Hi all!

I've been following everyone's posts here over the last couple of weeks and have decided to post up a question that's being lingering in my mind.

We're looking to purchase a C250 coupe in the next couple of months and are set on Palladium Silver. I love the look of the Flamenco Red leather interior from official marketing materials but so far haven't seen any cars with this colour in person or on forums.

Has anyone here seen the red interior in flesh and what are your thoughts on the colour? My main concern is we'll get sick of the colour in a year or so as it's rather flashy. Our alternative is black interior.

I'm based in Melbourne, Australia by the way. Nice to meet you all!

Unless someone has an ordered one (I actually think one of the posts on this forum has red interior on it)....all the cars on the lots are going to be missing two things: Xenons and leather. MBTex is almost always standard...I personally have it and you really can't tell the difference.

I do miss the Xenons though...

I think the red is just sex with the palladium and alum trim though. I say go for it.

Thanks jtl1230, I might have a better browse for those red interior pictures..

Ever thought of the piano black lacquer trim instead of the alum?

I've heard a couple of people mention red may not be available on the 250 (only on 350), can anyone help clarify? I guess it might vary across countries..

here's the thread in your exact color combo..

https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-c...r-today-d.html

not sure if thats helpful or not. I haven't seen the other interior trim color in person, but I don't believe piano black is an option available in the US. I have the wood, which with a black interior classes it up very nicely. Quite frankly there's enough aluminum inside the car that the extra trim is just overkill on the black imo. But wood would look weird with the red.

Just my 2 cents. Also I can't imagine a scenario where you couldn't get a 250 with leather interior on it but you are in Aus...so who knows. Cheers mate.

That's really helpful, thanks for the link. Have to say after seeing those pics I'm sold on the red.

I agree that there is already enough aluminium and I was afraid it would break up the colour scheme too much.

Leather comes with the AMG pack which I'll probably get but some have said red is not an option for the leather on the 250...

Hello DL250

I'm in the market for the same thing in around the same time

I too have settled on the flamenco red interior from all the colours available for this vehicle - pity here in Aust. you can't get Designo colour options on all but C63 C Class variants.

I've seen it in the flesh on several new C Class and E Class vehicles now and it looks very good !

It is actually much darker than what it looks like in most pics, in pics it looks like a bright red, but in reality it's more like a dark wine red or burgandy colour.

IMHO it will suit well with silver, palladium and either of the 2 types of white exterior colours, hope that helps

Oh and I too am from Melbourne Aust. that makes 3 of is here thus far - we'll have to meet up for a mini meet and coffee sometime in the future when we all have our new rides, ie. pending all goes well

Hi AV1, nice to meet you!

Have you seen the 'Drive and Seek' video? I suspect the colour you are referring to is similar to the one on there. I actually would prefer it darker and your comments are reassuring.

Which dealerships have you been to? Best of luck with negotiations, would be interesting to see how the 3 of us goes with pricing.

Yes, we should definitely meet up in our new cars once we get them. Are you getting the CDI also?

Hello again, yes nice to meet you peeps from Melb. Aust. as it gives opportunity to meet up at a later date and to put some faces to names

I've so far dealt with 2 Melb. MB dealers, Sth. Melb. (Kings Way) and Moorabin (Nepean Hwy).

I am in the process of organising a proper and thorough test drive session to finalise any decisions on a possible C coupe purchase, but havn't decided which dealer to do it with just yet.

As for checking out the flamenco red interiors, Sth Melb. MB dealer has quite a few E's and at least 1 or 2 C's with that interior there ATM.

Go have a look and best of luck with it

Oh and yes would be interested in getting better pricing through a preferred dealer and yes I'm interested in a C250 CDI Coupe

Perhaps we can go to PM's for specifics.

Everyone who has seen my red interior has absolutely loved it... more than the photos we've seen before

GuOD, your car looks fantastic! Thanks for sharing the photos, we'd welcome more though :P

Can you confirm it's a dark red (wine/burgundy) as opposed to bright red in flesh?

Link please, will be able to note for DL250 how close or not it is compared to real life

You'll definitely like the colour DL250, it's a top match with palladium as an exterior colour - also love the contrast with either calcite or diamond white which is what I'm wanting and being on the darker side of a red it won't easily mark and discolour like the light grey and cream interior colour choices, which also look very nice

AV1 here's the link: https://mbworld.org/forums/c-class-c...r-today-d.html

NICE !!! congrats to GuOD

DL250 that's very close to what it looks like in the first 4 pics, the last pic with the door open makes it look a little lighter than what it actually is.

It definitely is more like the darker looking 'wine red' or burgandy as depicted in the first 4 shots.

When you see it in the flesh, you'll know what to expect now - again all the best of luck with it and let us know how you go

Thanks for everyone's comments.
AV1 please also keep us updated on your car hunting

The first photo was inside the dealer bay and it had weird lights. The outside photo with door open was on a gloomy day but most accurate I'd say.

And I will try to get more photos its just bad weather here now!!

If you can wait i'll have my C250 in Melb on the Jan 9 shipment (if my dealer is to be believed) it'll be black with the red seats. Look jawdropping from the piccys i have seen....

Melbourne moving over to Merc it seems, and i was >< that close to getting an a5.

I so can't wait... but have no choice!

When did you place the order? The anticipation must be building, I haven't even purchased yet and I'm counting down. Guess at least you don't have to wait a year which is what a friend did for a VW Polo!

We looked at the a5 too, love the exterior but interior and specs didn't appeal. Also given it's an older car, didn't seem to justify.

Keep us updated! Would love to see some pics later

It'll look fantastic, black looks awesome on most vehicles - just hope your up for all it takes to keep it looking clean and blemish free tharsis I also love black and had a HSV R8 in phantom mica (metallic black) and it was a nightmare keeping it clean, so I'm nervous in ever going back to black.

Look forward to yours soon

Some Euro vehicles can take up to 12 months or even longer, have a friend who waited nearly 2 years for a Ferrari

I too have looked at both the A5 and BMW 3 series coupe and for mine the new C Class coupe easily comes out on top, even though in the look department I find the current 3 series coupe to be a 'little' better looking on the exterior side, interior is way back though.

When all 3 of us here from Melb. eventually recieve our C Class coupes, it'll be a great looking trio of 3 different external colours

Put the deposit down on 3/9 so it's been more than a month and a half already!

<sigh> waiting waiting waiting....

So short answer, order placed 3/9, and anticipated date 9/1/2012.

At least i'll have a 2012 rego date.

Agree with you DL, A5 is a pritter car externally, but dollar for dollar slower, not as nice interior, no where near the same standard options (sparingly few for the $$ you fork out) and it's bad economy so you get slugged with LCT.

I've been researching the black care options, luckily the carpark i use for work does car cleaning for only a little more than the price to park there lol. Also i'll use this synthetic wax i have been doing some research on to hopefully help with the care of the look of it. lot's of hope any theory there though lol.

come on MB get my car earlier please!!!

We haven't test driven either yet, did you have any other reasons for choosing the Mercedes over the a5?

Previous message directed at AV1. thanks

I considered the a5 and the BMW 125i & 320d. MB wasn't in the picture until i heard about the new coupe and then saw pictures of it.

Here's how it broke down for me:

A5 pros:
Prittiest of the 3 (externally)
Good overall reputation
I Have a Golf now and they have a similar drive chain, dual clutch arrangement, love it a lot.
Review of all the girls in the office, cousins, friends etc they all said this was the best looking of the lot

A5 cons
A5 entry level $69.990, comes with the CVT shift (not the dual clutch)
8seconds to 100km
7L/100 (or there abouts) meaning LCT of $4k
$5k for satnav
$4k for dynamic handling package
Without dynamic handling, runs a bit rough
Choice survey says a5 for cars sold '07-'08 around 40% of people had a "breakdown" ie needed something attended to wether it be computer, tyres whatever, some unexpected service requirement. That's a LOT in my book
To get what i wanted i was going to need to spend well into $90k + LCT
Service costs $1400+
A5 comes with a slimline lowkm spare tyre

BMW pro
Better overall handling than the merc & a5
Faster to 100km
Great reputation as a "drivers car"
Cheaper options such as satnav when compared to the audi

BMW Cons
Worse petrol usage than the audi
LCT due to bad petrol usage
In my view the older looking design, mb looks better externally
REALLLY bad recent service issues (fuel pump & break)
35% of people had issues with their new BMW
Most common issue is ongoing computer engine management, ie never going to be cheap to fix outside of warranty
Cheaper than the audi on services but still high.
Run flat tyres only (Never liked these)

MB pros
c250 rrp $69990 (same as entry level audi a5)
Cheapest to service of the lot
7s to 100km
Best standard package in the c250
Best interior to my view
Looks great (only just slightly ever so less than the a5 in terms of external looks)
Lowest fuel usage of the lot in the diesel
Avoids LCT due to fuel
4'th in the list of best cars in terms of low number of ongoing issues (Toyota, Mazda & Honda were top 3, no surprises there)
Always wanted an MB since i was a kid (mind you i want an AMG / slk at some point!)
Cheapest of the lot with the options I really want.


MB cons
Not much in the way of local stock
This is a first run of the Coupe so possible issues in the first gen
Metalic paint not standard
MB dealers are all generally a-holes (ones near me anyhow)
MB had a bad run with the kompressor series engines, shouldn't apply to this but was a consideration
Slower than the BMW options, can almost sneak in the 135I m-Sport coupe for the same money, MUCH faster to 100km (can out run a lambo!)
Most likely will have issues connecting an android phone to the command system

That's where my head was at, and given the list the MB really does come out on top in my view, if they still had the old style look and round headlights I wouldn't have even considered it, so looks, price, performance, reliability and economy, if they're not on top they're a very close second.

Tharsis you summed this up well, would be very useful to potential buyers on this forum.
I share some of the exact same thoughts for the a5 and adding to it the fact that it is an older model (but their new facelifted version next year kinda offsets it to an extent). MB interior is definitely better of the lot.
Never really considered the 125i, one of my friends have it and although it's fast it's too small to achieve that aerodynamic look IMO.
I would've really liked it if BMW were to launch their new 3 series coupes next year along with the new sedan (looks good) but I hear that's a couple of years away so not really a realistic comparison.
Your summary really helps to justify my decision on the MB.

By the way, I have a golf now too haha!

For me the choice was pretty simple...

The bmw and audi were going to be redesigned , but not this year

mercedes coupe came this year decision done !

haha