[alfaromeo1984]

Hi Sahil,

Heartiest congratulations on owning one of the BEST cars in the world. And many thanks for sharing it as well. I feel the car will look better with the S500 Alloys. The black beast surely looks stunning. Please do keep us posted about the car,s performance

Best wishes again

[Shivjeet]

Congrats on the new S class Sahil. Good job with replacing the alloys, I've hated the ones on the W221 350 versions too. Also I think you should keep the badging on, after you get your new bumper. I hope your comand online works with your phone ASAP

I really wanted to upgrade when the launch edition came out, but MB offered me peanuts for my 2011 W221 S500 . Couldn't let them do that considering my car is in perfect condition.

Guess I'll be using it for a little longer before I get the new one.

[anandkv88]

Congrats on being the proud owner of the big daddies of all the cars.

I mean, literally. Sometime back, the new S class was pitted against the Rolls Phantom and Bentley Flying Spur and the best car in the three now adorns your garage.

[iliketurtles]

What an incredible car, inside and out.

I adore BMW, but Mercedes has off late been hitting it out of the park and this is just so far ahead of the competition it's not funny.

Congrats on owning the best car on the roads, the Superlative, Special and Sensational S.

[shoaib3030]

Congrats Sahil on acquiring one of the finest exemplars of automotive luxury & performance. I do believe and hope that a proper photo-shoot is in order !

[Fullrevs]

Congratulations Sahil. Great choice of car. Also great choice of song as seen in your pictures on the first page. :-)You ought to get the RS5 and the S-class in together for a proper photo shoot.

Like the others I would say you could retain the S350 badge and go for the S500 bumpers, they look simply awesome. Please don't put S500 badges.

[Sahil]

Thank you, thank you for all your posts

3m goodies- Sun Film & Paint protection Film: Yah or Nah?
Regarding the tints, Although I would love the black out ones, they are a hassle. Thinking of getting the 3m CR70 front and rear and CR90 for sides. The 3m center has quoted for approx 24k for this setup.
In addition, planning to get the 3m paint protection film for all scratch prone areas such as the front and rear bumpers, door edges and exterior mirrors. Since the car is black, even minor scratches will show more and this being a daily drive will probably get a few scratches on the bumpers especially given our bumper to bumper traffic conditions in Mumbai. This is the only solution to keep it looking spanking new always besides regular detailing which I will get done every 4 to 6 months. It costs approx 500rs per sq.ft and I was told each bumper will cost approx 8k which is less than half the cost of repainting once. Incase of minor scratches on the film you can polish it and buff it like regular paint and for deep scratches they can support by cutting out just the scracthed area and putting a new piece that apparently blends in perfectly and is not noticeable as a cut out.
From my research online, the 3m paint protection film fits seamlessly and there is no noticeable trace of it even when you look closely. Moreover, it does seem to work from the videos and reviews I have seen. However, if someone has a personal experience with this product here do let me know!

More OEM Accessories: Matting
Since the rains have lashed Mumbai bad the past few weeks, I noticed that the cheap Rs.500 worth transparent universal fit plastic matting that Autohangar provided me with the car to protect the velour carpet mats was high inadequate. So I got OEM mats customized for the w222. Reference pics below.
They fit the car perfectly and even in the front go all the way up the footwell so you don't stain any portion of the carpet below. It also has lock in grooves that fit to the floor to ensure the mats don't move around. Color matches perfectly to the "silk beige" interior theme.
Paid 10.5k for them, not really cheap but yet cheaper than Kagu 3D mats maxpsider ones that costs 16k for the new S! These blend in so well with the interiors that I probably will keep them on all year round.



Dealer Experience:
Like the alloys, I also got the mats from my friendly neighbourhood MB dealer Shaman. But be too early to judge but in all probability, I will be getting my services done at Shaman I find them much more cooperative and prompt. In addition Shaman is located close to my office in BKC. Autohangar on the other hand are way too rigid and less proactive to please the customer.
On the same topic, MB has provided a smaller nozzle opening in the fuel tank in the S and I believe also in the new E. I spoke to Shaman about this issue and they said indeed it is a problem and we are giving a fuel channel funnel sort of thing with every S-class hence Autohangar ought to give you one. I call my sales rep and asked him he said we cannot provide it free you will have to pay Rs.1500 for it. I informed him that Shaman is providing it and he refuse to believe it saying he checked with their team and they do not. After further instance he said he will check with his seniors on this and get back to me, so far no call back. It's a pity that I had to request for something this small that in most probability MB probably reimburses the dealer.
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.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by Sahil

I spoke to Shaman about this issue and they said indeed it is a problem and we are giving a fuel channel funnel sort of thing with every S-class hence Autohangar ought to give you one. I call my sales rep and asked him he said we cannot provide it free you will have to pay Rs.1500 for it. I informed him that Shaman is providing it and he refuse to believe it saying he checked with their team and they do not. After further instance he said he will check with his seniors on this and get back to me, so far no call back. It's a pity that I had to request for something this small that in most probability MB probably reimburses the dealer.
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.

Absolutely nuts. You've bought a car worth over a crore, and they aren't giving you something worth Rs.1500? Looks like Mercedes' success has got to the heads of some at Autohangar.

This is not the way to treat a person buying a C class, let alone as S class.

Also those mats will probably be a lot more practical for our dirty city than the fabric mats. Good idea to keep them all year round.

[Maverick5490]

Congratulations on the newest addition to your garage Sahil, looks fabulous!

[Turbanator]

MB has provided a smaller nozzle opening in the fuel tank in the S and I believe also in the new E. I spoke to Shaman about this issue and they said indeed it is a problem and we are giving a fuel channel funnel sort of thing with every S-class hence Autohangar ought to give you one.

Is this smaller than old generation or your old 5 series ? are you referring to something like this or your one has even smaller dia -maybe something to do with diesel foaming ?

This is from MBUSA:

"In response to your inquiry, Mercedes-Benz USA does not recommend the use
of funnels for adding diesel fuel to your GL320CDI.

The CDI fuel nozzle opening was designed to fit only passenger vehicle type
nozzle (small nozzle) to prevent diesel foaming due to a higher flow rate
from truck nozzles (large nozzle). Usually only those truck stops have the
large nozzle. It is recommended that customers visit passenger type fuel
filling stations.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/x164...nk-diesel.html

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Is this smaller than old generation or your old 5 series ? are you referring to something like this or your one has even smaller dia -maybe something to do with diesel foaming ?

This is from MBUSA:

"In response to your inquiry, Mercedes-Benz USA does not recommend the use
of funnels for adding diesel fuel to your GL320CDI.

The CDI fuel nozzle opening was designed to fit only passenger vehicle type
nozzle (small nozzle) to prevent diesel foaming due to a higher flow rate
from truck nozzles (large nozzle). Usually only those truck stops have the
large nozzle. It is recommended that customers visit passenger type fuel
filling stations.

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/x164...nk-diesel.html

Yes it is smaller than my 5 series, have not faced this issue in any other car. Even the RS5 has a fuel tank opening fit for Indian fuel pipe sizes. The recommendation given in your link is for the western world as here we clearly do not have separate passenger type fuel stations.

Currently it takes me 3x more time to fill fuel in the S-class than it does it any other car. Infact there is a greater risk for spilling currently than it ever would be with diesel foaming.

[Technocrat]

Originally Posted by Sahil

Thank you, thank you for all your posts

Dealer Experience:
On the same topic, MB has provided a smaller nozzle opening in the fuel tank in the S and I believe also in the new E. I spoke to Shaman about this issue and they said indeed it is a problem and we are giving a fuel channel funnel sort of thing with every S-class hence Autohangar ought to give you one. I call my sales rep and asked him he said we cannot provide it free you will have to pay Rs.1500 for it.

This is such Non-sense, its not a mat that you are asking for, its an essential, it is something the owners would have to deal with every time they have to refuel.

Does MB send you a customer feedback form after buying their cars? You should put this experience in there.

[Viju]

Originally Posted by Sahil

I call my sales rep and asked him he said we cannot provide it free you will have to pay Rs.1500 for it.

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.

Wow!!

I always used to think that a car maker like Mercedes would deliver all their cars with a full tank of fuel (if not with a few gift vouchers for another tankful!).

You spend your hard-earned money in seven digits and they are cheap enough to deny you a full-tank of fuel (under 5000/- considering Diesel at an exaggerated 60/- per litre and 80L tank capacity of your car) and even a funnel worth 1500/-?

I can only imagine the thousands and thousands of man-hours gone all around the world into designing, developing and manufacturing that brilliant automobile, all wasted by a cheap sales-rep / dealer!

If I was the sales-rep, I would have paid the 1500/- from my pocket and deliver the funnel at your home, ensuring that you are a happy customer who will come back to me / recommend me for future sales. Height of short-sightedness!

[Rover2000]

Shail,
Regarding the PPF(paint protection film) from 3M:
I requested a quote for my white car and the 3M technician clearly stated that for white cars the PPF tends to turn into a yellowish shade after say about 6 months and for darker colors this will not be an issue. He also showed me a couple of pics but technically neither of us was not sure how that happens. So i guess for darker colors the PPF will work good.

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Does MB send you a customer feedback form after buying their cars? You should put this experience in there.

MB has a third party survey that called me recently and I gave them a below satisfactory feedback. Today, I guess they have forward that feedback to the dealer as I have got two calls from AutoHangars customer service team apologizing and asking me what can we do to make this better. Silly to ask me that at this point, the milk has already turned sour.

Originally Posted by Rover2000

Shail,
Regarding the PPF(paint protection film) from 3M:
I requested a quote for my white car and the 3M technician clearly stated that for white cars the PPF tends to turn into a yellowish shade after say about 6 months and for darker colors this will not be an issue. He also showed me a couple of pics but technically neither of us was not sure how that happens. So i guess for darker colors the PPF will work good.

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?