2016 C200 AMG Line 'new' car detail

[Scooby_Doo]

Found this grille on eBay; I like the later style diamond point on, though it's a bit of a faff due to having to take the whole front bumper off. It'll go nicely with those badges you showed me @SpikyMikey
View attachment 129095


Either that or a copy one I found for £49.99, though as it's lacking the badge I'm not so sure it's worth the saving.

View attachment 129096

The AMG grill has the hole for the camera , just in case you hadn't noticed. Genuine grills have 13 vertical rows of diamonds, copies usually have 12.

 

[OldskoolRS]

Thanks @Scooby_Doo I've found a used genuine one for sale without the camera and no AMG badge, so I might make an offer on that one. I knew about the camera hole, but wasn't aware about the number of rows of diamonds...I'll have to go and have a look now.

EDIT: The genuine one I found has 12 vertical 'rows' each side and the copy has 11. They both have 10 horizontal rows as per these photos

Copy:



Used genuine one:



I wouldn't have known if you hadn't said, so thanks for that. I guess only us Mercedes fans would notice but still good to know.

 

[Scooby_Doo]

Thanks @Scooby_Doo I've found a used genuine one for sale without the camera and no AMG badge, so I might make an offer on that one. I knew about the camera hole, but wasn't aware about the number of rows of diamonds...I'll have to go and have a look now.

EDIT: The genuine one I found has 12 vertical 'rows' each side and the copy has 11. They both have 10 horizontal rows as per these photos

Copy:

View attachment 129173

Used genuine one:

View attachment 129174

I wouldn't have known if you hadn't said, so thanks for that. I guess only us Mercedes fans would notice but still good to know.

Should have been more specific, 13 top rows , 12 bottom rows.

 

[OldskoolRS]

No problem; I get what you mean and wouldn't have noticed unless you'd said (until after I'd fitted it no doubt ), so I'm glad you posted.

 

[OldskoolRS]

I think I might respray the front bumper while it's off the car if I buy the used grille: There are some stone chips lower down, but I noticed a patch next to the offside headlight where it's had some kind of 'smart' repair (or maybe just an aerosol job) and the lacquer is a bit yellow. At least I can prepare the bumper while still on the car and spot prime as required, then I can take off the grille, etc and panel wipe it all before basecoat once it's off the car.

I'll time this in with the gearbox service since it'll be off the road for a day or two while I do that. I always find with spraying I want to keep going at it, so having another job to keep me busy while the coats dry is probably good.

I might have to do that with aerosol due to restrictions buying paint these days, but it's not a huge area to cover. I do already have a tin of ready mixed 1K clear, so at least I can spray that on with my gun and get a decent finish with that. Some of Eric Clapton's guitars are sprayed in Mercedes colours, but apparently not 'Diamond silver' like mine. The guitar paint I buy is cellulose anyway, so not as durable as modern car paint, though I can get a decent finish with it, like this Strat I built last year:



I might buy some replacement chrome pieces for the bottom of the bumper: @Scooby_Doo is there anything I should look out for if I buy copy parts for this as I guess MB ones will be pretty expensive new?


These bits in particular and the centre section too if I can find one:

 

[BigJase88]

I think I might respray the front bumper while it's off the car if I buy the used grille: There are some stone chips lower down, but I noticed a patch next to the offside headlight where it's had some kind of 'smart' repair (or maybe just an aerosol job) and the lacquer is a bit yellow. At least I can prepare the bumper while still on the car and spot prime as required, then I can take off the grille, etc and panel wipe it all before basecoat once it's off the car.

I'll time this in with the gearbox service since it'll be off the road for a day or two while I do that. I always find with spraying I want to keep going at it, so having another job to keep me busy while the coats dry is probably good.

I might have to do that with aerosol due to restrictions buying paint these days, but it's not a huge area to cover. I do already have a tin of ready mixed 1K clear, so at least I can spray that on with my gun and get a decent finish with that. Some of Eric Clapton's guitars are sprayed in Mercedes colours, but apparently not 'Diamond silver' like mine. The guitar paint I buy is cellulose anyway, so not as durable as modern car paint, though I can get a decent finish with it, like this Strat I built last year:

View attachment 129185

I might buy some replacement chrome pieces for the bottom of the bumper: @Scooby_Doo is there anything I should look out for if I buy copy parts for this as I guess MB ones will be pretty expensive new?


These bits in particular and the centre section too if I can find one:

View attachment 129186

Copy plastic chrome wont last. It tarnishes quickly. Within a year or two will be all dull

 

[Scooby_Doo]

I might buy some replacement chrome pieces for the bottom of the bumper: @Scooby_Doo is there anything I should look out for if I buy copy parts for this as I guess MB ones will be pretty expensive new?

I'll pass on that but see above post. I bought a Gloss black set on ebay for about £35 , haven't fitted them because it was bumper off. Ended up wrapping them in Gloss Black. The original chrome ones were well chipped.

 

[OldskoolRS]

Good point @BigJase88 though it depends on how much the genuine ones are. Mine were a little marked due to traffic film remover stains (I guess) and of course some stone chips.

Your car looks great @Scooby_Doo though I don't think the gloss black would suit mine as well as it does yours.

Just arrived at our accommodation for the long weekend. I was taking it steady, but surprised to see how much I got to the gallon:



Looks like there is enough left in the tank to turn round and go home again without refueling, though I'll top up before as I don't want to get caught having to fill up on the motorway services.

 

[OldskoolRS]

My chrome surround arrived while I was away visiting my family. I still need a new plate as I've glued the yellow screw caps on with silicon sealant to cover the holes. I think it looks better than the wonky attempt it came with even if the chrome isn't to everyone's taste.

Before (looking more silver than blue like my photos):



After:



I got 43mpg driving back last night and the overall average since we got it is just over 41mpg, so can't complain for a decent sized petrol auto. It's so quiet and smooth on the motorway too.

On the way up I used 'Eco' mode, with the freewheeling mode. After coasting it would sometimes have a slight 'thump' a second after the drive reconnected, which made me nervous, so I put it back into 'Comfort' mode for the rest of the journey up there. I figured that the gearbox service I plan for next week will help with this. However on the way back last night I tried 'Eco' again and it was totally smooth, bar a slight 'drag' as the drive comes back on which I seem to remember my 68 plate (9G gearbox) would do.

Perhaps the car just needed a good long drive because the stop start turned green by the time we arrived on the way up and has continued to work since, plus the gearbox as above too.

It's had a good clean this afternoon to remove the flies from the bumper. Before that I also DA polished a patch on the windscreen: Right in line with my eyes was an area that looked hazy when I drove the car home. It looks like someone has tried to polish a mark out of the screen and made more of a mess than the mark itself. I had some granite polishing powder and felt DA pads so I tried that very carefully. It is much better now and only some slight circular marks from their attempt remains. Might even come out with another go next time I feel like it.

Shame I didn't take any before photos, but it was so hard to capture anyway. Just a few slight stone chips on it now. It was an 8" x 4" patch a short way above where the top of the steering wheel can be seen:



Gave it another coat of AG EGP as well and got a nice reflection of my neighbours bush (ooh er) in the rear wing:



I'm just waiting for my wheel centres to arrive now. I'll do the oil service sometime this week and I might see about bidding on a genuine used diamond grille and possibly buy a boot spoiler to spray body colour too. I'll order the gearbox service kit/oil this week too, ready to do the job next week.

My brother in law had a good look over the car this weekend and he has now bought a 67 plate C200 SE executive in Paladium silver, so we will have an almost matching pair for our eldest's wedding later this year. I think she's going to the church in some old Rolls though...

 

[rayaans]

Very nice and looking much better. I still think a debadge would look much improved, especially if you go for the spoiler in the end.

Do you get the creaking from the door seals?

I do think the MPG is very acceptable and I get around the same. As far as I can figure out, my car is a 64 plate and has never had the ATF done. It also does the slight surge thing in eco when going from coasting back to normal revs. I dont know if that would fix it and the car is on 38k miles so not exactly high mileage. Ill leave the ATF until its next service.

This is the spoiler on my car, already came painted.

Overall I agree its quite smooth but I still think the XE I had previously was more refined. I find the 2.0l a bit unrefined when gunning it. Mine being the 15MY, it has the gunshots in sport+ mode on gearchanges which I believe they removed from the later models.

 

[OldskoolRS]

I remember seeing your thread @rayaans as I nearly choose that colour for one of my previous new company C Class cars...it looks lovely. That spoiler is the sort of thing I'm looking at, comes unpainted, but I have the gear to do it myself, even if I have to use aerosol for the base coat (I've sprayed whole cars in the past with them!!).

I did notice a bit of door seal creaking on the way up, though oddly it seemed to have stopped when we drove back on Monday night. I have quite bad tinnitus so it must have been the driver's door for me to be able to hear it. Anyway, I had some 'Gummypfledge' (I think that's how it's spelt) from when we had the SLK as it was recommended to help with the various rubber seals. I've given them all a treat with that, though not been anywhere in it since to test it out.

I guess the 2.0 is a bit unrefined when extended, but I came from a C220d which is even less refined when reved, so I suppose it depends on what you're used to. As you can tell from the MPG I don't tend to gun it much, though I might have to try it in sport+ mode to see if they have removed the gunshot effect on mine: I remember the SLK had it, which surprised me at the time.

I'll do the gearbox next week as the car is already at 31,000 miles and being 6 years old too is at the recommended mileage/age to get the first change done. As I plan to keep it quite a long time I figure I might as well do it now rather than in a few years time. It's been driven around London for a chunk of it's life too I believe, so lots of stop start driving probably is harder on the gearbox than just cruising along in 7th gear.

 

[A.J.]

I went to Holt in my Daughter’s ‘A’ class on Monday. She said she had cleaned it over the weekend. Well, the bodywork was cleanish, the wheels were filthy as were the doorshuts. I daren’t look under the bonnet but I bet that is a real treat. The foot wells were full of filth from people’s shoes. I felt like I wanted to demonstrate what cleaning a car really was but just held my tongue.

Everywhere gets cleaned when I wash a car particularly under the bonnet and most certainly in the door shuts. Where she learned to clean a car like that God only knows

 

[rayaans]

I remember seeing your thread @rayaans as I nearly choose that colour for one of my previous new company C Class cars...it looks lovely. That spoiler is the sort of thing I'm looking at, comes unpainted, but I have the gear to do it myself, even if I have to use aerosol for the base coat (I've sprayed whole cars in the past with them!!).

I did notice a bit of door seal creaking on the way up, though oddly it seemed to have stopped when we drove back on Monday night. I have quite bad tinnitus so it must have been the driver's door for me to be able to hear it. Anyway, I had some 'Gummypfledge' (I think that's how it's spelt) from when we had the SLK as it was recommended to help with the various rubber seals. I've given them all a treat with that, though not been anywhere in it since to test it out.

I guess the 2.0 is a bit unrefined when extended, but I came from a C220d which is even less refined when reved, so I suppose it depends on what you're used to. As you can tell from the MPG I don't tend to gun it much, though I might have to try it in sport+ mode to see if they have removed the gunshot effect on mine: I remember the SLK had it, which surprised me at the time.

I'll do the gearbox next week as the car is already at 31,000 miles and being 6 years old too is at the recommended mileage/age to get the first change done. As I plan to keep it quite a long time I figure I might as well do it now rather than in a few years time. It's been driven around London for a chunk of it's life too I believe, so lots of stop start driving probably is harder on the gearbox than just cruising along in 7th gear.

Yes so that creaking is common on everything C class based including the GLC. The upper door seal rubs against the paint causing it to creak.

Felt tape around that whole end front to back will sort it and is the official fix

Oh and another common issue is the steering gaiter. If your car suddenly starts making a sewing machine/ ticking noise on acceleration it'll likely be that. Goes away completely once replaced. It tends to occur around 35-40k mark

 

[BigJase88]

Yes so that creaking is common on everything C class based including the GLC. The upper door seal rubs against the paint causing it to creak.

Felt tape around that whole end front to back will sort it and is the official fix

Oh and another common issue is the steering gaiter. If your car suddenly starts making a sewing machine/ ticking noise on acceleration it'll likely be that. Goes away completely once replaced. It tends to occur around 35-40k mark

I think creaking / rattles is a Mercedes in general thing

 

[rayaans]

I think creaking / rattles is a Mercedes in general thing

Depends on the vehicle like always. And also, not when you know how to fix them

 

[BigJase88]

Depends on the vehicle like always. And also, not when you know how to fix them

Yeah they shouldn't really rattle though.

I spent countless hours tracking down and fixing the rattles in my CLA.

 

[OldskoolRS]

Just had a run down the motorway and no sign of any creaking. I don't know if it's the Gummypledge or just temp/humidity related but to be honest I never heard it on my 65 or 68 plate C220d company cars. I'm actually wondering if it was the back window not fully up as it was more of a wind noise than a creak thinking about it, whatever it all seems fine for now and I know the fix if it comes to it, thanks.

I can't say I've had issues with rattles either as that's a bugbear of mine and even a company car I would try to sort out if something like that happened. Useful to know the steering gaiter issue as I'm coming up to that mileage.

EDIT: Just to add the marks on the windscreen are much less obvious now, so I wasn't deluding myself yesterday (it was always hard to see from outside for some reason, even though that was where the marks were). I'll give it another go before the next wash as there is a little area I haven't gone over quite enough, so I think I can get it almost to the point it will be invisible without a zoom lens.

 

[rayaans]

Yeah they shouldn't really rattle though.

I spent countless hours tracking down and fixing the rattles in my CLA.

Completely agree. I had a few but managed to sort most of them. Still have one intermittent creak around the drivers vent and tried everything to resolve to no avail.

My Jag had no rattles and every Lexus we have in the family since 2004 has been bulletproof so its a bit of a shame that Mercedes can't seem to get their build quality on point

 

[OldskoolRS]

Completely agree. I had a few but managed to sort most of them. Still have one intermittent creak around the drivers vent and tried everything to resolve to no avail.

My Jag had no rattles and every Lexus we have in the family since 2004 has been bulletproof so its a bit of a shame that Mercedes can't seem to get their build quality on point

Solution: Play in a band and stand near the drummer so that you get tinnitus, or just have the radio on when you drive. If nothing on the radio, then my wife will talk over any other noises anyway.

A friend of mine has an older Jaguar...seems quite nice but it smells awful because he smokes in it, then tries to cover it up with some kind of overpowering air freshener. No idea on creaks though as he likes to chatter as well when we go out.

 

[BigJase88]

Completely agree. I had a few but managed to sort most of them. Still have one intermittent creak around the drivers vent and tried everything to resolve to no avail.

My Jag had no rattles and every Lexus we have in the family since 2004 has been bulletproof so its a bit of a shame that Mercedes can't seem to get their build quality on point

I had a 2013 audi a3. It was rattle free.

Got my 2018 merceded cla after trading in the audi. Rattles everywhere. Engine is noisy. Gearbox is agricultural.

It does looks mint though can't have everything i guess.

I mainly had rattly pan roof and rattly centre console where infotainment sits. Managed to remedy both but it took several frustrating attempts.