drummerdimitri

Hello people,

I am currently looking for my first car. I am a 21 year old male who's been driving since the age of 18 and just so you know i'm looking for a car that suits my age. I really like the mercedes c350 4matic coupe and the audi a7 sportsback. I am having a hard time justifying the extra two doors of the later, because the back seats of the c coupe are remarkably spacious and comfortable. I know i'm not really comparing apples to apples here, but I've narrowed my choice down to these two because they both look good, are economical, powerful, have awd, are about the same in price and specs. I will be driving the car in my home country which is lebanon, so my commute consists of very steep inclines that require a lot of power to accelerate the car. Also, i drive by myself or with another person most of the time, so the extra too doors are nice, but not really necessary. Could anyone give me their opinions on what I should opt for?

Thanks!

akmerc

Have you driving both of them? That's where I'd start. Once you narrow down the make and models, drive them!

Also take into account the dealership's location and friendliness, because you'll be dealing with them for years to come....

modifiedw203guy

Just my two cents:
Isnt the A5 a coupe? I'm pretty sure the S5 comes supercharged for you uphill climbs (or side-by-side "acceleration tests" with your buddies).

I'm sure you're set on the A7 but a coupe to coupe comparo is kinda more like apples to apples right?

Oneness

This is my experience, as limited as it is, but it might be just my area. Back in 2000 I was looking for a new car and the choices I narrowed down were a C class, Audi A4, and a 3 series BMW. the first thing I noticed was the MB dealer was far more professional and treated me like I was special. I was given the keys to the car for me to take for a test drive and the sales rep didn't join me, he just tossed me the keys and off I went. The Audi dealer had a bunch of reps sitting around BSing and it took them a while to ask if I needed help and then they took me on a short test drive and I felt like they were more used car sales people rather than trained professionals. The BMW dealer just simply thought they were too busy since they didn't have the car that I was interested in stock because of the popularity of the options/color, so it seemed like they really didn't want to sell me a car. A buddy that I used to socialize with at that time purchased a VW and he basically told me that the Audi line is almost identical to the VW, just more expensive and some very subtle differences in the engine/body styling, but otherwise they are basically the same car, just more expensive branding. I guess with MB, they don't really have other less expensive or different versions of their product line like other car companies. The bottom line, I bought the Mercedes because I not only like the way I was treated, but I just simply felt more secure in the car and the performance of the three cars was very close and the prices were very similar. Are you planning on buying new or used? do you need AWD? I know they handle great, but AWD are typically more expensive to buy and more expensive to maintain, and if you are into tweaking your car, there plenty of ways to improve the handling of a 2 wheel drive with stiffer sway bars, etc.

Oneness

Let me update to current experience. The local MB has completely remodeled their entire location, made it bigger, even more classy, they separated the new cars from the Starmark certified used car section completely. Since I'm in research mode right now, I didn't ask for a test drive, but the one thing I can say about the service department is that I like getting to know the people working on the car and most dealerships don't allow the customers to actually visit and talk to the mechanics while they are working on the cars, but I work with a private Mercedes service center when the car is out of warranty, even though they can do warranty work, plus they are less expensive. Getting work done on any car can be frustrating, but I got to the point where every other time I brought my car, expect to pay around $1,000 unless it is a minor engine servicing. I usually got pretty **** about taking care of my car, so after I racked up 100,000 miles, that when things start acting up. I did have the front instrument cluster needed to be replaced which was unfortunate, the CD player needed to get replaced after about 130,000 miles, as well as the ball joints, but they were just starting to show wear. My mentality is if the car is showing some noticeable wear on a part, I just replace it as fast as possible whether it really needs to be replaced. I had upgraded my suspension with Koni shocks, Eibach sway bars front/rear, lowered it a little, got these nice adjustable camber bushings in the rear, engine mounts needed to be replaced, as well as some other front end work, but this was after 120,000 miles. The transmission was fine, the engine was fine, and most everything else was fine. Every car needs to have things replaced from time to time and it just gets worse after 100,000 miles. I also replaced those drive shaft couplers once, which is to be expected, and those got replaced the instant I noticed some difference in performance.

Oneness

your right. Personally, I don't care much for coupes because of the back seats and how difficult it is to get in and out for passengers. I prefer either a 4 door sedan or a 2 seater. Plus, I find less of a market when it comes time to sell. 4 door cars and 2 seaters are easier to sell than coupes. The other thing I notice about 2 door cars is that they don't typically have frames around the window OR the doors are longer making them heavier or more of a hassle to open and close OR both. For some cars, the longer doors just don't seem as solid. Obviously, each car is different so I would carefully evaluate the doors to see if they are designed properly. I drove a C class two door sports coupe MB had on the market back 9 years ago, which MB took off the market. I don't think it was well designed. Plus 2 door coupe usually don't have a pillar, which to me doesn't make a structural superior design. I know MB took the C class coupe off the market and the CLK is no longer. I don't know how well the E class coupes are doing and i haven't checked it out, so I can't comment on that particular model. This is just my two cents and my experience, but obviously check them to see if they work for you. Sometimes the 2 seaters just don't have enough room and some just don't want a 4 door.