204 C63 poor build quality?

[V8andTurbos]

Had my 204 63 saloon for over 2 years now and it's been a good car for the most part but I've had my share of problems..

One of the rear Sachs dampers developed a leak which resulted in me replacing both with oe Sachs dampers. The front track rod had some play so I replaced both sides inner tie rods and track rod ends with oe parts from merc. Add to that I've had the alignment done a good 5 times in the last few months as the steering wheel is always off centre.. Something being bent has crossed my mind but it's never been picked up on from Mercedes or a alignment specialist. Also both merc and this specialist have got the alignment bang on previously and I've never damaged the car in my ownership.

Any ideas what the issues could be, play in the steering rack maybe? I had the car aligned and within a week wheel was off centre again. Didn't drive through any potholes just normal uneven roads and some mild bumps.. anyone else's C63 this sensitive to bumps etc? Cars a facelift with stock suspension and 52000 miles

 

[keejoonc]

Apart from rattle and squeaking from the dash, which was mostly fixed by the dealership, my facelift car with 38k miles has been faultless. No issues with steering being off centre either.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[Mercy Me]

Mercedes Pulling Problems | Car Tyres Fitting and Wheel Alignment Specialists

Try these guys as they are aware of the characteristic / problem and appear to have a solution to solve it.

My steering is not off centre but is does track to the nearside, so I will be getting this done soon.

 

[V8andTurbos]

I've been recommended WIM a few times but they are just too far away from me. Around 7hours one way.. the pulling I can deal with as I know it's common. The steering off centre makes me want to sell the car as I can't enjoy it. Could the alignment issues be down to the variable steering rack? Is there a chance the current garage im using is applying the angles incorrectly? I've seen him set the steering wheel up and it's centred properly..

 

[farhanali89]

Will admit build quality is poor, I have 15000 miles on my saloon performance pack. Car has developed an oil leak from the lower sump pan. This is not covered under warranty and i am currently strongly disputing this with my dealer as its absurd to suffer oil leaks from seals at such low mileage.

Add to this, Generally most of the vehicles i have seen suffer from squeaking brakes, excessive leather seat wear.

 

[Mercy Me]

I think the comment re poor build quality is subjective.

Mine is a 2010 with 53000 miles on it and the leather seats and interior still look like new. No oil leaks or squeaking brakes to report, thankfully!

The only real irritation with mine is with the passenger seat, which when unoccupied is prone to 'rattling', when driving along less than smooth roads.

I did have a Subaru Impreza WRX and the build quality of the Merc is light years ahead of that as one would expect for the price differential!

 

[PhilT]

Will admit build quality is poor, I have 15000 miles on my saloon performance pack. Car has developed an oil leak from the lower sump pan. This is not covered under warranty and i am currently strongly disputing this with my dealer as its absurd to suffer oil leaks from seals at such low mileage.

Add to this, Generally most of the vehicles i have seen suffer from squeaking brakes, excessive leather seat wear.

I would be suprised if you got anywhere with the dealership/oil issue.

I had an oil leak just after the car went out of warrenty and they replaced the lower pan seal which isnt covered under extended warranty and the leak only appeared after my 3rd service when in manufactures warranty. The cost with labour was something like £400+ for a £18 gasket and car with 22,000 on owned by me from new. I then had the car up on ramps 2 months later for secondary cat delete and had still been leaking oil all that time! I took it back to merc for them to look at and they said they cant see where the leak is coming from but looks higher up, they have cleaned it all off and told me to come back on 1000 miles (I told them what ever it is I shouldn't be paying for it because you charged me £400+ previous for what you thought it was. The car goes back next month (they did say to me if its an engine out job its £100 an hour for 10 hours and if it ends up being a seal or gasket at £18 etc I have to pay the labour bill as seals/gaskets are not covered under extended warranty)

 

[V8andTurbos]

The main issue that bothers me is the wheel off centre. Both Mercedes and this other garage have got it spot on in the past and now after 3 attempts it's still off centre. Is the C63 a difficult car to align correctly? Could a worn front bush be causing this? Possibly some play in the steering rack? On last attempt tech said passenger side front wheel Castor was out of spec and further forward than drivers side and it should be the other way around?

 

[farhanali89]

I would be suprised if you got anywhere with the dealership/oil issue.

I had an oil leak just after the car went out of warrenty and they replaced the lower pan seal which isnt covered under extended warranty and the leak only appeared after my 3rd service when in manufactures warranty. The cost with labour was something like £400+ for a £18 gasket and car with 22,000 on owned by me from new. I then had the car up on ramps 2 months later for secondary cat delete and had still been leaking oil all that time! I took it back to merc for them to look at and they said they cant see where the leak is coming from but looks higher up, they have cleaned it all off and told me to come back on 1000 miles (I told them what ever it is I shouldn't be paying for it because you charged me £400+ previous for what you thought it was. The car goes back next month (they did say to me if its an engine out job its £100 an hour for 10 hours and if it ends up being a seal or gasket at £18 etc I have to pay the labour bill as seals/gaskets are not covered under extended warranty)

Exactly the same place i have a leak according to the healthcheck, it is the lower oil pan, was advised with goodwill around £442 to repair.

Just a question i ordered all the parts to rectify this but there is no specific gasket from the parts manuals. Instead it is a liquid/silicone tube you buy from MB for about the price you quoted? Was this what they used to do yours? Or did they specify a rubber/cork style gasket for the lower pan.

 

[JohnBell]

Use a indie from this forum to do the job.

 

[PhilT]

Exactly the same place i have a leak according to the healthcheck, it is the lower oil pan, was advised with goodwill around £442 to repair.

Just a question i ordered all the parts to rectify this but there is no specific gasket from the parts manuals. Instead it is a liquid/silicone tube you buy from MB for about the price you quoted? Was this what they used to do yours? Or did they specify a rubber/cork style gasket for the lower pan.

As per my reply above they thought it was the pan charged me for it, 2 month later found it was leaking and its coming from higher up then flowing down onto the pan.

I looked online and asked on mbworld and the outcome is eitheir PCV or valve cover gasket

 

[C63RAA]

I have a creak from the drivers seat I think. I cant find it and neither can the dealer. I keep spraying bits with silicone spray but it still persists. I will get them to have another look in September when it goes in for its last free service

 

[DougC63]

Mines been pretty ok, a couple of rattles and a few minor jobs the previous owner left me, but good other than that. No issues with pulling to the left or wonky steering wheel, (though it does tramline a bit now and again). I had a 4 wheel alignment done when I got it as a bit of a precaution, in an attempt to get the most out of the newish tyres it had on it at the time.

The only issue I currently have is a slight tyre drone at around 70, I'm told it's something the bridgestone tyres sometimes do, not sure if that's right or not though

 

[pi22adough]

I have a creak from the drivers seat I think. I cant find it and neither can the dealer. I keep spraying bits with silicone spray but it still persists. I will get them to have another look in September when it goes in for its last free service

Coupé?

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

[C63RAA]

Wagon