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Mercedes-Benz C-Class Sedans

1457910140

Comments

  • dennettdennett Member Posts: 332
    If your special paint is metallic you will pay $1625, our magma red isn't metallic so we had to only, ;) pay $1000 for it.
  • tariktarik Member Posts: 344

    This is the outcome if one of Germany's most aggressive tuners (MAE)lays hands on a perfectly well designed car:

    image

    Tarik

  • dennettdennett Member Posts: 332
    I've heard these referred to as AMG wheels, what does that really mean? How are they different/better than the standard wheels? My saleman knows someone who's about to upgrade their sports package C and will be selling the AMG wheels and tires, I believe they're still 16" but the tire size is 225/50 VR16. What do you think these would be worth? As you can tell from my chroming question I've got the itch to upgrade the look, as if it needs it, to our car. Also at the time we ordered and then got the car I didn't really like the star look of the sports package wheels, they sort of look like a tire and wheel package you'd get at Discount tire for $699. Now I'm starting to have second thoughts, what are your opinions on the look of these wheels? For what it's worth I do like the standard wheels, especially those chrome ones I saw.
  • mrdietmrdiet Member Posts: 16
    The sport pkg does not have the AMG wheels, just some random 16-inchers. The AMG wheels are different, and are much better looking in my opinion.

    There's a wheel catalog posted in a msg in:

    http://mbworld.org/forum/w203/board/home.html

    The message is titled "MBZ wheel catalog", I can't get a direct link to the msg.
  • joemalejoemale Member Posts: 28
    I'm sorry if someone has figured this out,
    but I don't remember seeing any responses
    to the problem. Sometimes, I hear a ticking
    sound when idling. It's subtle and not
    very loud, but annoying. Evidently others
    hear this too. Does anyone offer any
    insight?
    Thanks
  • 404c404c Member Posts: 146
    Has anyone here ever done an EU delivery on a M-B? Or is anyone planning to do it in the near future? I'd be interested in hearing about this experience. I live in Canada, if that matters (there are some differences in the EU programs of M-B Canada and M-B USA). Thanks for any help.
  • kjindckjindc Member Posts: 5
    Hi tclaw,
    I heard you mention about your daily driving routine and I was wondering if you live in the Wash. DC area. I'm planning on buying a C240. (depending on the test drive) If so, where did you get your MB from? I was considering American Service Center. I've had a bad experience with HBL, so I'm trying to avoid them. What kind of deal & service did you receive? If it was good, can you give me your sales persons name & number.
    Thanks,
    kjindc
  • mhs7386mhs7386 Member Posts: 33
    When anyone with a 240 or 320 drives in snow, it would be appreciated if you post the results here.
    Since it's a new car, I've heard varying opinions from MB technicians about what to do, i.e. snow tires vs. putting sandbags (or cinderblocks) in the trunk.

    Thanks.

    Matt
  • sddlwsddlw Member Posts: 361
    I'd set aside about $1,000 (+/-)per year depending on miles driven, to maintain a used c-class once all of the warranties were up. This should cover regular maintanence, the reaccurring 15 and 30K stuff, and periodic parts failures.
  • rojiehrojieh Member Posts: 5
    Could anyone who has the split rear seat option tell me if the center-armrest passthrough has a sliding door to access the trunk or is it just a flap of material? I'd also really appreciate getting the measurements of the passthrough opening. Thanks!
  • redgoatee7redgoatee7 Member Posts: 30
    Hey,

    Haven't been on this forum for a while, so had to advance myself 200+ posts to get here.
    I drive my parents' 1996 C220, which makes a ticking noise at idle. We asked the dealer a few years ago what was causing this, and unforunately, I forgot exactly what they said (it was 4 years ago). But, the dealer says it's normal - I'll get back to you on this one.
    If anyone is interested in the new C wagon, here's some pictures (it's a German site): http://www.autobild.de/?ziel=/archiv/ausgaben/2000/12/49/aktuell/index.php3
    This is off topic but I heard some people mention the ML. While an all-new is coming out in a couple of years, a revised ML will be out late-fall 2001. It will have revised bumpers, auto climate control, and other revisions.

    -Todd
  • tclawtclaw Member Posts: 23
    Yeah, I live in Alexandria and commute downtown. I bought mine at HBL, only because a neighbor had a very good experience there with a salesman who lives in Old Town, as do I, and is willing to drive the car in when it needs service (which it hasn't yet). There was nothing special about my treatment: full list price and, unlike some others who post here, no freebies like mats or cargo tray/net. If it weren't for that connection, I would have gone to ASC, because it's closer.
  • fedssocrfedssocr Member Posts: 90
    As I noted before, my experience so far at ASC has been very positive. My new salesman is Chuck Albert. Most of the salesman there have been working for the company for a long time. Check out their website (www.justmercedes.com) for info on their staff. I think that stability is a very good thing. Not a bunch of yahoos off the street who want to try selling cars like you seem to find at certain Honda dealers I've been to...lots of high pressure. I'm sure most high end dealers are similar, but the two BMW dealers I visited a couple of years ago (Heishman and BMW Fairfax) treated me like dirt, so I have sworn off Bimmers as a result.

    ASC is literally right around the corner from me, so that makes it especially convenient. But everybody has been very friendly and courteous to me. Mr. Albert even mentioned that if I sell my car before my new C comes in that he would work something out for me to have transportation in the interim. They sell tons of cars there, so I think they must be doing something right. I have not visited any other local MB dealers, so I cannot compare. Basically since you're paying sticker wherever you go for the new C I figure there isn't much chopping around to be done.
  • lwc1lwc1 Member Posts: 1
    Just got my C240 this weekend. Manual transmission, C1, C2a (sunroof & rain-sensing wipers, but no rear sunshade), C3, c4, full leather & CD changer. Bordeaux red & ash interior.

    Looks great & drives even better. Spent ~5 hours primarily on highways on a short weekend trip. Unfortunately, am still in break-in period, so am not supposed to go more than 70.

    Anyway, the car DOES have a "dead foot" pedal to the left of the clutch. It's not as big as on some other cars, but it is there. I found that I use it about half the time.

    Have not fully explored the center pass-through, but it appears that you can only stick items through the ski-sack. It doesn't look as if you can remove the ski sack & have a direct pass-through to the trunk. My guesstimate is that the opening is about 8" wide & 12" high.

    So far, gas mileage has been pretty good. 29 mpg just on highway (65-70, no cruise control). The average went down to 27 after driving in NYC.
  • kjindckjindc Member Posts: 5
    I see there's a couple of DC folks here. I've heard from tclaw & she told me about her experience at HBL. I've had a bad experience with them, so they were my last resort. I plan on checking out ASC. I've already looked at their website. Since you recommend Mr. Albert, I'll give him a call. Thanx.
    kjindc
  • portia15portia15 Member Posts: 5
    When you put the armrest down, there's a piece of plastic (I guess you could call it a door) that remains in the up position. You have to pull it down to get to the passthrough ski sack. I haven't opened up the sack, but I have put down the seats. I was more interested in the fold down seats as opposed to the ski sack.

    Hope that helps.
  • cclass117cclass117 Member Posts: 36
    I experienced a weird behavior on my C today... I slowed down gently and stopped, as soon as it stops, it started vibrating..It felt like it wanted to go forward but brake was holding the car. and all sudden rpm went up about 500rpm and came back down, and everything was normal. I think there's something wrong with ABS, ESP, or Brake Assist... Anybody experienced this??
    I should bring my car in...
  • diwc240diwc240 Member Posts: 172
    Yes lwc1 (#329) you are right. I was back at the NJ Dealer this evening, actually to check if the Nokia cell phone rapid charger would interfere with the MT stick. The charger seats low enough not to interfere with shifting. Left foot does have what seems like a metal backing plate on an angle (no rubber pad), just the floor covering material. Back to the cig. lighter. I want to get a new Radar SWS detector with compass, looking at the PNI RX 5010, www.prescisionnav.com
    (Checked Escort 8500, Bell 980, Uniden 777 etc...) The curled cord would interfere with the stick shift in my opnion with the Saftery Warning System detector mounted on the center windshield. So need the straight wire type cig. lighter adaptor. Good reports at www.radartest.com and
    www.speedzones.com
  • rojiehrojieh Member Posts: 5
    Thanks Kjindc and Portia15 for the info about the center armrest passthrough. I'm actually looking into installing a small storage space (for a mini "water" bar) behind the center armrest passthrough. It would be very convenient for tissues, water bottles and those things that tend to clutter the rear seats.

    Does anyone know if a 12V outlet can be installed in the trunk? I know that several other high-end vehicles have this as standard but wondered if anyone has had experience with this or knows if a dealer will do the work?
  • mtroymtroy Member Posts: 45
    Nfoxt, thanks for checking up on me. Here's what happened. After the check engine light went on on day 2, I took it to my local dealer on Sat. They couldn't figure out the problem on that day, so they kept it. I was going out of town for the week so I told them to keep it for the week and leave me a message every day. They called me on Monday and said it was fixed. The problem involved the fuel injection system and was caused by wrong programming of the CPU. They corrected the programming, and replaced the fuel pump and the air flow sensor (whatever that is). Why did this happen? They don't know. Could have been wrongly programmed at factory or when CD was installed at dealer, or there could have been a "voltage surge" which caused a change to the programming. The uncertainty of the cause is a bit disconcerting, but they tell me if the light doesn't come on in the next 300 miles, the chances are very good that it will never happen again. I'll keep you posted. The dealer who actually sold me the car also got involved. The head of the service dept. provided me with reassuring words, spoke directly to the dealer doing the repair work, and assured me that if it appears that the car has problems, they would support me in my dealings with MB to get a different car even if there was not yet legal entitlement to a new car. All in all, both dealers have been very supportive and have met my expectations. I've had the car for the past three days, and no light has come on and all else is well. So the "nightmare" may have been a bit premature, and I regret the exaggerated rhetoric -- I was quite upset at the time. I'm back to being optimistic, and the NY Times review was very gratifying to read.

    Most priceless line: Service technician -- "Replacing a car is like replacing a wife - you just end up with a different set of problems."
  • mtroymtroy Member Posts: 45
    papa, I lived with the portable cd player with the cassette adapter in my Acura for years. Lots of skipping, and overall a big hassle. You have got to do whatever it takes to get the MB CD changer to replace that lame system in such a beautiful, modern car. You will not regret it.

    On another note, on AM stations, the sound alternates between perfect and loud static on all stations. What gives? I'm sure that more music and less blabber mouth talk radio will enhance my life, but I do need to listen to the local news channel once in a while.
  • fedssocrfedssocr Member Posts: 90
    I will be getting the CD changer. However, I also listen to minidisc quite a bit. I can use my protable MD player in my Honda with a cassette adapter and I was also wondering if such a feat is possible in the C since the cassette player is housed behind that little panel thingy. I guess it sounds like I'm out of luck...
  • ycfmwycfmw Member Posts: 3
    Hi All,
    I am also in DC area and plan to buy my first MB C class. The question could be silly... Is the price negotiable? How about Mr. Chuck Albert in ASC? Did he give any discount at all? Thanks a lot for any replies.
  • fedssocrfedssocr Member Posts: 90
    Nope, sorry. No discounts to be had on the new C. Price is MSRP at time of delivery. My original saleperson at ASC said she'd throw in the trunk cargo nets for free, but I didn't get that in writing and have not yet persued it with Chuck. I am hopeful though that this will not be a problem. You may be able to deal a bit if you're willing to take a demo model. I know ASC has a 2001 C class (black)in their pre-owned dept. I don't know what its story is, but if you don't mind having a slightly used car it's there. They're a pretty big dealer and I think their monthly allocation is large but I don't know how long the wait is on a new order. When Chuck showed me the list of cars it was huge, but I don't know how many were C's. They sell tons of ML's there, every time I go by they're unloading a truck or two of MLs. As I said before, they've been treating me very well there and everyone seems to be very honest and forthright.
  • dennettdennett Member Posts: 332
    Glad to hear that your car seems to now be perfect! I was wondering about your situation and I'm really glad that MB got it all figured out. Our trunk now works perfectly, never really did figure it out, dealer thought I put it in valet mode, I may have,BUT I never even put the key in the trunk until it hadn't opened for two days. So hopefully it will never happen again!
  • thomas4thomas4 Member Posts: 5
    In reply to MHS7386...

    I've had plenty of opportunities in the last month here in Minnesota to drive my C320 in snow with the standard tires. As long as I use winter driving skills, I've found the car to be extremely sure-footed. When other people were spinning their wheels at stoplights, I was not. It's going up my inclined driveway, currently packed with snow, just fine. We haven't had a heavy snowstorm yet, but I've been out in some pretty bad driving weather and felt secure. Most of my concern is what the guy in the rear-view mirror is doing!
  • jsn1jsn1 Member Posts: 3
    There are a couple of ways you can play audio from portable devices with the Mercedes audio system. Both methods are Rube Goldberg solutions, but they will work.

    You can fool the MB audio system into thinking the cassette cover door is closed while using a cassette adapter to play audio from portable devices such as MD and MP3 players.

    With the cassette door open, you will see a small square inset with a needle-shaped switch on the right side of the cassette mechanism. This small needle switch senses whether the cassette door is open or closed, much like the switch that turns the light off on your refrigerator when you close the door. I placed a very small piece of styrofoam (1/8 inch square) on the sticky side of a small piece of plastic tape and applied that over the switch. This "fools" the audio system into thinking the cassette door is always closed. You can then use a cassette adapter without the annoying beep trying to remind you to close the cassette door. And you can still close the cassette door when listening to the radio or CD player.

    Another way around the problem is to purchase a FM radio adapter for your portable divice. These are available at most any electronics store for about $20. They allow you to transmit the audio signal from your portable device to your FM Stereo without any wires. They are a little fussy to tune and they do require batteries.

    While neither of these solutions is ideal, they are the only way I have found to use my MP3 player with the Mercedes audio system.
  • sleakesleake Member Posts: 47
    I have exactly the same problem with my radio. It seems to be somewhat random, except that it does NOT happen when the car is sitting still, and going over a bump seems to set it off. On the other hand, it will work fine for 2-3 days at a time, then blast me out with static again. I've been thinking it's a loose connection? Thought I'd wait until I take it in for a 2000 mile oil change to have it looked at. btw -- FM reception is just fine.
  • kenyeekenyee Member Posts: 738
    I thought there was an aux-in connector in the glove compartment? Or is this just for the COMAND system?
  • zmeenowzmeenow Member Posts: 341
    I HAD A PROBLEM WITH MY RADIO/CASSETTE/CD PLAYER WHEN I 1ST GOT THE CAR..TURNED OUT THE RADIO WAS DEFECTIVE..AND WAS REPLACED AT N/C..WHY WAIT TILL OIL CHANGE?? ENJOY YOUR CAR NOW!
  • zmeenowzmeenow Member Posts: 341
    OH... I WAS WARNED BY AN AQUAINTANCE THATS OWNED AN E CLASS FOR A FEW YRS THAT MB IS TERRIBLE IN THE SNOW... HE COMES FROM A COUNTRY WHERE THERE IS NO SNOW.. AND NEVER GREW UP LEARNING WINTER DRIVING SKILLS..SO IM HOPING THAT HES WRONG.. I WENT TO COLLEGE IN ITHACA NY AND WAS CONSTANTLY DRIVING IN SNOW... AND ON HILLS... TAKES SOME SKILL.I MAY FIND OUT TOMORROW..SNOW/RAIN/SLEET IN NJ..YUK!
  • lwhomerlwhomer Member Posts: 13
    I grew up and learned to drive in Chicago and never had anything but rear-wheel drive vehicles. None of these vehicles ever had snow tires, either. In flat country (Chicago is flat as a pancake), I was rarely stuck in the snow. None of the vehicles had as favorable a percentage of their weight on the rear wheels as do M-B vehicles, so a M-B should work tolerably well in the snow (if you do not have many hills). I now live in the mountains of Northern California and rear wheel drive is a lot iffier in the snow. You can increase the grip somewhat with snow tires (better still with studs), but they are much less "grippy" on dry pavement than the tires that come on new cars. I would decide the issue based upon how many days per year you expect to have deep snow on your roads and whether you have a back-up front or four wheel drive vehicle to take care of "snow days".

    Larry Homer
    lwhomer@cwnet.com
  • microrepairmicrorepair Member Posts: 508
    Re: use of portable CD players through the cassette slot in the radio. I used a Sony CD with adapter last year on my E and after 3-4 months there was no more sound when using a real cassette or the adapter. I figured it ruined the heads. So I shopeed around for a replacement radio and more than one place stated that the adapters can ruin the heads. Since they were all talking about going with an aftermarket radio and a CD changer and talking about close to a grand to do the switchover, I decided to let MB replace the radio under the Starmark warranty. But, they fixed it with a really good cleaning of the heads. I threw the adapter away and bought the Alpine changer (one of the official suppliers to MB) from the dealer's local installer for $300 installed. Awesome sound and it looks and feels like factory installed.

    Re: Snow.... I hate it, but besides that I've lived in Massachusetts far too long. I've lived here all my life and I'm over 50. I've owned rear wheel drive cars before and I was nervous about getting another after owning only front drivers for the last 20 years. Even though my 1996 E only has the limited slip differential, with snow tires on all four wheels it did better one day last winter than my wife's large American front drive sedan with very good all season tires. The newer models with traction control and ESP are sure to be far better and one should not worry about it unless they are totally unaware of how to drive on snow and ice.
  • diplomatdiplomat Member Posts: 5
    Thanks for the advise mtroy. I will definitely take a few CDs to ensure that all works. What is the deal on the static on the AM radio?
  • dennettdennett Member Posts: 332
    We sure haven't had any AM radio static, our works great. We're very happy with the standard stereo. Our only wish is that it came with a standard single disk CD instead of the cassette.
  • dennettdennett Member Posts: 332
    I'm trying to get used to this new software, seems okay so far. Is there supposed to be something better about it now? Drew can probably answer that one, you out there Drew? All is well with our C. Is everybody else having to clean those front rims as often as I do? As the brakes get more use is the dust going to start to deminish? Have a good weekend all!
  • ticketstickets Member Posts: 1
    My local dealer has told me that the Magma Red is a metallic paint. The cost will be 625 plus the 1000 special
    order color red. Has anyone actually recieved their Magma Red C yet? What is the cost of the color? Has anyone
    recieved the Orion Blue C yet? - I have seen the Midnight Blue (very dark) - What is the vote of these two colors?
    If I order the red, oyster or ash interior, Thank you.- also if you need concerts, sports, or theatre premium tickets go to
    Tickettrader.com
  • gdtobmegdtobme Member Posts: 17
    sounds like the problem I had with my 94 C280 a year ago. It turned out to be a bad wiring harness. I had the car for only 5 years! It wasn't cheap to fix it, either.
    Hope yours is something else.
  • dennettdennett Member Posts: 332
    We have a magma red C and it is not metallic, we paid the $1k special order, not $1625. Either your dealer is mistaken, let's hope, or they're trying to get you to pay $625 extra. It was clearly printed on our window sticker $1k special order paint, there was no fee for the red, and it is not metallic, but it sure is beautiful!!! If you find out that we should've paid the $625 let me know, I'd love to find out I got the car for $625 below MSRP!! :)
  • lynnandoblynnandob Member Posts: 2
    I'm down to two choices the 320 v. the volvo 2.4t 60.
    Is the 320 worth 7k more?
  • papadoc1papadoc1 Member Posts: 10
    I HAVE 5000 MILES ON MY C280AND I STILL GET THAT BLACK DUST ON THE WHEELS..I DON'T THINK IT WILL EVER GO AWAY. ANY SUGGESTIONS

    AM ALSO INTERESTED INGETTING IN TOUC WITH JSN1 RE THE SWITCH ON THE DOOR. DO YOU KEEP THAT STYROFOAM IN AT ALL TIMES. IF SO HOW DO YOU CLOSE THE DOOR SO THAT THE CONTROL SEGMENT GOES BACK IN...
  • papadoc1papadoc1 Member Posts: 10
    WE ALSO HAVE A '00 VOLVO S80..IT IS A SUPER CAR...NOT AS FAST AS MY WIFES PREVIOUS MAZDA MILLENIA S..IF I HAD IT TO AGAIN I WOULD GET THE T6 TURBO BUT WE DID NOT THINK IT WOULD BE WORTH THE 4200 MORE..ITS FAST ENOUGH..AND USES REGULAR GAS...MY 2000 C280 IS QUICKER...
  • mrdietmrdiet Member Posts: 16
    To see how much Magma Red costs, you can go to www.mbusa.com and build your own.
  • pauls6pauls6 Member Posts: 7
    About 2 weeks in the new C. I can't stop looking at it. Drives great. Very stable. Feels like a bigger car. Excellent wet weather handling. Got 25 mpg on an hour ride on the NJTPK. Not too bad. Mostly 18-19 mpg around town. I do get the occaisional brake squeal. But only at very slow speed braking. Anyway I love this car.

    Anyone else leased this car? What do your numbers break down to?
    I opted to put down the 10 security depostits ($5500) to lower the payments. My total was $40360 + tax. and my payments about $510.

    Any advice about turning the car in at the end. is Benz reasonable about the little things (dings chips etc.)
    P
  • forthillforthill Member Posts: 34
    I want a C320 and want to lease it for 36 months. Is MB Credit the only way to go or are there other sources of money to use at the dealer? MB is doing the no-haggle pricing these days right? Does that also apply to lease numbers? I wonder if I go to 2 or 3 dealers if I'd get different numbers.
    I don't even mind going out to some auto-by-tel (or similar) type outfits to get a good lease deal.

    Any suggestions? Anyone lease a C320 yet for 2001? I am curious as to MB residual value on the car after 3 years.

    Thanks,
    Wally
  • diwc240diwc240 Member Posts: 172
    (This is the 3rd time I've tried posting this msg. Is there a 30 min. delay now when posting messages ?)

    My NJ Dealer quoted C 240 residual value = 70 % at 36 months and 66 % at 42 months. I have an MBCC Lease set up for mid Feb. on a C 240
    6 speed (C1,C2,C3,C4, Bose stereo upgrade) $35,500 MSRP. With the current new car Lease rate = 9.2 % approx. or Money Factor = 9.2 divide by 2400 = 0.0038 (hoping Greenspan will lower interest rates in Jan. if not tomorrow) and $2500 down and $1300 due at signing, monthly lease = $460 approx. and 15,000 miles per year. Don't know if that is a "great" deal but I have worked the numbers different ways and used www.leaseguide.com etc...

    Credit Card Test: MB has a brochure "The First Class Finish". They have a 3.5" X 2" credit card in the cover. If damage can be hidden by the credit card, you won't be charged. It is an excellent brochure on Lease end options etc... Ian
  • awdbenzawdbenz Member Posts: 3
    Does anyone know if Mercedes has plans to offer an all wheel drive option on their C-Class for 2002?
  • nfotxnfotx Member Posts: 15
    My 19 day old C320 now has 1697 miles and I'm having the oil changed while I post this message. With an 800 mile round trip starting tomorrow I could not let the original oil stay in the engine. The service writer at my Mercedes dealership agreed with me completely. It can't hurt to change the original oil so quickly.

    Happy holidays to all.
  • drew_drew_ Member Posts: 3,382
    I'm here...WRT your question about the new software, we had to switch to a new platform because the version of the previous software that we were using (Well Engaged) was not being supported any longer. As such, if anything broke, it couldn't be permanently fixed. The software also had organisational quirks/limitations (most Townhall participants wouldn't know about this) that were counter-productive.

    In any case, we've been working furiously at squishing the bugs (for example, the login error has been about 95% fixed) - we've only been on this new software (named Web Crossing) for a few days afterall - that were not noticed in our beta testing; new features are being added on a priority basis (ex. the marks/subscription). It may interest you to know that Web Crossing won Cnet.com's builder award for best community software.

    Thank you for your patience and understanding! If you have any further questions or comments on the new software, you can post them in the "New Software!...Your questions answered" topic.

    Drew
    Edmunds.com Townhall co-host
    Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories conferences
  • drew_drew_ Member Posts: 3,382
    Yes definitely, but apparently not till fall of 2002 unfortunately. I'm still hoping that it will be available end of 2001 though. For Canada at least, the 4-matic option will be available for the C240, the C320 sedan, and the C320 wagon. The C320 wagon and C230 Kompressor coupe will be introduced for fall of 2001.

    Drew
    Edmunds.com Townhall co-host
    Vans and Aftermarket & Accessories conferences
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