[CarLoverJosh]

Hi Sahil, sorry for being late but congratulations on getting the king of cars, the W222 S class. Me being a BMW fan, was extremely disappointed looking at the new 7 series. I expected it to be as good as the S class but no. Anyways, hope you are enjoying the experience of this mighty machine. Once more, congrats.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by Sahil

MB has a third party survey that called me recently and I gave them a below satisfactory feedback.



Yes, it is not recommended for white cars. I first enquired about this PPF from 3m two years ago when I got my RS5 but did not go ahead as my car is white. However, it seems like some people yet go ahead with it even on white cars. Check out this review of the PPF review by Indian website motorbeam that has installed it on a white Swift. Link: http://www.motorbeam.com/2013/02/gen...n-film-review/
Any BHPians tried the PPF?

Dear Sahil, first a bag of green eny from me to you for the line up of cars you have in your garage . I am very keen to hear about your subsequent experience with Mercedes on after sales service, attitude, availability of spares. I have been an MB aspirant (E class) for at least 8 years and have always held back from taking the plunge on A.S.S issues (I am sure these will not affect you. I am just an over cautious middle aged man).

On the PPF - I got it done on the whole body of my dark brown Volvo XC60 when it was brand new in Jan'15. The PPF has stood the test of time these 5 months and 5800 kms. Co-incidentally today I have just given the car to 3M for its first wash & polish job after the PPF was stuck on. Will be happy to let you know later how it went and if there is anything to report. My car picked up one nick on the front right side corner thanks to my stupidity in a tight parking lot. The 3M PPF got scratched out. Let me see how they repair that if they at all can. While I was doing PPF on my car in January there was a Volvo S.60 owner who had applied it a year previously and was getting a car wash done. My examination of his car didn't seem to reveal any milkyness or blurring due to scratches. But I'll ask 3M today for an honest opinion to an old customer. You can read on PPF and the reactions from our community on posts 35 to 46 on the link below. Best wishes for your new drive. - Narayan

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...-review-3.html

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

On the PPF - I got it done on the whole body of my dark brown Volvo XC60 when it was brand new in Jan'15. The PPF has stood the test of time these 5 months and 5800 kms. Co-incidentally today I have just given the car to 3M for its first wash & polish job after the PPF was stuck on. Will be happy to let you know later how it went and if there is anything to report. My car picked up one nick on the front right side corner thanks to my stupidity in a tight parking lot. The 3M PPF got scratched out. Let me see how they repair that if they at all can.

Originally Posted by Sahil

Any BHPians tried the PPF?

Sahil I have posted my observations with photos on this link in Post #83. Hope you find it useful.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post3740975

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Sahil I have posted my observations with photos on this link in Post #83. Hope you find it useful.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ml#post3740975

Thanks Narayan! Your PPF review and pics have convinced me more to go in for it.l, atleast for my bumpers. Does the 3m charge to replaces small pieces of the film damaged?
There are films available in the U.S. that have self healing, wherein they dissolve the scratch when exposed to the sun for a long time. Freaky comparison but sort out like how a lizard grows it's tail back if it gets cut off.

Also, congrats on your car! It's a great understated SUV.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by Sahil

Your PPF review and pics have convinced me more to go in for it.l, atleast for my bumpers. Does the 3m charge to replaces small pieces of the film damaged?
Also, congrats on your car! It's a great understated SUV.

Sahil, I endorse your decision to go for the PPF. Full body or only bumpers is a question each should decide for himself. 3M did not charge me for this 'repair' job of PPF. It could be a policy or it could be that as I take all my cars to them regularly for wash and polish they are just being courteous to a customer. Attached below is a picture of a spot on the rear right fender where a stone hit the car while driving at 80 odd kmph on the Gurgaon-Faridabad road. The paint gash of about 7mm cannot be touched up if I want to use PPF so I have opted for the right rear fenders entire PPF to be replaced tomorrow.

3M tell me the PPF can be done only on brand new factory paint. And a couple of years later one can seek a replacement of the PPF depending on the condition. Personally I have found it worth it.

All best wishes. I look forward to your future ownership reports on the big S. Who knows your reports may convince me to go for one when my Superb is due for a change end of next year. With regards, Narayan

[Sahil]

The car is finally complete- "Launch Edition" S350CDi

After fitting the 19inch S500 launch edition rims the only thing remaining was the S500 bumper with the dual exhaust inlets. Autohangar painted and fitted the bumper free as compensation for the bad feedback I had given Mercedes Benz customer survey. In addition, they also gave the fuel funnel. Appreciate the efforts made by the customer service team, better late than never.

BEFORE (Old standard S350 bumper without dual exhaust tips)



AFTER (S500 bumper with dual exhaust tips) Also debadged the car as it gave a neater look at trunk level.


Fortunately no modification or cutting of any sort were required, the new bumper fit perfectly! It makes the rear look complete and a bit more aggressive. I wish Mercedes did not do these simple cost cuttings, it would have saved me the hassle of having to get the rims and bumper changed to make the car looks its part.
I am contemplating putting a black carbon fiber wrap on the lower half of the rear bumper. There is border that separates the area that houses the dual exhaust tips and horizontal long emergency brake light, that's the area I am thinking of getting a black carbon fiber wrap(matte or gloss?) to add a hint of diffuser look to the rear.

I also removed the front number plate frame as it was huge and blocked front bumper curves and air dam vents to some extent. Got a sticker number plate that more makes the front end look much sleeker and meaner. I am gonna switch back to the regular DC font I have on most of my cars, not quite liking the bolder font I tried this time on the number plate.


3M Treatment
Got 3m paint protection film (PPF) fitted on the front bumper, side mirrors and four door edges. As well as 3m cr70 for the front and rear film and cr90 for the sides. With all 3 rear blinds up the car looks very dark tinted and improves the overall look as suggested by others in previous posts.
I have to send the car back to the 3m center in worli to get the rear bumper PPF fitted. The fitting of the PPF film on the front bumper was not done in one piece and the bottom edges look very shabby as there as small strips used to fit some edges. It is not very visible from far or in the pic above of the front bumper than currently has the PPF film. Even the side window film has several small bubbles. I was very unsatisfied and have requested them to call a technical person from 3m to inspect and rectify the mistakes as well as fit the rear film under his supervision.

A niggle grows to be pain in the A$$:
A cost cutting feature that is now beginning to get on my nerves is the lack of memory seats in the front. My father, me and our loyal long term driver are three people who drive this car and each of us are fed up as we are different heights and sizes to always waste a few minutes to adjust the seat to our needs. They have given memory seats at the back but not in the front, seems completely illogical to think that S350CDi buyer only sit in the back whereas S500 buyers self drive hence let's give the latter memory seats.
Mercedes survey feedback call was only about the dealer and delivery experience, I wish they had asked more questions about the car, I would have given them a piece of my mind for being stingy on such small aspects to ruin an otherwise perfect car. Heck, even cars one tenth its price have this feature standard!
Can anyone help me with an email address of a senior person at MBIL I can write about this too? Least they can do is offer to put driver side memory seats for me if not the front passenger side.

[super.cars]

@Sahil: Congrats on your new buy, the S-class looks stunning in black.

How did you overcome your allergy towards Merc after the horrid experience with your 2000 Merc. I guess this is the second Merc in your garage.

Also, the spare tyre in the boot, it is a full size or a space saver ?

[FINTAIL]

Originally Posted by Sahil

The car is finally complete- "Launch Edition" S350CDi
Can anyone help me with an email address of a senior person at MBIL I can write about this too? Least they can do is offer to put driver side memory seats for me if not the front passenger side.

Usual MB conservativeness, lol.

_______________________________

Ah - ladies and gentlemen,

Say hi to the the best car in the world!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT0ncK3D-Cc

'Fell in love with the W222 back in 2013. Had a chance to check one out throughly, recently.

I was speechless after seeing the car.

By all things that are holy- The S-Class IS THE best car in the world. Period.

All said and done- We're looking at buying at buying a pre-owned W212. The Merc bug has bit me. Badly.

Congrats again! Shall revert with detailed inputs soon.

[FINTAIL]

Originally Posted by super.cars

How did you overcome your allergy towards Merc after the horrid experience with your 2000 Merc. I guess this is the second Merc in your garage.

Also, the spare tyre in the boot, it is a full size or a space saver ?

I must say that the MB dealership experience was excellent- in my case.

As regards to the tire question - I think the car comes with Run-Flat tires as factory fit. In theory, the Run-Flats should screw up the ride quality.

As is the case with BMW's. The ride has a tendency to be incredibly stiff.

But with the S- no issues. The car feels very, very comfortable. Not one moment did I guess that the tires were Run-Flats.

The S Class W222 is an awesome driving machine, with very, very sorted dynamics. The monocoque felt very stiff- and the transmission- I hardly felt it working.

The car felt over-engineered. Period. The switches felt stiff, tight- yet easy to operate.

You know that the switches are working perfectly now, and you also know one thing- the switches will feel exactly the same 30 years later.

That's the point of a Merc. The cars feel over-engineered- indestructable. Whatever. The quality, the refinement is unmatched.


All hail the Tri-Pointed Star!

___________________________

As regards to the spare tire question, I think the spare tire is a space saver.

Photo credits- Motoroids. Had downloaded the pic from their review of the S350, back in July 2014.

A picture speaks a thousand words.

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by super.cars

How did you overcome your allergy towards Merc after the horrid experience with your 2000 Merc.

It took over a decade to over come it! Let's just say this time I couldn't resist, the product bowled me over and the other options were a generation old(7,XJ,A8)
I firmly believe good companies can reinvent themselves once they learn a lesson which MBIL did big time once BMW entered India. They have woken up, smelt the coffee and now are drinking their own strong coffee by having reinvented themselves in our market.
I might be speaking too soon only time will tell how the ownership experience goes!

Originally Posted by FINTAIL

As regards to the tire question - I think the car comes with Run-Flat tires as factory fit. In theory, the Run-Flats should screw up the ride quality.

As is the case with BMW's. The ride has a tendency to be incredibly stiff.

But with the S- no issues. The car feels very, very comfortable. Not one moment did I guess that the tires were Run-Flats.

I switched to tubeless after upgrading to 19s and the ride quality is at par or better than it was with runflats on 18s.
However, credit does also go to tire manufacturers, runflats have come a long way since the time I first lived with them on my 525d e60 back in 2007. Those tyres felt like cement, bubbled up on impact and gave bone jarring ride quality. The runflats these days are inching closer to the comfort levels of regular tubeless.
_____

Bonus Pic: Father v/s Son (quite literally)

[Sahil]

The car has popped it's first error! I hope this is not the first of many This is the second time this has popped up over the last month however the lights seem to be working perfectly.



Luckily, my first 6 month free inspection is due and tomorrow the car will go in for the same and have this error checked. Reading around international MB forums, I have observed that it might be a case of a faulty headlamp parts that are being replaced for several under warranty. Will wait for the verdict from the service center tomorrow, needless to say this is not expected of a car thats just 6 months old! However, my experience has been great over the past 6 months and 3000kms so I am willing to put this behind me if the service center promptly irons out the issue to never reoccur.

[stanjohn123]

Originally Posted by Sahil

The car has popped it's first error! I hope this is not the first of many This is the second time this has popped up over the last month however the lights seem to be working perfectly.

Hi , was the issue rectified ? What was the exact problem and cost of part replaced if any ?

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by stanjohn123

Hi , was the issue rectified ? What was the exact problem and cost of part replaced if any ?

Yes seems like it was a software issue. New software has been updated. No cost involved as it was part of the free 6 month inspection service.

[GTO]

Had a spin in the S-Class last weekend. Gosh, what a master-piece! This is easily the best sedan in the world, superior to even more expensive cars like the Phantom.

Surprised by how well Mercedes conceals its size - it has presence, but doesn't look ungainly in person. Just as well in these politically-correct times I guess (unlike the brash W140). What's even more surprising is how the car shrinks around you when you drive it hard. The S has phenomenal grip & poise. I love pushing big sedans and felt she was surprisingly agile for all that sheet metal.

I still insist, for chauffeur-driven comfort, quality, finesse & technology, nothing else comes close. Some personality the car has. Man, I didn't want to step out after the drive .

What I didn't like - very disconnected drive (intentional), slow but smooth gearbox (intentional), the comand system which just doesn't feel cutting-edge and the missing memory seats.

Would I buy it? Maybe when I'm older. For now, I'll stick with sedans the size of the E-Class / 5-Series / A6.

[msudhir]

Originally Posted by Sahil

Thank you, thank you for all your posts

Moreover, when my car was delivered it barely had any fuel. Sales rep blamed it on him not having time to refill it as delivery was getting delayed. After buying a car worth well over a crore it is ridiculous that you don't go that slight extra length to ensure customer satisfaction to save a mere few thousand rupees.

Mercedes Has a Policy of delivering their cars with a Tankful of Fuel. They did so for My E. Think it had almost 60 Litres of PETROL if not the full 75 Ltrs.