs are more expensive to maintain than their peers.
Do keep in mind that this is pretty much only owner driven / driven by the driver in owner’s presence – and that too, annoyingly carefully. The seniors at home don’t take it out because ingress and egress, and it’s only my wife and I who pretty much use it and that too where the roads and all are above average (by Mumbai standards) – thus the low running which is shared with the ES.
For everything else we take out one of the beaters at home – S Cross, Corolla, Tiguan and none of them rattle as much or have faced such issues despite being driven by the same set of people & more for 40-80Kkms; across worse roads / conditions. etc.
While the car looks beautiful, the engine seems rock solid, and is one that I am sentimentally attached too with no plan to replace anytime soon, I just wanted to vent and get feedback from others if they’ve faced similar issues.
At the moment – Mercedes has earned a black mark and despite being in the market for another compact premium SUV and being bowled over by the design of their newer gen cars – I’m super apprehensive if I want to deal with these niggles.
Keyword: Here's why a Mercedes-Benz loyalist is disappointed with his C-class