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Mercedes-Benz CLK (2005 and earlier)
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Revka
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Hatchbacks & Station Wagons Boards
Thnnks
I did a test-drive in a C230 with leather back in December, so while there have been leather shortages due to the problems with Mad Cow disease, their supply wasn't completely cut off.
(FWIW, I also found that the seat designs are surprisingly different between leather & cloth: the center panel in the leather is sprung very soft, and the cloth is quite firm).
Also, while I skipped leather, I didn't place the order for my C230 until earlyish January and it came in 2 weeks ago (I took delivery on Monday of last week).
My scheduled build period was 1-10 February, which was a modification of an existing allotment - - I'm not sure, but it appears that transmission is the primary thing that "locks in" the build, as I was able to change colors and change options. My guess is that cloth/leather interior MIGHT be another "locked in" constraint. Your dealership should be able to tell you the answers here.
Your "maybe March" sounds slightly at odds with how I was handled: I'd ask your dealer why you don't have an exact build date period like I was told (Note: I was told this at the time of sale). The only uncertainty I had in my delivery process was exactly when the car was going to get to the USA after it was built. I was told to expect it ~30 days after the end of the build window. My point here is that if we were to suppose that it was slated for delivery on March 31st, that means that its build period probably would have had to have been 20-28 February.
Finally, it does appear to me that M-B's vehicle tracking system might not have too many checkpoints in it for the dealers to check status. I don't know if there's a "got built" checkpoint or not, but what I do know is that the main one that reportedly "pops up" for the dealership is when the car arrives in its US port. From there, its ETA should be just a few days.
Hope this helps,
-hh
That seems to be about it for any discount from M-B. I'm going over to Germany later this summer and in the end, decided that it wasn't worth it. IMO, BMW is the company for which ED is quite worthwhile.
He quoted me a price 2.5 % under MSRP. Any other better dealers in NJ?
Intercar up in Newton, NJ gave me 3.5% below MSRP. Phone# is 973-383-8300 and my salesman was Reid Smith (he was quite good).
However, Newton is easily an hour's drive north of Millenium in Bridgewater, so might not really be worth your time for a $300 savings, but Intercar also only charges a $99 documentation fee, and some dealerships charge a lot more (M-B of Morristown: $300! Not recommended). Depending on how much Millenium wants, this might make the trip worthwhile.
-hh
The Acura CL-S 6-speed is looking better and better to me. (
If you haven't done it yet, first of all, I'd wait at the dealership while your salesperson gets into the production system, prints out your car's order, and gives you the current code associated with your car.
That will serve two purposes: you'll be able to completely verify your car's options, as well as find out what the status is of your order. When you've got the code, either on this forum or the W203 db at mbworld.org will be a listing of all of the codes. If the salesperson refuses to do this, take that as a warning sign that you're not getting ths straight scoop from them, and either ask to talk to the sales manager, or kill you order and walk.
Even with leather, most ccoupes are 2-3 months total from deposit to delivery; leather isn't the big wait that it used to be.
I bought my ccoupe from Prestige in Paramus, and all that I got was a reduced price on the cd player, but I ordered it in July, when they weren't doing anything on price. Your 2.5% sounds reasonable.
Also, you might want to do a blind call to Millennium's service dept., and ask about their loaner policy. Most dealers in the NE only give out loaners to people who have bought their MB's from them, so that alone might be a reason to buy from a local dealer.
BTW: I think the Supercharged 3.2L V6 from the C32 AMG would be a nice fit in the C Coupe's engine bay for that upcoming AMG model:)
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
Thanks for the information on helping me understand why this car has taken over 6 months so far. I ordered an auto. trans, C-4,C-5, in brilliant silver and after initially telling me January am now being told March. I paid $500. under MSRP so probably more than the rest of you.I also want to tell the dealer to take a hike but after reading the postings, it weems to be a pretty good car.
Has anyone heard what changes will be made on the 2003 as I may cancel this one and wait.
http://mbspy.bacosys.be/M271.htm
Revka
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Hatchbacks & Station Wagons Boards
I just got my C230 kompressor a month ago. Loving it. The performance is great. I even bought a car cover for it but never used it. So I am putting it up ebay for sale. If any of you are interested, please go to ebay and look for.
Item # 1811218783
Bought it for $198 and will let it go cheap.
thanks!
I bought a c230K from jordan at MB of Greenwich. The price was invoice +3%. To avoid any problems, I suggest:
1. agree on a specific number for the price. You should be able to do it for 31,800.
2. They will try to add in an amount for "document fee" of $200. Tell him you want 31,800 delivered, exclusive of tax and license. They might give you a price of 31,600 and then add back in the document fee.
3. I did not pay any advertising fee.
Jordan was very easy to deal with. I did the deal over the phone, gave a cc# for deposit, and he faxed the sales contract.
I ordered end of nov and took delivery 3rd week of jan- they were able to customize an existing build slot.
I am a pretty satisfied customer--they also threw in winter mats and sent a nice gift basket after purchase. (However-also got put on some high end mailing list, and got and incredibly plush and slick solicitation for 3000+sf trailside ski condos).
A few days before delivery, I was able to talk them into an installed price of 725 for the cd changer.
BTW: MB dealers in New London and West Hartford were also willing to be very competitive on price. The salesman at the Fairfield, CT dealer (where we went for a test drive) was very insulted when I asked about a discount. He called a few days later and was willing to deal, but I didn't want to play.
Happy shopping.
It is worth the effort and wait. And CT is a wonderful place to drive it. It is a joy on the winding 2 lane roads.
timeline:
First tested drive in October, 2001. List price only from various dealerships. NO pricebreak at all.
Went to a few websites. Only deal I got was from Carpoint.com which hooked me up with Symthe European (San Jose). The sales person was Matthew Le. $500 off MSRP. I went back to the Walnut Creek dealership where I test drove the car originally and they would not match it. So I went back to SJ and ordered my car. Even though I told Matthew I have already test drive the car and all I wanted was to place to order, he still took time to show me the different colors, options and offered another test drive. Car arrived at the end of Dec. Some mixed up (could have been a deal killer). The car was the one I originally wanted but not the right price. I didn't want to wait anymore. Ended up with $750 off MSRP and a set of all weather floor maps (I hike, bike and run - this is important to me.)
Car - C1, C2, silver,cloth, no CD (mistake,will probably go back and get it), extended warranty (For the listed price. I intend to keep this car, knowing how much it cost to fix anything related to MB, the 2K seems a good investment)
Matthew was great. His assistance Inga was great too. To be fair, there were some avoidable mistakes but we are all human. Because of some other mixed up, he delivered my car to my house (3 weeks after I close the deal) which was more than 65 miles from the dealership. Nice touch. Got flowers too. Another nice touch. (guys, chicks dig that.)
I thought I got a good rate for the car loan. Their loan manager looked at my credit history and actually gave me a better rate (1/2% less than the one I got from a credit union and without direct deposit or down) Another plus.
I would definitely use them again.
I have 1K miles on the car. LOVE IT. )Handles superbly. Lots of truck space. I used it to move some furniture and it holds a lot more than I thought. One complain - the antenna is SO SO weak. Any suggestion? Do I need to upgrade to the Boise System? I don't think buying the CD would help. Also, since I intend to take my car to service by a different dealership, someone said I need to make sure a mechanic is assigned to my car. How do I do that?
Hope that this long winded message help some future buyers out that. Help with my questions would be most welcome.
I do get a rose when I bring my car in for service though. It's a nice touch.
Oh, isn't it amazing how many guys still don't get that chick dig flowers?
Enjoy your car.
for the last 21 years, starting before we were married, my wife has been getting a single red rose delivered weekly. Best $ I ever spent. And, as you might have guessed from my earlier post, I like to get good value for my $. In addition to the goodwill every week, I get a good deal from the florist for the standing order.
I felt the C5 and C7 packages were reasonable and make the car more "Mercedes-like". I could not stand the fabric interior, so the C5 gets me oyster leather. I also had to get the sunroof which C5 gets me. The C7 gets me 17 inch performance wheels and includes various measures of the "Evolution" package sold in Europe.
List was $30,365. Invoice is allegedly $28,287 with TMV as $30,069 in Alabaster white. I haggled briefly and got $1,200 knocked off list which I thought was a good discount based on all the information I had. In the end, they asked if I was interested in trading in my current car. The offered $4,000 which was right on target with Edmunds trade in value. I accepted that. So, my take home price before taxes is around 25K.
Overall, I am satisfied with the process up to this point. Of course, I do not have the car yet, so I cannot comment on those impression.
I am looking forward to it and hope that it will give me a good run.
CP
From all the posts I have read here, about six weeks for delivery after you have recieved a firm build date.
I ordered mine at around the same time, had the 1-10 February build window. It arrived (in NJ) on 2/20/02. It seems that mine must have just caught everything just right (was the last car loaded onto the boat, first one off and right onto delivery truck, etc)
After waiting through February for a delivery date, he told me last week that the car was built on 2/11 and he would find out an ETA.
Today he told me that "production was completed" on 3/7 and ETA would be about a month, probably mid-April.
Something does sound a bit odd
When I asked what happened to the 2/11 build date and March delivery date he said "that 2/11 was when production began and it was completed on 3/7." This sounds like a lot of nonsense to me.
That's almost 4 whole weeks to build a car!
It is. I would ask if they had a production shutdown, major re-schedule or something, for typically, from the time that the chasis starts to get welded up to where the car is driven off the end of the manufacturing line is typically measured in hours, not weeks.
Anyone have any insights as to whether MB is being straightforward with me.
You might try visiting the salesman at an off (known slow) hour, and asking to see the numbers in the computerized report. If they're legit, he shouldn't have much of a problem in showing them to you, as he's probably a bit frustrated himself with the delays. He could decline, but its probably worth asking.
-hh
Tarik
Probably traded in on a Silly Ugly Vehicle..
CP
CP
Mercedes has brought a lot of this on itself. When I bought my first [of 13] Mercedes in 1968, the car I bought [a mid-size that eventually morphed into what is now known as the E] had a 4 cyl engine, manual steering, tex upholstery, crank windows, a manual transmission and no AC. This was pretty typical for the car then in both the US and EU; only the top line S sedans, and to a lesser extent the SLs, were loaded with so-called luxury features, though even these were commonly equipped with steel wheels and wheel covers.
During the intervening 35 years, Mercedes has spent a gazillion dollars in this country trying [successfully] to convince the American public that this car LINE [from top to bottom] is a "brand" that is to be synonymous with luxury...so gradually over the years, our market got nothing but loaded cars: leather, alloy wheels, every power option, etc. Now, the presence of something as simple as cloth on the seats sends the press into silly rants - never mind the fact that plenty of EU MB customers still prefer cloth to all of the alternatives.
It's tough to take one marketing direction for several decades, and then turn in another direction and expect no one to notice. This has all been an AMERICAN marketing "thing": in Europe, the "image" of the car never changed - safe, comfortable, durable, great for high-speed running on long trips, a bit boring compared to some competitors, but dependable and good for the long haul. Any MB below the S class or the sports cars / coupes is the EU equivalent of a Buick to most EU buyers - they don't know they are supposed to regard the Star as a sacred icon.
So yes, the press is harder on this car than owners are; presumably, most people who buy the car for most of the right reasons [the same reasons that made me make the decision in '68] are happy with their purchase and a bit puzzled about why they should feel like they settled for second-best. All of this would make an amusing case study for Marketing 201, and illustrates for the umpteenth time the Law of Unintended Consequences.
Just wait for them to bring in the A-Class successor in '04...that ought to start a real uproar...
Which also translates into something more important to me: rarity! Something that Toyotas definitely cannot have. :~)
I thought and still think the C230 is kind of pricey. But when you line up up against, say, a RSX-S, you see it coming with a number of features that aren't available on any of the competition.
All that said - I've been thinking that the 350Z could really do some damage to the C230 given how well equipped the Touring model comes. Granted, two seat vs four seat. Still, MB's first value-oriented vehicle on U.S. shores is going to start facing some rough waters.
CP
The key differentiation between the 318ti and the C230 is the power -- not just raw horsepower, which is good, but plenty of torque at low rpm's. The 318ti was a pretender when it came to performance, while the C230 delivers very good performance.
This while having some real room in the back seat, unlike, say, an RSX which has a tiny rear seat.
Add free scheduled maintenance in the USA and the cost of ownership is actually quite good in the first four years. Plus the level of dealership support will be, on average, better than most others.
wmguan, what do you mean that the VSC in my Lexus is not full range? The VSC seems to disagree with me on throttle angles anytime I try and stick the rearend out exiting a wet corner. It has a little too much range for my tastes. I wasn't able to really drive a C230 hard enough to see how the VSC reacts.
This list is from a source at mbworld. It applies to the C230 coupe, but a few of the changes will probably make it into the sedan where applicable:
Interior
- new design steering wheel incorporates cruise control
- single CD player standard
- new design smaller/cheaper 6 disk CD changer intro 12/02
- new high end DSP stereo system incl sub intro 12/02
- new interior colors TBA
- window switches moved up 15 cm
- storage pockets on seat back
- seat rack travel increase 5 cm
- seat latch repositon to side
- rear seat cupholders built-in console side
- 12V power point in hatchback area
Exterior
- several colors retired and new colors TBA
- new C7 wheel/all season tire option
- AMG package C9A/C9B intro 12/02 C9B incl 18 inch staggered
- rear window wiper option
- redesigned windscreen for pana roof effective MY2002 05/02
- bi-xeon headlight option intro 10/02
- new smart key functions TBA
Of all the changes, the two that seem the most important to me are the windscreen and the smart key because I have heard a lot of complaints about both. The sedans seem plagued by defective smart keys and electrical problems, and I have heard about (and experienced) the wind vortex that can occur in the coupe. For those of you who have been lucky enough to obtain your 230s, have either of these problems dampened the thrill?
To those of you who offered your insight on my order dilemma, many thanks. Still waiting...
I thought the car didn't need one? Right, that is why it is an option :-))
Sounds like Benz has listened to some owners and is making some adjustments. Should make a good car even better.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2022 Wrangler Sahara 4Xe, 2023 Toyota Tacoma SR 4WD
It's the little things that makes me smile ... like this magnetophone's post. Don't get me wrong, my wife has a 2002 Toyota Camry SE and we love it, but I am looking at the C230 to replace my old Explorer. I get some great info from this group, but I'm sure we can all do without toyotas1 juvenille comments.
In other words, if you're basically happy with the '02 version, get it; '03 may be worse.
I've had no problem with my smartkey or my windscreen, btw. Had the car since late Sept., and only 10 mi away from 10k. Damn, these miles add up quickly.
Thanks!
I have chosen to live with the dust, but I have waxed the wheels to make it much easier to clean the dust off.
The dust seems to be European Car characteristic no matter the make or model.
JR
True, but let's be honest and recognize that Mercedes is hardly alone in this; all the manufacturers have done it, because of the "new and improved" syndrome.
I recall having a 1979 Honda Civic, and it was a far far, cry from today's mid level (semi-lux) midsize sedan: it had crank windows, a tiny 1.2 liter 4 cyl., no AC, no radio, etc, and the entire car only weighed something like 1160 pounds, less than half of the current 2002 model.
-hh