The 2017 Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 Is a Bad Apple

When you buy a luxury car, you expect a bulletproof, trouble-free ride, and an outstanding white-glove dealer experience. That’s largely been the case with the Mercedes GLC. However, customers have been complaining of some small issues that pop up over the next few months of ownership.

The GLC’s auto windshield wipers stopped functioning in the middle of a rainy season, and a rear-seat passenger pointed out an unsightly gap between the rear sunshade and the sunroof it’s supposed to cover, and all sorts of small disappointing problems.

It is funny that I have never reviewed Mercedes before and this being the first review; I hope the GLC will stand for what it is supposed to represent. Ladies and gentlemen, be my guest.

The GLC is supposed to compete with cars like the Nissan Patrol, the Infinity Qx80 and the likes of Toyota land cruiser V8.

That is right, this is a hotly contested segment and the buyers expect undebatable levels of quality and performance from the cars.

Such problems as stated above are annoyances that makes one imagine if they made the wrong choice buying the GLC. Here is what one annoyed owner of a GLC had to say.

Customer reviews

I have owned this vehicle for some months and despite being a good and attractive ride, I am quite upset with the minor problems that the vehicle gets habitually. Typically, I’ve to wait until a service interval to deal with fixes so minor.

One can’t help but realize that beyond the beauty of this car lie numerous problems that the owner has to contend with. Or do I have to remind you that the GLC has an outstanding recall on a software update for the GLC’s fuel systems control unit?

Another customer who returned his GLC to the dealership had this to say. “When I didn’t hear back after a couple of days, I gave the dealer a call.

It took another couple days before I’d finally get someone on the phone who could speak to the status of our GLC.

Turns out, the auto windshield wipers just needed a reflash, and the recall was handled, but the dealer was waiting for parts from Germany to repair the sunshade.

Further adding to my frustration was the obvious neglect of the car I’d been driving. Just a day after I’d picked it up, I got a low tire pressure warning—turns out the dealer had underinflated each tire by 15 PSI.

Vibrations with the GLC

There was also a weird vibration coming from the front brakes, making it impossible to stop smoothly.

Fifteen days after I’d dropped off our GLC, I got my first call from the dealer: The car was finally ready to be picked up.

I can’t help but think of the old saying, “Don’t let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch.” Although my experience with our local Mercedes dealer has been largely positive, this most recent one left a bad taste in my mouth.”

These are illustrations of what a typical GLC owner has to contend with while trying to resolve some of the problems that arise with the car.

I Know Mercedes are capable and they have built awesome luxurious cars but the GLC,  they need to clean up all the mess.

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Brian is a founding writer at Urban Kenyans. His work is focused on how to improve the digital literacy of Kenyans online. He has been able to do so with his mastery of Kenya and the English Language.

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