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Old 12th July 2014, 14:20   #31
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Re: The Baby Benz - My Mercedes B-Class

3000km Update:

I went for the 3000km inspection yesterday to Joshi Auto, one of the auth. distributors operating in the area. We picked the car up from the same dealership.
This was done as a complimentary service to us. It's standard for all Merc's being sold.

I guess I was expecting too much from the dealership in terms of the service experience. Being a luxury brand I had hoped for something to set it apart from the other manufacturers. Alas, this was not to be. What put everything into context was that I had just got my Brio serviced a day before and as always Honda after sales did not disappoint but exceeded my expectations.
Maybe it was a case of expecting too much from Merc?
Don't get me wrong the experience was not bad but its just I was expecting them to do something that the others wouldn't. Asking me whether I would like a beverage would have been a start.

Now let's get down to the actual inspection.
Well for starters it was barely an inspection. The SA told me that they would hook up their computer to check for any faults/errors, go for a test drive (they put on 25 kms on my car) and finally give it a wash. The washing was just about at par.

Maybe I am rambling but the fact remains that you would expect a premium service when you paid close to 28 lakhs for a car.

I guess most people don't bring in the cars themselves for the service and tell their drivers to do so, so maybe the dealership isn't focused on making the drop off/pick up experience something special.

Anyways the car is running smoothly. The heat is being dealt with extremely well by the aircon. I had a gripe with the aircon on my Jetta. Thankfully this German manufacturer has done its homework when it comes to the Indian conditions.
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Old 30th January 2015, 20:58   #32
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Re: The Baby Benz - My Mercedes B-Class

Hi veedub89, any updates on your car experience? You must have had at least one more service and a lot more kilometers by now.
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Old 31st January 2015, 13:01   #33
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Re: The Baby Benz - My Mercedes B-Class

Hi Contrapunto,

No more services as of now. Though it is coming up in a few months time.
The car is doing great. The economy has increased a little bit. I am getting close to 13.5kmpl in the city. As much as I want to, there have been on highway trips so the car hasn't run much. The odo stands at 7009kms as of today.

Everyday I realise how practical the car is. The boot space is a little compromised because of the spare tyre but it's still quite usable. Did an airport run last week and the boot swallowed one large international size suitcase and 3 handbags with the spare tyre still in place. The back seat is super comfortable I am told. I have sat there just two times!

The black smoke out of the exhaust (typical of diesels) has been reduced as well. Maybe it had to with a new car new engine and all.

I haven't used the sports mode much because of the bloody traffic and plus speeding in the city is just pointless. The auto box is a god send. Downshifts could have been better though.

Till then enjoy this recent photo I took when I was in Kasauli a while back.

Cheers!
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Old 2nd February 2015, 22:29   #34
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Re: The Baby Benz - My Mercedes B-Class

Hi veedub89, last week I too took possession of the B180-CDI. I did go through your review and it was very useful - had the feeling that I already knew this car! It was a month long effort between my dealer and my family where I finally could close it at pre-excise rate increase cost. Below are two of the pics when I was doing the PDI checks.

This replaced my much cherished and loved Indigo Marina which ran over 1.28L kms. This I felt was the perfect replacement for her.

Haven't got a chance for a long drive yet. There is a much anticipated drive to Chennai this month - will exercise its power and features like cruise control and paddle shifters.

Overall in the E mode - the system shows 5.1L/100 kms - which is an impressive 20kmpl. My drive mostly has been on the NICE road - Nayandahalli to E-City.
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Old 3rd February 2015, 11:37   #35
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Re: The Baby Benz - My Mercedes B-Class

Quote:
Originally Posted by srinih75 View Post
Hi veedub89, last week I too took possession of the B180-CDI. I did go through your review and it was very useful - had the feeling that I already knew this car! It was a month long effort between my dealer and my family where I finally could close it at pre-excise rate increase cost. Below are two of the pics when I was doing the PDI checks.

This replaced my much cherished and loved Indigo Marina which ran over 1.28L kms. This I felt was the perfect replacement for her.

Haven't got a chance for a long drive yet. There is a much anticipated drive to Chennai this month - will exercise its power and features like cruise control and paddle shifters.

Overall in the E mode - the system shows 5.1L/100 kms - which is an impressive 20kmpl. My drive mostly has been on the NICE road - Nayandahalli to E-City.
Looks great!
I love the alloy wheel design. Much more happening than my plain jane ones.

I am glad my review helped you in deciding on the B.
Keep the car in S mode and you wont be able to wipe off the grin from your face.
Looking forward to your review and buying experience.

Drive safe!
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Old 4th February 2015, 00:03   #36
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Re: The Baby Benz - My Mercedes B-Class

The black tint on the rims wasn't there by choice but it does come handy where grime from road and the break dust don't get too visible over a long ride's end. With the E mode itself I am finding it hard to keep under 50 kmph where cops here hunt people down with speed guns on areas where I could go peacefully.

Btw, is there a way to manually get the wipers on the headlamp to operate or is it only automatic?

Tonight when I went back after an hour's time to get my laptop (due to an emergency call in job) I heard some sort of fan running in the engine compartment. Did you experience it veedub89?
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Old 6th February 2015, 13:01   #37
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Re: The Baby Benz - My Mercedes B-Class

Quote:
Originally Posted by srinih75 View Post
The black tint on the rims wasn't there by choice but it does come handy where grime from road and the break dust don't get too visible over a long ride's end. With the E mode itself I am finding it hard to keep under 50 kmph where cops here hunt people down with speed guns on areas where I could go peacefully.

Btw, is there a way to manually get the wipers on the headlamp to operate or is it only automatic?

Tonight when I went back after an hour's time to get my laptop (due to an emergency call in job) I heard some sort of fan running in the engine compartment. Did you experience it veedub89?
The wipers on the headlamps are triggered after 3 windscreen shower wipes.
But the problem you deplete close to 50% of the washer fluid in doing so!
I tried it once for the fun of it.
You mean to say that the fan was running even after one hour of switching the car off?
That's highly unlikely. The turbo gets really hot so it is quite common for the fan to run for a minute or so even after the car has been switched off. But for an hour is very strange.
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Old 6th February 2015, 13:39   #38
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Re: The Baby Benz - My Mercedes B-Class

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Originally Posted by veedub89 View Post
But the problem you deplete close to 50% of the washer fluid in doing so!

Is the wiper fluid stored in a travel sipper or something? And how did you measure that it takes up half of the fluid? Just an analogy?

I haven't had to top up the fluid in 3 months and i use the wipers at least once in every 2-3 days which cleans up the projectors as well in the night when the lights come on.
By the way it is not a B-Class i am using.
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Old 6th February 2015, 13:51   #39
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Re: The Baby Benz - My Mercedes B-Class

Quote:
Originally Posted by srs_shetty87 View Post

Is the wiper fluid stored in a travel sipper or something? And how did you measure that it takes up half of the fluid? Just an analogy?

I haven't had to top up the fluid in 3 months and i use the wipers at least once in every 2-3 days which cleans up the projectors as well in the night when the lights come on.
By the way it is not a B-Class i am using.
Just a guess. Was trying to make a point that it uses up a lot fluid just to see the headlight washer working.
Didn't actually measure it!
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Old 6th February 2015, 22:22   #40
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Re: The Baby Benz - My Mercedes B-Class

I am getting used to the display and found that on my way back home from after about 38kms one way the display showed 4.6L/100km - which is 21.7kmpl. The picture isn't very clear - will try again tomorrow.
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Old 6th February 2015, 22:26   #41
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Re: The Baby Benz - My Mercedes B-Class

Quote:
Originally Posted by veedub89 View Post
Keep the car in S mode and you wont be able to wipe off the grin from your face.
Yes - I did have a big grin.. felt like God to see all the cars disappear on my rear view mirror! There aren't too many roads where I can keep it on for a good long time - on the PES college to Link road stretch on NICE road, I gave this a shot. What I found is the gear shifts are slower and it keeps the engine on higher revs when I apply my breaks just in time to push through when I am back on the accelerator pedal!
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Old 1st March 2015, 01:05   #42
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Re: The Baby Benz - My Mercedes B-Class

My dealer suggested not to put the mud flaps. Should I go for it?
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Old 1st March 2015, 03:11   #43
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Re: The Baby Benz - My Mercedes B-Class

Coming to your thread a year late... Congratulations on this beautiful car!
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Old 4th March 2015, 00:04   #44
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Re: The Baby Benz - My Mercedes B-Class

Today in rain I expected the auto windshield wiper activation but it didn't happen. any suggestions how to check what happened?
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Old 4th March 2015, 00:32   #45
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Re: The Baby Benz - My Mercedes B-Class

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Originally Posted by srinih75 View Post
Today in rain I expected the auto windshield wiper activation but it didn't happen. any suggestions how to check what happened?
In the BMW 3 series, you have to push a button at the end of the wiper stalk to activate the automatic wiper function although it then technically beats the purpose of the word "automatic" since the system resets every time you start the car. Are you sure you are not facing something similar in your car? Did you check the manual?
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