2016 C200 AMG Line 'new' car detail

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OldskoolRS

Active Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2022
Messages
177
Location
Berkshire
Car
C200
Hi, I'm new on here so I hope I'm OK to start a post in this section. :)

I recently took early retirement having had a company car for many years, including most recently a 65 plate C220d Estate and then a 68 plate C220d Saloon, both AMG Line spec and autos. My wife had a 2011 SLK 250 Petrol so we decided that now we're both retired we would trade in the SLK and share a car. She wasn't particularly bothered what car, so I had free range to look at various options, of course it wasn't long before I was looking at another C Class. :)

We collected it yesterday, after a hot roof down last drive in the SLK to trade it in (I'd have preferred to buy and sell privately, but it just didn't work out). We'd gone over it very carefully a few days before and no signs of any overspray or any deep scratches (just a couple that will wet sand/machine polish out based on the SLK getting a few over the years). It's light metallic blue, so slightly different from my last 68 plate one which was more of a pure silver.

After our test drive last week:

Trade plates edit.jpg


Interior pictures from dealer's advert. It has the satin wood effect trim that is easier to keep looking good than the gloss black my 65 plate had. I don't think it's standard on the 2016 model as most had gloss black that I saw, so I guess we stuck lucky.

e5eec698ac984f768bd7c955ccc337e2.jpg

While it looks good in the photos, I knew I'd find plenty to clean up and get it really up to as close to a new car feel as I can. Yesterday afternoon was a hoover, then a deep clean of the seats, door cards, dash , etc. They'd sprayed some kind of cleaner and let it dry so all the silver trim had water marks on: A good clean with some Autoglym Fast glass sorted that out. I'd kept a set of AMG floor mats from my first 65 plate estate (it went back with lease company mats) as I planed to use them in the 68 plate assuming that it wouldn't come with them, but it did so I'd put these away and forgotten about them until we bought this car without any mats. They got a really good clean with APC, rinsed off and then left to dry on the rotary clothes line on a very hot day...came out like new with just a tiny mark where my right heel rests.

Cleaned mats.jpg

Today I started the exterior: I took the front and rear NS wheels off, cleaned the arches with Surfex HD and brush, then a strong snow foam solution and pressure washed off. I cleaned the arch edges and lower bumper with panel wipe to remove tar spots too. The front wheel was the worst (as expected):

NS Front before inside.png

Came up well with a mix of some old Wolfs deironiser and some Bilberry wheel clean, followed by more panel wipe to remove tar spots and a clay bar to get the last bits. A quick go with some polish and then sealed with Poorboys wheel sealant: I'm just using up stuff I already have rather than buying more, though I'm sure some newer things are popular now it's a waste otherwise.

NS Front after inside.png

Rear was similar, though I removed some old balance weight glue residue while I was at it:

NS Rear before inside.png

NS Rear after inside.png

Back on the car, the metallic paint on the spokes really seemed to glitter in the sun, though the suspension hadn't settled properly in this shot, so looks a little odd:

NS Front after.png

NS Rear after 2.png

I made a start trying to remove some staining on the 'chrome' trim: Looks like signs of a harsh traffic film remover/cleaner has been left to dry on it. It won't wash off, but a mild polish (Poorboys again SSR 2 I think) does take it off. The lower window trim has been done in this picture, the vertical bit is as found:

Chrome trim marking.png

If it's not too hot tomorrow I'm going to repeat on the driver's side wheels and arches. I'll carry on with the chrome trim too as I got the grille and front spoiler done today. Slowly work my way around the car until I've cleaned/deconned it and done a 2 stage machine polish, including wet sanding a few light scratches I've found if the polisher doesn't remove them. I might try putting a ceramic coat of sealant on it once polished; I never seemed to manage a long life of beading on the SLK even after good prep and polishing on the roof and bonnet, but could have been due to the microblistering paint rather than my choice of wax.

Also the small matter of a service too (engine oil and filter, plus the automatic gearbox as it's at 31,000 miles now), on the plus side the brake pads have got loads of material left, the tyres are good (rears brand new Avons) and my code reader didn't throw up any errors: Might need an auxiliary battery as the stop start isn't working even after the 40 miles drive home yesterday. It was effectively a 'trade sale' so the price was well under what I'd have paid and I plan to service it myself as we expect to keep it a long time, so don't care about MBSH (not that I rate it much anyway having taken my company car to the main dealer over the last 8 years).

I got 42mpg on the first drive too; not bad for a 2 litre automatic, though being retired and a Grandad I guess I drive slower these days. :)
 
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Looks good and good work on the clean up!

Chrome trims are a tricky one as so many places use these traffic film removers and they just tarnish the trim. Glad you managed to get that sorted though. Keep us updated. :)
 
Despite wet weather this morning it blew over and was just overcast until late afternoon, so pretty much perfect weather for detailing. :) I got the other side wheels done and the arches; I'd run out of Surfex HD, so last night I bought a 5 litre bottle of Screwfix degreaser (as recommended on another forum). Only £10.99 so a lot cheaper than Surfex HD and seems to work just as well: I got all the suspension and arches really clean, but forgot to take photos, sorry. I didn't take photos of the wheels either because before and after pretty much as my above post.

The chrome trim took a bit more going over with a slightly coarse grade of polish. Still some very slight staining, but much better than before. I sealed the trim with AG Extra Gloss protection as I had it handy.

I wet sanded the boot lid scratches and just about got them out, bar one deeper scratch which is much less obvious now. Another on the nearside rear wing, just in front of the back light came out almost 100% using some micromesh pads that I usually save for guitar work. I'll upload the photos tomorrow as we're about to go out to a jam night; at least my guitar case fits nicely in the boot. :)

I had to order a set of locking wheel bolts too as the car didn't have any and the AMG alloys might be tempting for someone if too easy to take off.

I just have this one handy for now of the finished rear wing/back door:

NS rear wing after.jpg

Hopefully get the rest of the nearside done tomorrow and maybe the bonnet/roof. Just leaving the offside to do next week: I want to get it all done before Thursday night as we're visiting family on Friday, so it would be nice to have it looking good all over. I'm sure my neighbours already think I've lost it taking wheels off and cleaning arches and polishing a car that to them already looks shiny...
 
Lovely car, and a great job.

Yours is the first post I’ve read in which someone has said that they’re installing locking wheel bolts. Most references these days are about removing them.
 
Nice car and nice thread, good luck with the car :thumb:
 
Just adding the photos from yesterday. The scratch on the boot lid that I wet sanded and polished out in particular, though another similar one just in front of the tail light on the nearside rear wing, but I've only got the 'after' picture.

There were a few minor scuffs around this area, which you can just about see near the main one:

Boot scratch before.png

After a wet sand with micromesh up to 2400, then Poorboys SSR 2 polish on a hex pad, followed by a coating of Autoglym extra gloss sealant. The main scratch is still there, but much reduced and the smaller ones have almost gone. I might try again another time, but I'm wary of cutting through the lacquer:

Boot scratch after.png

The dealers insisted on putting their own number plates, which is fair enough I suppose. However they could have employed someone with a) Some mechanical sympathy so they didn't break the original stand off. b) Someone who could see straight. On the plus side; if it hadn't been so wonky I might not have taken it off to check underneath.

Now I'll have to see if I can get a replacement standoff, or perhaps fashion something myself, get a new numberplate an drill it to suit the 4 stand offs. Then I'll have to fill the screw holes they've added. Not impressed. For now I've taped over the hole to keep water out of the boot until I can see if there is a way to refit a new stand off. At least it got a good clean underneath, though the plate rattles when I shut the boot now as the double sided tape they used isn't sticky now I've taken it off once...


Ouch.png

Rear nearside wing after I rectified the scratch in front of the tail light:

Rear wing.png

My wife has gone out to baby sit the Grandkids, so I guess I'll just have to get on with more polishing/cleaning. :)
 
Tidy!
Why is it manufacturers go to all the trouble of installing nice neat numberplate fixings and some womble at the dealership just boshes on a new plate by holding the plate (squint) in one hand and drilling 2 new holes through the plate and into your nice new motor?:wallbash:
 
To make matters worse, it had a horrible rattle everytime I shut the boot, so this morning I one of my sponge wax applicators behind the plate.

I got the engine bay, door and boot shuts degreased with the Screwfix stuff (works just as well as Surfex). Gave the whole car a quick pressure wash, then I DA polished the front passenger door and wing. Weather is a bit on and off, so I just about managed a quick coat of AG sealant to protect it for now (I plan to strip it off and eventually coat the car with Gtechnic G2 ceramic sealant once I've got the whole car polished).

Went out in it last night and realised the interior lights weren't working, despite me stabbing at buttons in the roof panel. This morning I looked at the user manual on the car's display (so handy) and worked out what setting was wrong, so all good now: I was wondering if it was related to the auxiliary battery having failed as the stop/start function isn't working and I suspect it needs a new aux battery. I also let the overinflated tyres down a bit so I'll probably get some message as the car might think we have a puncture. I'm sure my '65 plate had a reset button, but this one doesn't.

Just waiting for some new centre caps to come as a couple are a bit scabby (oddly the rear ones rather than the front).

Pleased with it so far:

Nearside polished.jpg
 
I also let the overinflated tyres down a bit so I'll probably get some message as the car might think we have a puncture. I'm sure my '65 plate had a reset button, but this one doesn't.
You should be able to reset it in the service menu on the central display between the clocks
 
You should be able to reset it in the service menu on the central display between the clocks
It just took a new reading once I drove a short distance. Of course one was a bit higher, so I let a bit more air out and now it's slightly too low. :D

I got the offside done this afternoon as the rain held off, there weren't any particular marks to polish out, so it was just a case of tar and iron removal, a quick claying and then a single stage polish: This paint colour is pretty forgiving, so it doesn't seem to need a further refining stage. It's come up really nicely and no longer feels rough to the touch. The AG extra protection sealant beads nicely too, at least for now.

I only have the bonnet and roof left to do next week. I probably should have done the roof first, but I need something to stand on to reach it properly and couldn't find something safe/suitable. For now I'm just enjoying driving it and it's nice to see it looking so shiny sat on the drive too. :)
 
What a perfectionist….well played Sir , stunning job . Enjoy retirement :)
Thank you. I always like to get a 'new' car properly cleaned and get any scratches out as best I can, then just try to maintain it after that. I did similar with a 10 year old Fiesta I bought for my son as he passed his test recently. My company car got washed once a year (whether it needed it or not ;) ) though I did keep it clean inside, so it's nice to have the time to keep our cars clean. I'm sure it'll slide a bit in winter though, hence the plan for ceramic coating before then.

Hope it's OK as non-Mercedes, but this was the Fiesta after I finished it (plus a timing belt change and various other servicing jobs).

If you zoom in you can see the reflection of our SLK in the bumper of the Fiesta, so it's almost on topic. ;)

Fiesta finished.jpg

I hope to be able to get on with my RS2000 project soon, once I've got the servicing done on this one after our family visit next week. Small amount of welding to finish, then major mechanical work as it's been off the road since I moved house 21 years ago. Probably enough Ford talk already for this forum though, otherwise I'll get banned in my first week. :oops: :D
 
Thank you. I always like to get a 'new' car properly cleaned and get any scratches out as best I can, then just try to maintain it after that. I did similar with a 10 year old Fiesta I bought for my son as he passed his test recently. My company car got washed once a year (whether it needed it or not ;) ) though I did keep it clean inside, so it's nice to have the time to keep our cars clean. I'm sure it'll slide a bit in winter though, hence the plan for ceramic coating before then.

Hope it's OK as non-Mercedes, but this was the Fiesta after I finished it (plus a timing belt change and various other servicing jobs).

If you zoom in you can see the reflection of our SLK in the bumper of the Fiesta, so it's almost on topic. ;)

View attachment 128906

I hope to be able to get on with my RS2000 project soon, once I've got the servicing done on this one after our family visit next week. Small amount of welding to finish, then major mechanical work as it's been off the road since I moved house 21 years ago. Probably enough Ford talk already for this forum though, otherwise I'll get banned in my first week. :oops: :D
Everyone loves a car rebuild project whatever the make . Just start a Thread under “General Discussion “
 
Inching closer to having this finished, so I can get on with the RS2000 project (I will start a thread under General discussion, thanks for the tip W1ghty).

Today I took out the air and underbonnet cabin filters to check sizes as it wasn't clear which parts I needed looking on line. I'm glad I did as it helped me work out which bits I needed and consequently I was able to buy everything from eBay sellers (Bosch, Mann, Shell Helix Ultra oil, etc). I ended up buying 10 litres of oil rather than 5 + 2 as it worked out more, plus next service I'll only need to buy a 5 litre bottle. I'd already given some of the underbonnet area a clean/degrease with the Screwfix degreaser, but some more parts that I took off to gain access to the filters got a better clean while I was at it:

TbAEc3o.png


j0d1j5l.png


Deducing the cost of the extra 3 litres I bought the whole service parts add up to £95: Oil, air and both cabin filters, plus the engine oil. I will probably take it to an Indy for the gearbox filter/oil change though once I've checked their prices as I might not save too much money and it looks a bit of a pain to do without a proper car lift: I do have two car ramps though, so might see how much space I have with it up on them first.

After I put the engine bay covers back on I cleaned up under the back bumper (splitter?) and polished the exhaust tips too. I'm sure the neighbours now think I'm completely mad, but 5 minutes with some Scotchbrite and metal polish looks much so better and the staining under the bumper cleaned/polished off too.

I'm still waiting to here back about the wonky number plate...I hope I don't trigger anyone who hates AMG badges, but it was already on there when I got it and I don't fancy trying to remove it if it risks scratching paint underneath, so look away now if it offends. ;)

vK9Aszi.jpg


Service bits due to arrive on Tuesday/Wednesday, so I might have time to polish the bonnet and roof before then.
 
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Inching closer to having this finished, so I can get on with the RS2000 project (I will start a thread under General discussion, thanks for the tip W1ghty).

Today I took out the air and underbonnet cabin filters to check sizes as it wasn't clear which parts I needed looking on line. I'm glad I did as it helped me work out which bits I needed and consequently I was able to buy everything from eBay sellers (Bosch, Mann, Shell Helix Ultra oil, etc). I ended up buying 10 litres of oil rather than 5 + 2 as it worked out more, plus next service I'll only need to buy a 5 litre bottle. I'd already given some of the underbonnet area a clean/degrease with the Screwfix degreaser, but some more parts that I took off to gain access to the filters got a better clean while I was at it:

TbAEc3o.png


j0d1j5l.png


Deducing the cost of the extra 3 litres I bought the whole service parts add up to £95: Oil, air and both cabin filters, plus the engine oil. I will probably take it to an Indy for the gearbox filter/oil change though once I've checked their prices as I might not save too much money and it looks a bit of a pain to do without a proper car lift: I do have two car ramps though, so might see how much space I have with it up on them first.

After I put the engine bay covers back on I cleaned up under the back bumper (splitter?) and polished the exhaust tips too. I'm sure the neighbours now think I'm completely mad, but 5 minutes with some Scotchbrite and metal polish looks much so better and the staining under the bumper cleaned/polished off too.

I'm still waiting to here back about the wonky number plate...I hope I don't trigger anyone who hates AMG badges, but it was already on there when I got it and I don't fancy trying to remove it if it risks scratching paint underneath, so look away now if it offends. ;)

vK9Aszi.jpg


Service bits due to arrive on Tuesday/Wednesday, so I might have time to polish the bonnet and roof before then.
 
Had the 'technician' who fitted that plate been on the sauce at lunchtime or does he urgently require a Specsavers appointment?
That's got to be the worst I've ever seen :(
 
I heard that he's done that many he reckons he can do it with his eyes closed.


I beg to differ. :D
That sort of thing really hacks me off. I know in the great scheme of things it's a First World Problem, but does no-one have any pride in the work they do these days?
Apart from the fact the plate is nowhere near centered and level, you now have two holes in your car that need dealing with. :mad:
Rant over .... aaaaand relax 🤘
 
I love your number plate, must have cost a fortune with only two digits.
 

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