[vattyboy]

Hi bhpians, I hope you all are doing well!

I was driving my Merc in the city and suddenly an overspeeding biker coming from the wrong side hit the car on the front bumper. I got out of the car and it was very painful to see the destroyed bumper of my car.

The biker knowing his fault was saying sorry and accepted his mistake, so I let him go as I know he will not be able to give me money or any repair cost.



Immediately took my merc to ASS and informed my insurance company ICICI Lombard for inspection and left the car at ASS.



The next day I was informed by my SA that claim is approved and they have ordered the bumper which will arrive in the next 4 to 5 days.

New Bumper Finally Arrived

Bumper is made in Germany


The whole job took about 6 days, 4 days for the bumper to arrive plus 2 days for repainting.

Total cost came out to be approx 1 Lakh 20 thousand ( 80k for bumper plus 35k for repaint plus 5k for other fitment accessories), All price is paid by Icici Lombard since I have 0 depp cover. I only paid a filing charge of Rs 2000.

Full marks to Mercedes ASS for doing this job very well, the new bumper and the paint look 100% like the factory one.

[clementj]

I had recently serviced by 2022 GLA 220d at VST titanium motors in Chennai. My car had run about 7250 kms at the time of 1st service and was finally charged 40k for the service.



Is this reasonable? They had estimated a lot more including wheel balancing etc but I had discussed and skipped on those. This is my 1st mercedes and am still digesting the cost vs my Jeep compass which used to cost me only a third of this!

[TheGearBox]

Originally Posted by clementj

I had recently serviced by 2022 GLA 220d at VST titanium motors in Chennai. My car had run about 7250 kms at the time of 1st service and was finally charged 40k for the service.

Is this reasonable?

40k for 1st year service seems a bit high.
Let's take a look at your bill.

Perform Service A with Plus Package, Perform Service A/ 15k Service and Perform Quick Test- These amount to about 17k. These seem to be labour charges. But why are there two items under the Perform Service A head? What is Plus Package?

Adblue- Does your car require 15 litres? Also the price for 5 litres and 10 litres is not in proportion.

Screw plug- Not sure what this is.

Parts Kit, Filter Element- I'm assuming this is the oil filter

Synthetic grease- Is this the sunroof lubrication?

Fine particle filter- This would be the air filter or cabin filter (not sure). But at 8k, I would've avoided this and asked them to just inspect the existing filters and clean them if required.

Engine oil- This is pretty standard.

Didn't you ask for an estimate before they began the work?

[Mission_PGPX]

Hi Everyone,
Is there anyone here who has tried Bilstein B6 on W204 C class? My car is 97000 kms driven and I feel the need to change the struts and Link rods and may be lower arm bushings as well. No noise from suspension as such but keeda u know.

my 2014 model came with Agility control suspension which according to , which apparently has a valve within the strut to allow more oil to flow, which bilstein call as Dampmatic. MB has quoted 72000 for front and 54000 for rear. Similar configuration B4 Dampmatic comes at around 600 Pounds including duty from UK. TDC automotive has recommended B6 though to improve handling at high speeds though i will loose some low speed comfort. Searching through net I found even B4 as good. https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...helin-ps4.html

Both B4 and B6 are in back order till mid May. B4 are not supplied by petes india at all, only B6, those quoted at 1.5 lacs mid may delivery.

My other options are sachs from Shetty Motors quoted around 45K but compatibility is an issue since i cant find an exact match of my vin number within sachs or Konis.

[alabjarus]

My 2016 model 220d C-Class (W205) is nearing 7 yrs, but has been sparingly used with <29K in the ODO. Few suspension issues has cropped up (mostly squeaking sounds on road undulations) in the last 12 months and ASS suggested replacement of front right side one & back left side one. They quoted around 2.5L for the same, which I feel is exorbitant.

I would like to consult a private garage before proceeding, would anyone be able to guide me to a reliance private garage who has sufficient expertise in Bangalore pls, thanks in advance.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by alabjarus

I would like to consult a private garage before proceeding, would anyone be able to guide me to a reliance private garage who has sufficient expertise in Bangalore pls, thanks in advance.

Call Aniruddh of Aeon. Electronic City near Continental Tyres office. I get my Cooper done there. His Chief Mechanic Umesh has a great ‘feel’ for these German cars and is a highly competent mechanic too.
Refer me if you want.
Aniruddh’s number: 099457 18181

I think they will be able to serve you well.
But be aware that these dampers and springs and tie rod ends etc from OEM or OES brands, are definitely expensive. (I spent about 2 lacs odd on a full overhaul of my Cooper’s suspension. And I had it done by Umesh at Aeon and have written about it with pics somewhere on this forum.)

[rosh_aveo1.4]

Hi. Where did you find the price of the Bilstein Dampmatic? You got it from the UK site? Changed my suspension from the local FNG but I doubt he got good quality spares as the ride is still hard. Not sure of the Bilstein Dampmatic but it does look interesting. Wonder what kind of mess I would have to face with customs once it reaches here though.

Originally Posted by Mission_PGPX

Hi Everyone,
Is there anyone here who has tried Bilstein B6 on W204 C class? My car is 97000 kms driven and I feel the need to change the struts and Link rods and may be lower arm bushings as well. No noise from suspension as such but keeda u know.

my 2014 model came with Agility control suspension which according to , which apparently has a valve within the strut to allow more oil to flow, which bilstein call as Dampmatic. MB has quoted 72000 for front and 54000 for rear. Similar configuration B4 Dampmatic comes at around 600 Pounds including duty from UK. TDC automotive has recommended B6 though to improve handling at high speeds though i will loose some low speed comfort. Searching through net I found even B4 as good. https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...helin-ps4.html

Both B4 and B6 are in back order till mid May. B4 are not supplied by petes india at all, only B6, those quoted at 1.5 lacs mid may delivery.

My other options are sachs from Shetty Motors quoted around 45K but compatibility is an issue since i cant find an exact match of my vin number within sachs or Konis.

[wildsdi5530]

How often do you guys change the engine oil of your mercs? Do you wait for the message on the console or any particular time interval/ Kms run?

The recommended oil change interval in my car is 15K. The oil is a nice golden colour. However today after 3k kms from my oil change, I checked in the oil dip stick and the oil was black. The mechanic felt the oil between his fingers and said that oil was in good condition.

Does the cooler change retaining the quality or are oil changes to be more frequent? My car is a 2016 B200 CDI.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

The oil is a nice golden colour. However today after 3k kms from my oil change, I checked in the oil dip stick and the oil was black. My car is a 2016 B200 CDI.

The oil in a diesel engine can turn black within a few kms of changing it. As the mechanic confirmed, checking the oil viscosity will give the true picture.

Stick to the recommended oil change interval or change 10-20% earlier.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by wildsdi5530

How often do you guys change the engine oil of your mercs? Do you wait for the message on the console or any particular time interval/ Kms run?

CDI.

I have never been able to cover the specified number of kilometres within the specified time frame in any of my vehicles until date, so I have always preferred to follow the time-based service and oil change intervals. Usually, irrespective of the running, I drain and change out the oil and filter(s) etc once in a year.

Ours in India are generally pretty harsh operating conditions, pollution, fumes and dust, climatic conditions of higher heat, typical city stop-start traffic, plenty of idling, very frequent short runs at lower speeds, relatively less longer highway runs at constant higher revs etc.

Apart from these usage patterns and adverse operating conditions, which definitely cause degradation and deterioration, thus altering the characteristics of the oil in an accelerated manner (in appearance and in viscosity and by way of impurities), there will also be the time/ age based degradation, so I simply follow the above intervals and drain and replacement methods.

[Turbanator]

Stick with time period or mileage whatever comes first. I won’t decide anything just because someone feels it’s good just by feeling it.

[Safari Persona]

We recently (3 months ago) bought a Mercedes C200 and I'm wondering if the extended warranty and service packages are worth it. Our usage will be fairly limited (6000-8000 KMs a year), so we theoretically shouldn't be wearing out the car anytime soon.

Quotes

Extended warranty:
+1 year - 72,000/-
+2 years - 141,500/-
+ 3 years - 216,500/-

The default manufacturer's warranty is for 3 years, so we have the option to extend that to 4/5/6 years. To current/prior owners, does taking an extended warranty make sense? If so, any idea on which is the best value proposition between the +1/2/3 packages? Thank you in advance!

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I have never been able to cover the specified number of kilometres within the specified time frame in any of my vehicles until date, so I have always preferred to follow the time-based service and oil change intervals. Usually, irrespective of the running, I drain and change out the oil and filter(s) etc once in a year.

Ours in India are generally pretty harsh operating conditions, pollution, fumes and dust, climatic conditions of higher heat, typical city stop-start traffic, plenty of idling, very frequent short runs at lower speeds, relatively less longer highway runs at constant higher revs etc.

Apart from these usage patterns and adverse operating conditions, which definitely cause degradation and deterioration, thus altering the characteristics of the oil in an accelerated manner (in appearance and in viscosity and by way of impurities), there will also be the time/ age based degradation, so I simply follow the above intervals and drain and replacement methods.

Synthetic oil doesn't go bad in a year regardless. Kms is important but you don't really need to change it every year with just 5-6k kms running Unless of course you have a warranty that they will void.

[samyakmodi]

Originally Posted by Safari Persona

We recently (3 months ago) bought a Mercedes C200 and I'm wondering if the extended warranty and service packages are worth it. Our usage will be fairly limited (6000-8000 KMs a year), so we theoretically shouldn't be wearing out the car anytime soon.

Quotes

Extended warranty:
+1 year - 72,000/-
+2 years - 141,500/-
+ 3 years - 216,500/-

The default manufacturer's warranty is for 3 years, so we have the option to extend that to 4/5/6 years. To current/prior owners, does taking an extended warranty make sense? If so, any idea on which is the best value proposition between the +1/2/3 packages? Thank you in advance!

When it comes to these European cars - it is always advisable to go for an extended warranty pack. You never know what might go wrong when. Calculate it this way if you find it too expensive, by paying Rs. 2,16,500 you are getting peace for 6 years of ownership - which spells out barely Rs. 3000 a month. Which is nothing compared to what it will cost you god forbid something goes wrong in maybe just a couple of months outside the warranty.

Though I would strongly advice you to go through a proper list of what all is covered in this price.

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by Safari Persona

We recently (3 months ago) bought a Mercedes C200 and I'm wondering if the extended warranty and service packages are worth it. Our usage will be fairly limited (6000-8000 KMs a year), so we theoretically shouldn't be wearing out the car anytime soon.

Quotes

Extended warranty:
+1 year - 72,000/-
+2 years - 141,500/-
+ 3 years - 216,500/-

Get it!
The C is a new product and is bound to have niggles. Get the maximum warranty now itself as after a while they will jack up prices (like if you buy the extended warranty after X months from date of sale the prices will be higher than if you buy it within the first Y months).