Best Of
Re: Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)
Now it can be told- a CPO 2020 Mercedes-AMG with 21k miles::Welcome to the old man gray club.
Why, you may ask, did I buy a C43 after driving one and finding it less than enticing? Well, a couple of friends told me that I needed to drive one and make sure everything was set to Sport+- I hadn't done that. Then I watched the Throttle House review of the A4, M340i, and C43; what struck me were their comments concerning the M340i- they thought that it was a nice car, but aside from the added hp it felt just like a 330i. That's not a knock on the 330i- it's a great car, but the consensus was that it wasn't sufficiently differentiated from the 330i. I'd had a 330i loaner for about a week when the X1 and Clubman were serviced and it was a nice car, but it never made me want to drive it. And I felt the same way in retrospect after driving the G42 M240i. Nice, fast, but not very involving- I guess I shouldn't be surprised, as the 2er and 3er are built on the same CLAR platform. And the TH guys really liked the C43, as did my lovely bride.
And so I decided to audition the C43 a second time. The first C43 I wanted to check out was the car that was nabbed by the nerds the Saturday after Thanksgiving- a blessing in disguise as this car turned up at the same dealer a couple of weeks later. I couldn't go look at it last week due to work and other commitments, but on Saturday the price dropped by $2,500. Monday morning I called my salesperson and put a deposit on it. After an extended test drive the deal was done. They gave me $2,500 over the CarMax offer for the 2er and installed a new of Continental MOE(Mercedes-speak for runflats. Sorta.) tires. I hope to pay it off in a year or so.
One thing I soon found out is that virtually no two C43 sedans are ever optioned alike. That said, this car was as close to perfect as I could want- my only change would be to swap the sunroof for the HUD, but you can't win 'em all.
What does it have?
AMG Performance Exhaust- A true hoot. It's switchable- much like the Mustang GT active valve exhaust. It is loud on start-up and when put in "Powerful" mode. It pops, crackles and burbles. I absolutely love it.
LED Intelligent Light System- The best headlights I have experienced. To my 65 year-old eyes just as good as the BMW Laserlights.
Digital Instrument Cluster- Easy to read and configure- with real engine and transmission oil temperature readings available. I'm still less than impressed with BMW's digital IP cluster with it's "wrong-way tachometer and limited configurability.
AMG Track Pace- You have to ask?
Top speed derestricted from 130 mph to 155 mph- Ditto.
On the road this car feels more stiffly sprung than the other C43 I drove; in comfort mode it feels stiffer than my M235i felt in Sport mode- which is just fine with me. It's just a tick faster than my M235i, but I won't complain about a 12.6 second 1/4 mile. The AWD front/rear torque split is 31/69 so the the C43 feels more rear biased than than the M240i xDrive. I could take or leave or leave the Driver Assistance and Parking Assistance Packages, but they are fun to play with. The seats are very comfortable; a bit better than my old 2er and clearly better than the G$@ M240i. The Burmester Surround Sound needs a bit of dialing-in, but I think it sounds a little better than the H-K in the M340i. And did I mention the C43 is only 13 pounds heavier than the M240i xDrive?
Not many nits to pick; I haven't managed to get the audio system to stream music from my iPhone via BT, and you have to disable stop/start after every startup- but that's about it. I hope to take it to the strip and a road course next year just to see what it will do. I'm almost guaranteed to be the only M-B at either venue...
andres3
Re: Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)
Why, you may ask, did I buy a C43 after driving one and finding it less than enticing? Well, a couple of friends told me that I needed to drive one and make sure everything was set to Sport+- I hadn't done that. Then I watched the Throttle House review of the A4, M340i, and C43; what struck me were their comments concerning the M340i- they thought that it was a nice car, but aside from the added hp it felt just like a 330i. That's not a knock on the 330i- it's a great car, but the consensus was that it wasn't sufficiently differentiated from the 330i. I'd had a 330i loaner for about a week when the X1 and Clubman were serviced and it was a nice car, but it never made me want to drive it. And I felt the same way in retrospect after driving the G42 M240i. Nice, fast, but not very involving- I guess I shouldn't be surprised, as the 2er and 3er are built on the same CLAR platform. And the TH guys really liked the C43, as did my lovely bride.
And so I decided to audition the C43 a second time. The first C43 I wanted to check out was the car that was nabbed by the nerds the Saturday after Thanksgiving- a blessing in disguise as this car turned up at the same dealer a couple of weeks later. I couldn't go look at it last week due to work and other commitments, but on Saturday the price dropped by $2,500. Monday morning I called my salesperson and put a deposit on it. After an extended test drive the deal was done. They gave me $2,500 over the CarMax offer for the 2er and installed a new of Continental MOE(Mercedes-speak for runflats. Sorta.) tires. I hope to pay it off in a year or so.
One thing I soon found out is that virtually no two C43 sedans are ever optioned alike. That said, this car was as close to perfect as I could want- my only change would be to swap the sunroof for the HUD, but you can't win 'em all.
What does it have?
AMG Performance Exhaust- A true hoot. It's switchable- much like the Mustang GT active valve exhaust. It is loud on start-up and when put in "Powerful" mode. It pops, crackles and burbles. I absolutely love it.
LED Intelligent Light System- The best headlights I have experienced. To my 65 year-old eyes just as good as the BMW Laserlights.
Digital Instrument Cluster- Easy to read and configure- with real engine and transmission oil temperature readings available. I'm still less than impressed with BMW's digital IP cluster with it's "wrong-way tachometer and limited configurability.
AMG Track Pace- You have to ask?
Top speed derestricted from 130 mph to 155 mph- Ditto.
On the road this car feels more stiffly sprung than the other C43 I drove; in comfort mode it feels stiffer than my M235i felt in Sport mode- which is just fine with me. It's just a tick faster than my M235i, but I won't complain about a 12.6 second 1/4 mile. The AWD front/rear torque split is 31/69 so the the C43 feels more rear biased than than the M240i xDrive. I could take or leave or leave the Driver Assistance and Parking Assistance Packages, but they are fun to play with. The seats are very comfortable; a bit better than my old 2er and clearly better than the G$@ M240i. The Burmester Surround Sound needs a bit of dialing-in, but I think it sounds a little better than the H-K in the M340i. And did I mention the C43 is only 13 pounds heavier than the M240i xDrive?
Not many nits to pick; I haven't managed to get the audio system to stream music from my iPhone via BT, and you have to disable stop/start after every startup- but that's about it. I hope to take it to the strip and a road course next year just to see what it will do. I'm almost guaranteed to be the only M-B at either venue...
roadburner
Re: Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)
Nissan buyer got their delivery today. She is very happy.
qbrozen
Re: Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)
I’m finally able to report a punch.
Details tomorrow.
roadburner
Re: Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)
Amen @tjc78.
Signed,
A fellow poster who also has way too much life experience for such a young age.
Re: Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)
@qbrozen said:
And then we get terribly close to excluding most of Breld’s since they can’t seem to keep them for more than a couple of months.
Hey now…Mrs. Breld had her red MINI for many months before trading it for this blue one. 5 even. She even registered it! 😁
Of course I’m all in favor of counting them all - takes some of the spotlight off me, and whether @qbrozen’s purchases are for personal or dealership purposes, I’m pretty sure the financing is coming from the same place at this early stage.
breld
Re: Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)
kyfdx
Re: Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)
@Sandman6472 said:
And I'm still having issues gong past the $25K mark! But think I'm going to have to up that figure to about $30K going forward. And doubt that I'd even look at a CPO unit to be honest. We just prefer a new vehicle at this point though I have bought 3 pre-owned vehicles over the years. We've had our current vehicles for just 8 years this month and I'll probably go one more year if it behaves. With the Audi, think she'll go out to 10 years with everything in proper working order. A vehicle is just an appliance to her while it's so much more to me like the rest of you in here.
Speaking of the A3, it goes into Audi on the 26th for some sort of recall. We also got a recall notice for the Hyundai but was told that once the part comes in locally, we'll be notified about how to proceed. Luckily, both dealerships are right here where we live.
If you want a new car you should buy a new one. Life is too short and you’ve been financially prudent your whole life based on your posts.
Gonna go off on a tangent here, but I’ve lived through enough things at my relatively young age (44) that changed my perspective on things.
My Dad passed at 40, my wife’s dad before 50, and my Stepdad passed right after he retired. None of them got to do things they wanted. I’ve also already had cancer.
So…. If I want a car and I can afford it. I buy it. When the wife wanted a shore house, we bought it. Yes we finance a lot but there is money left over for savings every month and we both contribute to our retirement and kid’s accounts.
TLDR: Our time here is short, live your life.
tjc78
Re: Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)
I’ve never been particularly envious of any of my wife’s MINIs, but this one gets close…
breld