V8andTurbos
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Depending how much ur paying for the 43 I'd personally get a late 204 C63 or early 205 C63. If u really want 4wd then A45/CLA45 or Golf R
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DuncS3
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Wrong. I really do want a C43 which is why this issue is making it much harder otherwise I would have just cancelled the order and moved on. Hope to re-test drive soon and then decide.
Was driven by dealer in sales manager's C43 coupe today. It did make a knocking noise, only going forward, only on full lock and not all the time. It certainly didn't appear as bad as on the YouTube GLC videos doing the rounds suggests.
The senior technician's advice was the same as the MB UK party line i.e tyre issue due to summer tyres reduced grip below 10 degC and fitting winter tyres would solve the issue.
I have been promised the car for a couple of hours on my own at the end of the week to assess it further.
So... does the C43 make a knocking noise - yes
Did I find it a big issue today - not really
Am I totally reassured by the explanation and solution - no
Have I cancelled my order - not yet
My 2 concerns are tyre wear, and depreciation;, getting to the end of the warranty period with a car that no one wants to buy and that I can only get peanuts for in part-ex.
I'll see what it feels like when I drive it and how much MB will charge me for the pleasure of winter tyres.
To be continued...
The senior technician's advice was the same as the MB UK party line i.e tyre issue due to summer tyres reduced grip below 10 degC and fitting winter tyres would solve the issue.
I have been promised the car for a couple of hours on my own at the end of the week to assess it further.
So... does the C43 make a knocking noise - yes
Did I find it a big issue today - not really
Am I totally reassured by the explanation and solution - no
Have I cancelled my order - not yet
My 2 concerns are tyre wear, and depreciation;, getting to the end of the warranty period with a car that no one wants to buy and that I can only get peanuts for in part-ex.
I'll see what it feels like when I drive it and how much MB will charge me for the pleasure of winter tyres.
To be continued...
I'm certain that when you have it you'll be like me; it is an absolutely wonderful drive every part of your journey until you have to take a 90 degree corner or a mini roundabout. Truly wonderful and addictive when you hear the sound in sport+.
But then you take your nan for a drive and she asks you why it makes that sound. And then she gives you that look when you explain it is normal and it requires winter tyres at 13 degrees Celsius.
John Jones Jr
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mgooda
Active Member
dannycotw said:
I have a C43, best advice is for you to have it on your own and test it, my view is totally the same as John-Paul's. You need to satisfy yourself you can live with it. I know you were in the car but I suspect the sales person was driving round the problem - trust me, it does it every time, forward, reverse, full lock and just of full lock left and right.
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Fair enough. I hope a second test drive helps in your decision.
John Jones Jr
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Yeah, it may advise but I doubt it states specifically that summer tyres can't be used in winter particularly mild British winters for example.
Actually the more I think about the M-B line on fitting winter tyres below 10C thus curing the problem the more I reckon tyre excuse is a red herring.
HumberMart
Active Member
John Jones Jr said:
Absolute red herring.
So what does one do in May, when nightime temperatures are down to 2 degrees and it warms up to 16 during the day?
Perhaps they will advise you tow a trailer and switch wheels twice a day.
Far more of a malicious issue than the VW emissions fiasco if you ask me.
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Isn't there a GLC driver who is planning to buy winter tyres anyway, who could put the advice from Mercedes to the test? Unless I've missed it, I haven't read that anyone has followed Mercedes advice yet.
Well what about this then. Received a call from my dealer yesterday that my C43 had just arrived on the back of a trailer and that I could take it for a test drive to check for Crabbing myself. So less than 2 hours after my car rolled off the trailer I was behind the wheel. I tried a full-lock maneuver on the block paviored forecourt and there was very slight crabbing but frankly if I wasn't looking for it I wouldn't have noticed it. I then took the car to a nearby deserted car park and spent around 10 minutes doing every possible full-lock maneuver I could backwards, forwards over and over again some very slow some a bit faster and not once did I experience any crabbing/juddering/cloncking on the tarmac surface. My car is fitted with Continental tyres -not sure whether that makes any difference- My dealer said from all the 4Matic GLC/C's his dealership has sold only 2 have been returned for further testing but he said the C63's he has driven occasionally suffer from this (not 4Matic!!) but he said that MB are issuing a letter to every new owner (not sure about existing owners) re this problem and once again say that winter tyres should be fitted. Interestingly his GLC has never suffered with this problem. At this particular moment in time I intend to proceed with the purchase and assuming the mini-crabbing I experienced for a very short period doesn't get any worse. I will be happy as the car is pretty good. My car was actually built around 10 days ago so obviously MB have not done anything to address this so not sure what more I can say.
The outside temperature was 3.5c.
The outside temperature was 3.5c.
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Really glad to read this DRIVER200!
I am due to pick mine up on 1 March and it is from a dealer 200+ miles away (local dealer would not do any discount at all). Trying to blag another test drive locally this week to try some full lock manoeuvres - didn't have any crabbing on either of my previous test drives.
Your message has cheered me up as I've spent the last couple of evenings looking at what to go for if I cancel my C43 order!
Hope I can get a drive shortly to see if the demo has the issue.
I am due to pick mine up on 1 March and it is from a dealer 200+ miles away (local dealer would not do any discount at all). Trying to blag another test drive locally this week to try some full lock manoeuvres - didn't have any crabbing on either of my previous test drives.
Your message has cheered me up as I've spent the last couple of evenings looking at what to go for if I cancel my C43 order!
Hope I can get a drive shortly to see if the demo has the issue.
My car went in for a check last week and the dealership came back with the standard MB response. I don't/didn't agree with their response and they said they would take it up with MBUK. I have Dunlop Sport Maxx tyres on mine and not Conti's....
Yes I was pleasantly surprised as my dealer -appears- to be an honest guy so what he quoted about people complaining about this may well be true for this particular dealership. Not sure what more I can do as assuming if there was a problem it would manifest itself immediately and frequently but only time will tell but for now I am happy but will update the forum should things change!! Further to what I said before he said that some C63's suffer this but also when you floor the throttle the front wells appear to skip around a bit which is no big surprise from a powerful RWD V8 car but when I did the same in my car you can tell that most of the power is being sent to the back wheels and the fronts -under certain conditions- might struggle to keep up but assume this is probably the case with many high performance cars and I didn't see it as a big deal. Good luck.
Is yours a C43, Piha?
