‘Barely have 13,000 miles on this vehicle’: Why is this driver trying to get a buy-back for his 2023 Mercedes AMG C43?

A driver leasing a 2023 Mercedes-Benz AMG C43 is experiencing issues with the car, claiming it hardly ever "drives correctly." He's so jaded by the experience that he's predicting this is likely to be the last Mercedes he'll ever drive.

The TikTok video comes from creator Alonzo (@rocky4308), who describes himself in his bio as a "PlayStation Lifer, techie, dog dad, [and] car guy. The video went up on Tuesday and is approaching the 70,000 view mark in its first four days up.

"When it runs right, it's a fun car to drive," he explains. "Key word: When it runs correctly. I've owned this car going over a year and a half, barely have 13,000 miles on this vehicle."

He goes on to say that the car is "bucks from first to second gear every time," and despite finding an unspecified workaround online, it only lasted 5,000 miles. The people he was leasing from claimed that a "software fix" was on the way that would correct the issue, but he grew frustrated enough with the situation to want to terminate the lease.

If that wasn't enough, he added, "Two-and-a-half months ago, my headlights randomly stopped working, so I had to drive around for three weeks with no working headlights. Mind you, this payment on this lease is about 1000 bucks a month."

"I want to walk away and let this be someone else's problem," he says.

What Car and Driver says

The Car and Driver review for this Mercedes contends that the AMG C43, in a word, is "undercooked."

Specifically, the reviewer critiqued the car's transmission, contrasting it to its turbocharged engine that provided able acceleration.

"Whereas the C43's engine is mostly peachy, its transmission is more of a crab apple," it noted. "The nine-speed kicks like a mule on random downshifts, regardless of drive mode, and other times, it will take upward of a second to call up a gear after a hefty press of the go pedal. It holds revs for weird amounts of time in Comfort and Sport, as if your passing maneuver signaled to the computer that it's time to lap Watkins Glen. We wonder whether the engineers let ChatGPT do the final tune."

The review, in the end, concluded that a Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing might be more to the liking of a driver seeking the sort of experience they envision the AMG C43 giving.

Commenters chime in

Enough commenters came in that Alonzo felt compelled to record a response video to those who recommended he get a Lexus instead.

"This is why I stick with Lexus RX 350," one of those commenters said. "Peace of mind for eternity!"

Another remarked, "Switch to BMW bro," which led Alonzo to reveal a BMW was actually his preferred choice, but the one he wanted wasn't available so he went with the ill-fated Mercedes instead.

Someone else, claiming a source in the know, advised, "I heard from a Mercedes dealership salesman on TikTok never buy a Mercedes with a C anything model."

The Daily Dot has reached out to Mercedes via email and the creator via TikTok comment.

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