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Sorry for the late reply.
Maybe this post is too late for you, but I still like you to share my experience.
Black ext. color is hot under sun, but it's much cooler if the int. is light color. Ash is a good choice. At work I park my MB directly under the sunshine, never under shade of trees (no tree sap or bird droppings). Comparing with my previous BMW 328i black/black, my MB black/ash is pretty cool. In the mean while I lift up the sunroof, so that the hot air goes out all the time. Even with a silver color, the car body is still very hot under the sunshine. I think mostly it depends on the int color of the material which stores the heat. IMHO, I'll never choose a silver. It's too popular here (california). No color can compete with black if the car is a MB or BMW. Go and choose the black one.
Auto or 6sp? It's totally a personal preference. In my family, we have no doubt to buy a stickshift. My wife loves stickshift only, if it's a sport car. Especially C230K is relatively under power. I felt its hesitation while test driving an automatic C230. 6sp is much better, even though the 1st gear is easy to hit the redlines. About bumper to bumper traffic, I may choose an automatic, but it will loose the meaning of buying a sport sedan like MB C230. You need to make your call.
Let me know what you finally bought and how you feel about it. Definitely you'll love C230K. It's a Benz. I enjoy it everyday.
Just curious what the thoughts are of an 04 vs 05. The 04 has maintenance picked up for 4/50, where the 05 does not.
I was quoted $29,900 for a 2004 Capri Blue/Ash 4 door with Auto, Sunroof, heated seats and cd. I see zip1 was quoted $1k more for the 2005. Any thoughts if the price is good or should I hold off for an 05 when those rebates hit next spring/summer?
I believe u are talking about C230K Coupe. I got a 2005 model for $28900 with following options :
Capri Blue
Auto Transmission
Sunroof package
Ash Leather
6 CD changer
Fronted Heat Seats
Thanks for your input. I followed the direction you suggested. The salesman has been very good, and located an identical car with same number of kilometers. It has one extra option, wiper sensor, whatever that is. I will have a look at the car tomorrow (saturday). I asked for the VIN # of the vehicle and had the assistant service manager at the MB dealership where I have my car serviced to review the service history of the vehicle. He said he saw no items of concern, in fact no items that needed repair. Also I checked with the government body that registers motor vehicles, and confirmed that Mercedes Benz is the registered owner of the vehicle they located, and that it had no previous owners. I am proceeding with a little more caution this time. I hope the car checks out tomorrow. I have found this whole situation a bit stressful. I will let you know how it turns out.
I need your savy purchasing tips.
I am currently in the process of negotiating a purchase for a 05 c240 4matic.
The car lists at retail for 36780.00, the Mercedes dealer is willing to let it go for 35,000.00 which is 743.00 over the invoice.
What kind of deal should I be looking at......
PLEASE advise.
Thanks,
Christian
I like your strategy. I've been thinking about doing the same thing. I DO NOT WANT and am unwilling to pay for a sunroof. On the Gulf Coast, with our heat, humidity, and air pollution it is useless (to me at least). So I expect to special order unless they will "throw one in for free".
I am trying to figure out what type of profit margins they are dealing with. My local dealer is one of the largest in the country so they probably qualify for the highes bonuses.
Thanks
Also, I think most dealers try to get a higher markup on a special order.
What do you mean by "throw one in for free?" If they deduct the sunroof cost from the MSRP, do you consider it free? I am kind of curious of how you can tell or what you interpret as it being free.
I have always been told that the deal has to be completed and not a just a contract.
There is, or was, a $1000 special paint color fee but I've been told (by my salesman) that there is no special order fee. If someone knows differently please let me know.
Everything you list as being part of the sunroof package is either worthless to me or a negative -- just things to go wrong. (Read some of the earlier posts about the rain-sensing wipers staying on when the windshield was dry.) Sure, on resale you get about 40% of your money back for this package so if you WANT it, it is something of a bargain but I'd rather keep 100% of that money and take the 40% hit on resale.
That's a good question about throwing it in for free. I guess I expect to meet with some resistance to special ordering. Most salesmen want to sell you something off the lot even though it doesn't meet the customer's needs. I'm saying that I would let them do that if, after working out a price on a special order, configured just the way I want it, they would then offer that same price for a car on the lot that had more options. Does that make sense?
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/incentives/holdback/index.html
On the 2004 models there was a special order charge
SOC Special Order Surcharge info $1,150
On the 2004/2004 there is an extra charge for metallic paint.
063 Metallic Paint $670
I am not sure why you are holding off buying a car since right now is the best time to buy a 2005 and a 2004 if you can find any left.
If they have a price increase again, any savings from waiing for incentives will be offset especially on the c230's plus the depreciation factor of a full year vs 4 months from now.
If anyone is in the southeast area, the sales manager told me that my local dealer is in the Jacksonville, FL region. Nearly 50% of the Mercedes sold in this region are sold in Florida. Since the back-to-back-to-back hurricanes, Florida M-B sales are WAY off (practically non-existent at end of Sept). All other dealers in this region were being begged to step up and sell more cars than ever. It gave my dealer more room than normal to negotiate and it may help one of you (who live in the same area) to know about that.
Oh yeah..., and the CAR is spectacular!!!
Is this a good deal?
Thanks.
Congratulations to your new C230K sport sedan.
I am looking at the 04 325i or the 05 C230K
did u get the 05 model or the 04 from Penske? Is that a demo? $5000 off MSRP seems unbelievable. I've purchased by previous 3 vehicles from Penske (Not Mercedes tho) do you think they could offer the same deal to me. Pls email me hpoohhui@yahoo.com, i might want u to hook me up.
Thank you
I decide to take the offer tomorrow with out of the door price @ $35,000
It seems that the current market incentive of $2,500 (on '04 C240 model btwn 10/4 - 11/1) was applied already.
Also does anyone have experience driving in the C class Rear Wheel Drive in light/moderate snow. I hear a lot about FWD being better in slippery conditions vs. RWD, but am not sure with Traction control. Would you advise snow tires or other precautions ? Thanks
As for your questions, I think you need to ask them in the main C-class forum. Or better, use the search function in that forum as these questions have been asked and answered before.
kirstie_h
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I just picked my 2004 C240 Wagon yesterday (paid out of the door price of $35K even). My friend is in the process of getting the same deal. I believe that the Manufacturer to Dealer incentive ($2k for C230 and $2.5K for C240) really helped.
Be careful driving in Conn (I lived in Orange for 6 years) on RWD cars during winter for sure.
Also, last year in December, there is a dealer incentive on the C-class. How would I be able to check out whether there will be any incentives in the near future? I am not in a hurry to buy though, what I really want is a reasonable price.
Should I go back and press for a lower price, or am I right at point for North Carolina?
don't know about your area, i am in S. CA, so there are like 5 MBZ dealers around here. I looked at the Edmunds TMV, seems like they are going for $1200 over invoice. However, if you go to carsdirect.com, you will see that they are offering $1200 below invoice. (I got mine for $1800 below invoice w/ 2 weeks of shopping around) If you wanna get one, you might try carsdirect or simply print out that page when you go to that dealer. In addition, going through Fleet Department would be a easier solution.
Where did you get the "Love Mercedes" coupon? Can anyone get one?
Thanks!
The drive out price came to $29,621.52 including 6% sales tax, tag, title, etc.
So far I love the car, can't wait to put some mileage on it. With gas at almost $2.50 per gallon here I averaged 29mpg on my first tank of gas!!!!
I am looking at both, both 6 sp std . I believe the price will be about the same on the current 39/mo lease ($1,800 driveoff + 320/mo). I am leaning towards the '05 simply because of the improvements discussed on the board, but the 320 seems to have some nice upgrades, plus a v6.
Comments in reviews talk about better shifter, and gas mileage is better with the 4 cyl.
any suggestions or input on pros / cons of each appreciated.
JK So California