Belg

Hello,

First of all, I will like to thank the people at this forum as I have been reading a lot about it and helped me into my decision of going with my first MB.

I am about to go get my first MB but I have two options on the table and don't know what to go for....

I am 26yr and live in Canada Montreal (Downtown).
The car will be for me and my girl. We are both lucky to walk to work and barely use the car. We will be using it for the weekends, groceries and small trips. The car will sleep the rest of the days in our garage. We do an average of 10,000 kms a year.

I have the following 2 options from 2 different dealers:

2012 C250 Coupe (CPO)
- 45,000 Kms
- Fully loaded
- Comes with the certified guaranty for 2 years
- Undercarriage carproof of 4000 $

2012 E350 4matic
- 32,000 Kms
- Comes with everything the C has (nav, security pack, sport pack)
- Warranty is due in a week after I buy it.... have the option to go for a third party extended warranty (+ 3300 $ 4 years)
- Clean carproof


The difference between the E and the C is around 9,000 in price.

I am not sure what to go with... on one side the C comes from the Mercedes dealership and it has warranty; the E comes from a trusted dealership (were I bough my current car) but does not offer me warranty. I can purchase the extended but not sure if is worth it... plus another 3k.

I personally think the extended warranty is not worth it but I know how expensive MB repairs can get....
On the other side, there is the fact of our long snowy winters were the 4matic will come in handy, but with dedicated wheels I do not think RWD drive will be that bad.

What do you think?

Thanks

SDRider

Have you driven the C250? Are you okay with the lower power output of that engine?

The cars are virtually identical in size as the E coupe is actually built on the C coupe platform.

Belg

Yeah I tried both and of course there is a huge difference on the e350 but I do not see a big issue with the c250.

I am more concerned on the winter driveability of the c250 as it is RWD and how reliable is the e coupe to go without warranty.

Zavato

AWD will outperform RWD in winter. Warranty- depends on whether you're a gambler

vinnypt

Not a doubt in my mind ! I would go for the E !!! 4 matic rules !!!

Harold1898

E all the way

ffr2014

+1

Premierone

Go with E. 4 matic will handle great in the winter, plus better interior quality and space

5Miata10

I bought my wife a 13 C250 Coupe and myself a 2013 E550 Coupe.

Obviously the 550 has gobs more power but the C250 turbo is no slouch. When we swap cars, I notice the C250 is much more responsive handling and feels lighter. The turn in is stupid quick compared to my 550. The C250 feels sportier even with the horsepower disadvantage.

When my wife drives mine though, she immediately comments on how much more luxurious it "feels."

Although the E550 Coupe was supposed to originally be the new CLK and is built on the Class platform, it feels much larger and heavier than the C250. A quick search tells me there is about a 400 pound weight difference.

I say go with what you want. As for extended service contracts, see if the Mercedes dealer offers service plans you can buy outright. Ours does even though we did not buy the car from a Mercedes dealer. If they sell it, they will honor it.

For what it is worth, I have never bought a service contract and have always been able to do my own repairs, even on our former 03 C230 Sport. But the E scares me. My brother works for NXP and designs chips for German cars. He said knowing how dependent these cars are now on computer systems, he will never own a car past its manufacturers warranty period. This comes from a guy who used to drive his cars for 20 years. I will buy a service contract from the Mercedes dealer when my factory coverage is about to expire.

flying c

I was considering exactly same options last year: C350 or E350. Coming from a 6 cylinder BMW 335, the difference between the C and the E was huge from my perspective. The C feels and sounds that is over-reving, and it also has typical turbo lag; while you can tell right away the E has a 6 cylinders engine with no turbo lag.

I ended up buying the E350; it was a CPO, but I have never had any problem with it.

If I were you, I would get the E350; just make sure you take it to a trusted mechanic to get a PPI (Pre Purchase Inspection) before buying it. The best $150 I spent to get peace of mind.

CDM Motorsports

i think the 4 matic will def be an advantage in your winters.
I would just read the fine print on what the extended warranty covers. There are good ones and bad ones.

Tennis Dad

get the E series with an extended warranty